Monday 27th May

There were 89 attendees at this month’s meeting and as usual, it didn’t take long for everyone to find a job that needed to be done and set to work. Daphne and Lyn are two of our faithful, fabric sorters. Each month they commit their time to sorting and organising the many bags of fabric that are donated to Sunshine Linus. Thank you ladies!

Jill and Carole set about getting the quilts ready for the distribution table.

Gail and Debbie from the ‘SewingTeam’ were collecting the items required for their wish lists as well as taking time to enjoy a cuppa.

Anne, Rosina and Helen from the ‘Sensory Team’ were hard at work stitching on labels and making blockenspeils and baby balls.

The ‘Yarners’ came up with a great idea. They had been struggling to sort the huge piles of the many, varied items that were arriving on their table each month, so Janet, Eileen and Helen came up with the idea to organise and label plastic tubs specific for each type of item. Hopefully this will make their task much easier! Thank you too Janet for taking over the leadership of the ‘Yarners Team’.

Members of the ‘Baby Team’ Marlene (a visitor from SA), Sandra, Sue and Glenis looked as though they had everything under control! They were happy to show a selection of beautifully knitted cardigans to be donated to the Salvation Army Noosaville and a still born baby cocoon and beanie bound for Tanzania.

‘Show and Tell’ began with Orrawin showing two quilts. The first was a striking, car-themed quilt with a very modern look and the second a bright, scrap quilt suitable for a girl.

Lorraine showed this delightful quilt suitable for a little girl. It also came with a gorgeous bag!

Susan reminded everyone about the ‘president’s challenge’ due next month. Each team must dress their mini model. The ‘Sewing Team’ have already set the standard with this lovely smocked dress made from recycled fabrics and it also comes complete with a pair of small scissors.

Lyn P made this sweet bag using a cross-stitched panel she found on the ‘freebie table’. She covered it for extra protection with plastic sourced from Bunnings. Who says the hardware store is only for men?

Lyn also made this eye-catching quilt using hexagons that she once again found on the ‘freebie table’.

Loretta made this handsome frog. He will be available for sale on Open Day.

Annie R told us a heart-warming story. Her husband is the pastor at a local Lutheran church. He asked her to speak in church about the story of ‘Dorcas’ because in his mind she and all the ladies at Sunshine Linus are ‘Dorcases’! Dorcas was a Christian woman of New Testament times who made clothing for the poor. As a result of Annie’s story, Sunshine Linus received a donation from members of the church of $1000, four bags of fabric and this beautiful hexagon quilt top. If you would like to read about Dorcas you can find the story here.

Kaye modeled this stunning, knitted jacket. She made it from a variety of different yarns. Kaye is planning to knit another jacket ready for the 'sales table' on Open Day. She will make the pattern available for those people who are interested in making one themselves.

Beany has been busy knitting and piecing knitted blocks of various sizes. She showed four bright rugs ready for the colder months.

Lorraine and Sandra were having a great time modeling a selection of cute and practical items made by the ‘Yarners Team’.

The ‘Baby Team’ showed a cosy, crocheted rug and two gorgeous, knitted cardigans.

Rosemary put out a request for ‘touchy feely’ objects. She showed a selection of suitable objects to attach to the ‘touchy feely’ items that are made. Remember that they need to be able to stand up to the rigors of an industrial washing machine.

Claire put out a request for quilts for Nambour Special School a few months back. She showed this delightful, heavy/light themed quilt made by Pauline and long/short themed quilt made by Liz.

Claire also showed an ingenious, weighted blanket she had made. It contains 36 pockets on the inside that hold the weights.

Claire continues to make amazing story-themed quilts.  She showed this quaint and interactive story quilt based on the song ‘Five Little Ducks’. She trialed the ‘Scan and Cut’ machine for the numbers.

And finally, a quilt based on the story ‘King Bidgood’ with removable bath tub scenes. This quilt swill be donated to Currimundi Special School.

Marion reminded us of the fire safety drill procedures which included:

1.  The location of the 3 fire exits
2. The need to assist older members who require mobility assistance
3. To assemble in the area near the car park

A few other important reminders:

• Open Day Saturday 17^th August
• A4 and A5 pamphlets are now available for distribution
• Vendors attending Open Day include: The Patchwork Angel, Kimz Sewing and Patchwork Centre, The Sewing Mill, Cooroy Drapery, Maleny Magic Patchworks and Quilts and Bowerbirdy
• Keep your items for the ‘sales table’ at home until Activity Day July 15^th when you will need to deliver these items to be sorted and priced
• Also next month Sunshine Linus will be celebrating its 9^th birthday! There will be cake!

Monday 29th April

Today’s meeting began with members gathering around their group tables, preparing, labeling and sorting items for the wish lists. The new system appears to be working well under the guidance of the new group leaders:

Quilts: Kaye

Sensory Items: Linda 

Knitting and Crochet: Val

Special Orders: Claire

Sewing: Denise

Baby Items: Jan 

Thank you to the group leaders for taking on these roles.

Jenny and Sharon and a number of other helpers had also put much thought and time into preparing the distribution tables ready for the wish lists to be filled.

Kaye very kindly gave up precious time from her quilt retreat to attend today’s meeting and oversee the official part of the meeting as Susan was unable to be with us today due to a family commitment.

Kaye began by thanking all of those members who arrive early to set up, and those members who provide something to eat for morning tea each month.

Cynthia introduced ‘Show and Tell’ resplendent in a lovely, gold dress but no, she was not all dressed up for a night on the town, rather she was trying to remind everyone to sort and cull items before bringing them into Sunshine Linus. Remember Sunshine Linus does not receive clothes, used linen or other similar items!

Jenny showed two very ingenious sensory vests complete with ‘touchy feely’ items attached to the outside and also hidden inside the pockets! They are to be donated to the ‘Break Through’ organisation who are in the process of setting up a sensory room through the NDIS.

Orrawin showed two intricate and colourful quilts, both called ‘Hidden Stars’. The second quilt was assembled using the string piecing technique.

Judy showed a ‘square in a square’ quilt made by the Samford Quilters. She enjoyed testing her machine quilting skills out on this quilt.

She also showed a gorgeous ‘Noah’s Ark’ quilt top which has been foundation-pieced by Jan from Chinchilla. Kaye has volunteered to finish it and then it will be donated as a raffle quilt.

Jan also foundation-pieced this striking strip quilt.

Kaye showed three gorgeous quilt tops she assembled this week during her quilt retreat! The first is a version of the popular ‘I Spy’ quilt. The second quilt is called ‘Hour Glass’ and the third quilt is made from 2 1/2 inch strips and looks like a beautifully gift wrapped present!

Each of the working groups were asked to show some of the items they had received at today’s meeting.

The Sensory group showed a number of quirky muffs that incorporated tactile objects on both the inside and outside.

They also showed this delightful ‘touchy feely’ mat with a magnificent lion’s head.

The Quilting group showed two bright, strip quilts made by Lorraine and quilted by Lesley.

The Baby group showed these pretty crib quilts and baby beanies.

The Knitting/Crochet group showed two beautiful shawls,

A classic man’s vest,

Three colourful rugs,

A knitted beanie and scarf that Lorraine enjoyed modeling,

……and a crochet puzzle ball made by Helen.

The Sewing group showed these sweet, zippered pouches.

Claire has been extra busy during the school holidays. She showed a number of special order items that will be donated to schools on the Sunshine Coast. The first of these items are a series of blocks based on the Numicon blocks system. The idea is that children with a visual impairment can put their hands through the holes to count how many holes.

Claire also showed two superb wall hangings based on the books ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and the counting book ’10 Apples Up On Top’ by Dr Seuss. All of the items on the wall hangings can be removed and reattached.

This sensory, flower garden wall hanging made by Claire includes lots of different fabrics for the children to touch and explore.

Claire also managed to find time to make a selection of funky, small toys that can easily be held in the hand of a small child. Some of them even contain’ scrunchy’ things inside!

Lisa from Wish List was our guest speaker this month. She thanked Sunshine Linus for the many items that are donated to hospitals on the Sunshine Coast. She shared a few moving stories highlighting the thankfulness of the recipients who receive items lovingly made by the members and friends of Sunshine Linus.

One more newsworthy item: A big thank you to Glenis for these lovely baby beanies, cocoons and teddies! A total of 50 items!

• Keep making items for the sales table for Open Day!
• All items for the sales table on Open Day should be kept at home until the July Activity Day meeting when the items will be sorted and priced.
• Don’t forget to get someone in your group to dress the mannequin for Open Day!
• Quilts of all sizes (to display on the church pews) are needed for Open Day.
• If you are looking for information about our monthly program, click on the link on the side bar of the blog page that says ‘Monthly Program’.