25th September

We started as a smallish group, but numbers improved as the day wore on. School holidays require grandparent duties from time to time. Lots of busy quilting was going on, and Betty sandwiching and pinning her latest design with a little help from her friends.

A few girls were putting finishing touches to their "Fantasea" blocks in time for delivery on 9th October. Susan and her team will no doubt start putting it together shortly after that. Can't wait to see how it comes out.

We had a visit from Karl Ryves. He was very pleased that a few of us visited his house last Tuesday to view the quilt collection there. We brought lunch to share and enjoyed sitting on the back verandah chatting and talking quilts and other things. He would like more girls to visit, so let me know if you would be interested and I'll set it up.

Alison has let everyone know that the book of the 2014 Hunters Hill Quilt Show is finished and a preview of it can be viewed on line (see link in previous post or in your email). The physical book will be available by October 10th, so we thought we might wait to see it before orders are taken. Iris has kindly offered to handle the ordering for the group, so let her know if you wish to purchase your own copy. The more that are ordered of course means the cheaper it will be. Thanks Alison and thanks Iris.

Akiko came 7th in her division of the half marathon! Well done! Just talking about it made the rest of us breathless. 

Kathy has told us that there will indeed be a fabric sale coming up. Carolyn will let us know when so we can all come along prepared! Looking forward to that!

Thanks to Kerry who is going to search out a larger coffee plunger for the group. I'm afraid I failed to find one the correct size!

And now at last we come to Show and Tell.

The first was a gorgeous quilt by Sheila called 'Fractured' and a lovely bag with felt and embroidery.

Next comes an almost finished black white and red beauty by Janet. Looks like only the binding to go.

Finally a couple of shots of Gil's spectacular quilt which she thinks she'll call "Frida" for obvious reasons. I've included a close up of the lady herself as well.

Hope you enjoyed them. Cheers everyone, and have a lovely weekend. Let's hope the rain doesn't hang around for too long !

.........AND OUR QUILTING FUN CONTINUES

It was a pretty normal group today. No particular surprises, so girls simply got down to work and fun.

Some discussion of our 'challenge' to put together a range of aprons for events such as our big shows. In the end we decided to take a vote for 'decorated' versus 'minimalist,classy' style. Appliqué and decorated won the vote, so it's up to each group to decide. When it comes to using them, you can have a choice. What could be fairer? Thanks to Gil for offering to do the binding on any that people want done. She also cut all the binding strips. I think she's going to have lots of customers! Good on you Gil.

More squares for The Lord Mayor's Picnic Quilt were handed in, and they're looking great. It could be very exciting putting it together. Susan will get a lovely surprise when she returns. Remember 9th October is the due date for returning them. Have fun!

Not a lot more to report except the show and tell session. 

This week we had a lovely little cot quilt by Iris, called "Elephants On Parade" I believe

Next came a gorgeous piece by Helen, which she says she's been working away at for some time and finally finished.

The following spectacular one is by Jenny and quilted by Grace. It's called "Stringy Stars"

Finally a beautiful top which has been much admired, by our new member Hayley. She has lost one if the leaves last week by the way, in case someone picked it up and put it away. Just let Hayley know. It's going to make a gorgeous quilt Hayley!

So that it for now. Have a lovely weekend and week ahead. Till we meet again........

32nd Birthday Party

We had a big celebration today!
32 years of Hunters Hill Quilters!

With all the excitement we forgot to take a nice photo of the lovely Birthday Cake.
But you can tell that everybody did enjoy it!

Thank you Betty for organising the cake.
Thank you Narelle for organising the Champagne and soft drinks.

Happy Birthday all


Congratulations to our Life time member June Pryor.
Hope to enjoy you for another 25 years!


There is a bit of a tradition that we have a challenge for our Christmas party, or that we get one at our Christmas party.
There have been some comments at our last show for not having HHQ aprons.
So that will be the challenge!
Robin H and Elva have come up with the plan.
They provide a check fabric,  all pieces needed for the apron are cut.
So it is up to the different "table" groups to make 2 or 3 aprons.
Use your imagination  and whatever you need to make some nice aprons!
We will bind them all with a green binding also provided by Robin and Elva.
Any questions you know where to go!

Have a look at the Elva Notice Board for all the interesting news.
Like the Birthdays coming up!
Comfortable shoes.
Shows.

Unfortunately no show and tell today!!!

Happy stitching,
Helena

Community Day and the start of Spring!

Not that you'd know Spring has sprung. It was as cold as ice outside, with occasional rain. But tucked up in the hall, a happy bunch of ladies were stitching away making quilts for community use. It's a wonderful feeling. Susan put up what was left of The Lord Mayor's picnic quilt blocks, with a few already completed. We all agreed it's going to be another beauty this year!

Thanks to Kathy D for the donation of another copy of "Collaborative Quilts" to replace the one we lost from the library. Very generous, as it has become a valuable book. We are all alerted to the dangers of on-lending and/or forgetting to fill in library cards as books are borrowed. Can't afford to lose any of our books.

Next Thursday is our birthday party celebration. Thanks to Betty and Narelle who will take care of refreshments for us. Try and remember a glass for yourself, or some plastic ones might be available as well. 

Audrey reported on the financial success of our 2014 show. Another triumph despite numbers being down. Some areas of the show obviously did better  business than last time. Just shows that all the work pays off in the end. Well done everyone.

You may have noticed already that the show photos of the quilts are now on the blog. Thanks to Alison for this work. More photos to come I believe, and possibly another book which many are looking forward to. 

A reminder that The Lord Mayor's picnic quilt blocks are due back  on the 9th of October. Gives us plenty of time to complete them. 

And finally to our show and tell. 

Robyn S has made this beauty called "Leftovers"

This red and white number doesn't have a name yet. Put together from some donated squares for a community quilt. I'm planning to finish it with a bit of hand quilting in the border. Any name suggestions would be appreciated. It's been fun......

Lindy has made this as a Christmas present for her sister. Can't believe it's getting near that time again! Nice job Lindy!

Jill working on another baby quilt for the Grace Centre I think. Looks wonderful!

And finally a few round the room shots showing girls working away on community quilts.

Have a great week till we meet again.

Photos of the Show Quilts

Photos of the show quilts are now on Flickr
Click Here to see them
Photos of the Playing Cards are also on Flickr.
The later additions will be added soon.
Meanwhile, here is the winner of the Viewers' Choice by Heather

A full and varied day

Hi again.

Another very busy and full day today. 

We started quietly enough, but before long the action began. Susan and Helena set up the design wall to introduce the layout for The Lord Mayor's Picnic Quilt for this year. It wasn't long before girls were headed to the wall to select a section to work on. Still plenty of pieces left for those not at group. The theme this year is 'Inspire' and the quilt is based on a sea theme. Start thinking of creatures, flora, sunken things, replicas, idealised, creative......you know the drill! All that variation our group is renowned for when doing group projects. Susan will explain in detail next week if you missed it. The deadline for blocks done and returned has been set as the 9 th October. 

Next our visitors arrived. Jan and Caroline from The Grace Centre came to receive 42 baby quilts which have been completed this year. They both spoke about the work of the centre, the babies and families they work with and the accompanying research projects which are supporting that work. Most inspiring to hear. They were delighted with the quilts and couldn't wait to spread them out and examine them closer.

After the presentation they enjoyed moving around, chatting to people and admiring the work that was going on in the room. They enjoyed some refreshments and also brought us a beautiful cake as a gift. Not that we needed more food. The table was groaning as usual. However, much appreciated!

Thanks to Lindy, we had a full box of avocados and bananas to help ourselves to. What a productive garden she must have! I think most of us took some home.

Meg was welcomed back from up north. Had a great time by all reports. 

Before we knew it, it was time for the midday news. I have set up a notice board which can be brought out and placed in easy view as members move around the room. I think it might make keeping up to date with shows, news items etc much easier than having to go to the cupboard. We'll give it a try anyway. 

Strangely only one quilt for Show & Tell this week. It was done by Lindy and she is donating it to the community collection. Many thanks Lindy.

Finally everyone was able to settle down to simply stitching, chatting, drinking a cuppa and enjoying all the pleasures of just being with friends. 

Don't forget that our birthday party is coming up on Thursday, 11th September. Bring your own glass so you can enjoy a little tipple and toast another year in our history. 

Have a restful weekend and enjoy any sunshine that manages to break through. 

I'll leave you with a few shots taken around the room during the afternoon.

Cheers and see you next week.

A Very Busy Day

Well, some of us had a very busy time yesterday. Back to back meetings to de-brief and finalise feedback from the show, then a committee meeting to plan events for the rest of the year.

At last we were able to get over to the hall and enjoy sewing, chatting and catching up. The usual delicious morning tea and plenty of work of a quilting nature to do. No wonder we all look forward to Thursdays so much!

Coming shows for those who have the opportunity to get to them:

Canberra Craft and Quilt Fair 21st to 24th August 10am - 4.30pm daily

Berry Quilting Ehibition 30th and 31st August

Novocastrian Quilters 30th Anniversary Show 11th and 12th October

For more details call Elva.

Grace handed out the photos people sent in with their show quilts. If you didn't pick yours up, Grace has them safely stored for you.

Kathy D talked about some great workshops coming up. If you weren't at group and are interested, give her a call.

Very soon, the last newsletter will be published. We would all like to acknowledge and thank Ailsa for her wonderful efforts in keeping this communication stream going. After this final blockbuster one, the website, blog and group emails will take over the communication role. Thanks Ailsa. We're looking forward to this one indeed. 

Finally some Show & Tell time. Considering we are just surfacing from the show, it's amazing what work is being revealed!

These two cute baby quilts were made for The Grace Centre by Beryl Brooks (blue one) and Marie Kennedy ( whitish one)

 

This hexagon beauty was done by Jenny Stitt. When did she get the time? A question on everyone's lips! Much admired as girls gathered around to examine and photograph it.

This striking quilt was done by our newest member Hayley. Welcome to Hunters Hill Quilters Hayley! Judging by this work, you're going to fit right in. Gorgeous.

This last quilt was made by Grace and will be donated to Hunters Hill Community Centre.

So there you have it. Hope I've covered everything. Don't forget, any urgent news updates will come by the group email. Look forward to seeing you next Thursday. Enjoy the weekend. Try and stay dry!