Thursday, January 21, 2021

Monday 18th January

So another year begins and the COVID restrictions remain in place for the foreseeable future but that didn’t deter the dedicated team of Sunshine Linus committee members. They arrived bright and early to set up at the church hall ready for the arrival of Sunshine Linus’ members for the first meeting of 2021.

Once again Margaret and Sue were on hand to set out an array of
donated items on the 'freebie table'.

Thelma was stationed at the table out the front ready to check-in members, including Fran.

Sharon, Susan and Jan welcomed attendees and collected membership forms. (New membership forms can be located on the right hand side of the blog under the ‘pages tab’. Please complete a form and return to Sharon even if you pay your membership fee online).


Members sort through the ‘freebie table’ looking for those
hidden gems.

 Maria and Jenny look through the button collection.

Lee arrived with a smile and donation of several, colourful blockenspiels and breast cancer pillows.

Sandra showed some of the pretty breast cancer pillows and drainage bags she has been sewing during the holidays.

Elaine donated these beautiful baby items, including pyjamas, a pinafore and panties. Elaine also showed several sets of ‘Noughts and Crosses’ games she had created.



Judith showed two of a number of gorgeous Angel packs, all beautifully packaged ready for the 'Baby team' to distribute.

Clare arrived with a pile of fun, sensory cushions and a range of cute and cuddly, weighted furry friends (a special request from a client).



Rosemary delivered a set of quaint sea creatures she had crocheted. They are destined for the children’s ward at SCUH.

Once again the tables were overflowing with donated items thanks to the generosity of Sunshine Linus members and friends.



Faye delivered a stack of quilts, blockenspiels, beanies and jumpers donated by the Bribie Island ladies.


Dorothy arrived with a pile of lovely quilts. A friend had given her the tops to quilt.

Lisa showed this delightful, animal-themed and weighted quilt she had made using a series of fabric panels.

Anne showed a bright, rainbow quilt she had stripped pieced using fabric from one of the plastic tubs she had taken home during the holidays.

Kaye showed a charming quilt featuring three circular pieced blocks and a ‘stack and whack’ quilt she had made from blocks and fabric from the ‘freebie table’.

Orrawin loves a challenge. She pieced together an incredibly intricate ‘I Spy’ quilt using small scrap blocks from the ‘freebie table’ and a vibrant checked quilt, again using scrap blocks from the ‘freebie table’.


And then it was time for members to head home again after signing out of course!

Maria signs out with Susan and Janet before
leaving.

Of course the day doesn’t end at this point as soon after the distribution process begins and then of course it is pack-up time!

This month’s Hints, Tips and Tricks come courtesy of Carole F:

  • When you thread your machine needle you should have your presser foot up and instead of moistening your thread you moisten behind the eye of the needle (the back of the needle) - the thread is attracted to moisture and threads easily.
  • If pins are hard to push through fabric, put pins into a bar of soap - this puts a coating on the pins.

Some Reminders:

  • Check out this month’s newsletter and President’s message. The newsletter can be found under the pages tab.
  • Remember to print off a nomination form and send to Janet ready for the AGM in March. The nomination form can be found under the pages tab.
  • Make sure your membership is up to date. Again the form can be found under the pages tab and you can also pay the membership fee $20 via direct debit if you wish.
  • The Action Day planned for February has been cancelled.
  • Remember to sign out after each meeting.

Hope to see you again soon!













Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you have all had a well earned rest and were able to spend time with loved ones throughout the Christmas/ New Year period. 

The 2021 Calendar is now available on the web page (pages tab - on right hand side of the blog) and a membership form has been emailed out to members. The membership form can also be found under the pages tab.

Restricted meetings are likely to stay in place until further notice so we are limited to 35 in the hall at any one time. One small exception is we can now use the kitchen. With this in mind the discussion at the last committee meeting for 2020 was how do we start to recapture the atmosphere of old? We have sought to implement some solutions and like all things we do we will be lead by members and what they want. So in 2021 we are going to trial the following:

Distribution Days
Will be the same as for 2020 and Janet will once again take your bookings for the day. The Freebie table, distribution of wadding etc. will all happen on this day as in the past.

Activity/Gathering Days 
Will be purely social and provide an opportunity for us to catch up socially, work on projects or bring along our own work. At these meetings we will not have the freebie table, distribution of wadding or collection of any items for the Wishlist. This is purely a social gathering. As the kitchen will be available we will be able to have morning tea and lunch. Time frame for these days will be 8:30-2:00pm. Numbers will be limited to 35 and once again it will be necessary to book a spot for the day. We will trial this until we can gauge member response. 

Special items for first Linus Gathering Day
As you know the church requires us now to have all electrical items tagged and tested so we are investigating having this service available for a small cost at the first gathering in February. If members wish to have their machines tagged and tested but don’t wish to attend the full day gathering we will accommodate this request.

Linus Summer Retreat
The venue has been booked and interest has been very keen for this initiative. We decided to go with self-catering to keep costs down and allow everyone to meet their own dietary requirements. It will be an end of year retreat and will be the perfect wind down for us with long beach walks, sessions in the pool and lots of crafting.

Linus Spring Fair
2021 will see us holding our major fund raiser in September and so we have changed the name to a 'Spring Fair'. Janet and Susan will be co ordinating this event and will forward more details once we have met post first distribution day in 2021. 

So keeping all that information in mind we look forward to meeting up with you again on Monday 18th January! Remember to book a spot!