Friday 23 September 2016

A gentle fun stitching day

Elva was on emergency 'grandma' duties, so Grace reported the news, and Iris on blog.

Business first:  Joy and Elva are sorting out keys - so if you have keys for any of our cupboards, can you please give them to Joy.

Jenny has added a new book to the library - 'Scrap Basket - Stripes and Squares'.  Colorful and simple, yet ideas with impact.

Lots of interest for 'Fidgety blankets' and 'Twiddle muffs' project :  any questions or if you need supplies, chat to Robyn Jo or Iris.   Pam R. visited with bags of  fabulous 'textured' fabrics.



And,  special thanks to Lindy, our own  'avocado queen' : a box of a avocados disappears as fast a box of fabric.

Show and Tell:

Robyn S shows us her quilt for her newest great grandson, Zane.  


Dancing penguins !



Marie K showed the 'Star Wars' quilt she made for her 9 year old grandson.  




Heather's granddaughter has to have fun with this  ...  a fabric book of  dress up dolls, complete with pocket 'wardrobes' filled with lots of changes of clothes.

The front of the book - dolls in their undies !



With a selection of dresses to choose from ..


and deciding which dress to wear for Christmas


 All fabulous fun projects   ...   happy sewing for another week.     Cheers Iris

Sunday 18 September 2016

BACK TO NORMAL- A PEACEFUL DAY 15/9/16

It was a quiet day with lots of girls away on various journeys or other family commitments.
Nevertheless, plenty of quilting work continued as always. 

Jenny presented the new book acquisition for our extensive library. It's called "Mixing Quilt Elements -  Modern Look at Colour, Style & Design" by Kathy Doherty. Have a look at it when you can. Some great ideas.

Iris and Robyn J presented a possible new community project for the group to work on, which involves making of items for use by dementia patients. Sounds very interesting and worthwhile. Stay tuned for more details. 

I'm sending out a group email tomorrow asking for all those who have hall keys to bring them in. We need to check all keys and get rid of obsolete ones. Thanks.

SHOW AND TELL

Quite a few bits and pieces to show this week.
This first one was presented by Felicity. It's been quite a long time since we've seen her, but clearly she's been busy stitching as always! Thank you Felicity. The Grace Centre will be delighted at the start of the next pile.

      

I managed to get a quick snap of this gorgeous pink from Jess, who was doing one of her flying visits. Before she left she showed me this. It's going to be stunning, and may end up in Quiltmania magazine!
We'll keep an eye out.....

                                

Sheila showed us this next one which she's made for a friend's grandson I think. It's very nice and has cute backing fabric as well. Thanks Sheila.

                                  


                                   

Gil declared that she has promised herself never to do another fox quilt! But she was persuaded to do just this one more for a friend's baby. Cute and quirky as ever! 


                                    

Iris showed us a batch of community quilts destined for the Macquarie Hospital.
This first one is by Pam Reeves and is called "Sydney Dry"


       

This next one is "Spring is Sprung" and is by June.

      

This little gem is one we showed recently and is by Kerry. It's called "Kerry's Rose Garden".


                                 

Next come "Challenge in Blue" by Gil

                                    

This next one is "Lightning Strikes" by Ros.

                                     

And finally the workshop quilt produced during a Grace workshop recently.

                                     

Quite a collection which I'm sure Macquarie Hospital will be delighted with. Thanks girls for all the community work you do. It's much appreciated.

That's all we have this week. 
See you Thursday.
Cheers, Elva


Sunday 11 September 2016

8/9/16 HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTERS HILL QUILTERS!

What a day! We had lots of members, champagne, special visitors and CAKE!
Yes, it was our birthday, and we celebrated well.

This year's show judges, Karen and Carolyn from the Grace Centre brought us a gorgeous cake surrounded by little baby cakes! The cake itself had a quilting theme (very cute) and it was all made by Karen's niece. What a lovely surprise!

                          

Around the cake you can see part of the pile of 61 baby quilts which we handed over to the girls. 31 of these were our display baby quilts from the show, and the others are ones which have continued to come in from members. Thanks everyone, the Grace Centre is so delighted!

      


Here's Karen and Carolyn thanking HHQ.

                                


We were visitored also by Dr Elizabeth Scott, who accepted our cheque from the show. Her research into better treatments for youth mental health was the focus of our fundraising efforts this year. Elizabeth spoke briefly about what they do and expressed her delight at our gift in supporting their work. Genie, who spoke for Elizabeth on opening night, was also present and quite overcome by the generosity of the gift. As well as the cheque, Meg presented  the Silk Fans quilt which will be hung in the foyer of their workplace. Below are a few shots which give you a sense of the occasion.


                                


                                 


       




                                


                                


.....and the inevitable 'group shot' minus the photographers of course.
A fantastic roll-up and a wonderfully happy event.


      

After our guests had departed, we had a brief meeting to update news of next year's retreat, and to set dates for it and the Christmas break.
The dates are as follows:
Christmas Party - 8th December
Quilters resumes - 12th January 2017

Retreat dates - 15th - 17th September 2017
Redleaf Resort Blackheath
Single rooms - $199.50 per night (includes breakfast and dinner)
Twin rooms - $ 290.00 per night ( includes breakfast and dinner)
These rates haven't changed from this year.

We congratulated three new Life Members this week - Robyn S, Cheryl and Doreen. Only Robyn received her badge on the day as Doreen and Cheryl were not there, but their badges will be passed on to them.
Congratulations girls on 25 continuous years of membership of HHQ! Quite an achievement!

SHOW AND TELL

Yes, we even had time for some show and tell!

This gorgeous quilt is by Helen for her little 3 year old grandson Michael, who is about to move to his first 'big boy' bed! A very exciting time for him and a very devoted grandma to make it extra special for him! Well done Helen, and we love the back as well.

                              


                                 

Carolyn D showed her version of the hexi quilt we all seem to be doing. Just as well we have all had a different take on it. They are all so varied! This one Carolyn tells me was done with just a basic hexi template which she drew lines on to vary each hexi. The fabric variety speaks for itself I think. It will be a stunner when finished


       

Finally Iris showed this finished quilt which has been worked on by many members. It will be a community quilt, and was one of the 'stitching lounge' efforts during the show. It has now been quilted and bound beautifully by Iris. 


                              

Postscript:
Susan H showed us a beautifully made Wagga cushion, one of two, which she made as a commission for a gentleman who had bought one of our waggas at the last show in think. He wanted some cushions to match it, and Susan has obliged! Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of the cushion, but it was very nicely done. Thanks Susan, and a little extra income from the show as well. Excellent!

Well, it was a big day, and a wonderful celebration for our birthday. 
See you next week all. Enjoy the gorgeous weather!
Cheers, Elva

Saturday 3 September 2016

WELCOME TO SPRING! 1/9/2016

Yes, we enjoyed lovely warm and sunny weather for our first Spring gathering at the hall for 2016.
A short exec meeting was held to plan next week's birthday party and activities for the rest of the year. 
Don't forget to bring your champagne glasses for a little celebratory drink at the party.
Our judges from this year's show have offered to bring the cake! Wow!
Iris set out some ideas for starting the Lord Mayors Picnic Quilt. A few ladies have already volunteered to do some of the appliqué characters, and something we can all have a go at - six 2 and a half inch squares of bright fabrics stitched together in a row. 
Also at the birthday party, we will be officially handing over the cheque and a quilt  to The Brain and Mind Centre via Dr Elizabeth Scott, and handing over all the show baby quilts plus another bundle to Karen and Carolyn from the Grace Centre. It's going to be a BIG day!

Lindy is working at finalising the dates for next year's retreat at Redleaf. We will let you know as soon as the dates are locked in.

Most of you probably know by now the name Rachel Daisy. Rachel was the Best In Show Quilter at this year's Guild Show. Her work is remarkable indeed. We have been delighted to discover that Rachel has devoted an entire blog section to our recent show. She was a visitor, and was most impressed with what she saw. I recommend a viewing of the blog, which can be googled at
bluemountaindaisy.blogsopt.com.au


SHOW AND TELL


First cab off the rank this week was Kerry, who showed a baby quilt she has made for a friend's baby.
Very sweet, and with the feature fabric used on the back as well. Gorgeous.


                                 



                                   

Next Maree G showed us her HUGE hexi quilt top. It is for her own bed, and she has used only stash and scraps for it. Amazing piece of work Maree, and beautiful!

                                  

Here's a close up of the work.........

                                  



                                 

Next Grace showed several quilts, some of which have been donated to us for community by Kathy D, and some of which were done by Carolyn D. All were done with Aboriginal style fabrics which were being showcased through the quilts at Material Obsession. Lucky us to receive some of them as gifts. We'll make good use of them, and thanks Kathy.
I'm not sure which ones are which, but the fabrics are really great.

                                   


                                   


                                     


                                     


                                     



                                      


                                       



The final quilt was this lovely one made by Helen K for her mum. It is made specially to be as light as possible, using lightest batting and not too much quilting. Mum wasn't keen to part with it as she's enjoying it so much, so we were lucky to be able to get a look at it. 


         


So, there you have it. Another lovely collection.
See you at the birthday party next week. Bring your glasses!
Cheers, Elva