Saturday 12 February 2022

A Welcome Visitor

 Hi Everyone,

It was our fourth week back this week. We had 18 members come for the meeting.

We miss those who are not coming. Some are unwell or busy with family commitments. We hope to see you all soon.

Alison has discovered a group who work to raise funds to support the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown.

She invited one of their volunteers to come to speak to us this week. 

The group is called Little Wonder and is a Parent and Support Committee for the hospital's Newborn Intensive Care Unit. It was founded by a group of mums who had experienced first hand the incredible work at the centre..

Their spokesperson was Olivia and what a charming lady she is. Olivia had three premmie babies at the hospital. All three are thriving now.

They give patients gift bags for St Valentines Day, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Christmas. Obviously a very important and special group.

They are delighted to accept many of our baby quilts. In fact Olivia left with 80 baby quilts. She was delighted and said they will all be gone for Valentines Day. They can use as many as we can make for them.

Olivia mentioned the World Prematurity Day which is on 17 November 2022. The day is to raise awareness of preterm births and the concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide.

Their traditional colour is Purple - dark purple or shades thereof.

We thought it will be a great idea to make 40 quilts for this day in November. It is similar to the Kangaroo Challenge we did a couple of years ago.

Housekeeping:

Council has been onto me about concerns from a group who use the hall after us on a Thursday. Please be vigilant with pins and needles. I know we search until we find a 'lost' needle. We need to double our efforts. We will always need to vacuum the floor thoroughly after each meeting.

Show and Tell:

The 'thank you' card from the Little Wonder group




Jenny finished  a shawl made for her 6 year old granddaughter. It is so sot. She will love it.


Until next week ....


Saturday 5 February 2022

 Hi Everyone,

A small group gathered this week. As always it was a most enjoyable meeting. 

Next week at noon, we have someone from RPA Hospital Newborn intensive care unit coming to speak to us about their organisation and requirements.

The unit looks after more than 950 sick and premature babies each year. The hospital has a very active group of volunteers to support the unit.

Donations of knitted goods, baby quilts, larger quilts etc are welcomed.  Gift donations are hugely helpful to use as prizes for their raffles and various events. Gift bags are given to each family in the unit on special occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Mothers Day, World Prematurity Day and Fathers Day. 

I look forward to the meeting and to learn more about the organisation.

Wadding for Baby Quilts:

To avoid confusion with the baby quilts, we have decided that the cotton wadding that Robyn S looks after, will be used in all baby quilts. This includes those made for the Aboriginal Unit. 

Show and Tell:

Carolyn brought in another 10 baby quilts.


Until next week ....

Friday 28 January 2022

Second Week Back

 Hi Everyone,

We had a small group at quilting again this week. Now that school holidays are over we may see more members next time.

We all enjoy catching up with each others' news so the noise level doesn't diminish.

QuiltNSW News:

Quilt NSW has split from their association with Expertise Events. They are working towards having their own separate show and are looking for a suitable venue.This year is their 40th anniversary. Their intention is to revitalise the show. 

Their show has never been about making money. Like all quilt shows the aim is to showcase members' creative talents. 

We look forward to their decision.

Show and Tell:

Carolyn didn't bring her standard 10 quilts this week and no one had anything ready to show.

However Suzie saved the day. She has put together all our windmill blocks from the lockdown and made this beautiful quilt below. It will be for sale at our show in August.

Most of you will have already seen it on our WhatsApp.



Until next week ......

Saturday 22 January 2022

Welcome to 2022

 Hi Everyone,

A new year and a busy one ahead for us as we prepare for our show in August.

15 quilters came on Thursday. Not a lot of sewing was done but we all had plenty of news to catch up on.

It was an enjoyable meeting. We had an email from Sue D who is currently in London with her family. It was good to hear from her. She missed her sewing so much she has bought a machine to use while she is away.

We also welcomed a new member - Jane - who is looking forward to making quilts for charity.

AGM reminder: Our AGM will be held on 17 February at 12 noon.

Show and Tell:

Marie G. made these two lovely quilts for the Womens' Refuge:



Pamela was very busy during lockdown. The six quilts below are from her. Grace did the quilting on some Pamela hand quilted as well.








17 baby quilts. 2 from Beryl R, 5 from Alison, 10 from Carolyn


Until next week ....


Sunday 12 December 2021

End of Year

 Hi Everyone,

After another disruptive year it is time to farewell 2021 and look ahead to 2022.

The quilts for Charity have been delivered. Bear Cottage were particularly pleased with the 8 Teenage Boys' quilts. They are usually receive pink quilts and the boys miss out. 

If you are looking for a project over the break perhaps think about making a teenage boy's quilt.

Size is slightly larger than single bed - approx. 60" x 78".

Christmas Party starting at 11 a.m.

Next week will be our final meeting for the year and our Christmas Party.

What to bring:

A plate for yourself.

A glass for drink.

A plate of food to share with everyone.

A Christmas hat - the most outrageous, beautiful or crazy as you like. The best will win a prize.

We will resume meetings on 20 January 2022.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and look forward to a busy year in 2022.

Show and Tell:

5 Baby quilts from Carolyn


Two quilts from Carolyn , both quilted by Jenny





A baby quilt from Sheila



Until 2022 .....



Monday 6 December 2021

Donations

 Hi Everyone,

Another enjoyable meeting this week. Discussion about Christmas lunch, vacuuming the floor after each meeting and of course lots of chatter.

Sandy has been busy sorting the many quilts ready for donation.

Jenny had an idea for our Christmas challenge which she is going to detail on our WhatsApp group.

Donations:

* Iris is taking 6 quilts to the Hornsby Womens' Refuge.

* Sandy is taking 8 quilts to Bear Cottage.

* Susan H is delivering 8 quilts to a Womens' refuge in a local Parish area.

Show and Tell:

Three from Iris.




Quilt using scraps from the cupboard by the Orange Group.


Pretty Flowers from Robyn S.


A Bonny Hunter design from Jenny.


Two below from Susan D.



Until next week ....

Monday 29 November 2021

Welcome Back

 It was so nice to see everyone on Thursday. It has been such a long time!

Christmas Party:

We will hold our Christmas Party on 16 December which will also be our last meeting for the year.

I think we will have the same arrangement as last year for the tables in our regular groups. You will still be able to visit others of course. 

Robyn Jnst has taken over from June for the Christmas game. Robyn has asked that those who want to participate, should wear a decorated hat. These will be judged by everyone. I assume most will have a Christmas theme but that is not necessary. I look forward to amazing creations from you all.

Dragonfly Midwifery:

Westmead does not require any more baby quilts this year. However Westmead is happy for us to supply baby quilts to this Aboriginal group for Mums and babies in their care.

They are not strict about the cotton wadding so you will be able to use some of your other wadding pieces.

Please attach a label so we can distinguish which are for Westmead and those for Dragonfly Midwifery. A small piece of paper attached with a safety pin will suffice. Robyn and Iris delivered 15 quilts to them at the end of October.

Council has asked that we be vigilant checking for pins and needles left on the floor as well as cake!  I doubt that we are the 'cake' group but keep in mind anyway.

Thank you to Ann for vacuuming on Thursday.

AGM for 2021 will be held on 17 February 2022.

Show and Tell:

There was so much Show and Tell this week that it was impossible to keep up. Our group has been very busy over the break. Below is a sample of many. There were 22 baby quilts, Jenny had made a number of quilts for Community - all machine quilted on her new long-arm. Ten quilts were for Robyn's charity.
Ros made another 40 teddies. 











Until next week  ........