Christmas Party

Hi all!

We enjoyed a fun Christmas party last Thursday. According to my lucky door prize ticket stubs, there were 46 of us there. So that meant plenty of food to provide an absolute feast as always, with lots of refreshing drinks to wash it all down. 

Many thanks to everyone who helped with preparation, brought food, did all the little extras that always need doing and then joined in the fun. It really made for a successful day.

While it's fresh in your minds, note down any thoughts you had about other possible games, puzzles and/or activities for next year's party. I'll keep them in my file till then. Saves a lot of brainstorming closer to the time and adds to the variety.

Judith B announced that she's 'giving up sewing' (I'll believe that when I see it!) and would like help with clearing and culling her materials and equipment. A few of us will visit her next week to lend a hand. We will then store everything till HHQ resumes Thursday meetings on the 15th of January.

Cheryl returned after a long time away having a grease and oil change! Looking good Cheryl! Thanks Helena for re-parking Cheryl's car for her. That made the visit possible.

Not a lot more to say except to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season. The pictures below reveal some of the highlights of the party, including groups of avid puzzle page solvers (thanks Lynn for this great game, many requests for copies). Also some shots of the Apron Challenge results. Thanks girls for making the effort. They look great! The rest are random shots of happy party goers and food, food and more food!

Cheers everyone. Thanks for a great year!

Here's two shots showing Iris's examples of the Christmas Challenge blocks. An email has gone out with full instructions attached, but these are the physical examples re colour. Any start design and any flower design is fine. Have fun!

December 5th

Greetings all!

Our day started with Grace running us through all the goodies which were shopped ready for Stepping Stone House Christmas Party. Thanks to all members who contributed to the $ collection for the shopping to be done. Thanks also to Grace and the shoppers, and those who wrapped everything. Items for the hamper can still be brought to our own Christmas Party which is next Thursday, 11th December. BUT THAT WASN'T ALL...........! Next came four wonderful quilts to be donated to Stepping Stone House residents, and another four waggas into the bargain! It's a great feeling knowing what an extensive and quality gift package we will be presenting to this worthy group. 

Thank you to everyone who worked on the quilts in any way. They are displayed below for your enjoyment. Something to be proud of indeed!

Lastly a shot of the 'pile' of goodies all packed together and ready to deliver. Happy Christmas to Stepping Stone House.

We're all looking forward to the Christmas Party next week. Don't forget your glass, and remember the starting time is 11am but the door will be open at 10am for setting up. If each member brings a plate of some party offering, we should have the usual feast! Party 'games' and activities are well in hand, but remember no one is obliged to participate unless they wish to. We want everyone to enjoy themselves in whichever way they like. Dress up or down, whatever you like. I'm sure we'll have a ball!

Show and Tell turned into a mega- marathon this week, probably because it will be the last for the year. It was amazing! I'll try and get all the matching people to their quilts below, but it was flat out difficult keeping track as the quilts just kept coming and coming. Anyway, enjoy.........

First the 2 baby quilts for the Grace Centre by Jenny.....

And three more by Sue D.........(note the cute back of the doggy one!)

Next came Helena with three quilts, the first done by the 'Orange Group' for community use...

The next by Helena herself for her parents bed, ready for Christmas.....

And finally a quilt Helena won in a raffle. She was very surprised at the resulting quilt! She didn't think it looked like HH Quilters style, but we all admired it anyway. Lucky girl!

Margaret D showed a stunning quilt she made from Turkish and Thai fabrics. What a combination! A luck friend will receive it.

Margaret also showed us one she did which she described as very brown! It's fascinating......

Kerry displayed her Dad's birthday quilt which is very nearly finished. It will certainly be cosy, and is looking great Kerry! All that hand quilting!

Cate was visiting from Queensland and showed two quilts, both using the quilt-as-you-go technique. The first has amazing striped squares of tiny strips. Beautiful work Cate!

The second has been made for some friends' wedding. They specifically asked for blues and brown. I think they got what they asked for. Gorgeous!

And the back

Molina showed a lovely jungle quilt for her Great Garndson. Gorgeous!

Jill made this little wall hanging for some friends who have just moved to aged care. She wanted them to have a small 'something' homey and Christmasy to take with them. A lovely thought, and a lovely piece of work!

Iris showed a quilt she made from the embroidered hems of her nephew's childhood curtains. His mum didn't know what to do with them and asked Iris. The rest is history, and so will this quilt be. All the tiny embroideries have been encorporated into the quilt with the names of his own children now. Room has been left for any subsequent children, and the message on the quilt is "When daddy was a little boy". It's a delightful quilt and story Iris. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. It exactly represents the history of quilting and the passing down of stories, however small. I hope my feeble attempts to capture the embroidery have been successful. Everyone there enjoyed examining it close up!

And on that note I'll sign off. For those who can't get to the party next week, have a happy Christmas with family and friends. May you all keep safe and well. It's been a wonderful year.

Cheers, Elva

November 27th

Well, it was a much quieter group this week. Fewer girls, and plenty of room to move around!

Everyone was working quietly away on this and that. The year is clearly slowing down. Only two more weeks till our final meeting for the year, and our Christmas Party. Hope everyone can make it. Don't forget to bring along your finished aprons for a smallish fashion parade! I have quite a few here with me, but there are still a few outstanding (mine included!)

Also don't forget to bring a plate of something scrumptious to share from the table. A glass will be handy for having a Chrissy drink or two as well. A few of us have been nutting out some fun activities to break up the eating and drinking a bit. Let me know if you have a favourite that you'd like to share and we'll try and include that. It should be fun! Items for the Stepping Stones House Hamper can still be brought next Thursday before it's all wrapped up. 

This week marked the 10th anniversary at Hunters Hill Quilters for a group of five who started together on the same day. They are Suzie, Audrey, Felicity, Judy S and Deb L. Congratulations ladies! That must have been an interesting entry on November 25th ten years ago!

Joy was telling us about how she has a map of where to go for good quilting fabric if you find yourself in Tokyo! She's a mine of information that lady!

We think we've found someone to fill Audrey's shoes as treasurer next year, thanks to Audrey's husband's great suggestion of how to make the job more manageable. TBA........

Kathy D told us some great tales of her travels and of a remarkable quilt group she visited. Some interesting suggestions for activities were passed on. Kathy would also like everyone to know that on Saturday December 6th, there will be a sale at the shop and a Swap Bucket. In addition she mentioned the many new and interesting courses and workshops for next year. See the website and/or blog for details, or ask Kathy when you see her.

Just a few Show and Tell items this week. Things are slowing down.

Janet and Beryl B made these two baby quilts for the Grace Centre. Lovely

Robyn J made this interesting and attractive quilt from her recent Canadian adventure. A striking effort!

What a souvenir of the trip!

Well, there you have it. Thanks to all those who have already responded to my email regarding the request for a visit next February. So far it seems that my hunch was correct, and people have the same hesitation about it as I do. We can talk more at group on Thursday.

See you all then. Enjoy the weekend.

Cheers, Elva

A very packed hall!

Hi everyone.

There was an amazing roll up today. So many ladies quilting and chatting away happily. Great to see!

Maybe it was because they all knew that Coleen was coming along to set up her little 'shop'. I know I gave in to temptation and I suspect plenty of others did also. Thanks so much Coleen. We have all stocked up for Christmas presents, either for ourselves or for lucky friends.

Akiko is back, all tanned and relaxed. She actually did some shopping for us on her honeymoon, which impressed many of the girls. Thank you so much for the two lovely books you bought for us Akiko. For peoples' info they are "The Hawaiian Quilt" and "Sashiko Design". They have been passed into the very capable hands of our librarian Janet, who will process them for borrowing.

Thanks to Helena for holding the fort for me last week while I was away. Always reliable and accommodating. Good on you Helena!

Don't forget that donations are still being received for Stepping Stones House. These can be given to Grace next week and Helena after that. Goods for the hamper can be brought along at the Christmas Party where the hamper will be put together and wrapped for presentation. Thanks for all your generosity girls. A reminder that the hamper goods needs to be non-perishable and well within use by date. Thanks.

DATES FOR THE DIARY!

11th December - Christmas Party (starts at 11am)

15th January - HH Quilters resumes weekly meetings

19th February - HHQ Annual General Meeting

                          a reminder that at the AGM we will be looking to fill 4 positions on the committee

                           these are - Treasurer, Show Convenor, Community Quilts Co-ordinatior, and

                            on the sub-committee Communications Person.

Please keep in mind that we are a suburban quilting group, so these and all other positions are performed as best as our skills enable us to do. In addition, there are many people in the group who have done these positions before and are always ready to lend a hand with advice and experience during the transition. I can certainly attest to that. Also I have found that taking on a position in the committee has opened the whole group up to me. I now know so many more people better, and have made many new friends. It's well worth jumping in. Plenty of help and support available!

And now for some "SHOW AND TELL"

A lovely lady called Sharon came to collect the finished quilt we did for the Lord Mayor's Picnic. Well done everyone. It looks fantastic! Sharon was thrilled and fascinated with its design and textures. 

Thanks to Susan for driving the whole thing and to Helena who I think did the quilting. Here is the result:

The next quilt was made by The Black Group with Joy, Helen et al. It is an eye-catching design, and they have made it for the community quilts collection. The name will be decided by the time it's handed over. Well done girls!

Sheila made this beautiful bag, which was gorgeous. Unfortunately the camera must have moved a bit, but soft or not, I'm including the shots to give you an idea of her wonderful skills. Hope you can make out the Sashiko style pattern on the base. Well done Sheila!

And last of all. And only because I had to find out by accident and bully her into letting me show it, here is a cute and very usable iPad cover design by Hayley. You really come up with some fabulous work Hayley. We're so glad you've joined us! And wouldn't these make a great item for the stage sales at our next quilt show? Perfect!

So there you have it. A full and fantastic day. Enjoy the weekend everyone. Try to keep cool, especially today and Sunday. See you all next week.

Cheers, Elva