First Community Day for 2019

Hi Everyone,

We had such a busy Community day this week. Iris, Grace and Gil continued to tidy and spring clean our cupboards to make the fabrics easier to find.

Community quilts were being sewn and finished.
Grace reminded us that they will be starting to make Waggas soon for our next show. It is one our biggest fund raisers at the show.
Waggas are lovely to make in the Winter so make sure you think about giving one a go.

We also had 4 lovely ladies visit us to see if they would like to become members.

Sandy and her friend Debbie, another Debbie who goes to classes at Material Obsession and Olga who has come once three years ago and came back for a visit.

I am always amazed at the connection between people. Robin H. suddenly remembered Sandy from years ago and Alison knows one of the Debbies.

I always enjoy mentioning the Birthday Girls each month. However, I did forget Helen K. this month, much to my dismay.

My Birthday list obviously has some gaps, so I will endeavour to update it so I don't miss anyone in future.

I do apologise to Helen but wish her a very Happy Belated Birthday for 6 February.

It was also Akiko's Birthday on 6 February. Akiko is in Japan visiting her Mum. Ros sent her Birthday greetings and Akiko said her mother loves the quilt we sent.

Reminders:

* Our AGM is at noon next meeting, 14 February.

* The Sydney Stitches and Craft Show is on at Darling Harbour from 14-16 February.

* Helena and Alison will be hosting a workshop next Community Day on 7 March to make Alison's Amish Rag Rug.
So gather all your unloved and bright strips of fabric together ready for the workshop.

A Lovely Surprise:

From 2015 to 2018, Iris has been diligently gathering photos of our Community quilts that we donate, including the baby quilts and our Show Raffle quilts, and has had a lovely book made for us to keep in the Library.

The statistics are amazing. Four years of giving include:

* 460 Cot Quilts to the Grace Centre for Newborn Care
* 146 Lap size and Bed size quilts
* $4,480 cash from sale of Community Quilts at our show. This figure does not include the many Waggas we have made and sold over this period.
*  Multiple Fiddle Mats, fiddle muffs, and Teddy Bears.

You should all be very proud of yourselves for these contributions to the Community.

Thank you to Iris for putting the book together and to everyone for your hard work and diligence.

Show and Tell:

First up above, Kerry displayed this lovely quilt made by The Orange Group - Ros, Narelle, Akiko, Helena and Kerry. Kerry was finishing the binding ready for a Community Quilt.
My group loved the pattern so much Susan D. has put one together for us which I will post when finished.
Beryl R. has also made the pattern. A striking design.

This beautiful quilt above has been made by Pamela R. Pamela has called it 'Branching Out' and has  hand quilted it.. Pamela wants it to go to the Womens Shelter at Hornsby.
A stunning quilt. It will bring some joy and happiness to a lady in need.

 Above and below, we have a couple of Suzie L.'s UFO's that she has finally finished. It is such a good feeling to finish something that has been waiting around for a while.
The pretty cushion is made from the beautiful William Morris fabrics.

Below is a child's quilt no doubt destined for Suzie's grandson.

Until next week .....

A Very Hot Thursday

Hi Everyone,

First of all, thank you to Susan and Iris for standing in for me last week. My friend from Lucerne in Switzerland loves Sydney and enjoyed the sun while she was here. She has now gone back to -2 Degree temperatures.

Member News:

*  Tidy Up -  Iris bought some smaller boxes for fabric storage as they are easier for us to handle.
Quick as a wink Grace grabbed the big boxes for the Kitchen Supplies and larger fabric pieces we use for Community quilts. A great job done and thank you.

Grace also presented us with a new Carpet Sweeper she had purchased from Bunnings. It works really well and saves us having to use the heavy vacuum cleaner. Kerry had fun showing us how well it picked up our bits of cotton and crumbs.

Felicity is doing really well and is in Steamboat, Colorado. She loves the cold which would be a nice change from our 40 Degree heat on Thursday.

Hayley was able to join us as well. She had some news. She and her husband are moving to the Torres Strait Islands for some time.
The Islands are a part of Queensland  and have a population of 48,500. The people of the Islands are distinct from the Aboriginal people and the rest of Australia.
It is a wonderful opportunity for Hayley and her husband and very much an adventure for them.

The good news is that Haley will be back for our Retreat in September. We look forward to hearing all about her 'new' life!

Akiko -  Ros called me a couple of weekends ago to ask if we could present a quilt to Akiko for her mother who is very ill. Akiko's mother has given us some beautiful Kimonos to use in our quilts as well as other Japanese fabrics.
As Akiko cannot stay in Japan for a long period, Ros thought her Mother would gain some comfort from the quilt.

As it happened, Iris was just finishing the binding on a quilt made from some blocks that Hayley had donated.

We presented the quilt to Akiko on Thursday and she was quite overcome.

Thank you Ros for thinking of it.

Dates for your Diary:

* The Sydney Stitches and Craft Show will be held at Darling Harbour from 14 - 16 February.
In the past the show has been held at Rosehill.
QuiltNSW will have a presence at the show as well.

* The QuiltNSW Show will be held from 19 -23 June this year.
If you would like to enter a quilt, the Entries open Monday 4 February and close Monday 11 March.
A separate newsletter will be sent out soon with more information.

Show and Tell:

Only one photo today. This quilt was put together by June and quilted by Susan St J. The blocks were made by members of the Burra Burra Quilt Group, which is long gone.
Iris has called it Old Amish as it is in the traditional Amish style and colours.
The quilt is very light and will make a lovely lap quilt.

Until next week and some cooler weather hopefully .....

Staying cool

On Thursday Judy was enjoying a day with overseas guests,  so Susan was our Madam President for the day and Iris, here, on blog. 

Thursday was a day when we were able to appreciate the air conditioning in Fairland Hall,

Only housekeeping for the week was a reminder that our AGM is on Thursday 14/2/2019, and questions and nominations to Iris or Judy.

Some excellent show and tell:

Can only be called 'FUN' by Marie K

Two very original  'Kangaroo' quilts from Grace:  a reminder to keep working on our challenge for April. 

Made by Joy for Community:   Joy's Stars

Also for Community:  Haley's 'left over blocks' put together and quilted by Iris

(always happy to work with such beautiful 'left overs')

Flowering Batics

Enjoy your week   ....    

A New Year

Hullo Everyone,

Welcome back to another productive and fun quilting year. I trust you all had a pleasant break. It was lovely to catch up with everyone on Thursday. Some have been very productive over the holidays while some (e.g. me!) haven't done a lot.

We received a couple of things in the mail from the break:

* Our local Federal Minister, Trent Zimmerman, sent us a Christmas card.

* At the end of last year we gave two quilts to the local Sydney Community Services to be raffled to their volunteers.
We received a lovely note from the winner of the Christmas quilt that Marie G. had made and donated. The volunteer said she had never had a hand made quilt before. It is at present, displayed on her sofa for her friends to see.
She is very appreciative. It is so nice to receive feedback and Marie was especially pleased to read the card.

* We received a very nice email from Springwood High School for the sensory mats and bears that many of our members made. Helen K. had heard about the request and asked us to help.
Thank you to everyone who helped with this project.
Helen was especially grateful for the quick response.

* I had applied on behalf of the group, for the Hunters Hill Australia Day Awards which recognise outstanding contributions made by individuals and groups throughout 2018.

I received a note from the Council, thanking us for our contribution, but unfortunately we did not win  this time.
Will try again next year.

* Jenny told us about some new books she is adding to our library. Be sure and borrow them. They all look very interesting.

* Amish Rag Rug:

Alison showed us an unfinished round Amish knot rag rug that she had started to make over the break.
She suggested that we might like to do it as a workshop item this year.
There is no sewing involved - only knotting. Alison said it is a great way to use unloved fabrics. The colour only is important.

Below is the video link to the tutorial for you all to watch. There is a photo of the rug below.


How to make an Amish knot rug


SHOW and TELL:

First up we have a quilt that I finished for a friend of Iris. It will be donated to the Hornsby Womens Shelter.

Baby quilts above and below from Carolyn.

Alison's Rag Rug below.

Above and below two more Baby quilts from Carolyn.

Until next week ....

Last Blog for 2018

Hi Everyone,

This is the last blog for the year. The year has just flown but it has been a busy and full year for our group.

The highlight of the year was our Biennial Show. We have had many visitors, met some lovely people and have donated quilts and sensory mats to a number of needy organisations.

Christmas Party Lunch:

Next week is our Christmas Party Lunch. Akiko will start setting up the hall from 10:45. The champagne will be opened at 12 noon.

Iris is helping June with June's special Christmas game. It is such fun we are reluctant to not have it - some of us are very competitive too!

There are lucky door prizes so be sure you grab a ticket from me before the draw.

Iris will surprise us with our Christmas Challenge.

Suzie tested the oven in the kitchen and it does work. Feel free to warm any hot food that you bring.

Reminders:

* As you finish your Kangaroo quilts, please keep them at home until next year. Our cupboards are very near capacity.

* Don't forget to give me your recipes if you wish to participate. I now have 10. I need more to make  into a book.

* Also please add your name to the Morning Tea Roster hanging in the cupboard. Every member is expected to provide morning tea twice during the year.

Show and Tell:

Starting from the top of the photo, we have three baby quilts from Sue D., Jenny, and Ros.

Below Alison arranged the baby quilts very nicely. The two Dick and Jane quilts are from Susan D.

Robyn Jnst. made the four cot quilts below for a Womens Shelter. The Shelter wanted the nursery to be brightened up. You will agree that Robyn has certainly done that. They are bright and cute and all made in record time.

 I will take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas. I look forward to starting afresh next year.

Until then ...

Busy Meeting Again

Hi Everyone,

We had a busy meeting again this week.

Visitors:

* Josie's daughter, Jane, arrived at 11 a.m. with a lot of fabric and bits and pieces from her Mum.

Everything was put on two of our tables and members gathered around to sort it all and take what they could use.
Not only did this help Jane a lot, we picked up useful items for Community quilts or for personal use.

We know each other so well that members were instantly able to know who would have the most use for each item.

Jane was very grateful that we were able to take so much. It is a fitting tribute to Josie's memory.

Jane also told us that she had purchased a plaque in memory of her mother. It is on a park bench at Jeffrey Street Wharf in Kirribilli, overlooking Sydney Harbour.

* Later in the day, we had a visit from Anne Sheehan from the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Womens Shelter.

Anne presented us with a framed certificate of appreciation for the generous donation we made to them from the proceeds of our show.
She said it has meant so much to them.

General:

* During a visit to the Hunters Hill Council, I discovered that the vacuum cleaner in the hall is for us all to use.
It is quite heavy so will only be used if the floor is particularly dirty from crumbs and bits of cotton.

We are all very good at checking the floor for pins and needles.

* Next week will be our last meeting for the year. Our Christmas Party will be on the following Thursday from 11 a.m. onwards.

Bring a plate of food to share and a glass for your drink.We have fun and games. It is a nice way to end the year.

Request re Kangaroo Baby Quilts:

When you finish your Kangaroo quilts, please keep them at home until next year. We are running short of space in our cupboards. Thank you.

Show and Tell:

First up we have a baby quilt from Sheila. The hand quilting looks great.

Below is a baby quilt that Jane found amongst Josie's quilting things.

Here we have below a lovely quilt from Gil. It is made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics. What could be nicer!

 Below is a quilt for Community made by the Red group. We are calling it 'Square Dance'.

 Below are two baby quilts from Jenny.

Below is a cute baby quilt from Bev - quilted it on her home machine.

Until next week ....

Important Dates and Visitors

Hi Everyone,

Some dates for end of this year and our start in 2019.

Christmas Party and last meeting for 2018:

We will have our Christmas party on December 13. Start arriving from 11 a.m. and we pop the champagne at 12 noon! Bring a plate of food to share and a glass for your champagne.
We will have games and lucky door prizes. It is always a lot of fun.

Start in January:

We will break from December 13 and resume meetings on January 17.

AGM:

Our AGM will be on February 14.

Visitors:

* We had a lovely visit from Branko from the Ryde-Lane Cove Community Services. We donated two quilts to them  - see photo below. The very pretty traditional quilt will be given to one of their very deserving volunteers.
The Christmas quilt will be raffled at their end of year party.

Branko spent a lot of time looking at our members at work and admiring what they were doing.
It was a very pleasant visit.

* At 1pm three ladies from the City of Sydney Community Services came to collect the beautiful quilt we had made for the Lord Mayor's Picnic to be held in the Botanic Gardens for the 9pm fireworks on New Years Eve. They were delighted with the quilt. It is truly one of our best.
They too, stayed for quite a time.

We always enjoy these visits and the feedback we receive.

Other matters:

Helen had asked us to make some sensory mats for the Springwood Special school. She was overwhelmed by the response. Helen was to deliver them this Sunday. Robyn Jnst. even included three knitted teddy bears in their own special bag. Photos are below.
So thank you everyone.

Show and Tell:

Above are the two quilts for the Ryde-Lane Cove Community Services.

 Above are Robyn's little teddies in their special bags.

The two photos above are some of the sensory mats.

Until next time ....