Kincumber Retreat May 2023.

The last weekend in May 2023 saw 18 SydMQG members head north out of Sydney towards the Central Coast.

Rumour has it some retreaters might have stopped off en route at the very well stocked West Gosford Spotlight, and to see the lovely folk at the Sewing Basket in Kincumber (it’s part of the Achieve network of charity shops, and is located just 1 handy km from our retreat location – and near the really good coffee shop. I think they did very well with both donations & purchases that weekend!)

Some of us are pretty familiar with the facilities up at St Joseph’s in Kincumber, and it was great to be back there for a couple of full days dedicated to all things sewing & quilting, a lot of chatting, a modicum of wine slurping, and lots of scones. (And one of the best collections of Lucky Door prizes we’ve ever had.) For those members who struggle to get much dedicated quilt-making time in day-to-day life it is a real treat!

It was also lovely to catch up with some members who don’t often get to travel to Ashfield for Sunday Sewing, but managed to make it for the weekend. We had a handful of retreat newbies too, and it was great to see their delight at the facilities. That big hall where we sew works so well for a group our size – plenty of room to spread out and get creative! (Also, Sister Ellen has high hopes for her new chef, and she got the thumbs up from us too!)

The retreaters had an opportunity to get involved in the laying out of the QuiltNSW 2024 Raffle Quilt; and there was plenty of discussion and tweaking. Then the Dream Assembly Team of Helen Hill and Catherine Butterworth helped Kate Shea (this year’s group project coordinator), and they cracked on with pulling the top together – so by the end of the weekend we had a Colourful Cascade* pulled together from all the gorgeous improv cross-cut blocks (made by so many our generous members earlier this year) all ready for basting. And another multi-coloured block to go home with Anita Brown who volunteered to piece the backing. Hooray!

It was a glorious autumn weekend. Bright sunshine, with a crisp bite in the air – perfect for mooching around the beautiful riverside grounds for those of us who need an intermittent leg stretch and break away from the machines, irons and design boards.

But gossiping (sorry: information sharing), walking, shopping and eating aside; it was a very productive weekend for so many. Just have a look at the photos to see what was achieved.

Roll on August 2024. We’re booked in again for the first weekend. Can’t wait.
(We’ll probably be very glad of those electric blankets then!)

Cheers Kate Shea


* Thank you Helen Tait for the excellent name suggestion.

Kathleen Riggins Workshop presented by the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

We are delighted to announce that legendary Canadian free motion quilter, Kathleen Riggins, is coming to Sydney to teach for the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild!

You might know Kathleen’s work through her Instagram moniker Kathleen Quilts. Kathleen is coming to Australia to teach at AMQF and after finishing in Adelaide, she is heading to Sydney to teach for us.

The dates are Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 September, 2018 and the venue is Dooley’s Waterview at Silverwater Rd & Clyde St, Silverwater NSW 2128.

Saturday 29/9 :: Easy Quilting, Stunning Quilts
Use a straight ruler and easy fills to create stunning modern quilting designs. Use the piecing in the quilt to find hidden shapes and lines, then simply fill them in for fantastic quilting! In this class you will use a cheater panel to practice the techniques we learn.
Full day. 10 am – 4 pm
Cost of cheater panel is an extra cost of approximately A$26 payable on the day.
Trybooking

Sunday 30/9 :: Quilting For The Crazy/Combining Designs In Modern Ways
Sometimes spending that little bit of extra time on a quilt can really make it special. Mark lines & shapes to create stunning negative spaces may be time consuming, but it’s not particularly difficult. Knowing some basic designs is one thing, but knowing how to combine them in interesting ways can open a whole new world of quilting – without having to learn new designs! Join Kathleen as she walks you through some of her favourite ways to combine designs, helping you create stunning quilts.
Full day. 10am – 4pm
Trybooking

You may enrol for both days, if you wish. The material covered will not overlap.

Cost includes workshop only. Lunch, coffees and snacks may be purchased in the club dining room.

Cost per day for members: $175
Cost per day for SMQG non-members: $250

Join the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild today and save big! Send us an email we will send you a membership form.

Places are limited, so book quickly.

Monday meetup – Favourite quilting tools or gadgets

Sydney Modern Quilt Guild has two meetings per month.

A full day of sewing happens on our Sewing Sundays from 10am-4pm, but what goes on at Monday MeetUp you ask?

We meet at the same club, Dooleys Waterview Club and have a table booked from 7pm. There is the opportunity to have dinner, or just cake and coffee or tea, as people make their way in for a 7.30 start. There is always plenty of conversation, laughter and handsewing.

Generally there is a topic for discussion. You can sit and listen, or jump in with your own tidbits. The March Monday MeetUp topic was your “Favourite quilting tools or gadgets”.

There were many ideas that were shared including some novel uses for objects unrelated to the usual quilting notions.

This ingenious little device was shown to us by Jodi – a first time visitor. It’s a “snippit” a gadget from Canada for opening plastic milk pouches. The cleverly concealed blade is perfect for snipping threads and can safely be taken on flights. It’s also magnetic…which means it’s a needle holder too!

Our next Monday MeetUp is on 24 April from 7pm at Dooley Waterview Club Silverwater Road Silverwater.

Contact details are on our Facebook page, instagram or by email from our blog.

We look forward to seeing our regulars and new comers in the coming months.

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