May 2014 Meeting Report and Photos

Cath and Megan : Brisk business for 2 gals from  the Material Obsession 

crew, shown surrounded by the colourful quilts of Kathy Doughty.

Meetings always run smoothly under the guidance of Co-ordinator Meg Orr

As envisaged, the machine piecing tips and quilting wisdoms shared by the

 amusing and generous Catherine Butterworth were well worth arriving early for!

(Catherine is seated in front of a Kathy Doughty Quilt).

Above and below, examples of Catherine's precision fussy cutting 

and exquisite piecing detail.

Catherine never "unpicks" but she does "adjust"!

The final image shows the Guest Speaker, the extremely affable Jenny Bacon, holding a recent quilt.

Her talk about the expectations of Quilt Show Judges from varying countries was enlightening and amusing. Jenny researched varying programmes from around the world prior to partaking in the 2 year Programme being offered in England. Her creative endeavours for this certificate were eclectic, rigorous and time consuming, and she shelved her own quilting pursuits, to be able to complete the course. 

Her hints for those quilters who might wish to follow in her steps are : Be physically fit and carry an arsenal that might include a ladder, magnifying glass and a torch. 

Also, have a thick skin to deflect comments and criticisms about the 'Quilt Police', and finally, have the ability to get along with many people, as Quilt Shows are organised by different personalities with varying agendas. 

Jenny is extremely happy to share what she has learnt, as she feels that a Juried Quilt Show is less scary for competitors when they understand what Judging entails.

Jenny will be returning to Birmingham this year as a Guest Judge. It is such a large event, with approximately 800 quilts, that it requires 21 Judges to be involved.

News from the "Meeting" component of the day:

• Various committee positions have changed and  the "vacant" President's role has now been allocated to  the current Vice President, Linda Butcher. Congratulations Linda upon offering your leadership!
• Updates about the forthcoming Sydney Quilt Show were relayed including the news that last years very popular Jelly Roll Race is to be conducted again, so members are asked to get some teams organised for these hilarious challenges.
• The August meeting is scheduled for 16th. It will be "Market Day" and there will not be a guest shop or demonstration  . The Guest Speaker will be a Costume Designer.
• Advance notice of the 2015 "Away-Meeting" was given : March 20th-22nd, to be held in the Foster area.

The final segment of The Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc meetings, allows for a members 'Show and Tell'.

Whilst there are no images to share from Saturday, there was some salient advice from member Prudence who held up her current WIP: a 'hexie' creation. She told the story of how the  hexagons  she is currently constructing are kept in a small container next to her chair, near the window, and near the lamp with Magnifying-Glass attached. This organisation of work area had never been a problem until a large tree outside the window had been removed. To her subsequent horror, this resulted in the sun now being able to stream through the magnifying glass onto the container of papers and fabric scraps. 

Smouldering of the papers commenced, and this may have had a disastrous ending, but fortunately, the problem was noticed early. Prudence then held up her singed hexagons and members commiserated. Her magnifying glass now sports an oven mitt overcoat!

Every meeting convenes with an afternoon tea allowing chatter and friendship to become noisier! Meg Orr and Robyn Shipton are to be thanked for quietly organising this welcome conclusion to the day.