A Happy Day

Hi Everyone,

We had a very happy day this week. The representatives from the two charities we supported at our show this year, came to collect their cheques. It was our 36th Birthday so we had cake and champers.
Jacky's 25 year membership was acknowledged and a new name badge was given to her.

Community Grant:

Each year we apply to the Hunters Hill Council for a grant to help purchase the wadding we use when making both community quilts and the baby quilts for Westmead. We were very happy to receive the full amount of $800.  This helps enormously.

A big thank you to Kerry for organising the delicious cupcakes for our party. Also a big thank you to Narelle for organising the drinks for us all.

Both our charities were very pleased with our donations. Days for Girls immediately calculated how many kits they can make for girls both in Australia and overseas. In fact, Michelle translated it into how many days of schooling will NOT are missed by girls unable to attend during their period.

Ann from the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Womens Shelter said to me as she was leaving - you don't know how much this means to us, With their shelter having to turn away 750 women per year, there is obviously a real need for such accommodation and help.

Ann also said how much the women appreciate the quilts we donate to them They are overwhelmed to be able to choose which quilt they would like and then be able to take it with them when they leave.

Both these charities are well worth supporting on an ongoing basis.

Show and Tell:

In pride of place is the photo of Michelle and Fay from Days for girls, Meg our show convenor and Ann from Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Womens Shelter. Smiles all round.

The cakes decoratively arranged by Kerry.

Below a baby quilt from Grace for Westmead,

Susan H. made this quilt to be raffled by an organisation she is involved with.  So bright and happy.

Marie G. made this pretty Christmas Quilt. It will go into our Communtiy Stash for a special group.

Jenny has finally finished her 365 quilt that she has been working on since January. Jenny joined the challenge to make a block every day.  There are many tiny pieces including 1" flying geese which she says she is totally 'over' !
The quilt is vary large. I apologise because I could not get a full photo of it.

 Laurel was able to join us this week, which is always a treat.
Laurel has made this quilt for a friend who is expecting a very precious granddaughter.

Below is the back of Laurel's quilt. The family loves to go camping. The backing fabric is absolutely perfect.

Another quilt from Laurel. This time a baby quilt for Westmead.

Another quilt from Laurel for a dear friend.

Until next week ......

Birthday Next Week

Hi Everyone,

Not a lot to report this week. Members worked steadily on their projects accompanied by the usual rise and fall of chatter. I try to choose a lull in the conversation to begin my talk each week, but am often thwarted by a sudden upswell!

Felicity was able to join us again this week.  Hayley who travels a lot with her husband, cannot always come to meetings. So it was very nice to see her too.

Birthday:

It is our Birthday next week. Our group started in 1982 so I believe this is our 36th Birthday, which is a pretty good achievement.
Remember to bring a glass for something to drink and we will have cake.
Grace will also have the two cheques ready to present to the charities we supported at our show this year.

We also have a new Life Member, Jacky Smith,who has been a member continuously for 25 years. Congratulations Jacky.

Recipe Book:

A few years ago, our group put together a recipe book of favourite recipes for everyone to share. Some members have approached me to see if we could do one again.
I didn't receive a very enthusiastic response this week when I broached the subject.
Perhaps you can give me some feedback next week at our 'party'.

Show and Tell:

Another baby quilt from Lindy. above.

A baby quilt from Heather made from scraps given to her by Carolyn. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the back which had little birdhouses all over it. Very cute.

Above, Hayley had been to a class to learn how to make these butterflies. It is a quilt as you go block. The wings actually stand up and can be flapped. A young child would adore it. Hayley loves to work with batiks. The colours are so bright and varied.

 Above a baby quilt from June.

Until next week ....

Full house and furniture rearranged

Hi Everyone,

When I arrived on Thursday our room had been completely rearranged. Our tables were put together to make a square. It seems more friendly this way but sometimes more room is needed, depending what you are working on. We can experiment with various arrangements which will be fun.  It was a lively meeting due in part to the new layout.

Felicity was back after an absence of 10 weeks due to her health. It was a delight to see her.
Lindy brought in a large box of avocados from her farm for us to share.
A new member, Bev has joined us. Welcome!
 And we have a new coffee pot in the kitchen to replace the broken one.

News from Hunters Hill Council:

I had an email from Hunters Hill Council re our fridge. They have received many complaints about the state of it. It will be completely cleaned out on September 25. We will all be very pleased with this news. It has been a long time coming.

A nice story:

I had a call from a lady called Cathy last week. She wanted to know where Norma was living now. I told her where she was. However she soon called back to say she hadn't had any luck contacting the nursing home.
I made a call to track a number down for her.
When I called Cathy back to tell her, she said that she had actually been that day and spent an hour and a half with Norma. Cathy's mother and Norma went to school together and the families have always kept in touch. As Cathy is now living in the UK she was here for a visit and wanted to see Norma before she went back.

Future events:

On October 18, Susi Stuby from Inala will visit us and speak about her organisation. Inala provides high quality support for people living with a disability. Each year we donate one or two community quilts for them to raffle for funds.

On October 25, Coleen is coming with her jewellery shop pop-up. This is a good time to purchase Christmas presents or some pretty jewellery for yourself.

Quilt Shows:

* Camden Haven Quilters are having their show on September 29-30 at Laurieton.
camdenhavenquilters@gmail.com

* Schoolhouse Quilters in Orange. September 30 to Ocober 1.

* Novocastrian Quilters on Novermber 3-4 at Broadmeadow in Newcastle.
novocastrianquilters.blogspot.com.au

Show and Tell:

 Above a baby quilt from Lindy.

 Four baby quilts above from Carolyn.

 A pretty quilt above from one of our newest members, Georgina, and hand quilted too.

Christie hand pieced and quilted this intricate quilt above. Lots of exacting work. Well done Christie.

Robyn Jnst. found this quilt at the back of her cupboard and decided to finish it. It is so pretty I can't imagine how she could forget it.

Until next week ....

Show Wrap Up

Hi Everyone,

As it was the first meeting of the month it was our community day. Many members continued work on their quilts for community and some on little embroidery birds for a wagga.

At the first meeting of each month, I particularly enjoy wishing those members who have birthdays during that month, a very Happy Birthday.

Last week Grace visited three nursing homes in our local area to show them the sensory or fiddle mats we had made for the show. Grace said she had a most delightful morning meeting some of our older residents. There were many stories to tell. One of the residents has her sewing machine at the home and mends items for other members in the home.
Grace also told of one lady who constantly kept touching her face during her little talk. She asked if could she give her a fiddle mat. Immediately the lady began to feel and stroke the mat. She did not touch her face again.
I don't think we realise how important these small items can be.
Grace left 27 mats for the residents and will look elsewhere to distribute the remainders.

Some Show items:

Grace gave us the final figures for the show. After deducting costs, we are able to give a substantial amount to each of our charities. Representatives from each charity will be given a cheque during our Birthday Party on September 27.
Iris has recommended that we continue to support these two charities in the future as an ongoing community effort.

We had almost 900 visitors come to our show.
Saturday was our busiest day this time. The kitchen ran out of scones, the white gloves ran out and we were generally run off our feet.
The mornings of the other days were busy with numbers dropping off during the afternoons.

I saw Kathy Doughty during the week. She greeted me with a lovely comment. She said she still had a very warm happy feeling from the show. She particularly mentioned the stitching lounge and how wonderful it was. It was a great place for our older quilters to sit and stitch and answer questions from the public and promote our community work. The wagga room looked particularly cosy and pretty this year too.

Show Committee meeting:

First I would like to thank the girls on the show committee. They have done an outstanding job for the last two shows and have been a pleasure to work with.
Our convenor, Meg, was perfect! I only regret that she won't be our convenor next time.
Committee members usually stay for two shows. As with all things, the second time around is easier as we learn so much the first time.

For the next show we will have an entirely new group of members who volunteer. Hence I will mention a few of the things that this committee recommends to improve in the future.

Raffle tickets:

Thank you to all our members who purchased raffle tickets. This is always a big help raising funds. Our members raised almost half of our total amount, with the other half raised by our charities and visitors. So well done everybody!
As many of us buy the raffle tickets in our own names. it was suggested that we could add a note saying "redraw" next time if the quilt is not wanted.

Publicity:

Iris was pleased with the response from visitors asking how they heard about our show. It seems the majority heard about it from other quilting groups and quilt shops and very few from the banner on the freeway. As the banner needs replacing at some cost, it was discussed  that perhaps we did not need it.
There was a good response from social media. This was less than expected but is very necessary now in our digital age.
Generally it was very worthwhile.

Hall Layout:

We had many complimentary remarks about the hall layout this year. The lighting seemed better and the hall looked particularly attractive.
Lindy did ask that members keep to the quilt size stated on their entry form. Some of these changed which caused a headache with fitting everything together.
Every square inch is measured precisely to fit the quilts in. Also if your quilt is an irregular shape, we need to know so we have black material to hang as background.

Kitchen:

Handing the cocktail food out this year for Opening Night worked particularly well. Thank you to Narelle's daughters and Meg's nieces. It was a pleasure to have them join us and help.
Kitchen staffing needs to be reviewed for next time and perhaps the Kitchen coordinator could make recommendations to enable a wider variety of food for Opening Night as well as hot food.

Stage Sales:

The layout this year for the stage sales worked very well. Suzie recommended we use the same layout next time.
More helpers were required for the stage. This was especially apparent on Sunday when Suzie was very short staffed.

All in all we had an amazing show so well done to you all!

Show and Tell:

Only a few show and tell this week which is lucky as the blog is quite "wordy" this time!

 Above and below we have four baby quilts. The two above are from Moina and the two below are from June.
June and Moina are two of our older members. They both do exquisite fine work. It is always a pleasure see their quilts.

Until next time ....

Ready for Spring

Hello Everyone,

After a long dry winter, Spring has arrived. The beautiful magnolia trees are always the first to blossom. I noticed a wisteria starting to flower on Thursday and some early daffodils are springing up. The winds still have a winter chill but it will start to warm soon.

Many of you have heard that the Ryde store of Achieve has closed. Joy gave me details of their new store which opens this Monday.

The Achieve Sewing Basket
Unit 5
2 Holker St
Newington NSW 2127.

Opposite the Silverwater jail and past the Olympic Stadium.

It is a great place to find all sorts of fabrics and knitting supplies and books. We are on the lookout for wool and suiting squares to make our waggas. If you are over that way it is well worth a visit.

Alison brought in a copy of the book of photos of our show quilts. Kerry has kindly emailed the link to everyone for the printer so you can order your own copy. Alison was able to secure 9 books last Thursday at a reasonable price. They do have specials periodically so best to check if you are ordering a copy.

A new member joined us this week. Georgina came to our show and decided to come and see us. She is getting back to quilting after a break. She was originally a member of Glenbrook Quilters.
Welcome Georgina.

A little anecdote from the show:

The display of sensory or fiddle mats that we had at our show attracted a lot of attention. Many people understood the significance of them and were keen to try making one.
My little grandson proudly told me that he had voted for my mat for Best in Show. I didn't have the heart to tell him that they were not to be judged. I was very tickled nevertheless.

Also one of our members has been visiting her mother in hospital and noticed a lady there who was picking at things and constantly moving her hands. She has taken one of the mats to give to her in the hope that it will help calm her.


Community Groups:

Illawarra Quilters Biennial Exhibition 2018 is being held next weekend from Saturday 8th to Sunday 9th September.
93-109 Princes Highway
Dapto 2530.

Show and Tell:

 Last week I showed you the photo of Helen's little 'useful' bag with the felt elephants. Helen has now completed the back with flowers. Helen has added mesh zippered pockets to the inside. It was passed around the group for everyone to admire.

Grace bought this woven wool fabric in London a couple of holidays ago. She has used it to make a wagga. I didn't get a photo of the whole thing as it is still a work in progress. You will have to wait until then for the full picture.

Until next week .........

Waggas and Quilts to Charity

Hi Everyone,

Thursday was a very busy day. Show items were returned and stacked in the cupboards ready for 2020.

Eleven waggas and ten quilts were shown to members, then packed into their individual bags ready for the Hornsby Kur-ring-gai Womens' Shelter. Iris kindly dropped them off.
They were very warmly received as 10 women had just arrived at the centre. Each woman chooses her quilt to use whilst at the shelter. She then takes her quilt with her when she leaves. The quilts therefore mean a great deal to the women.

We also had a demonstration of the star blocks that we are preparing for the Lord Mayor's Picnic. Every year we make a quilt to be raffled at the picnic. Iris and Jenny have taken charge and have set out the guidelines for us to follow.

Our copy of the NSW Guild Template was distributed. Inside is a listing of the award winners from the Guild show as well photos of the winning quilts.
There is a photo of Helena receiving her prize, also Kathy Doughty and many quilters from Material Obsession.
Grace's quilt study group report is also included.

Alison has completed the photos for our Show Book to be printed. Approximately 10 members would like to have a copy. Alison will have one printed for our library, then orders will be taken.

Elva had news of Norma. Norma is very well and enjoying her higher care accommodation. Elva told her about our show and she was delighted to hear all about it.

Show and Tell:

Below are a selection of the waggas and quilts donated to the Womens' Shelter.

 Moina showed us this cute quilt top she has made. It hasn't been completed but it looked so good I had to include it.

 Alison had a fascinating story about the origin of this quilt below. She was at her daughter's wedding when a friend of her daughter asked if she would make her a quilt. In the excitement of the wedding and all the guests, Alison agreed. The quilt is very pretty and I think the friend is a very lucky lady.

Helen showed this cute little felt and embroidered piece she had whipped up. I believe other blocks are to be made. I look forward to the end result. So cute. The elephants look particularly happy.

Last but not least, four baby quilts from Carolyn. Carolyn is gradually using up her stash and tells me she has many more baby quilts to come. Great work Carolyn. Thank you.

Until next week .....

Show Wrap up

Hi Everyone,

After all our planning and hard work for our show, we are getting back to normal and onto other challenges. Many of us have shared little anecdotes and stories from talking to the lovely people who visited our show. The lady who had won our raffle from the 2016 show told me that she just loved the quilt she had won and it is on her bed.

It is always very nice to have feedback about our quilts.

The show weekend is very special where we catch up with former members, members of other quilting groups, and friends and families who visit. It is so pleasant to sit with family members over a cup of tea or coffee amongst the beautiful quilts.

One lady brought in a Wagga that she had purchased at auction. It had been made about 1905 and was beautifully embroidered. There were a few small holes to be mended but it was amazing.

The raffle quilts were won by June Forbes and Iris. June lives nearby and came to the hall as soon as I rang her. She was thrilled to be a winner. June loved both the quilts but chose the bright and colourful "Circles" quilt for her children and grandchildren.

Show and Tell:

 White gloves washed and drying ready for the next show day.

 Best in Show "Nara" by Robyn Jm. Wonderful log cabin design and a stunning quilt. Congratulations Robyn!

Viewers' Choice " Shadow Daisy" by Hayley. So pretty.

Members' Choice and Judge's Choice award - "Galaxy 2" by Robyn Sanford. So much work in the Millefiori style. A labour of love and beautiful.

Now for more Judge's Choice Quilts above and below.

This one above is "Colour Circus" by Helena. A different shape, colourful and eye catching.

" Dancing in the Moonlight" by Karen. A lot of very exacting hand sewing and a lovely result.

 "Megan's Cups" by Jenny. This was designed by Megan Manwaring. Jenny chose just the right colours.

"All around my fabric stash" by Beryl R. Beryl started this quilt on our retreat and finished it off with hundreds of hexagons. Truly a labour of love and such a happy quilt.

 "Visiting Birdsville" by Elva. Elva loves embroidery and together with felt material and pearl thread the quilt evolved into this beautiful picture.

" Wedding by the Sea" by Laurel. Hexagon flowers and wonderful quilting and design make a very special quilt.

"Kyushu" by Kerry. This quilt is very popular and looks stunning. Great work Kerry.

"My Hexagon Baltimore" by Moina. Moina is one of our older members. She does the most exquisite tiny hand work and uses the prettiest of fabrics. 

Hangers' Choice prize went to Grace for her quilt "To Infinity and Beyond". A popular choice.

Well done and congratulations to all our winners!