Well hello there Readers .... yes, tis I ... the scribe .... And I have pictures of the weekend of November 3rd and 4th when we threw our Barn doors open to the public as a fundraiser and exhibition of our talented workers!!
But even BEFORE to these days ...we had met on October 24th and busily set up for the weekend that we would fundraise our little socks off.We had brought along some of our own 'hobby' work ... cross stitches, wall hangings, amazing quilts to display on the walls. With so many talented ladies in our ranks we soon had some beautiful work hanging up to be admired. Now if I haven't labelled the pictures with the names of ALL the clever ladies who stitched them ... it's only because I have mislaid my 'notes' ... and I will rectify the omission as soon as I track them down:)
So here firstly are the pics from October 24th 2012 ....
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Here is Yvonne ... getting ready to display one of our lovely pieces.
While Sandie got down and soggy with the skirting boards ... funnily enough I couldn't persuade her to come and do mine!!
We had SO much to do in preparation for the weekend ... but the finished result (as you will see later) was well worth it! Here is our Joy arriving to pitch in ....
Gaynor describing her 'vision' of how it will /should look on the Open Weekend :)
A selection of our aprons for sale ... and we STILL have some left ... should anyone want to purchase a unique Christmas gift ... hint, hint!!
Close up of the lovely applique work on a gardening apron ...
Yvonne busily sewing the 'screens' for our shelving, so that we could display our handiwork effectively.
A close up of this beautiful Iris wall hanging ...
Amazing embroidery ...
Yvonnes wonderful winter cross-stitch....
'Faded Overalls' ... by yours truly....
... and ditto for 'Princess and the Pea' .... was a little sad when my daughter 'outgrew' this one :P
Gaynors 'Teaset' ... in cross-stitch....
Colourful pair of parrots .... cross-stitch on linen ....
Amazing embroidered quilted wall hanging ..
Close up ...... of a sad little bear:)
... and up the garden path..
A lovely farmyard themed appliqued wall hanging .... we have some VERY talented ladies in our group!!
Sandies 'Friendship' quilt ... made in conjunction with a number of friends whilst in Africa. Friends contributed a block to each of the other friends ... thus enabling each member of the group to complete a special memento quilt. What a wonderful idea!!!
My picture doesn't quite do this amazing piece of work justice ... it truly is incredible!!
More of our feathered friends ... in cross-stitch on linen ...
Cathys beautiful appliqued quilt ... stunning!!!
Gaynors pretty multi-coloured hand-pieced quilt is nearing completion ...
One of Jennys' miniature wall hangings ...
And another miniature .... with intricate stitching ..
The 'planets' were copied, via computer, to fabric which was then stitched & embellished .. by Jenny.
Another of Jennys beautiful miniatures ...
Sandie created this piece .... named after a famous site in the States ... (the name of which excapes me... Lake Tahoe perhaps?) ... the piecing reflects the snow capped mountain, woods ... with cabin... and Lake ... with sunset over the mountain tops. Brilliant!!!
Lovely leadlight window effect in this wall hanging ....
A lovely marine themed quilt made by Val ....
No while all these works were being admired as they were displayed .... we were also kept busy hanging quilts for sale as part of the fundraising to be done on our Open Weekend. Here is Joy ... folding busily.
Soon Every square inch of the Barn was covered by quilts on racks and our handiwork...
While Reg was busy with ladder and hanging 'thingummies' to display some of the amazing show quilts.
We also kept him busy, hanging 'screens' in front of our fabric shelves .. in order to display more works.
The finished screen ... with Val, who was kept busy signwriting for us:) Her amazing dragon wall hanging is above her head ... try enlarging the 'zoom' on this Blog to see its beautiful detail.
Here is Val again .... hard at work lettering signs for our Quilt sale ...
And now a quick look at some of the other items we were offering for sale:)
Cute handknitted teacosies .... (teapots not included)
Sweet little Owls ....
Small and large ... all lined up and ready to fly:)
Vibrant quilts ... just waiting to be sold and brighten up a childs room ...
And now ... some reports and photos from the Open Weekend Quilt Show at the Barn ....
As I was unable myself to attend on the weekend I had to hand over the 'reporting' to our illustrious leader. Gaynor tells me that the first person came through the Barn door at a minute past 10 on the Saturday. In total we had 91 people come to our Quilt Show and Sale ... and this 2 day event has generated enough funds to keep us in batting for the coming year. Just imagine how many children we will be able to provide quilts for now!!! Awesome eh??
We sold 7 Quilts on the Saturday, a further 4 on the Sunday. Emilys colourful pencil cases sold well ... as did Jans miniature Christmas stockings and placemats and Joys childrens pinnies. Lyn (from Mildura) had provided us with Christmas runners ... and they also sold very well :) Our vintage buttons were popular ... and our Fat Quarters @ $3.00 each were a hit too!!
We also received many complimentary remarks about our 'Display Only' items ... so Thank You very much to all who came and supported our efforts to continue creating fabric 'hugs' for children overseas in Homes and orphanages.
Now for some pictures from the weekend ...
The verandah all set up with quilts for sale, as well as our tote bags and bric-a-brac
How beautiful does this look?? Inside the barn ...our 'display' quilts and stitcheries...
Such beautiful things on display and for sale ...
Our catering 'staff' ... hard at work with scones and cuppas ....
Our visitors relaxing in the garden with a cuppa and scones. We were blessed with beautiful weather ...
Jan ... one of our stitching team sharing refreshments with a friend inside the Barn... doesn't the 'display wall' look brilliant??
So, all in all it was a WONDERFUL success and we are already planning for another Open Weekend NEXT November. Tentative dates so far will be November 9th and 10th 2013. Seems like a looong way off ... but ink it into your 'forward planning' diaries now!! Should be just brilliant!!!
And in closing I will share a couple of pictures that we recently received .... a Thank You from the recipients of some of our recent fabric 'hugs' .... the children in Ethiopia at the Lola Childrens Home.
How sweet is this ... from the Lola Childrens Home ... in Ethiopia. We sent them quilts mid year ...
Now I will send this Blog entry into cyberspace ... and will be back again tomorrow ... with the news from our Working Bee on November 10th. Just a tad late tonight to pound the keyboard for longer .... but rest assured there will be a further Blog out withing the next 48 hours. Just time enough for you to make more coffee and settle in for ANOTHER read!!
Blessings to all...
Susan:)
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