Stunning Show Quilts

Hi Everyone,

Quilts:

What a treat we all had on Thursday. Alison photographed half of the quilts our members have made for our Show which runs from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 August.
We were blown away by them! This is going to be such a show! I can't wait.

Rosters for the Show:

There are still empty places on the rosters especially for Sunday. If you can spare some time to help it will be greatly appreciated.

Donations:

Last week we donated 2 lovely quilts to Inala for their raffle. Inala is celebrating 60 years of providing the highest quality support to individuals living with disability. A worthy charity.
We received a very nice thank you email from them.

Member News:

We received a newsy letter from Felicity who is home now after a long stint in hospital. It was good
to hear from her.

Laurel joined us this week. Laurel now lives in Bowral so cannot come to meetings very often. Laurel brought some fabric for us to share and will be helping at the show.

Show and Tell:

Susan St John displayed the quilt above. Susan said she has now 'nailed flying geese'. They look great Susan.

Laurel made this lovely baby quilt. The little rabbit fabric is from a former Member, Violet. Such a wonderful memory.

Baby quilt from me! We had a lesson on Improv design, where you deliberately make blocks 'wonky'.
It was fun to do but really went 'against the grain' after many years of trying to make the perfect blocks.

Until next week .....

Show Quilts this week and next

Hi Everyone,

Our show is fast approaching and the first round of quilt photos will be taken this coming Thursday 26 July.
Kerry has sent an email to everyone with the two lists for the photos. Please let me or Kerry know if you did not receive it.

Narelle put the rosters out again this week. There are quite a few gaps. I encourage anyone who can spare some time over the Show Weekend, to add their names to the list.

It is always enjoyable meeting visitors to our show, answering questions and helping in the kitchen or with Suzie L and Susan H. for the stage sales.

We need white glove ladies too. This requires you to offer gloves to visitors if they wish to touch the quilts. Then, most importantly check that visitors return the gloves as they leave.

There are also gaps for Front Door Sales.

Some other news - this week we were fortunate to receive a donation of new fabric bolts and cottons from the NSWGuild. This will be put to good use for Community quilts and Waggas.

Show and Tell:

 Above we have a Baby Quilt for Westmead from Beryl B. Pretty colours.

This next one is from June. An early start to learn the alphabet.

The two above would be perfect for twins. Susan D. made these ones. Cute puppies!

The two photos above are from a Wagga being made by Grace. Grace is incorporating the little birds some of us made during the NSWGuild Show. I love the little rabbit. You can also spot Grace's new red boots. They are washable, extremely comfortable, look great and Grace loves them!

Until next time ....

Lots of Photos this Week

Hi Everyone,

It was another busy Thursday this week.  There are a couple of Show reminders for you:

First -  Meg has prepared the lists for you to bring in your quilts to Fairland Hall for photographs. Kerry is emailing everybody to remind you and also for those who were not there on Thursday.
The two dates are Thursday 26 July and Thursday 2 August.

Secondly -  Narelle says that there are still some empty spaces for members to volunteer for the show. Sandwiches and slices are needed especially.

Members' News:

Val has decided to retire from the group. She misses Norma and her other friends she used to sit with and feels it is time to 'call it a day'. We will miss her and her wonderful dedication to the group.

Norma is well and enjoying her retirement home. She would love some visitors to chat to about quilting and sewing.

Felicity is home after a long 5 weeks in Concord Hospital. She is regaining her strength and is much better.

Janet C who moved to Queensland a while ago, says she misses us but has many fond memories of her time at HHQ. She still sews and is well, even though she is now well into her 80's.

Grace brought in some brochures from her talk at the Embroiderer's Guild. The women there are a dedicated bunch and very nice like us!

Iris showed the two quilts we were donating to Inala, which was formed and inspired by the work of  Rudolph Steiner.  Inala is committed to providing high quality support to individuals living with a disability.

Robyn J called in to say hullo. She has not been well and has been unable to join us for a number of weeks. Keep up the good work Robyn.

Doreen called just as I finished my talk on Thursday. She wished to be remembered to us and said how she often reads the comments on the card we sent her. It was such a nice surprise to hear her voice.

Show and Tell:

Sue S is one of our newer members. A friend suggested she try using a jelly roll and this pretty quilt is what she has made. Well done Sue!

Grace showed this colourful wagga. Flowers are always lovely and the puppy is cute.

Robyn S. made this wagga. The green really brings it to life.

Jenny S. told us that her book club was reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Jenny listens to her books while she is sewing. Like a number of Margaret Atwood's books, the story is not a happy one. It was however an inspiration for Jenny to make her quilt blocks.The red colour is for the blood and the other blocks are relevant to descriptions in the book. Amazing Jenny. Perhaps listening to a book can help conjure up clear mind pictures.



Marie G,  made this brown quilt. Perfect for the men in our lives!

Marie K. made this baby quilt. Marie works so quickly and has some of the busiest fingers in our group.

Jacky S. made this baby quilt out of Liberty fabric squares. It is so soft and pretty. Thank you Jacky.

Helena's daughter is moving overseas to study. Helena wanted to make a quilt to keep her warm and to help remember them all. Above is the front and below is the 'saucy' back - sure to put a smile on her daughter's face every time she sees it.

Below I have added this in to show part of the bag that Iris has made for our Traditional Raffle quilt. The blocks in the left column were made by Sybil and the hexagons on the right were made by Beryl B.  Thank you Iris.

Not to be outdone, Helen K. made a bag out of a denim skirt. So clever! Thank you Helen.

Iris and Robyn S packed up 54 Baby quilts to take to the Grace Centre. In March this year they took 50 quilts to the Hospital. 104 Baby quilts so far this year is pretty outstanding. Well done girls.

 A photographer from the Northern District Times came to the Hall this week to take some publicity shots for our show. Sorry about the poor resolution. Iris has some better ones on our Facebook page.

Until next week .......

Community Day

Hi Everyone,

This Thursday was our Community Day. It is always a busy day designing, sewing and finalising quilts to be donated to our various charities.

This week many of our members helped Grace and Gil put Wagga Kits together to sell at the show. The group was unusually quiet as their preparation required a lot of concentration.

The Blue Group were busy pinning a beautiful appliqued quilt ready for quilting.

We had a show committee meeting earlier. Following are a number of key points:

* Iris has our Publicity well in hand. We have a good following on facebook and in magazine/newspaper publications as well as the QuiltNSW Newsletter.

* Suzie L. has the forms ready for those who have quilts to sell at the show. Please see Suzie.

*Narelle has put the Rosters out for everyone. There is a wide range of jobs to help with, so add your names to the lists.

* Lindy has asked for some help returning the Quilt Hanging Frames on Sunday after the show. They are returned to a storeroom near Rydalmere. If anyone can help out please see Lindy.

* The Raffle will be drawn at 4pm. on Sunday 12 August.

Photos of Show Quilts:

Alison will be taking photos of our quilts over two Thursdays at Fairland Hall. Meg will let everyone know next week which Thursday you should bring your quilt to be photographed.

The dates are Thursday 26 July and Thursday 2 August.

* An early reminder: Your quilts must be dropped off at the Town Hall between 8:30 and 9 am on Thursday 9 August.

Quilting on the Catwalk:

It was such a busy day this week that I forgot to pass on some news of Jessica Wheelahan.

The following excerpt is courtesy of QuiltNSW e-newsletter:

"News from the catwalks of couture week in Paris, we can share the success of two QuiltNSW members whose work has featured in collaboration with Australian fashion designers Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett of Romance was Born, who have just presented their first couture show in Paris titled step into paradise inspired by fashion icon and long time mentor Jenny Kee.

Jessica and Rachaeldaisy were approached by Romance is Born and worked using their own distinctive styles to bring alive contemporary interpretations of the Jenny Kee aesthetic."

I have included some photos of their work below.

Show and Tell:

 Above are a couple of samples from Jessica and Rachaeldaisy.

A baby quilt from Sheila.

A baby quilt from Jenny S.

A baby quilt from  June.

Carolyn divided a large quilt she had made into three lap quilts. These are to be given to one of our Charities.

Above is a pretty quilt from Kerry for her little granddaughter who loves mermaids.

Another baby quilt from June.

Until next time ....

Wagga Class and Presentation

Hello Everyone,

Our Show:

Preparations for our show are heating up. Iris has the Publicity well underway.

 * I am distributing Raffle tickets and Opening Night tickets now.

* Narelle will be putting out the Rosters next week for us all to volunteer to help at the show.

There will be requests for food to bring for the kitchen - sandwiches and slices. 
Also for food preparation, washing up and serving our guests. It is always great fun in the Kitchen.

*Raffle Desk and Front door sales.

*White glove duty.

*Stitching Lounge participants.

*Every member is expected to help with the setting up on Thursday 9 August. Also everyone is expected to bring a plate for Opening Night. Narelle has requested only warm or cold canapes, small tarts, etc.

*Suzie L. has requested that anyone wishing to sell a quilt at the show, to fill out one of her forms.

Wagga News:

* Grace will be giving a presentation to the Embroiderer's Guild on Wednesday 11 July at Concord West. If you would like to go along the address is below.

Address is:
76 Queen Street
Concord West.

* Grace is also teaching a Wagga Class at Material Obsession on Saturday 21 July. Please contact Material Obsession on 02 9819 6455 if you would like to join.

This week Grace was working on a Wagga made by weaving strips of fabric together and adding decorative stitches. Yet another way to make a Wagga.

Speaking of Waggas, as next week is our Community Day, we will be preparing Wagga Kits to sell at the Show.  So join in and enjoy.

A very special Donation:

Bronwen, a friend of June's donated 9 quilts to our group this week. Bronwen is happy for us to sell or distribute "as we see fit."
Every quilt is beautifully made using the best fabrics and wonderful colours.
We were all stunned by Bronwen's generosity. There were many 'oohs and aahhs' as each one was shown.

Show and Tell:

Above are a selection of little birds we prepared at our "Booth" at the recent Craft Show. They are so cute.

The above three Baby Quilts are from June. The small squares in the middle quilt are from Hayley.
All three are very pretty and perfectly made. Thank you June.

Until next week ......

Our 'booth' at the Sydney Craft Show

Hullo Everyone,

It was a quieter day at HHQ this week as a number of members took the opportunity to visit the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show at Darling Harbour.

Robyn J. brought in some lemons from her garden for us all to share. Susan H. organised morning tea for us by herself and did a wonderful job. Her sandwiches especially are always so delicious!
Thank you Susan.

I have started to distribute the Raffle Tickets for our members to sell. I also have Opening Night tickets for sale.

"Booth Space" at the Show:

On Friday we were fortunate to be awarded a space at the QuiltNSW and Craft show. This enables us to display some of our quilts and chat to people about our group. Thank you to all those who came to help. We were able to speak to many people as they walked past us browsing the 400 quilts on display.

It was gratifying to hear many ladies say how much they enjoyed our show and were looking forward to it this year.

We sold $207 worth of Raffle Tickets too!

There was a lot of interest in our display of  'Fiddle or Sensory mats'. A number of women stopped to chat about them and to read the information that Iris had attached to them.

Grace also made sure we did not waste time while we were there! She had us all making little birds for another Wagga. It was such fun. We also took turns to look at the quilts and visit the stores. Of course we all bought something.

Helena F. won third place for her beautiful Hand Appliqued quilt. Congratulations Helena.

Show and Tell:

Sandra made this Baby Quilt for Westmead. Such cute owls.

The top two Baby quilts above are from Helen K. Helen used some of the Orphan Blocks from our retreat as well some fabric that was donated to us.

The next two photos show the back and front of a Baby quilt from Beryl R. In fact Beryl sewed the final stitch while I was talking. Hot off the Press!

Here is a photo of the quilt that Grace entered into the QuiltNSW Show.  Lovely colours and lots of quilting detail.

The three photos above are of our 'booth' at the show. It was eye catching and attracted a lot of attention.

Another Wagga ready for sale at our show.

Until next time .....

NSW Guild Show starts June 20

Hi Everyone,

A couple of us are going to help at the judging for the NSW Guild Show this weekend. The organisation for the judging of over 400 quilts must be amazing. I am excited to see it in action. I will be in the kitchen to provide the judges with tea and coffee and then lunch.

Meg spoke to us about the opening night for our show. Everyone is encouraged to bring along a friend or two or three to help us celebrate our special gala evening. Suzie and her group will be on the stage selling all the wonderful goodies many of the girls have been making. I will be swooping in to buy some that I have seen in progress. They are all fantastic and would make lovely gifts if you don't end up keeping them all for yourself.

Iris told us that she had received a letter from the Grace Centre at the Westmead Children's Hospital. It was so nice to hear how much our baby quilts that we make for them are enjoyed and appreciated. Last Mothers Day, every mother received one of the quilts for their little one, to take home.
We all enjoy making them. Westmead has suggested a special project for us to do after our Show. It should be fun and we are looking forward to it.

Now for Show and Tell:

Pamela R. works with the most beautiful materials. Pam then often uses the leftovers to make quilts for our Community. This one above is particularly lush.

Ellen's friend of a friend donated this patchwork quilt for our Community stash.  Many thanks.

Above, a silky quilt from, Pamela R. Lovely golden colours. I think we are going to call it "Sunshine".

Hayley had pieced the semi circles and then couldn't decide how to go further. She gave the pieces to our industrious Blue Group who turned it into this stunning quilt.

 Now for three baby quilts from Carolyn - one above and two below. Carolyn says she still has not made a dent in her stash.
We are very happy to receive them for Westmead.

Below, my husband has very cheekily replaced one of the dogs with a photo of our new puppy - top row, third from left! He is very cute and growing fast.

Lindy also had a couple of baby quilts for us. I have shown the fronts and backs below. Both are very pretty.

And another one from Carolyn below.

Until next week ....