Sorry this has been a while. I have tried to publish this post several times with no success. For some reason Blogger won't let me do it. Third time lucky.

Second apology. I missed the January meeting when the second raffle quilt was discussed and so I gave you incorrect information - for that I apologise. The second raffle quilt will soon be finished and tickets sold to raise funds towards Retreat costs, not breast cancer as I indicated. This quilt is going to be a beauty. The raffle will be drawn at the Retreat dinner on Friday night.

WIP - the second raffle quilt with coordinator and designer Jenny Loveder











There will be a special raffle at the Retreat for Retreatees only. This one is to raise funds for the Jane McGrath Foundation. The prizes are fabulous!!!!!!!!!! I am sworn to secrecy about the first two, but I can tell you that the next two prizes are the quilt by Jenny Bowker and the table set by Walton. Who could ask for more?

Thursday night dinner venue has been booked - it took some finding a place large enough to take 100 plus women!! We will be dining at the Watermark - a buffet style meal with a great variety of dishes to suit all tastes. Cost per head will be $24.95 and $21.20 for seniors. Drinks are not included.

Please check!! Any electrical equipment you will be using in workshops or conference areas will need current electrical tagging. This includes sewing machines, light boxes, irons and computers if using mains electricity. Current means within the last 12 months. If anyone has a problem with this, we can possibly arrange for on site tagging for a small fee.


Retreat Committee - hard at work



And what you couldn't see - at the other end of the table. Sue (Sioux) Smith taking time out with a friend.












Sewing Machines - we will have available a limited number of sewing machines for use in workshops only. These need to have been booked and paid for with registration. If you are driving over and need a sewing machine, it would be very much appreciated if you could bring your own as numbers available for hire are limited.

Not sure how many sleeps to go, but it is getting closer and closer - and still so much to do.

Liz

Reminders

Just in case you missed these reminders on the list, here they are again.

Girls wishing to attend the Thursday night pre-Retreat dinner need to contact Heather Bolt direct to book your places. No last minute decisions, girls. Places are filling up fast, so get onto it.

Apparel and merchandise orders need to be in to Bron Atkinson in the next couple of weeks, so don't put it off - reminds me I have to do mine. Bad girl, Liz!! End of January is the dead line for that one.

There is still room in most of the workshops, so if you have been humming and haaing, do something about it now - Whoops! You may already be too late. Check with Tracey on that one.

RAFFLE

Exciting news for those of you who missed out on the Retreat Raffle. We have another one!!! We enjoyed the first one so much, that Jenny Loveder organised another raffle quilt. This one is a gorgeous New York Beauty in batik fabrics. You will love it. But wait....................!! There's more.............!! Two of our famous Scquilters, Jenny Bowker and Lisa Walton, have donated beautiful pieces for second and third prizes in this raffle. More details and photos later. Tickets will be available at the beginning of March and proceeds will go to Breast Cancer Research. This raffle will be drawn at the Friday night Retreat dinner, so keep your eyes open for the ticket sales.

Finally a glimpse of some of our volunteer slaves busy preparing goodies for the Retreat. No details - it's a surprise!!




91 days to go!!

Liz

Sorry

My apologies for neglecting this blog. End of term, Christmas and poor health (not mine) got in the way, but now I have it sorted and will try and post more regularly.

Preparations for the Retreat are well under way and with only 3 months to go, excitement is building - at least here in Adelaide. After all, it is the social event of the year in this sleepy city!! LOL!! I imagine that Glenelg will be anything but sleepy come April!!!

Congratulations to our lucky raffle quilt winner - JULIE KLINGBERG from Murray Bridge. Julie's winning ticket was sold by committee member Patricia Little and you can see both Julie and Patricia in the photos below.

Julie Klingberg (left) receiving her quilt from Patricia Little

A very happy Julie with her gorgeous quilt.

More later.

Liz

Retreat Workshops

It's a while since I wrote on this blog, but I have been away on school camps and there hasn't been a lot to tell you. We had a committee meeting on Saturday and sorted out registrations, workshops, merchandise orders etc. It took all afternoon, but it was a job well done.

There are still spaces left at the Retreat, so if you know anyone who was humming and haahing, pleae encourage them to join us in Adelaide next April. We can guarantee a fun filled weekend.

There are also spaces in most of the workshops, so please consider taking one of the classes. Here are a couple of class descriptions to whet your appetite. Both Tara and Gina are very highly regarded teachers, though perhaps not so well known interstate.

TEA WITH ROSES - TARA SNIEDZE (OF TASSIE QUILTS) $40.00

With simple floral shapes perfect for the beginner, this is the ideal project for you if you've always wanted to try needle-turn applique. You will learn easy techniques to create bias strip stems, inside and outside curves, clipped points, and simple marking techniques. Bring along your favourite fabrics and coloured threads, and learn how easy needle-turn applique can be.

Approx 24 x 76 inches.

Tara Sniedze has a blog. Tara has also published in AP&Q. She teaches at Quiltaholics at Magill.


DAISY CHAIN QUILT - GINA BURGESS - $40.00

This fun one day workshop will show you how to make the delightful Daisy Chain quilt. Based on the traditional single Irish Chain design, we will look at the construction of the chain block, the preparation and stitching of the appliqué block and finally the piecing of the border. You can choose the daisy chain appliqué block (see photo), bring your own appliqué design (must fit a 9" fin. block) or complete the Wine and Roses theme block. (This photo will be available later.)
This is a stress free workshop suitable for all skill levels.

Gina teaches at Port Noarlunga, and has a group called Gallery Quilters there.

This quilt made by Gina Burgess and Mary Williams won Group Quilt at the recent SA Quilters Guild exhibition

Details of workshops and photos of projects can be found on the Retreat website - link on this page.

Liz

Committee Report

One of our eminent committee members, Jenny Loveder, undertook the dangerous and arduous task of checking out Jetty Road, Glenelg, site of our Retreat next year. After hours of strenuous streetwalking (I kid you not) here is her report.

"I can offer (very satisfied) information on a little cafe called Zest in Sussex Street, Glenelg, where I had a really good coffee this morning, along with three different bruchetta – hummas, tomato & basil, and tapendade, all served by pleasant, smiling staff. I passed Bracegirdles and DIDN’T go further up Jetty Road to Haigh’s, tho I was tempted! Bookshops abound, coffee cafes thrive, and the place just buzzes." Jenny

Of course, had she enough energy to continue in other directions, she would have discovered a long inviting jetty, sandy white beaches, a fun park with a beautiful old Hurdy Gurdy, and esplanade of cosmopolitan restaurants and luxury apartments and shops and a boat marina.

And all this on top of the best quilting weekend you could ever hope to experience. How can you not come to Adelaide next April?

Liz

About us

Now that you have met both Chris and I - well, you have read our names - I'll take the liberty of introducing us very briefly!

Chris and I are both teachers - Chris is a secondary school Home Economics teacher and I am currently a primary school teacher (Year 6/7). We have known each other since we both joined the committee to organise the 1999 Adelaide Retreat. Our group was called the 99ers initially and after the retreat we all enjoyed each others company so much, that we stayed together, although our numbers have depleted a little. That's what happens when a group of quilters gets together to create a retreat!! There are still 6 of the original 99ers on the committee for this retreat.

I have been quilting now for about 16 years and Chris has been quilting forever!! My role on the committee is to organise sponsorship - and to write up this blog and Chris is coordinator for the Raffle quilt and co-host of the blog. That's us in a nutshell!!

I have been looking for photos that I can post to the blog, but so far this is the only one I have. This is our committee (minus me) working very hard organising your retreat. They were actually checking out venues at the time. Since the photo was taken a couple of the committee have had to leave us and we have several new members.

Top Row : L-R Maxine Smith, Betty Swalling, Jan Strachan, Chris O'Brien, Andrea Ellison. 2nd Row: Bron Atkinson, Elvira Richardson, Jenny Loveder, Heather Bolt

Sizes!!!!

We had a great deal of discussion and some real belly laughs at the last committee meeting about how we could encourage retreatees to remember to put down the sizes on their apparel orders. We put the problem down to 'Oldtimers' or shaky hands because quite often either the sizes were left off altogther or the handwriting was very difficult to read.

In the end (with tongue firmly in cheek, girls), we decided to let you know that the default sizes for the apparel will probably be either Size 8 or Size 6X. Now we don't really want anyone to have the embarassment of walking around for a weekend either looking like Orphan Annie in adults cast offs or as if they're wearing my 4 year old grand daughter's cast offs, so please remember when ordering apparel to check that you have included the correct sizes.

There will be no exchanges if the apparel doesn't fit!!!

Have a good day.

Liz Needle