Stitching in the Sticks

The original idea for this program was born in early 2020 out of a desire to give assistance to our regional members affected by fire and drought, but the commencement was delayed time and time again due to social distancing restrictions.

The aim is to reach out to our drought and fire and flood affected groups who may have lost some of their sense of community and the ability to meet up or hold events due to the catastrophic circumstances we have seen affecting NSW over the past couple of years.

Members of the host group will enjoy a weekend workshop at no cost to the participants, where they can invite visitors from neighbouring communities to make new connections. We are hoping that this may even encourage new members, or introduce some new people to the quilting community.

As this is a pilot for the first year, three locations have been chosen which will work with our tutors and volunteers working the program.

The first workshop was presented by Lisa Mattock on 1-2 May in Griffith. It was hosted by the Murrumbidgee quilters, who invited women from Coleambally, Goolgowi and Hillston to join them. Lisa's workshop was Slow Stitching 101.

We must give Lisa credit for the “Stitching in the Sticks” title – she is a country girl from Orange and has been supportive of this program from the outset.

Two more Stitching in the Sticks workshops are planned for 2021 - Chris Jurd will visit Cobargo quilters in August and Kathy Doughty will visit Batemans Bay/Malua area in September.