A NICE PEACEFUL DAY OF STITCHING

10/11/16

With quite a few ladies away for various reasons, we were a quiet and contented bunch working happily in the hall.

We had a visitor from Bella Vista Gardens in Kellyville. This establishment has a dementia unit for which the HHQ ladies have made 17fiddle quilts and 10 muffs. Angela was thrilled at the donation, and brought us a delightful certificate of thanks and a box of chocolates! She gave us a little talk about how valuable these items will be for the patients, and expressed her thanks again. The group also donated a lovely quilt which was made by Beryl Jameison, a former member who sadly passed away some time ago. It is so wonderful to see her quilts going to support people in need, and she would be delighted.

        

                                        

Watch our for the next Template Magazine where you will find an article about the fiddle quilt program at HHQ. The Guild has taken quite an interest in it.

We are starting to think about our Christmas Party organisation, so if you have ideas for games, activities or challenges, please let any one of the committee know. It's always such a great day.

Show and Tell

These gorgeous little teddies have been made by Robyn J for donation to the police Trauma Teddies program. Well done Robyn, and also on all your work with the fiddle quilts as well. What a hard worker!

                                    

The following three little baby quilts have been made by Carolyn D for donation to the Grace Centre

for newborn care. Well done and thanks Carolyn.

     

     

     

Have a lovely weekend everyone. 

See next week.

Cheers, Elva

WELCOME TO NOVEMBER! 3/11/16

Yes, the year is disappearing fast, so there's no time to waste!

We had a lovely card from Inala thanking us for the donated quilts. They're making good money from them, which is wonderful and they are very appreciative.

It was community day again today, and there was plenty happening. A box full of 98 fiddle quilts and 14 muffs is ready to be sent , and we have plenty of local nursing homes interested in more. Many thanks to all the girls who have worked so hard on these. 

This month we also have a quilt almost ready to be sent for the Lord Mayors Picnic raffle, and quilts ready to be picked up by representatives from the Gladesville Communty Centre.

Our famous community efforts continue, thanks to the unflinching efforts of Iris in motivating us to participate. In recognition of this fine tradition, Hunters Hill Council has generously awarded us a Community Grant to help us continue this work. Many thanks to the council for their support.

Here's a shot of Iris already working on another community project (not sure when she ever sleeps!) which some of us remember working on bits of in the stitching lounge during the show last August.

                                    

We were presented with a donation of fabric today from Betty Wilson, a former member. Thanks to Sally for getting this to us. It certainly was appreciated by all, and many people took useable pieces. Community work will see the benefit of the gift as well.

                                

SHOW AND TELL

 Narelle showed us her completed braid quilt which she started working on at the last retreat in May.

It's turned out very nicely Narelle. Well done. All scraps! Amazing what you can do.....

                    

And here is a quilt destined for the community collection. This hexi gem has been worked on for quite some time we believe, by Lin, Ellen, Robyn H, Meg, Josie and Sue. I hope I didn't leave anyone out!

It looks fantastic! Thanks ladies. Most appreciated.

                     

This gorgeous little baby quilt by Maree K will go to the Grace Centre collection.

What a massive community day!

                     

Well done all, and thanks for your efforts.

When Robyn J returns, she will present the details for the next show's traditional quilt, which she has prepared for us as a Christmas break challenge.

See you all next Thursday. Cheers, Elva

LAST OCTOBER MEETING 27/10/16

A good roll up to HHQ this week, and a new member joined us. Welcome Sandra. We hope you will have a long and happy relationship with the group.

Iris reminded everyone that all fiddle blankets and knitted muffs should be in by next week for handing to the charity. However, some people are going to continue making them for local facilities who have expressed an interest. Well done everyone for participating in yet another HHQ community effort!

Thank you to Brenda from Hobbysew Top Ryde for donating the beautiful book " The Fabric of Society" to our group. Very much appreciated.

A correction from the last blog is required. I mentioned Helena's part in the Dutch Royal visit coming soon. I said it was to celebrate 300 years since the first visit to The Great South Land by Dutch ships. In fact it's 400 years since this event! Amazing. Apologies Helena. Thanks for the correction. We need to keep the details of our county's history as exact as we can. I think it's wonderful that the Dutch continue to celebrate it after all this time. 

Believe it or not, Joy is already compiling next year's kitchen duty roster! Choose you dates and sign up if you can. Joy says January, February and March are already taken. Wow!

SHOW AND TELL

Iris presented this outstanding quilt which was begun by Adrienne before she became too ill to complete it. She had done the centre appliqué work and some of the edges. Grace completed the appliqué around the centre, and also basted the finished quilt ready for quilting. Iris hand quilted the inside and June did the outside areas. A combined effort, and a wonderful result ladies. Well done! I'm sure Adrienne will be delighted. It only remains what we will do with this gem. No hurry.

And a close-up.....

Iris showed us her completed hexi quilt, which is gorgeous. There are quite a few of us working on hexi designs such as this, and bit by bit we're finishing them. It's a delightful design which we took a fancy to. Well done on this one Iris. 

Judy G showed us her completed quilt which she was working on at the last retreat. It looks amazing! An optical masterpiece indeed! The colours are outstanding Judy, and the piecing is remarkable, which can be seen in the close-up below. Well done! Spectacular!

                               

Close-up....

                                

As you can see, some outstanding work being produced as always. 

See you all next week as we head into November!

Cheers, Elva

20/10/16 ANOTHER FRUITFUL DAY OF QUILTING!

Sometimes I'm asked the question, "Well how many quilts do you need anyway?", and of course the answer is we don't make them out of need, we make them for the pleasure and creative joy of it! And we don't put numbers to it at all. The world can never have enough quilts!

And so we carry on week after week enjoying our hobby and figuring out what to do with it later. There's always a home for them somewhere, right?

The group decided we will nominate this year's Quilt Show again for the 2017 Australia Day Awards - Event of the Year. Worth a try, especially since so many of our regular visitors declared it the "Best HHQ Show ever!" Let's hope for a good result.

Helena shared some exciting information with us about the up-coming Royal Visit of the Dutch King and Queen. It's the 300th Anniversary of the Dutch exploring and bumping into The Great South Land we call home. Many of the Dutch community living in Australia will be involved in the celebrations, including our own Helena! Ahhhhh, our little brush with royalty....! I'm sure Helena will tell us all about it when it's done.

I noticed Iris and Jenny tucked away in a corner pinning together that project we do each year, but will remain nameless - shhhhhhh! It's looking great. Won't be long now I suspect.

SHOW AND TELL

First we have a huge quilt done by Narelle. Very nice colour range, and pleasingly quilted. Well done Narelle!

Next was this stunning colour contrast quilt, done by Robyn S. Apparently it was using found scraps from the cupboard. The blues may well have been from Alysoun I believe. Very lovely work Robyn. A delight, and beautifully quilted as well.

                               

This little baby quilt for the Grace Centre is by Joy. Very sweet and happy!

                            

Here is a quilt made by Lindy for a friend's baby (yet to arrive). Very nice use of fabrics there.

And lastly, something a little bigger from Joy. That's an understatement! Matching twin quilts for Joy's twin grandkids! Spot the differences in the individual shots. One is for the girl and one for the boy. Can you guess which is which? What a HUGE achievement Joy. They aren't spoilt at all by granny are they Joy? Or maybe just a little....... WOW!

                               

                                

We were knocked out by that epic piece of work. What lucky kids!

See you all again next Thursday.

Cheers, Elva

ANOTHER PLEASANT THURSDAY 13/10/16

We were a happy crew this week. It must have been the lovely weather that has touched us all with a sense of fun and laughter.

Welcome back Laurel who has returned from her travels. Looking good and fit to go!

Grace handed out brochures for the 'Modern Quilt Show Australia', which is coming up on Saturday and Sunday, 26th and 27th November. It will be on at the Glebe Town Hall, 160 St Johns Road Glebe.

Entires close 23rd October, so if you're thinking of putting a quilt in, better hurry!

(See their website for more details)

Beryl wanted me to list for you all some old volume numbers of "Quilters Newsletter" magazine. Her daughter is after various things in these issues if you happen to have them and are thinking of culling - (aren't we all.)

She is interested in the following:

Antique Rose Sampler  

       Vol 338 Dec 2001

       Vol 341 April 2002

       Vol 344 July 2002

Posy Primer

       Vol 375 Sept 2005

       Vol 379 Jan 2006

       Vol 380 March 2006

       Vol 382 May 2006

Prairie Compass

       Vol 374 August 2005

       Vol 375 Sept 2005

Have a look through your pile if you have them and have time. Beryl would be grateful.

SHOW AND TELL

Lindy showed us this quilt with a delightful collection of fabrics. It will go into the community stash when finished. Looking very nice indeed.

                              

And now two gorgeous baby quilts destined for the Grace Centre. These are by Maree K.

And two 'Fiddle Blankets' by Christie. Wonderful!

A 'Fiddle Blanket' from Carolyn D. Amazing collection of fabrics!

Three baby quilts from Lindy. Spectacular!

And finally two cot quilts by Maree G. Very nice. Sweet, soft colours. Maree's daughter-in-law and a friend who are expecting babies around the same time will have to choose who gets which one!

Hard to choose indeed!

Lovely work as always girls. After all, there are never enough quilts in the world are there?!

See you next week.

Cheers

FIRST OCTOBER MEETING 6/10/16

A very short blog this week. Most of the work being done in the room was contributing to our community projects, as is traditional on the first meeting each month.

We farewelled Hayley who will be away from the group for a couple of months or more for work. Safe travelling Hayley. We will miss you.

SHOW AND TELL

Just a few baby quilts to show for this week. Great that these keep coming in.

This first one is by Beryl R. Very sweet pattern......

                              

The next three are by the prolific Maree K. Gorgeous fabrics and very lovely designs. Thanks ladies....

                                

                                 

                                  

So, that's all we had this week folks. 

See you next Thursday.

GOODBYE SEPTEMBER. 29/9/16

Yes, next week will be the first week of October, and so Thursday will be devoted to community work for those who wish to participate. There are now plenty of examples of 'fiddle blankets' and other tactile objects to copy from for those interested in the current effort. Also the baby quilts are constantly in demand. Iris and Jenny started to put the Lord Mayors Quilt up on the design wall, and it's looking fantastic. Thanks ladies and all those who have contributed so far. 

                               

As well as these activities, other quilts for community can be worked on. Please see Iris if you need some guidance on what available or what to do.

All the new HHQ badges have arrived, so if you are a new member, or you ordered a new one because of loss, just see Grace who has them ready to go.

Thanks to all those who helped chase up keys for us, and particular thanks to Joy who has gotten everything under control. Joy reports that there is still an outstanding bunch of keys which hasn't been returned, so it might be one of our travellers or someone who is away for other reasons. Joy has had new copies made of the all-important cupboard keys, so all the sets in the kitchen cupboard are now complete. It may be a good idea when you are handed a set for the following week to give them a try out, just to make sure they all work and you know which is which. Please remember that all sets should be handed in when your kitchen duty has finished. Cheers, and thanks again Joy!

SHOW AND TELL

Kathy D showed us this lovely quilt which she was binding. It's top is a mixture of her fabrics, and the back is from the "Folk Art Revolution" range. 

                                   

                                  

Helena showed these squares which are part of a 'block of the month' quilt as you go project. It's a Sue Cody design "Gelato Rose". Looking very nice. Can't wait to see the full effect.

That's all for this week. Enjoy the long weekend, and the various football events for those who follow the sport! Cheers, Elva