SS&Q Retreat 2011

Again we travelled to "Weekaway" at Benloch for our annual retreat from the 1st to the 3rd of April.  This year the group decided to ask three ladies from Charlton to join us for a bit of light relief after their problems with flooding in their homes, along with all the heartache that goes with such a crisis.  They were a happy trio and added another dimension to the retreat, and from what they said, it would seem that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The Friday night project was well received; the choice was the quilted waste basket or a half size embroidery roll.  Thanks to Jan Borlase for preparing the emboidery roll and the help you gave to those making it, thanks also to Judy Van Dyck for preparing the waste baskets - both projects were fun to make and very useful items...  Judy's brainwave to use our scraps (and we all have them don't we?) to make blocks towards a quilt was great fun, and as usual, there were variations on the original theme so we were all eager to see how the different interpretations turned out.  A most successful project thanks Judy.

Kylie's scrappy quilt

We now have a substantial collection of those blocks donated towards the Raffle Quilt that the group is making for the Autistic School in Sunbury, thanks to everyone who gave their time and fabric towards that.

The retreat challenge was poorly supported this year for various reasons but congratulations to all those members who took the time to participate.  Fancy dress was a good laugh as always, and Carolyn Maxwell and Dianne McAulay were voted as the winners by all those in attendance. Thankyou to all of you who didn't win a prize but dressed up and looked fabulous anyway.

On Saturday night Fiona Karman entertained us with her game and her jokes, thankyou Fiona!! Lyn Peucker surprised us all with a cute bag that she had made for everyone, thanks Lyn, that must have taken you days on end.

The Drapers of Mt Macedon and Tranquility from Essendon were the two shops in attendance, so everyone was given the opportunity for a bit of retail therapy!!

Now I am sure that I have not mentioned the names of some people who also put in substantial effort, but in fact we are all aware who those people are, and that everyone who attends is, in fact, putting in an effort i.e packing up bedding and sewing requirements etc and without each and every one of you being there it wouldn't be the success it was, so Judy and I hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.  Until next time....

Marlene,
Assistant Workshop Co-ordinator

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

handy hint #1

A snippet that I gleaned from SCQuilters e-mails on how to store your scissors:

Hang scissors on a mug tree. It has four arms so I put pinking
shears on one arm, large scissors on another, small scissors on another
and rotary cutters on the last one.

Bambus Mug Tree {sourced on freedom.com.au}

How simple is that idea?

Hugs,
Andrea