June 2026 🎉🧵

 Sweet 16 🧵🎉

Our June meeting was a wonderful celebration of friendship, generosity and community spirit as we marked Sunshine Linus' 16th Birthday! 🎂💛

A delicious strawberry crème sponge birthday cake, beautifully made by Marion G.,was enjoyed by everyone. The honours of cutting the cake went to Judie B. and Sharon H., a fitting way to celebrate sixteen years of Sunshine Linus making a difference in our community. 🥳🎉

Happy 16th Birthday, Linus!

It was wonderful to welcome even more visitors this month. We were delighted to have guests from Lowood, Toowoomba, Burpengary, Woodford and Witta, highlighting just how far the Sunshine Linus spirit continues to spread. 😊

A huge thank you also goes to the Mooloolah Lions Club and the Suncost Social Dancers, who generously donated to Sunshine Linus. Your support helps us continue providing comfort to so many people in our community. 🤝💕

A friendly greeting on arrival.

📻 Sunshine Linus on ABC Radio

Anyone listening to  Sheridan Stewart on ABC Radio on a recent Saturday Morning may have recognised a familiar voice!

Our own Judie B., spoke with Sheridan about the history and purpose of Sunshine Linus, sharing how the organisation has grown over the past 16 years and the enormous impact our volunteers continue to make throughout the community.

One wonderful outcome of the interview was a visit from Lynne, who heard Judie speaking on the radio and decided to come along and see Sunshine Linus for herself. Lynne has spent many years making items for hospitals and community groups and was keen to learn more about what we do.

She also brought along some of her delightful handmade Cats, which are certain to bring smiles and comfort to their future owners.  🐱💛

A warm welcome to Lynne.

🧶Peregian Crafters & Knitters Club

Gabrielle brought along another wonderful collection of handmade items from the Peregian Crafters and Knitters Club. This amazing group contributes every month and continues to be an invaluable supporter of Sunshine Linus.

As they search for a new meeting venue, we thank them for their ongoing generosity. Their donations included beautiful items for the Baby Group and the Yarners, and Gabrielle even headed home with more supplies ready to be transformed into future Sunshine Linus creations. 🧶💛

First stop is the Baby Table

Rugs for the Yarners

The quality is always exceptional.

🛍️ The Sales Table

The Sales Table featured a wonderful selection of handmade items this month. Alongside the ever-popular oven mitts and coffee warmers, there were also some thoughtful accessories for young mums, including nappy change mats with handy storage pockets. These practical and beautifully crafted items were a great example of the creativity and generosity of our talented members. 💛🧵

🎨 Touchie Feelie Table

Chris shared some fantastic news about the success of the Touchie Feelie Aprons. Around half of the apron kits have now been returned as completed aprons, with the remainder expected back next month. These sensory aprons continue to bring comfort and engagement to many recipients. 😊

Jenny H models an apron.

Kits are also available to make the ever-popular Blockenspiels, another favourite project for members.

Some we prepared earlier 😊

Sewing Kits 

Kits are available to take home, complete at your own pace, and return at our next meeting. See the list below. 😊

✨ Glockenspiels
✨ Kanyini Bears
✨ Sensory Aprons 

Don't forget to bring your kits back next month, even if they're unfinished. Returning them helps us to keep track of our projects and ensure every kit finds its way to completion.

🧵😊 The Freebie Table

There are always plenty of treasures to discover on the Freebie Table, and this month was no exception. Among them was an embroidery, which has already found a new home.

Several other completed embroidered pieces have been incorporated into handmade leather bags, which will be available for purchase at our Sunshine Linus Open Day on Saturday, 1 August. Scroll down for more details. 

It's wonderful to see how pieces from the Freebie Table are given a new purpose and transformed into beautiful creations for others to enjoy.  👜🪡

There is always a story.

🐻 Kanyini Bears & Catheter Covers

Jenny D demonstrated how to make both Catheter Covers and our treasured Kanyini Bears.

A catheter cover made in
response to a special request. 💛

Jenny D with a Kanyini Bear
made to the pattern

She reminded everyone that the Kanyini Bear pattern is available on the Sunshine Linus Blog, and that it is important to follow both the pattern and the specified wool colours to ensure every bear remains true to its special purpose and cultural significance. 💛🐻

✨Show and Tell

As always, Show and Tell was full of inspiration!

🌊 Dorothy accepted the challenge of creating a quilt for a gentleman using a beautiful sea turtle panel. The design came together perfectly, with enough fabric remaining to make a matching storage bag. There was even sufficient fabric left to add handy pockets for a book and a mobile phone, making this quilt both practical and absolutely stunning.

Dorothy explaining the
pockets in the bag

🧵 Activity Day Inspiration

Sharon showcased her beautiful Disappearing 9 Patch quilt, made using Barbara's pattern and quilted with Judie B.'s tips, including the walking foot and Orange Peel design. The instructions can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the 'Free Patterns' section on the blog or for your convenience:

Here is the link: Walking Foot Quilting - Student Notes

  

🧥 Glorianne showcased several beautiful jackets destined for Open Day. It was fascinating to learn that while one jacket used traditional wadding, another cleverly used a sweatshirt as its base, demonstrating how creative our members are.

These beautiful coats will be on sale at Open Day.

📚 Claire shared another delightful fabric storybook created for Palmview Special School. 

The story mat based on the story "Pig the Pug" by Aaron Blabey, is helping children learn about the importance of sharing through interactive storytelling.

Handmade Bears

🪡 Rosalie proudly completed her spectacular Crazy Quilt, which drew plenty of admiration.

One piece

🧸 There was also an incredible collection of handmade animals ready for Open Day, including bears, kangaroos and adorable dogs that are sure to find loving new homes.

🎟️ Raffle Winners

Congratulations to our lucky winners!

🎁 Bag:         Jenny D.
🍾 Prosecco: Carol (one of our newest members!)
🧸 Doll:         Margaret Mc.

Congratulations to all our winners! 🎉

📅 Save the Dates

July 27                July Meeting

August 1             Open Day - see details below

August 27           August Meeting

🌞You're Invited to the Sunshine Linus Open Day!

Join us for a day of handmade treasures, friendship and community.
🕘 9.00 am – 3.00 pm
📍 Nambour Uniting Church

• 🪡 Quilts

• 🧸 Toys

• 🧶 Rugs

• 👜 Bags & Coats

• 🎁 Handmade Gifts

• ✨ And much more!

📅 Saturday 1 August

🎟️ $10 admission (includes morning tea)

Browse a wonderful range of handcrafted items, including:

Every purchase helps Sunshine Linus provide handmade comfort and care to hospitals, aged care facilities, palliative care services, domestic violence refuges, and many other community organisations.

📧 Enquiries: sunshinelinus@gmail.com

🚗 Parking and entry via Donaldson Street

Join us to celebrate 16yrs 💐

 You are invited to our next Sunshine Linus meeting on Monday, 29th of June😀, 2026.

We meet at the Uniting Church on Coronation Street in Nambour, with car park access via Donaldson Street. Meetings are held on the last Monday of each month, from 9:30am to 2:00pm.

New members and visitors are always welcome. 

Tea, coffee, and a light morning tea will be provided.

We look forward to seeing you there!.

Open Day – June 2026

💛 Highlights in Pictures 📸

🧵 Barbara's Disappearing 9-Patch Block Workshop
Members enjoyed learning this clever quilting technique, creating beautiful blocks ready for future projects ✨

🏷️ The Pricing Table
Volunteers worked hard pricing some of the many items that will be available at Open Day 💛

🎁✨ While there will be many quilts available for purchase on Open Day, there will also be plenty of surprise treasures waiting for you! 😊🛍️

🪡 Judie B’s Quilting Workshop ✨

Judie B shared a wealth of quilting knowledge, covering sewing machine care, thread selection and a variety of tools designed to make quilting easier and more enjoyable📚🪡✨

Members learned about the history of "Stitch in the Ditch" quilting and how to use a walking foot. Judie demonstrated a range of practical aids for quilting, including quilting gloves, easy-thread needles and fabric markers. 😊🧵📚

Whether a beginner or experienced quilter, everyone came away with new ideas and techniques to try. As always, Judie's enthusiasm and generosity in sharing her knowledge was inspirational. 💛😊

Great News: ✨

🧵📖 A document with details of the workshop was shared with attendees. The document will soon be available on the blog. 

Keep an eye out—you won't want to miss it! ✨💛

Quilting Aides

Morning tea was delicious🫖🍰

📸 Creativity, Friendship and Fun

A wonderful day of learning, sharing skills and preparing for Open Day on August 1.😊🧵☕ 

Activity Day - What to bring 🧵

 

🧵✨ Activity Day – Monday 15 June 2026 

🕘 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
☕ Morning tea provided

We will have three activities running simultaneously😊

1. Disappearing 9-Patch Block & Square-on-Square Block with Barbara

2. Walking Foot Machine Quilting Lessons with Judi Bellingham. Judie will do several lessons during the morning if you are busy with other groups.

3. Pricing of Sales Items for our upcoming Open Day🏷️ 

✂️ Requirements

1.  🧵 Patchwork Blocks Session with Barbara, you will need:-

For a 9 Patch Block:

• 4 × 6½-inch coloured squares
• 4 × 6½-inch plain squares
• 1 × 6½-inch contrast square for the centre

For a Square on Square Block:

• 24 × coloured 4-inch squares
• 20 × plain 4-inch squares

Please bring:

• Sewing machine (current test and tag)
• Scissors and usual sewing supplies

📏 Cutters and rulers will be provided.

2. 🪡 Walking Foot Quilting Lessons with Judie

You will need:

• A quilting "sandwich" consisting of:
  • Top fabric
  • Wadding (approximately 12" × 12")
  • Backing fabric

😊 Judi will have some practice sandwiches available and will run several lessons throughout the morning, so you can join in even if you're busy with another activity.

• A sewing machine (current test and tag)
• Walking foot

3. 🏷️ Pricing for Open Day

For pricing, bring one sample of each of your items.

💛 The pricing team will give you a price for each item and some tags for you to put on your other items.

🏡 Please take your items home after pricing and bring them back to the Sales Table on Friday 31 July, the day before Open Day.

📝 Some pricing will also take place at the June Meeting on Monday 29 June.

We look forward to seeing you there! 💛🧵☕

Activity Day Reminder: Monday 15 June 2026 🌸🧵

Come along and enjoy a friendly morning with us at the Uniting Church Hall in Nambour.

Whether you stay for a short time or the entire morning, we would love to see you.

Morning tea provided.🫖🍰

Three activities will be running simultaneously throughout the morning:

🧵 Disappearing 9-Patch and Square-on-Square Blocks with Barbara
Learn how to create these popular quilt blocks and explore different design possibilities.

🪡 Walking Foot Machine Quilting with Judie Bellingham
Judi will be running several lessons throughout the morning, allowing participants to join a session around their other activities.

🏷️ Open Day Sales Item Pricing
Help prepare for Open Day by pricing items for sale.

Please check your emails for details of any materials or equipment you may need to bring along.