Thursday, June 15th

Iris on blog as Elva battles the dreaded winter head cold.

The May issue of the Template was shared and read in detail as we recognized that so many of our members were highlighted.

• The 2017 QuiltNSW Raffle quilt was designed and made by the team from Material Obsession: congratulations to our members, Kathy, Carolyn, Helena and Grace who all participated.   It is a stunning quilt with lots of string piecing and Kaffe Fasset shot cottons.  Grace did all the hand quilting. 

• Jessica was one of the key speakers at the QuiltNSW country meeting to Tamworth, so she was also featured in the magazine with one of her quilts: 

It was agreed that this issue of the Template was an excellent read.  And of course, don't forget the 'back to Darling Harbour'  QuiltNSW Show next weekend.

August 2018 may seem a long time away,  but Meg is ramping up the preparation for our show.   Chat with Meg about your involvement.   Check out Susie's latest hand crafted item, a cute door stop, for the Stage Shop: she would love some cute buttons.

Community:  Although we don't know how much our quilt contributed,  we have been told that the Giant Steps fund raising ball raised a record $500,000.    They were extremely delighted with the result and sent a thank you to all their supporters.

Show and Tell  ...

A bright fun cot quilt from Grace:  hand quilted of course !

For everyone who is going to the show next Thursday,  I hope you have an inspirational and fun day.   I expect to bump into many of you when I get there on Friday.    Enjoy your week,  Iris

8/6/17 LIGHTS OUT!

We found ourselves in darkness in the kitchen and bathrooms this week. A quick call to HH Council resulted in the problem being fixed forthwith (in your dreams!). Nevertheless we soldiered on.
We really are lucky to have the space we do in spite of the few glitches we experience.

A good roll-up of members working on an amazing variety of quilting projects.
The gentleman who comissioned that gorgeous grey Wagga we showed last week, turned up to collect it. It resulted in the first $ we have been able to bank for next years show! Already! It was much more than anticipated also, so well done ladies. He obviously loved it and rewarded you generously.

Both the Traditional and the Contemporary Show Quilts are still looking for hand-quilting volunteers to complete them. Put your name down on the list, or simply mention your readiness to Grace or Robyn J.

It's now time for all of us who are planning to go to this year's retreat in September to ring the Redleaf Resort and book your rooms. The dates are Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 of September.


SHOW AND TELL

Only two items this week. This first one is a long unfinished quilt which Lindy has been making for her mum. Sounds like it's been 'resting' for some time! I think mum is going to be delighted !

And this little gem is by Susan H. It's the beginnings of one of her many spectacular bags. The ubiquitous hexagons strike again! And looking just delightful Susan. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Well, we are all looking forward to the Guild Show in a couple of weeks. Always some surprises and new things to enjoy.
See you next Thursday as always.
Cheers, Elva

COMMUNITY DAY 1/6/17

We had a great roll up today, with most members working hard at various community projects.
We were visited by members of two of our recipient groups, and there were plenty of lovely quilts piled up to donate.

These two delighted and very grateful recipients left with 11 quilts all up!
A very worthy cause with lots of information and questions from the group.
Well done to all the girls who have worked so tirelessly making this amazing collection!

We would also like to extend our thanks to Iris who has overseen the community program for quite a while now. You have done an outstanding job on this Iris, and I know the groups who receive the quilts appreciate them and value them tremendously. Keep driving us on.......It's a great use of our skills.

SHOW AND TELL

The baby quilts I forgot to photograph last week are below. Thanks and congrats to Beryl R and Susan H for these chalmers.

Three extra baby quilts this week were done by Carolyn D. Lovely fabrics as always. Thanks Carolyn

Just another shot of a couple of waggas from the community collection. So many to choose from, but plenty of needy groups waiting for them. Keep up the great work girls. The community really appreciate our efforts.

So another fabulous day. We'll do it all again on the first Thursday of July.
See you all next Thursday working on your own projects again.
Cheers and keep warm! Perfect quilting weather now!
Elva.

LAST MAY MEETING! 25/5/17

Well, we will soon be into June, and everybody is looking forward to the NSW Guild Show. This will be back at Darling Harbour this year, just 4 days from 22nd till 25th June. There is a sheet at the hall outlining all the methods of getting there. This includes public transport as well as available parking.

Next Thursday for us at HHQ it will be Community Day, and we will be having a couple of visitors joining us. Looking forward to that. Plenty of community work to pick up and go with if you dont have a community project already on the go. Just see Iris and she'll point you in the right direction.

Our Contemporary and Traditional Show Quilts are still doing the rounds, so put your name down for a turn at quilting either of these. Still plenty of work to be done on them.

We are still chasing lost keys, which we assume have been inadvertently left in someone's handbag or sewing basket after their turn at kitchen duty. If everyone would please have a little search in these places just to check. They must be somewhere!

SHOW AND TELL

Not a lot to show this week, mainly because I forgot to take shots of the baby quilts. My apologies to Beryl and Susan. I'll chase those up for next week's blog!

Iris showed this lovely quilt which she has made for her eldest grandson as a wedding gift! Lucky bride and groom indeed. It's absolutely gorgeous Iris!

Gil showed us the completed wagga which was shown here last week being pinned and quilted on the tables. Turns out it is a commission from a gentleman who previously bought a wagga at one of our shows. He was obviously impressed with this quilt form and asked for a 'large' one to be made for him.
And here it is! Looking fabulous Doreen and Gil!

And so we leave you for another week. See you Thursday.
cheers, Elva

BUS STRIKE DAY! 18/5/17

Was this the reason there were so many gaps around the tables in the hall today? We couldnt think of any other particular reason, so that's what we decided on. Let's hope everything goes back to normal next week.

However, those who were at HHQ had a productive and pleasant day.
Next Community day, 1st of June, we will be having a couple of visitors to pick up quilts and give a short talk on their particular community group. Looking forward to that.

Suzie L brought us all some wonderful oranges, lemons and rosemary. I must say it's fabulous getting these home-grown gifts from time to time. Thanks to those who bring them along. Much appreciated.


SHOW AND TELL

Also from Suzie L came a very sweet baby quilt for the Grace Centre. A simple quilt, but because it uses such gorgeous fabric, its a delight! Thanks Suzie.

Beryl showed us a quilt which was a special request from her grand daughter. Its based on a similar design to the one Beryl had in our last show. It's wonderful Beryl! The quilting on the back is also worth a look......

Joy showed us a quilt donated to our community collection by her sister-in-law.
It's a very nice scrappy design which I'm sure will be much appreciated by the future recipient. Please thank your sister-in-law Joy.

A finally, a shot of the basting tables where another beautiful Wagga is under construction! The wagga group work quietly away down that end of the hall, producing amazing results by the time the next show rolls around. It's always a delight to see them displayed in the show when the time comes.

Time to sign off after another productive week at HHQ.
Enjoy this glorious weather for as long as it lasts.
Cheers, Elva

LOTS OF HAPPY QUILTERS! 11/5/17

Yes, we had a large turn out today. Lots of cooperation at the basting tables which is always lovely to see.
We have found a slight problem with keys yet again. If anyone has been on kitchen duty and forgotten to return a bunch of keys to the cupboard, please have a hunt and find them please. We're down to only 1 set!

SHOW AND TELL

Just a few baby quilts as always today. These were from Beryl R, Lindy and Carolyn.
thanks ladies. They're delightful!

The only other offering was this cot quilt which is another of Cheryl's. It just needed a bit more quilting and a binding. Cheryl's family is very grateful to be having the quilts finished off. This one has some very sweet fabrics used.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week.
Cheers, Elva

FULL TO BURSTING 4/5/17

Well the hall welcomed in May with quite a crowd of quilters! Busy work everywhere, most of it as part of our Community Program.
Lindy brought bounty yet again from her farm, in the form of delicious bananas. We've had them before and the taste is amazing. Thanks Lindy.
Hayley paid us a visit at last and was walmly welcomed by all. Good to see her looking so well and bringing yet another of her fabulous quilts for Show and Tell ( see further down).

I know it's still a long way away, but we are starting to put our minds towards the 2018 HHQ Show! The raffle quilts are well underway, with the Traditional one completed I think! Well done ladies! The Contempoary one is being handed around for hand quilting. Add your name to the list if you want to be able to say "I did some of that!"
We're also starting to look for ideas for the 'Showcase' area. After the cards and the baby quilts, we need to come up with yet another great idea. There are already a few suggestions floating around, so add yours to the list.

Beryl reminded us of impending winter, and the call for old towels for dogs homes. Clear out your linen cupboards and bring them along!

SHOW AND TELL

As always, there were a nice bunch of baby quilts for The Grace Centre. These came from Lindy, Val, Grace (in that order) and one that seemed to have no owner! A mystery. However, all beautiful as usual.
Many thanks ladies.

As I mentioned above, Hayley brought along the finished product started at the last retreat. It looks amazing! Well done Hayley.

The A table worked on this next quilt, and it was quilted by Susan St J. Turned out extremely well and will join our Community pile! Well done ladies.

This next quilt was done by Cheryl, and a couple of us have worked to get it finished for her family. I believe it was one she was working on for the show before last, but sadly never finished it in time. Bit by bit we'll help to finish as many of her quilts as we can, both for the family and for community use. We miss you Cheryl......

Next is my hexi quilt, finally finished! Hand pieced and then machine quilted (which was the agonising part!) but satisfying in the end.

And last of all, a look at the design wall as yet another Community Day quilt emerges. There were plenty around the room coming together. It's always a busy and rewarding day first week of the month. This one's looking very nice.

So another week goes by. Thank you everyone for such warm participation and frienship. What a pleasure this group is!
See you next Thursday.
Elva