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Art, music, TV tributes and Titanic running efforts – all in this week’s What’s On guide. And with British Summertime kicking in, we may have lost an hour’s kip at the weekend but now there’s a ‘grand oul’ stretch in the evenings’ – so go out and make the most of that extra daylight! Tuesday 1 April Belfast Foreigner with special guests – Waterfront Hall, 8pm Eighties rock is coming to the city on Tuesday night with legendary band Foreigner taking to The Waterfront stage. Their biggest hits included Cold As Ice, Waiting For A Girl Like You, Say You Will, and of course, the epic I Want To Know What Love Is. Don your tightest denim and leather and get ready for a trip down memory lane. Tickets £33/£38 from The Waterfront box office. Wednesday 2 April Belfast Making Connections: Curious Beasts (printmaking) – Ulster Museum, 1 – 4.30pm Making Connections runs in the museum on the first Wednesday of every month, offering additional programming specifically for anyone aged 50+. Today, artist Jill McKeown leads a print workshop inspired by the exhibition Curious Beasts. Book your place by phoning 028 9039 5080/5081. See the website for more details and for future Making Connections events. Thursday 3 April Belfast Seinfest – The Black Box, 8pm. The Belfast Film Festival began last Thursday 27 March and continues until this Saturday 5 April. Bunch of Cults – the folk who have previously brought Twin Peaks and Naked Gun evenings to the BFF – are back with a celebration of one of America’s best loved comedies. There’ll be a screening of five Seinfeld episodes, an Elaine ‘dance off’, competitions and all followed by a ‘Kramania club night’. Check out the Facebook event page to vote for your favourite episodes to be shown. Entry is £6 – click here to buy tickets. Belfast Belfast Photo Festival, Youth Edition – Various locations, until 30 April This new festival, a spin-off of the International Belfast Photo Festival, has events and exhibitions for and involving young people throughout the month. Tonight’s opening events are Last Day at Seventeen, a collaborative project between photographer Doug Dubois and a group of young people to capture a snapshot of life in Ireland, and How We Learn, an exhibition at Belfast Exposed exploring how children learn. Visit the website for all the details and a full programme of events. Friday 4 April Belfast Fame: Not The Musical – The MAC, 7.45pm Comedian David Baddiel arrives in Belfast with his first full show in over fifteen years. It’s a tongue-in-cheek autobiographical show, in which he “examines his strange relationship with the New Lad/Token Jew/Comedy rock’n’roller/Football singer-songwriter that people see him as”. Tickets are £20, available from The MAC website. Saturday 5 April Lisburn Amanda’s Belfast Community Gospel Choir NYC Fundraiser – R-Space Gallery, 7.30pm – Midnight A long-time friend of the Quill, Amanda Kirkpatrick is a member of Belfast’s favourite choir, who are bringing their musical message of love and unity to The Big Apple in May of this year. Their aim is to represent “the positive side of Northern Ireland” to an international audience. Each choir member has to pay their own flights, at a cost of around £400, so Amanda is putting on an evening of music and entertainment to raise some of the cash. It’s BYO, with a £5 suggested donation at the door. Visit the Facebook event page for more. Sunday 6 April Belfast Titanic Quarter 10k and Family Fun Run The TQ 10K is the official Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon warm-up race. The route will be the same as last year – starting and finishing at the public realm space at Abercorn Residential Complex (ARC) – and the family fun day will provide a range of activities for spectators to enjoy before, during and after the race. For all the info, race times and entry fees, visit the website.

As someone who treasures the vibrant arts culture Northern Ireland now enjoys (it was one of my main motivations in starting this blog in the first place), I wanted to write a tribute to Mike Moloney, who died following a tragic accident at his home on 20th April 2013. Mike was from Australia, but moved to Northern Ireland in the eighties, co-founding Belfast Community Circus with Donal McKendry in 1985, a wonderful institution which thrives to this day; teaching, entertaining and inspiring. Between 1992 and 1997 he worked in Northern Ireland prisons as a drama specialist, joining the Prison Arts Foundation in ’97 as a development officer and becoming the organisation’s director in 2005, a post he held until his death. That is a very potted history. I did not know Mike personally, but through my good friend Colleen Eardley, a burlesque and circus performer, and the many wonderful friends and performers I have met through her, I knew who he was, how loved he was and how important he was. Or at least I thought I did. The sheer volume of tributes following his untimely death is overwhelming, never mind the heartfelt, heartbreaking, heartbroken content. Nuala McKeever, Mike’s partner, set up a tribute site in the days following his death, knowing that there was an entire community of people, both here and in Australia, that would need somewhere to come together and share their memories and pain. For what it’s worth, having spoken to Col and other members of Mike’s circus family, I feel my life will be the poorer for never having known him. Those who did, tell me of a man whose most striking quality was that he saw potential, creativity, goodness, something worthwhile, if not downright beautiful, in everyone he met. Whoever you were, whatever you had within you to give, no matter how chewed up, broken down or well hidden it was – stand in Mike’s light for long enough and he would find the best in you and help you make the most of it. It is only right that the words of those who knew him speak about him now that he isn’t here. You can visit www.mikemoloney.net and share any pictures, videos, memories, tributes you wish to. I will give the final words to Colleen. “I first met Mike many years ago when I was a student studying Performing Arts in Belfast. On the first day, you met all of the tutors and each tutor told you a bit about their subject and you got to choose. Mike steps forward and explains Arts in the Community and I was hooked – that was the subject for me. From Taiko drumming to circus skills it was the only subject – not only that I didn’t miss but was early for! Mike also gave me my first gig (and many more after that) and was always on hand to offer advice. What can I say about Mike that hasn’t already been said? Thanks to Mike, I found the type of performing that I love (I was never going to be a great actress), met lifelong friends, was introduced to cabaret, and above all, got confidence in myself. He was a gent. I owe a lot to Mike. It’s hard to imagine Belfast without him. RIP Mike, you are missed and thank you…” #inspired #Belfast #creative #culture #BelfastCommunityCircus #PrisonArtsFoundation #MikeMoloney

This post not only brings you the first scribblings of The Patchwork Quill, but also the beginning of August Craft Month 2011, as well as an innovative new arts venue in Lisburn. Craft Month is the first of an overwhelming number and variety of festivals, events and fairs coming up this month. I am ridiculously excited! So, here’s what August Craft Month looks like.  I also recommend heading to the main Craft NI website. I attended the launch event on Saturday, Anna Dumitriu‘s science-inspired textile exhibition, Normal Flora. It was also the opening exhibition for R-Space @ The Linen Rooms, a newly opened art venue on Lisburn’s Castle Street, which I plan to feature on the blog in more detail in the future. With boarded-up windows, barely-dry plaster walls and dusty concrete floors, the main gallery space still appears to be a work-in-progress, but the stark setting actually worked well as a backdrop to Anna’s work. ‘Normal flora’ is a term referring to the natural microbes and bacteria that surround us in everyday life, and that is basically what Dumitriu explores in her textile-based work. Essentially, she grows bacterial cultures in agar jelly in a laboratory and introduces these onto fabric, producing a variety of organic designs in surprisingly pleasing colours. Her best-known work is the MRSA Quilt. To be quite honest, I wasn’t too inspired when I read about this as an artistic concept. An interesting enough idea to try out once or twice, but could Dumitriu really fill an exhibition with splodges of coloured bacteria on fabric? But this exploration of bacteria is something which has captured the artist’s imagination, and she manages to be truly imaginative in her presentation of the concept. She acts as artist in residence at a number of science-based university projects, which includes her role as the Leverhulme Trust artist in residence on the UK Clinical Research Consortium Project, based at the University of Oxford. The relationship between art and science is one she says has always fascinated her, pointing out the importance to both disciplines of experimentation and creative thinking. One of my personal favourites in the Normal Flora exhibition was the lab coat she swabbed and, after cultivating its bacteria in the lab, translated the resulting blobs and swirls into intricate white embroidery, painstakingly hand-sewn back on to the coat. I also loved Anna’s chair and crocheted throw. The chair features carvings representing bacteria swabbed from it, and the throw – amazingly – is a crocheted representation of bacteria swabbed from the artist’s own bed! Anna joked on the day of the exhibition: “It’s the bacteria from my bed – what else would I do but turn it into a blanket?!” You could say these stood out for me because dress-making, furniture customisation and knitting appeal to me. But I really did find myself captured by this idea of making the invisible visible, and emphasising the point by rendering it back on to the object in question, as with the coat and chair. The exhibition continues at R-Space until September 17th, and Anna returns to the gallery on August 24th to hold a workshop – Bioart and Textiles : Unnecessary Research and Collaborative Practice in Art and Science. Participants will learn to stain fabric with bacteria and moulds and embroider with antibiotic thread. The workshop’s free (loads of the other Craft Month workshops seem to be as well –  whoop!) but you need to book in advance through the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum by ringing 028 9266 3377 or emailing ilc.reception@lisburn.gov.uk

Yes, yes, I know it’s been a week since the Belfast Mela lit up Botanic Gardens; I really am trying to get my act together and get events-based posts up in a more timely fashion, but between shifts at the paper and work for the magazine, the blog took a back seat this week unfortunately. (Not that I’m complaining about a week of paid journo work, mind!) Anyway, given the selective nature of The Patchwork Quill, I thought there was no harm posting a week after the fact. There’s been great local coverage of the multicultural festival (insert shameless plug for Bel Tel here), which gives me a bit of freedom to focus on the Craft Village – obviously my first port of call when I got through the Mela gates. I arrived at about 5.30pm and made a beeline for the craft marquee – sadly over two hours late for the bag-making workshops on between 1 and 3pm. From the instructions still up on the wall in a corner of the Craft Village, it would have been right up my street as well. Ah well, a lesson in timekeeping (that I probably won’t retain). So, I had bags on the brain when I came across the stall for Belfast-based Hampton Blue, featuring beautiful handmade bags from Made Pretty. Chatting to the stall’s owners, sisters Debra and Stacey, I find out that Made Pretty is a local venture too, established by Gillian Fisher. She doesn’t appear to have a website as yet, but I took a few pics of her stuff. With their vintage fabrics, flowers, denim and buttons, her products appeal to me hugely. Her bags aren’t expensive, starting at around £24 for a clutch, but that would have blown The Patchwork Quill’s measly budget for the day (and I still hadn’t investigated the delicious-smelling World Food tents) so I resisted the temptation, but found Gillian’s creations pretty inspiring – these are exactly the kinds of items I’d like to be making one day. Hampton Blue, established in 2009, were the first local stockists of Gillian’s wares. They have a beautiful site here where you can buy lots of pretty goodies. I did spend a bit of money though, firstly on a couple of funky clothes patches from the Firsty stall. This is a Bangor-based creative collective who were hosting their first pop-up shop at the Mela’s craft tent, offering a variety of art and craft works from a number of producers; textile based pieces, paintings, relief based works and bags and accessories. They meet twice a month at The Rabbit Rooms in Bangor and welcome all creative types, including artists, musicians, poets and photographers. A really cool initiative – check out their Facebook page. A highlight for me was chatting to the gregarious and charming Paddy Carroll at the Earthworks stall. His shop’s been going since 1991 and the stall brought back happy teenage memories of noseying through the Fairtrade joss sticks, jewellery and lumps of amethyst and fool’s gold in the Fountain Street shop. Paddy told me Earthworks now has a stall every week at St George’s market – a trading gem I have yet to explore, much to my shame. The shop is considering a permanent move to the market soon – business rates and rent forcing yet another independent retailer out of the city centre. A great shame, but I’m glad Earthworks will continue to sell its globally-sourced trinkets and treasures. Hopefully the market will act as a lifeline to the many wonderful boutiques and independent outlets that add so much to Belfast’s character – perhaps this is the new face of retail as we adjust to tough economic times? Whatever keeps the Earthworks, Rusty Zips, Fresh Garbages and Liberty Blues of this city going strong is OK by me. I made my final, well-chosen purchases at the Craft Village here, with a couple of beautiful writing sets, handmade in India, at a couple of quid each and – of course – some incense sticks! I also enjoyed a chat with the lovely ladies at Vintage USA, whose glittering stall of jewellery has often left my purse a little lighter at Decadence Vintage Fairs. I managed to resist purchase temptation yet again, but they nearly had me liberating a few moths with the charming range of millinery and accessories from Cookstown-based Leonora Ferguson. Baraka’s stall was filled with funky felt badges and bags and handmade beaded jewellery, but owner Emma says her Junction One based shop almost exclusively focuses on customised clothing. I made a mental note to visit soon and then discovered she’s making an appearance today at The Attic fashion event at Studio Eleven in Belfast’s College Court building. Here’s a link to the event poster on Facebook and a link to the location on Google Maps. It’s on between 11am and 7pm and free in, and is raising funds for Kindfund Relief Work in Northern Kenya. I may very well see you down there! By this stage, I was more than ready to investigate those exotic food smells, so I headed over to the Indian Food Market, where I got this delicious chickpea stew with rice. Indian food is a dream for a vegetarian, especially a veggie who lives in Ireland and is used to generally quite bland or unimaginative vegetarian options when eating out. I scarfed this lot in about ten minutes. I feel hungry looking at it again. The Ethnic Market and henna tattoo stalls were starting to pack up by the time I got my craft fix and stuffed my face, so I headed over to the stage where, in a rare feat of beautiful timing, I was just in time to catch the headline musical act, Delhi2Dublin. I was so glad I stuck around for this, the band was fabulous. The Vancouver-based outfit have blended all of their various cultural backgrounds to produce a unique fusion of Celtic, reggae, Bhangra and electronic music which delighted the crowd and had them dancing and bouncing along from beginning to end. This was my first trip to the Belfast Mela, now in its fifth year, but I guarantee I’ll be at the sixth, seventh, eighth…. ad infinitum for as long as I can. As the writer of The Patchwork Quill, it was great to see local artists, producers and sellers having such a successful day in the Craft Village. As a Belfast girl, it made my heart swell to see diversity and multi-culturalism celebrated so joyfully in the heart of my beloved city.

Over 20,000 of you are expected through the gates of Botanic Gardens for Belfast Mela 2012. Ensuring this many people are ushered in, enjoy safe, clean surroundings and are well fed and entertained all day, requires a small army of people. A small army of volunteers, to be exact and it’s those volunteers under the spotlight in this week’s Mela Monday. Last year, over 60 volunteers gave their time to make sure Mela ran smoothly and, as someone who was there as a punter, I can confirm they did a sterling job. Most of the smiling faces in Mela T-shirts you see handing out tickets, giving directions, serving food or even milling around near stages with headphones on are part of this army and this year, I’ll be joining them. I wanted to use this post to explore the different ways you can work voluntarily for ArtsEkta, the different people who do so and why, year after year, so many people come back to work here for free. What are they getting from it? Volunteer Coordinator Mairead Quinn is something of a poster girl for volunteering at the organisation. Having stumbled upon the first Belfast Mela in 2007, she knew straight away she wanted to be involved in the next one and signed up to help out.  She came back the next year, and the one after, and in her own words, “pestered ArtsEkta” until they offered her an internship in their office. The rest is history and Mairead absolutely adores her job. The lovely Ms Quinn has put me in touch with a small but varied selection of people who work voluntarily for ArtsEkta. Here are their stories: THE JACK OF ALL TRADES Conor McNally, 36, is an IT professional, working in Belfast. His story begins in a similar way, evidently, to many who become part of ArtsEkta – he stumbled upon the first Mela and decided he had to be a part of the next one. Conor says: “As a volunteer, you’re a part of everything that’s going on, rather than being a visitor and just taking in one thing at a time – you’re experiencing it all. “You also get to see the whole thing come together – all the stuff being left down before set-up, the stage being constructed from nothing, the tents and stalls going up. “Every year, I just tell them to put me where they need me, I’m up for a challenge! You can find yourself doing anything, from stage management, volunteer supervision, to catering assistance and being a runner. “It is just great fun – I have a day job which is totally different from the stuff I do at ArtsEkta and I volunteer for the sheer enjoyment of it.  “We are so lucky that arts festivals like this are now able to happen in Belfast, they add so much to the city’s cultural life, and without volunteers, they couldn’t take place. So by volunteering, you really are making a difference.” THE INTERN Communications and PR student Rebecca Young, 24, has been working as an events and marketing assistant in the ArtsEkta office since June. Her internship lasts until September. “I’ve been assisting Krishan, the events and marketing manager, with putting Mela together. I’ve been booking flights and accommodation for artists, working on our social media channels and I helped to put one of our press releases together recently. “The work has been totally invaluable; you can read as many books about working in events and communication, but it means nothing without practical work experience like this. “I’ve been to Mela twice and loved it, but never realised before my internship how much work went on in the community, with the outreach arts programmes and summer schemes.  “A lot of the work experience for this industry is based in London and there’s no way I could afford to do an internship like this there and support myself on part time earnings. Also, Northern Ireland is very small, so the competition for these placements is high – so I’ve been very lucky.” THE ARTIST Sarah Gordon is a 22-year-old art graduate from Belfast who is continuing her studies in fashion. She began volunteering for ArtsEkta earlier this year having read about the Festival of Colours (Holi) online. “It was a few days before the event and I never thought I’d get in at such short notice, but Mairead was great. I had such a good time; it was so friendly, calm and well organised. “Since then, I’ve become involved in the organisation’s new heritage project, Sanskriti and at Mela, I will be working alongside the artists at Cultureland. Mairead is also arranging for me to shadow one of the Cultureland artists when they begin their next community outreach programme. “Because the organisation is so arts based, I feel really at home there, but they have been brilliant; really giving me free rein to get as immersed in the arts side of things as I want. “It is truly a beautiful, inspiring organisation and I just love being a part of it.” I’ll give the final word to Mairead, who explains the importance of volunteers to the organisation as a whole. “Over the last number of years, we at ArtsEkta have worked with hundreds of volunteers to ensure the smooth running of our three key annual festivals. This partnership has been mutually beneficial, providing ArtsEkta with the capacity to deliver large scale, high quality events that impact positively upon the diverse community of Northern Ireland. Volunteering with us has also provided many people with work experience, the opportunity to develop and enhance skill sets, make new friends, try something different, do something positive for the community of Northern Ireland and above all else, have fun.” If you’ve been inspired to put your hand up to volunteer, there’s still time to get involved in this year’s Mela. Email Mairead to find out more. Make sure to get in touch – are you volunteering this year? Have you read this and decided to go for it? Are you a seasoned ArtsEkta volunteer? Share your experiences in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you. Also don’t forget about my anonymous feedback survey. I’ve already received many insightful responses, but there’s always room for more – have your say. UPDATE 07/08/12 There are whispers on the breeze that if you happen to be around Cornmarket in Belfast at around 11am this Thursday, you could be in for a treat. That’s all I’m allowed to say…

A great week ahead – plenty of music, but also art, comedy and even conferences. If I’ve missed anything you think should be here, get in touch. I can’t promise to put everything in, but I will do my best! Tuesday 15th October Belfast Thrive Conference Taking place in the Lyric Theatre, Thrive is a half-day conference examining the creative industries in Northern Ireland, led by international speaker and digital expert Eric Huang. Organised by the Arts Council NI, it’s designed to celebrate the success of creative industries and explore their importance in this country. There will be networking opportunities and workshop sessions with Invest NI, Dr Rachel Smart and Halo. Tickets are free and available from eventbrite now. Otis Gibbs The Real Music Club presents folk singer songwriter Otis Gibbs in the Arbele lounge of the Errigle Inn, supported by Amelia Curran. He’s been compared to Woody Guthrie, Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen, and to describe Otis as a folk artist is “too simplistic” say the online blurbs. Having spent the past fifteen years travelling across America, he certainly has a few interesting stories and life lessons to share. Doors open at 8pm, tickets are £14 and are available from ticketsource now. Thursday 17th October Belfast Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s One of the most popular annual arts festivals in Belfast begins today, running until 27th October. There is music, theatre, dance, circus and visual arts, with a wide range of venues and a lot of variety. Anticipated highlights include Wish by Jorge Rodríguez–Gerada, Damn the Circus in Belmont Park and Falls Park and a concert by José Carreras. All programmes and booking information are available online at belfastfestival.com Juma – Seven Songs Album Launch Juma are a five-piece described as playing “an eclectic mixture of gypsy jazz, soulful blues, toe-tapping swing blended with rockin’ riffs and wailing electric guitar”. On Thursday, they launch their album Seven Songs in the vibrant Belfast rock bar Voodoo. They’ll be supported by Afresh and Mandy and Graham Bingham. It’s £5 in or £8 with a copy of the album. Newtownabbey The Viral Comedy Show A comedy showcase featuring local comedians Mickey Bartlett (known for stand up and appearances on TV panel shows including The Blame Game) and Colin Geddis (also a stand up and well known in NI for his online comic creations, such as Barry the Blender Henderson). This is an adult only show, tickets are £10 and can be purchased from thecourtyardtheatre.com The show starts at 8pm. Friday 18th October Belfast RUA Annual Exhibition The Royal Ulster Academy‘s 132nd annual exhibition begins in the Ulster Museum today and runs until 5th January 2014. Academy artists, invited artists and artists whose work was chosen through open submission will be featured and there will be over 250 works on display. The exhibition takes places in galleries six and seven and on Saturdays, a free public tour takes place at 2.30pm. More details, including opening hours, are available on the event page and on the main museum website. Distillation 05 at The Oh Yeah Centre The fifth in the music hub’s series of special showcase events produced in association with Bushmills® Irish Whiskey and supported by Arts and Business NI. It’s a gig showcasing up and coming NI music talent alongside more established acts. Friday’s gig is opened by grunge act Vanilla Gloom, followed by post-punk dance band Bats, with the night headlined by the self-proclaimed “experimental party band” Blue Whale. #ohyeahmusiccentre #lyrictheatre #artscouncilni #errigleinn #belfastfestivalatqueens #comedynorthernireland #mickybartlett #artsandbusinessni #voodoobelfast #whatsoninbelfast #courtyardtheatre #colingeddis #whatsoninnorthernireland #belfastfestival

Rather than your typical wine n’ nibbles launch party, Mela 2012 announced its imminent arrival by tapping cleverly into the current zeitgeist for flash mobs. At 11am on Thursday morning, Cornmarket became the stage for an impromptu Bollywood dance piece, led by the girls at the South Asian Dance Academy. As one of ArtsEkta’s new volunteer recruits, I found out about this weeks ago when I was invited to take part. It was disappointing to be stuck in work while my fellow Mela workers Bhangra-boogied with SADA but also cool to be in on the secret. Well done ladies, you looked fabulous! A fittingly flamboyant start to the festival countdown – I can’t believe it’s less than a fortnight away! And this creative piece of PR serves as a nice opener to this week’s Mela Monday which is all about the arts, crafts and creativity of the event. Last year, I spent most of my time in the Global Souk’s Craft Village and it’s back this year. Although Mela management are remaining tightlipped about this part of the festival – (I guess they want to retain a few surprises for you on the day!) – I dare say you can expect to see most of last year’s favourites, as well as some new stalls – I can’t wait to have a nosey. Here are a few pics I took here last year. There will also be artworks and creations on display here from the ArtsEkta outreach programme. This ambitious project uses creative workshops encompassing a variety of world cultures to enhance the education and experiences of school children and community groups. These groups will also be participating in the opening parade of the Mela and their workshop pieces may also be seen in one or two of the Culture Land tents. Which brings me neatly on to Culture Land! This is the aspect of Mela I am most excited about this year, and I am hoping a lot of my volunteer time on the day will be spent here. This gorgeously positive festival area is a global arts experience designed for kids. They’ll receive their Culture Land ‘passport’ as they enter the first nation’s zone (Will it be Ireland, Africa, India, Japan, or another…?) and this clever document will bring them around the world via a series of artist-hosted marquees. In each they will be led in creating something inspired by the country they are ‘visiting’ (maybe an Egyptian head dress, some Japanese script). Once their passport is stamped, they take their piece with them and it’s on to the next adventure. It’s such a clever, non-preachy way to open kids’ minds to other cultures. Children love to play and they learn through playing, making and doing, so it really is laying the groundwork for a whole generation of well-informed, unprejudiced, tolerant people. Vaishali Kokate is leading the Indian workshop in Culture Land. The mum-of-two moved to Northern Ireland two-and-a-half years ago, leaving a high-powered corporate job in risk management and looking for a quieter life. However, the self-confessed chatterbox has been anything but quiet since joining ArtsEkta as a Mela volunteer and working her way up to being an outreach spokeswoman. She visits various school and community groups on behalf of the organisation, sharing stories about her beloved homeland and its stories and traditions. Vaishali told me the Indian workshop at Mela this year is featuring rangoli for the first time. She told me: “It’s a very traditional Indian practice, which uses coloured rice and sand to make patterned pictures. The kids absolutely love it, they love the colours and the textures.” “We’ll also have Indian clothes for the children to try on – that’s always really popular as kids love dressing up. There will also be a henna stall where you can get traditional henna designs painted on your hands and arms.” Although she is not a full time artist herself, Vaishali says artistic creativity is very much part of her culture. “Most Indian women are highly skilled in creative arts that may be totally unrelated to their jobs.” Indian culture is bursting with colour, which Vaishali says makes art a very accessible way of bringing India to life in her work. A great example is the sari workshop she was recently involved in for a women’s community group in Lenadoon. The West Belfast women threw themselves into the printing, keen to create their own designs for the garments they were making. The success of this workshop was reportedly the inspiration for the Sanskriti heritage project, which aims to explore the similarities between our own culture here in Northern Ireland and that of India. One-mighty export trades in textiles, emigration/immigration, defining of oneself through clothes and appearance – these two very different countries have a lot more shared history than we might initially think. Personally, I am really excited about seeing more of the products of the outreach programmes at Mela 2012; it will definitely be a highlight. I’m really looking forward to seeing the results of the project’s work with primary schools, focusing on the Moghul era in India, with a lion costume and dance to be performed during the opening procession to represent this. There is also to be a display of artwork by a young women’s group, which will feature Henna Hands – showcasing this beautiful practice of skin decoration. These and other works will be housed in the brand new Maharaja tent, also featuring live performances. If that has whetted your artistic appetite, check out the full festival programme on belfastmela.org.uk and plan your itinerary for the day. Leave a comment below; let me know if you’re heading to Mela and what you’re most looking forward to. I hope to see you there! #workshop #flashmob #tradition #travel #global #education #Ireland #rangoli #sari #heritage #learning

It’s halfway through July already, so Northern Ireland is well into summer holiday season. (And certain other well-known seasons, yes, but the Quill is a welcome-all, non-partisan blog, so those worms and thon can-opener shall remain strangers.) My favourite summer memories are of spending time in my homeland with friends and family. Caravan trips to the west of Ireland as a child and as a teenager, lying with friends under the summer stars, putting the world to rights, or impromptu road trips to the seaside when I should have been studying. If you’re in the mood for a local break (I refuse to use that word for a home holiday. You know the one.) – have a flick through my snaps of a long weekend I took with my family back in April. We spent a few days staying in the hills of Cushendall and exploring the surrounding coastal towns. I hope you enjoy the various sights that caught my eye and hopefully it inspires a little ‘Norn Irn’ holiday of your own. Firstly, check out our neighbours and the neighbourhood for the weekend… My Granny is an artist – no wonder she was inspired to capture the views of the landscape on canvas. BUSHMILLS This adorable little crafts and gifts shop is on Main Street, right in the heart of the village. Closed on the day we were there (I think it was a Sunday), but I’ve been in before and it’s a treasure trove of goodies. Check out their Facebook page. A couple of doors down from Carleton Crafts is The Copper Kettle, a lovely little spot for lunch or coffee. Friendly service and a good selection of toasties, sandwiches and main meals. Some cute decorative details in the cafe that caught my eye…. No trip to Bushmills is complete without a wee dram! No time to tour the distillery, but a little stop off in the Bushmills Inn rounded off the day nicely. DUNSEVERICK HARBOUR Yet another beauty spot on the North Antrim Coast. You’ll find directions to it here and a bit of background information here. PORTSTEWART Granny and Granda used to live here, so we fuelled up for the day at one of Granda’s old haunts, The Anchor. I love all the decorative details and old fashioned style in this bar. BALLYCASTLE We were only passing through, but I had to take a few snaps of the brightly-painted shopfronts. Such a pretty town. CUSHENDUN My sister and I take a walk along the beach. Looks sunny but it’s freezing, hence the coats and fleeces! I collected loads of shells and  pebbles; hoping to use them in future craft projects. I love finding footprints… The resident gardener! One day I shall realise my dream of installing one of these in my bathroom as a shower enclosure… CUSHENDALL Turnly’s Tower, AKA The Curfew Tower. A place originally built as a cell for Cushendall’s “idlers and rioters”. Shame Granny and I didn’t get a chance to explore the art shop… …but this family always makes time for the pub! Wish I could remember the name of this place, but it escapes me. Hurling and GAA memorabilia adorn the walls and an old Singer sewing machine is used as a table! I think it’s brilliant that the tourist board has embraced the opportunities afforded by this exciting year and is so enthusiastically promoting our country, both to visitors and residents. Northern Ireland is tiny, but look at all you can see and do in a couple of days on the North Coast and you realise the place is packed full of potential day trips, weekend breaks and holidays. So fine, call it a ‘staycation’ if you must, but I hope you spend a little of your holiday time at home. Some useful links: Discover Northern Ireland NI 2012 Causeway Coast and Glens #seaside #NorthCoast #travel #holiday #NorthernIreland #Causeway

Last week’s episode of The Great British Sewing Bee saw the contestants presented with old-fashioned Singer sewing machines and asked to complete a series of tasks based on old patterns, techniques and styles. As most of you know, I am the very proud owner of a 1950s Singer 99k machine, kindly gifted to me by my Granny a few years ago. This was the machine I cut my sewing teeth on; I found its original user manual online, printed off all 56 pages, and used the grainy illustrations to guide me through the basics of using a sewing machine, such as how to wind the bobbin, thread the upper needle and raise the bobbin thread. I had actually been thinking recently that it would be nice to get the 99k out of her case, do some sewing, take a few pictures and write a post, and this episode spurred me into action. I just love the stitch selector on this machine. You loosen the screw, move the lever to select how many stitches per inch you need, then tighten again. Push the lever all the way to the top to select a backward stitch. There are some features which haven’t changed much as the sewing machine has evolved. The top-loading drop-in bobbin (left) is virtually identical to the one on my modern Singer Talent. For most machines, the bobbin is still wound by popping it on to a spindle at the top right and clicking it in to place. There is a little ‘secret compartment’ for bobbins, feet and accessories in my modern Singer too, but pulling out its white plastic drawer isn’t quite as thrilling as turning the key in the black metal top-plate to reveal the 99k’s treasures. I forgot just how noisy this machine is to use, but unless you’re trying to do a bit of sneaky sewing late at night, it’s strangely satisfying to hear the clackety whirr as your fabric whizzes through this machine. Because there is so much metal in the 99k compared to modern plastic based machines, this is a heavy piece of equipment, tipping the scales at just over two stone or 12.7 kilos. While it’s therefore not practical as a portable machine, what it does benefit from is a real strength and sturdiness. It gives a perfect straight stitch with ease and the presser foot doesn’t bounce around, moving your fabric off-line. I vow to use my Singer 99k regularly from now on. It’s been on this earth twice as long as I have and it is still an elegant and effective sewing machine. It deserves to be appreciated. Here are some things I made for my mum today using my Granny’s old sewing machine, and some photos of the machine in use. #sewing #Singer99k #howtowindabobbin #windbobbinsinger #threadingtopthread #SingerTalent #sewingmachine #howtothreadasinger #TheGreatBritishSewingBee

This is the first in a new feature series I’m introducing – Magazine of the Month. Every month I’ll be recommending an arts/crafts magazine and sharing with you the things I like about it. I’ve been a magazine junkie since my early teens and cut my journalist’s teeth on a magazine’s editorial team. In recent years, I’ve developed something of an obsession with crafters’ magazines. I’m delighted to announce that the publishers of my first recommended read, Mollie Makes, are offering readers of The Patchwork Quill the chance to try three issues of the magazine for just £5 when you subscribe via quarterly direct debit. That’s essentially two free issues, so I hope loads of you take up the offer – details at the end of the post. Today is the Quill’s first birthday, so I guess I’m celebrating this first anniversary American-style, with paper! So here it is, the gorgeous Mollie Makes. This was issue 16 of the monthly magazine, which also celebrated its first birthday this year, on May 12th.  Its motto is ‘Making, thrifting, collecting, crafting’ which drew me to it instantly. The most observant Quill readers will have already spotted the other reason I snapped it up…. FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS!!! My first foray into crafting was making friendship bracelets as a child and, at the age of 28, I still love to make them. The feature was illustrated with a fabulously nostalgic photoshoot – all stonewash denim, candy colours and neon – as well as a handful of easy-to-follow bracelet-making tutorials with accompanying pictures. The contents page is clean, bright and uncluttered, a great intro to the mag. The how-to / tutorial features are photographed well and clearly explained, really easy to follow. There’s a good mix of projects and something for the beginner (eg spray-painted neon bags and shoes), the crafter with a bit more knowledge and experience (eg sewn ruffle skirt) and for those with fairly advanced or specialist skills (eg crocheted lampshade). Buyers’ guides and ‘what’s on’ pages are just as pleasing to the eye with well-chosen images and strong editorial. THE REGULARS New – craft news Out and About – report from an event Trends – this issue: neon Living – pick of the best buys for the home Home Tour – a look around a handcrafted home Templates – all the shapes and templates for featured projects Loving – one-page ‘moodboard’ to inspire Mollie Makes Visits… – this issue: vintage warehouse Most Marvellous My Space: this issue: studio space of Cartolina‘s Fiona Richards THE PROJECTS Luggage tag (materials = free gift on cover) Friendship bracelets Needle-felted bear key chain Crocheted lampshade by Catherine Hirst, author of Granny Square Crochet Quilted placemat by Tacha Bruecher of Fat Quartley Fabric scrapbook by Amy Tan Ruffle skirt by Tanya Whelan, author of Sew What You Love THE FACTFILE PUBLISHED: Monthly COVER PRICE: £4.99 YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION: £48.49 CIRCULATION: No ABC figure as yet UK STOCKISTS: WH Smith, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and a selection of other supermarkets, newsagents and craft shops. (NB I bought my copy in Tesco in Lisburn.) WEBSITE: http://molliemakes.themakingspot.com If you feel inspired to try the magazine for yourself, you can’t pass up Mollie Makes’ fantastic special offer to you lucky Quill readers: try three issues for just £5 when you subscribe today via quarterly direct debit. The offer is valid until the 16th August 2012. Mollie Makes special subscription offer Come back here and share your thoughts – was the offer good value for money? Are you a fan of this magazine already? What projects from its tutorials have you completed? (Don’t forget to send pics and maybe I’ll feature you in a future post!) Please let me know what you think of Magazine of the Month and fire me an email or a tweet to recommend a magazine I should feature here next time. Also, I am still gathering responses to my feedback survey, having a great response so far, with loads of you taking the time to share your ideas. The link’s at the top of the homepage and it’s 100% anonymous, so be brutally honest – I can take it!

I did a lot of research before starting up The Patchwork Quill. So I know that ‘blogging 101’ dictates posts should be original, timely and topical to keep your readership interested. Sod that – I still haven’t shown off about what I got for Christmas. All the crafty and creative goodies I got for being a good girl 🙂 My first brand new sewing machine! It had to be a Singer, of course. Testing out a few stitches Something old, something new… The other new toy! My boyfriend got me a Microsoft Surface – a slick n’ shiny tablet/notebook hybrid. It’s going to be so useful for blogging on the go, especially with fairly decent forward and rear facing cameras included. Impossible to get in the shops too at the minute – seriously, I challenge you to try and find it! The way the keyboard attaches magnetically is ridiculously fun – it’s a toy in itself. You basically wave the tablet near it and SNAP! It’s a notebook 🙂 The kick-out stand at the back is a lovely feature too. Pretty as well as clever – a lot like its owner, really. Ribbons! I have had a book about ribbon crafting gathering dust on my shelf for over a year – time to change that! Two very useful (and adorable) items to add to my sewing room – fine point scissors and a measuring tape. Plus a £20 voucher for my favourite local craft shop, BP Sew n’ Knit in Lisburn’s Market Square. Feeding my stationery fetish – two sumptuous notebooks. I am actually slightly terrified by these, the pressure to use them well, to write really interesting and important things on those crisp, unspoilt pages is almost too much to bear. What to use them for?? Very excited about this book. Haven’t so much as read the intro, I’m saving it and prolonging the anticipation. What’s that – how do you spell procrastination? Well it’s P-R-O… hey! Happy New Year! #MicrosoftSurface #sewing #tablet #creative #ribbons #making #sewingmachine #colour #Singer #craft #notebooks

Now that December is here, it’s no surprise to see more and more Christmas events on the schedule, but there is also music, art and crafts to enjoy – albeit some with a festive twist! Have fun this week whatever you get up to, and let me know if there is anything I’ve missed this week so I can update the guide. Monday 2nd December Belfast Belfast’s Winter Wonderland – Custom House Square, 30th November – 5th January. Skate under the stars in the massive open air ice rink at Custom House Square – the first of its kind in Belfast. There are Christmas family rides and attractions, snacks, hot chocolate, mulled wine, Christmas souvenirs and lots more. Open every day (except Christmas Day) – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 10am – 8pm and Thursday, Friday, Saturday and school holidays 10am – 10pm; Sunday 12pm – 8pm. Entry to the Winter Wonderland is free; tickets for ice skating can be purchased on the day subject to availability, or online at least 24 hours in advance. See the ticket section of the website for more. Lisburn Materials, Messages and Meanings – R-Space Gallery, 30th Nov – 21st December. This group exhibition began on Saturday, and will explore artists’ and makers’ different approaches to the materials they choose to work with and why, the messages they wish to convey using those materials, what those messages are, and the methods of production and process they use to make the work. Featuring Craig Fisher, David Turner, Lesley Cherry and Kevin Miller. Visit the gallery’s website for more information. Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm. Tuesday 3rd December Belfast Southern and Guests – McHughs Basement Bar, 8pm Southern are Belfast-born, Liverpool-based brother and sister band Thom and Lucy Southern. They release their debut EP, the ‘Southern EP’ on the 9th December 2013 through Marathon Records, bringing together the young pair’s shared admiration for crunching blues riffs and distinctive elements of folk music. Tickets £8 + Booking Fee. Visit link here to buy tickets. Thursday 5th December Belfast ReFound Festive Fun – ReFound Building, Wellington Place, 5 – 8pm The ReFound team are inviting savvy shoppers to come and enjoy a glass of mulled wine, while you peruse the showroom for original, upcycled and reimagined Christmas presents created by local artists and craftspeople. Purchases on the night are subject to a tasty 10% discount. Visit their Facebook events page and check out ReFoundOnline.com for more details on the showroom and location. Engine Room Gallery’s Christmas Exhibition, 7 – 9.30pm (continues until Sat 21st December) The Engine Room Gallery’s annual Christmas Show is a large-scale, open submission exhibition, featuring a wide variety of contemporary art by up to 60 artists. A preview of the show takes place tonight and the exhibition continues until Saturday 21st December. Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm. Visit the Facebook events page for more details and website for contact and location information. Platform Members’ Show – Platform Arts, 7 – 9pm. (exhibition continues until Sat 14th December) Tonight is the opening of Platform’s annual studio member’s show, celebrating the last exhibition of the year with some mulled wine. This exhibition will showcase diverse work from artists currently engaged in contemporary art practice, based in Platform Arts, Belfast. The exhibition continues until Saturday 14th December. Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 4pm or any other time by appointment. Visit the Facebook events page or the studio website. This exhibition is one of many on as part of Late Night Art which returns to Belfast this Thursday. Friday 6th December Belfast End of Prohibition Christmas Party – Black Box, 8pm Bellehoppers invites you to a festive 8 to the Bar with a post prohibition twist! The Martello Jazz Band’s brand of hot Dixieland Jazz will keep you on the dance floor all night. Burlesque performances come from Teezey Overeasy, Soup DuJour and Mia Amore plus a toe-tapping dance performance from the Bellehoppers and a hot collection of swing, jazz, r ‘n’ b, jive and blues for good measure. Tickets are £10 on the door. For more information, check out the Facebook event page or the Bellehoppers website. Duke Special: A VictorianChristmas – The Empire, 8.30pm Bringing his year long residency at The Belfast Empire to an end, Duke plays ‘In The Round’ for a unique sing-a-long style show. After warming up on mulled wine, the audience will be encouraged to take a song-sheet and join in. Special guest vocalists, support from Shellac DJs and 78rpm and a few surprise guests mean this will be a Christmassy night to remember. Tickets are £15 and there’s more information and purchase details on thebelfastempire.com. Saturday 7th December Newry Newry On Ice – Albert Basin, 10am – 10pm every day until Sun 5th Jan. Today, the Newry on Ice winter wonderland open its doors.The skating extravaganza, fun fair attractions and Christmas fayre should all make for a fun filled day out. Skating prices are £12 for adults and £10 for kids for a full 50 minutes on the ice and discount can be offered to group bookings by emailing newryonice@gmail.com. Check out the Facebook page for updates. Armagh Craftswirl – Armagh Visitors’ Centre, 11am – 3pm Drop into Craftswirl this Christmas, to see local makers demonstrate their skills whilst picking up a few ideas for your Christmas gifts. Today, Theresa Kelly will be demonstrating her craft. She is recognised as one of the most established and influential Carrickmacross lace artists working in Ireland and has transformed a traditional craft into an experimental visual medium. #BelfastChristmas #PlatformMembersShow #rspacegallery #BelfastEmpire #Newryoutdooricerink #EngineRoomGallery #ReFound #Belfastoutdooricerink #RSpaceLisburn #Materials #Christmasparty #Bellehoppers #PlatformArtsBelfast #theblackboxbelfast #theEmpire #EngineRoomBelfast #BlackBox #Christmasdiscount #EngineRoomChristmasexhibition #NewryonIce #ArmaghVisitorsCentre #MessagesandMeanings #BelfastWinterWonderland #ReFoundChristmas #outdooriceskatingNorthernIreland #VictorianChristmas #8totheBar #LateNightArtBelfast #PlatformArts #DukeSpecial