Well ..... where do I begin? We had, without a doubt, THE most amazingly successful Quilt Fair weekend. Despite erratic inclement weather we welcomed folk who, in some cases, had travelled from the other side of Melbourne (Mornington Peninsula) as well as those more local to our area, to come and see what we had to offer and to connect with our little charity quilting outreach.
We were able to share our story with our visitors ... tempting several of them to put their hand up to join us next year in helping to create our fabric 'hugs' for children across the globe.. It truly was an incredibly satisfying weekend on so many fronts.
Just over 100 people came through the Barn door ... we sold over 25 quilts ... and a myriad of other stitched items, magazines, wall hangings, fabric gift baskets, and many, many cups of tea/coffee and delectable home made cakes and slices. The success of the weekend will enable us to create even more quilts for those in need. We are incredibly appreciative of all who supported us on the weekend. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
It truly was an extremely heartwarming satisfying weekend on so many fronts. I will now share photos taken on the day ...
Pauline ..... at the 'refreshment' table ...
Finishing touches from Deborah ....
Yvonne .... at 'front of house' ....
Christine .... donning our special 'pinny' .....
Moi .... aka 'yours truly' ...
Final 'tweaks' to the room ... and awaiting the first visitor ...
Make that 'three' visitors ... welcome, welcome ... Yana, Heather and Brent ....
And they were soon followed by many more ... all eager to see what we had to offer ....
The extremely talented Brenda ... who created the beautiful appliqued quilt she is standing in front of .....
Teabreak ..... :) And a queue forming in the background ...
Gaynor ... taking a spot of fresh air with visitors to our Barn ...
The tea table was never empty ....
Some more of the beautiful stitchery on show .... this beautiful 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' ... by our own Maxine. Stunning needlework.
Also this beautiful blanket with a storybook Fairy 'theme' .... also by Maxine.
Some of the detail in closeup .... so beautiful.
A fine feathered Kookaburra ..... incredibly fine stitching.
Just so much incredible detail in Maxines work ...
From another of our members, Alison ... this 'memory quilt' .... another stunner :)
Pieced like one of those fold out photo cards .. very clever indeed ...
We were generously gifted some quilts to sell as part of our fundraising ... and this is one of them ... adore the colours and the piecing.
And more ...
A slight spot of 'precipitation' ....
And five minutes later .... in typical Melbourne fashion ... brilliant sunshine. So ended Day 1 of our Quilt Fair ...
Next morning .....
And our first guests ..... Mary and John.
Our 'Parking Attendants' ..... ;) Peter and Reg.
Christine and Win .... catering staff :)
Happy visitors .....
And more .... so good to welcome folk to our Quilting Barn ...
Shopping :)
Charlie and Margaret ......
Helen and Gary ....
And .... our 100th visitor .... just in time for the 'door prize' ... nice timing Helen Greenwood. Long time Blog followers will recall that Helen and her husband Keith were the founders of Christian Outreach Ministry which created the Childrens Homes in India .. which in turn prompted Gaynor and her daughter Rachel to begin the whole Quilts for Orphans project. So extremely appropriate that Helen should get a prize today ;)
It's OK ... our Parking attendant isn't handing out a ticket to Helen ;)
Sonia and Carol dropped by ....
Heather and Gaynor ....
Gaynor, Helen. Gary and Annette ....
Our bargain tables on the verandah were extremely popular ..... Norma and Jenny chat ....
Deborah, Helen and Jenny ... stitching up a deal ....
Getting a tad busy on the bargain tables ....
Whilst inside the Barn .... the tables were looking a bit empty ... signs of a very successful two day Fair.
Christine and Gaynor .... reflecting on the weekend Quilt Fair ....
Last call for a cuppa? Or shall we all go home?
Final look at the beautiful garden before we wrap up the 2016 Annual QFO Quilt Fair. A resounding success and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting and greeting all our visitors. And we most certainly will be able to create ever so many more quilts with the supplies we are now able to fund.
Big Thanks to all the local Community Noticeboards on Facebook, and the Yarra Ranges Craft Hub as well as Evelyn Village Craft Group and the Eastern Makers and Creators ... who so very kindly allowed us to regularly mention this Event. Also Thanks to Newscorp, The Mail Newsgroup, The Star Newsgroup. MADCOW in Monbulk, Light FM, Magic 1278, Yarra Valley FM and the Mount Evelyn Christian School ... who all gave us publicity through their publications and Community Noticeboards. Without their help we would surely not have been able to reach as many as we did. Thank you so very, very much ..... same time next year?
And now, without further ado ... I will wrap up this Blogpost .... its been just wonderful to be able to share with you. Hope that you enjoyed seeing our Event ... and hope that you will all keep the calendar for this time next year free, as we do it all again :)
Till next Blog,
Blessings to all,
Susan
Gaynor Peterson ...phone (03)9756 7950
email: [email protected]
Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825
email: [email protected]
Our postal address (for donations) is P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793