Our first gathering for 2014 - it was hot, but it didn't stop us!!

20th January 2014

Our first gathering day of the year and it was a beauty!  A very hot day didn't keep our intrepid members away and we achieved a huge amount.  We tweaked the procedure of the gathering day slightly and it made a great difference.  With new signs for our workstations, and Linkers (girls who link idle hands with sewing tasks), everyone was keen to get down and get busy.  Of course this didn't stop the catching up or the laughs and fun we always bring to the day.

We welcomed a half dozen new members to our group and had the pleasure in presenting each new member with our New Members Brochure, in order to help to ease the new member into the group, especially on their first day!

Thanks to Lee for taking these fabulous photographs of the day.  No need to elaborate any longer - the photos and captions speak for themselves!



Our Perspex signs worked a treat!

Kay showed us a number of quilts that have been made using a zigzag block - she'll be showing us how to apply this technique at the next gathering.

Barb put this little beauty together - all quilt as you go.  Love the colours Barb!



Rosemary has made this quilt as you go out of scraps - it looks fantastic Rosemary!

 

A puzzler from Sandra - isn't it fabulous?

Here's the back of a terrific quilt made by Bev......

........and here's the front.
 

One of two quilts made and donated by Leone (that's her with the big smile to the left)

Lorraine and her band of helpers have just about finished making the weighted vests for special needs kids in special schools.  An amazing achievement indeed.

A huge day for Claire and her helpers in getting these goodies packed and distributed

These quilts are for those suffering Muscular Dystrophy - they're designed to suit wheelchair bound men and women, note the cut out piece on each side at the bottom - so the quilts don't get caught in the wheels!

Lots of work and chatting all at once - who said women can't multi-skill?

The Blankets of Love and Premmie Workstation and Linker Jan.

A terrific creation by Sharon, using plaids and men's shirting materials.
 

Here are three delightful sisters who enjoy each others company and being part of Sunshine Linus.

 

Another of Claire's creations - again not one piece of 100% cotton. And they're so snuggly!

A quilt that is made from knit fabrics and polar fleece - yes it can be done!




 

 

As you can see it was a terrific day and we distributed an enormous amount of items to the community.  Our next gathering on the 24th February will see us make our final delivery to Caboolture Special School with quilts and Weighted Vests for their students.  Kay is also going to show us how to put together the zigzag block in various ways to make quick and easy quilts. 

See you then!

Christmas Party - What a hoot!

At last a chance to relax and enjoy each others company and relax we certainly were! 

We had a very successful Christmas gathering yesterday with lots of delicious morning tea and lunch - all provided by the SL members.  We have some very, very, good cooks amongst us and they excelled yesterday. 

We invited guests to our party who work furiously for SL during the year, but are unable to attend gatherings.   It was so lovely to be able to thank these ladies personally for their hard work.

We didn't have Santa visit yesterday, but we did have the next best thing - The Gingerbread Man(n) (term used loosely) arrived all ready for a party complete with Thin Lizzy face powder and cherry on the nose.  Only our Lorraine could carry this off - and she did so with such aplomb!!

Some of our members put together little Christmas packets for needy children for Christmas.  By shopping cleverly and making every cent count they put together some delightful surprise packages for little ones. 

This group of ladies (who are happy to remain nameless) also purchased a huge number of new pj's and clothing for children.  The generous heart shines bright at Sunshine Linus.

One of our dear members, Olwyn, is in the throws of moving from her beloved property to bayside Brisbane and has been cleaning out her cupboards and donated these three lovely quilts.  Olwyn is a wonderful giving person, and her quilts are truly magnificent. 

We are hoping that Olwyn will continue to join us here once her move is completed.  We have a number of members who drive up from Brisbane for our gatherings so car pooling is possible.

 Our Asst Treasurer and Distribution Manager extraordinaire (Claire) is a very creative gal, and has shown us just how creative she can be with her wonderful bags and purses she made for our Open Day this year - from Curtain scraps! 

  

Well, she's done it again.  We received this little Christmas hanging from a donor - it was a simple little hanging. 

Claire has  upcycled it and has added all manner of touchy feely resources to it, and it will now adorn the halls of one of our nursing homes, for residents to pause at, and to look and touch. 

We've had a number of requests for this type of "calming tool" for nursing homes. Great job Claire - very creative!

 Here's a gorgeous quilt top (and a biggy) that was given to us by a donor (thanks Christina) and we'll be having this quilted by one of our volunteer long arm quilters.

We will offer it to an organisation as a raffle quilt to raise much needed funds. 

 

Barb, (the other half of the Treasury team) is a little touched, and has a penchant for taking on enormous challenges with scrap fabrics that most quilters would run for cover from. 

To confirm her unique status in our group, here's her simply stunning quilt top that she's recently completed, all hand pieced in the most fabulous fabrics. 

Barb is going to hand quilt this monster (I told you she was a little touched).

 Our lovely friends at Mountain Quilters have donated some more quilts and quilt tops for us to use - thankyou ladies for continuing to help us with our endeavours.  Your time and effort is very much appreciated.

We also received these delightful little people from an 85 year old lady who has made these for the first time - great effort and we're thrilled they've come to us for distribution.

May the joys of the season be with you, and we hope that 2014 brings happiness and good health to all.

 

 

 

November Meeting and AGM

Today's proceedings started out with the very important business of conducting our AGM, with the key executive positions remaining unchanged.  We did however elect a new management committee and the following are our new management committee members for 2014: B. Moore, T. Lingard, S. Hanson, J. Stewart, M. Doblo, J. Kerr, K. Nightingale, N. McCulloch and L. Newell. Congratulations Ladies.


Crocheted Baby Jackets

 
Aren't these gorgeous?  These little matinee jackets are crochet, and they keep their shape so well.  If we can get the pattern I'll post it on this blog.  Keep your eyes out in "Free Patterns" on the right of your screen.

Cuddly crocheted rugs

We received a large amount of knitted and crochet articles, including these lovely knee rugs.  We simply can't keep up with the demand for these knee rugs that we deliver to many of the nursing homes on the coast. 



As you are no doubt aware, we receive all manner of fabrics from very generous sewers and quilters on the Sunshine Coast, who are pleased to see that their donations are going to good use. 

Claire who is a pretty terrific sewer, hasn't heard the rule about not using 100% cotton fabrics for quilts. 

This quilt you see to the right is made completely of knit material (suitable for t.shirts) and backed with a piece of polar fleece.

The quilt sits very straight, there is absolutely no signs of stretching and it's so soft and cuddly.  Claire has certainly given us food for thought. 

We do spend a great deal on batting for these quilts, but perhaps some polar fleece might work also?









Our resident "super knitter" Joan, again bought a huge box full of knitted toys, and they are really beautifully made and stuffed. 

We decided that this time these little darlings will be given to the organisation that we support, Gift for Kids in Care (foster children) and they will be given to the children as part of their Christmas Appeal





These delightful little sets are made by Lyn, one of our new members for children in need.  Lyn crochets the little vests and purchases t.shirts and little skirts to match the vests. 

They are really very pretty and beautifully made. Lyn puts a great deal of thought into these little sets and it's a pleasure to be able to distribute them to little people who will really feel special wearing them.




Here we have a lovely boys quilt with fabulous stars.  We are still needing 10 big boy quilts for Caboolture Special School, so if you've got one on the go, perhaps you can finish it in time for delivery on the 20th January 2014.

Thanks also to Kay Nightingale for coming to the urgent call for a "girlie coloured" large quilt for a particular friend of Sunshine Linus who has recently undergone a double mastectomy.  Here's Kay and Michelle with the quilt.

NEXT GATHERING JANUARY 2013
Because the next gathering coincides with the Australia Day Public Holiday, we have changed the gathering day to Monday 20th January (one week before the scheduled day).  This will help those who travel up or down the major highway to avoid the inevitable traffic snarls.  Thanks for your understanding.

October Gathering

We had an early start this morning to another day of feverish activity.

We've had a lot of new members come to join us since our Open Day and the room was buzzing!

 

Masses of "product" was brought in to be sorted and distributed.  Here is just a small selection of it.

 

Cuddly toys, knitted and sewn.

 

Claire turned a panel into a "World of Quilting"

 

A sweet baby quilt

 

Knitted and crocheted rugs

 

A lovely scrappy "Ocean Waves" quilt

 

This selection of quilts is going to bring some cheer to a family that's battling through a difficult patch.

 

Our next meeting is on 25th November and will be our AGM, so please attend if you can, and then on December 9th we'll be having our Christmas Party (can you believe it's that time of year already!).

 



IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!
 
Thought you might like to share in an email we received from Sue Eagle who was the first Treasurer of Sunshine Linus.  Sue has recently become a grandmother to twin girls.  We make lots of lots of items for preemie babies, and distribute the items all over the Sunshine Coast.  We sometimes hear from someone who knows someone who knows someone that has benefited from our hard work, but we couldn't be more thrilled to receive this email!  It sure is a wonderful feeling to see our work come full circle.
 
Here's her email and photographs.

 Harriet & Georgia Leigh

Hi Judie,
Wanted to let you and the other ladies know that my new twin grand baby girls are getting the benefit of the items Linus make. They where born a week ago and are in the special care unit in Nambour hospital, born 6 weeks early.










Was nice to see the items you make. Never thought my family or I would benefit but you just never know. Thanks to you all for your hard work.

Have attached a few photos for you.  Georgia Leigh is doing really well. Harriett is fine but just needs reminding to breathe.  My daughter Catherine is doing a great job as a new mum.
Thanks again
Love Sue