President's Natter - June...

Well ladies we are well into winter and it is just lovely sitting by the fire sewing, that is when we can find the precious time to do it. I am enjoying sewing tumbling blocks at the moment, I am doing it by hand and am really enjoying it. I always thought 'oh hand sewing', it would be too slow, but I must admit to the contrary, it is quicker then I had imagined {and quite relaxing}. I haven't really hand pieced a quilt before, well except for a Hexagon quilt. It appears to be going together nicely. I have also noticed several members are also hand piecing at the moment and their work is looking amazing.

It is lovely to see so many members, including new members getting involved in the groups activities. Such as our charity work. I had a call from the president of Kerang quilters telling me all the flood affected folk are settling back into their home and the quilts we delivered are being distributed to the families... they were most humbled by our thoughtfulness and hard work to get the quilts not only to them but to the Charlton flood affected as well.

Whisper, whisper, whisper - source

Members have also been so helpful to one another with our 'Chinese Whispers' swap, assisting new members when needed. We are already up to our fourth swap and everyone is really enjoying the challenge and can't wait for the reveal in the New Year. This will be done on a Saturday over lunch and we will display all blocks for the 26 members involved... I think it will definitely take most of the day for our display... well, er it is nice to plan ahead!!

We need to begin planning for our bi-annual Quilt Exhibition soon and will select a sub-committee to head the various areas which need to be covered. It's good to share the load so we all know what is going on. The sub-committee will report back to us at each meeting, as to what is happening. We won't be leaving it up to just those few, as we need to have all members involved where possible.

A sneak peek from the 2010 SS&Q Exhibition!

We will have to begin thinking of the quilts we wish to have on display, as we displayed most of the quilts from our stash last Exhibition, {which was most successful with over 120 quilts hung, all of which were made by members} so I can see a lot of quilt making between now and then.

Well I best go and thread another needle,

Till next time, Lyn

President's Natter - April...

Wow! What a fantastic weekend we all had at our annual retreat. Judy and Marlene did an awesome job planning a wonderful weekend and spoiling us all with gifts. The dining room was decorated keeping the "P" theme in mind. The Friday night mystery kits made up by Judy (quilted waste basket) & Jan (a half size embroidery roll) were very popular.

The 'Quilt as you go' project was so popular with 95% of our ladies working on it... what a wonderful project. Approximately 24 blocks in total have been made by members for the current charity quilt... well done ladies.

Our Saturday night entertainment after our fancy dress (which saw 100% participation, dressing with something beginning with "P". What wonderful imaginations!) and 'Happy hour' was most enjoyable. Many thanks to Miss Fiona for her great imagination and entertainment skills and to finish off the evening
we were each given a lovely mystery prize... pretty good especially when Miss Fiona did most of the work!

Sandra and Maureen in costume. Great job ladies!

The relaxation and friendliness of our group over the weekend was commented on by several people who were not personally involved in our weekend. It was lovely to see several of our past members attending and enjoying the retreat as well as getting to know our newer members.

The three Charlton ladies who had been so badly effected by the floods and who were our guests, were overwhelmed, to say the least by the thoughtfulness and friendship we all offered them. To see their photos and to hear their stories will be forever fixed in our memories.

Our group also gave the Charlton patchworkers a donation of $200 to help assist in rebuilding their club. To say they were overwhelmed by our kind gesture is an understatement.

Sadly Judy was called away urgently on Saturday night, our prayers and thoughts are with her. It was sad for her especially after all the effort and hard work she put into the weekend for us all to enjoy.

The lovely entries in this year's "P" challenge!

Many thanks also to Anna for her assistance and Jan for the lovely kits she made.
A huge thank you to both Judy & Marlene for a fantastic retreat and all the work you both put into making it the success it was.

Judy & Marlene will be organizing a time to discuss the theme for next years retreat soon.

Happy sewing,
Lyn

President's Natter - March...

It was so inspiring to see so many involved with the 'Flood affected charity quilt drive'. Wow! We got so many quilts made and they all looked fantastic. Thank you all for your hard work. We had several members taking blocks home to put together, quilt and sew the binding on, others backing the quilts on Tuesday nights... it was truly, a wonderful effort from everyone involved. Also a special thank you to:

• Di Hutchinson and Gloria Jacobs for coordinating both the collection of quilt blocks and sewing items; and
• Judy Van Dyck who generously donated even more fabric this time for the five children's quilts going to Kerang.

There were 19 gorgeous quilts sent to Charlton and another 15 went directly to Kerang families, whose homes are still under water as I write. These families are still in temporary accommodation and we hope the quilts will bring them great comfort.

Irene Ayres the president of the Kerang Quilters made us feel so welcome when we delivered the quilts last week. We were able to have lunch with members of the group and hear first hand the devastation the floods have caused so many families in the outlying rural areas. They feel like they have been forgotton, but our quilts made with such warmth will be a real reminder that we do care.

Unfortunately we didn't catch up with Prince William in Kerang on the day, (I did take my tiara and princess' wand, but to no avail) the streets were bare. There were 10,000 expected to greet the Prince at the Town Hall around the corner from where we were in the Patchwork shop. We passed photographers in the street but for some reason they weren't interested in us!

On a serious note, our plan is to organise a 'mini charity group' and have a box specifically full of items needed for future quilt drives.

Judy and Marlene have been extremely busy with preparations to make our annual retreat an exciting experience for us all. I amongst others am fully aware of all the hard work that goes into the organisation of our retreats and I know we are in for a fun filled weekend. I am not going to forget to mention and thank Anna Capuano. A lovely, past member who used her expertise in designing our badges for the retreat and has been busy helping Judy and Marlene sew goodies for us... we are really blessed to have such lovely ladies involved.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour on Saturday night girls... that means we have an extra hour of sewing/sleep at the retreat.

The Chinese Whispers is due to be exchanged tonight and I have heard nothing but excellent reports on the swap, we have 26 excited members involved, so had to have two draws with 13 in each draw. It is a 'real challenge' and there is much excitement as we are all finding blocks to work on using techniques we haven't tried before. We are all finding it a real learning curb, trying something new or different to what we would usually do.

Don't forget to look on 'The Travelling Friendship Quilt Project' website's blog to see how it is travelling.

As our states' coordinator I contacted many quilt groups in diverse areas throughout Victoria to ask for their involvement, as it is impossible to have the 'suitcase' travel everywhere in our state, due to time constraints. I have had many replies of interest and these groups will send their blocks and diary entries directly back to Maleny, Queensland to be included.

Here is our block that will be included in the finished quilt!

Today has been so sunny and warm, but sadly I think it may be the end of our warmest weather for some time.

Have a wonderful weekend at the retreat ladies... I'd better start packing!

I have to go thread another needle first...

Happy sewing,
Lyn