Our Biennial Exhibition has come and gone all too quickly.

After nearly twelve months of meetings and planning by the Exhibition Committee 2017, the final results have been much more than we expected. At this stage we are still sorting through the accounts that need to be paid and once this has been completed we will have an idea of the final result. The charities the Guild supports will be the winners.

The Exhibition

We had 71 members’ quilts / textile works to display and collectively, the range of styles, techniques and materials was a fine example of the outstanding work completed by our members. All tastes and interests were catered for. Ranging from the fine traditional approaches enjoyed by many of our members through to the modern and experimental as well as different cultural approaches and everything in between. There was something for everyone to enjoy. We are immensely proud of the contributions submitted for display by our members.

Exhibition Awards were:

Presidents Choice Award : 'Wild River' by Fran Cox

Grace Hand Award (Creative use of Colour) : 'Good Gordy, Miss Jordy' by Mandy Smith

Members Challenge : 'Family'  by Liz Willing

The Guild Room

• All weekend the room off the main exhibition was filled with happy chatter and busy hands. Jann Haggart’s member table once again displayed the contributions of so many members who generously donated their time and materials over the year.
• Jan Newell’s Demonstrators kept a busy pace all weekend with so many members contributing to demonstrate a range of skills and techniques.
• Marie Lee and her band of machinists worked nonstop over the two days on the Snuggly Quilts, often taking time out to demonstrate a skill or answer questions from visitors.
• The Art, Sew and Chat display and demonstrators also worked over the two days displaying an enormous variety of materials and techniques.
• Caring and Sharing also contributed a display of the quilts they generously donate to those in need of a bit of extra comfort and warmth.

Thank you to Jan Newell and Jann Haggart for keeping the enthusiasm and liveliness in the room over the two days.

The Cafe

The cafe was kept busy throughout the entire weekend. It became a meeting place for many to catch up, have a cuppa and a bite to eat. All credit for the smooth running of the cafe must go to Glenise Gallagher and Marita Tipping. It was an outstanding effort on their behalf over all over the weekend.

Members Challenge

This year the Members Challenge theme was ‘Family’ and we had 8 entries submitted. These ranged from family photographic portraits to appliqué and modern interpretations. Thank you to all who contributed to make this a success. All these entries will become a special ‘snapshot’ in 2017 to be kept by these families.

Thank you to Denise Roganovic for organising the Member’s Challenge for 2017.

The Raffle

As well as taking on the President’s role this year, Lee Hanmer has kept the raffle running over the past three months. The beautiful quilt that has been displayed over recent months gave great impetus for many people to buy a raffle ticket in the hope that theirs will be the lucky ticket chosen.

Thank you to all who purchased a ticket and to Lee for her organisation of the raffle. Special thank you to June from ‘Lily Patches’ in Boronia and Carol from ‘Sewn and Quilted’ in Blackburn for displaying the quilt and selling raffle tickets on our behalf over the past months.

Our 2017 Exhibition raffle quilt won first prize at Showcase for group quilts

Raffle results:

1st Prize - quilt (above) won by Sharon Leonard

2nd Prize - large sewing box won by Liz Willing

3rd Prize - small sewing box won by Beverly Frances

The Traders

Thank you to our traders who contributed to the colour and excitement of the weekend. Also a bi thank you to Glenise Gallagher for organising the diverse group who worked tirelessly over the weekend.

The traders provided plenty of options for some retail therapy

To all our volunteers who attended over the weekend it couldn’t happen without you and to the Exhibition Committee it wouldn’t happen without you! Thank you - Jan Newell, Glenise Gallagher, Denise Roganovic, Jann Haggart and Lee Hanmer.

Dot Henwood On behalf of the Exhibition Committee 2017