Avonleigh Country Quilting

Preparing and packing boxes for Kinglake

Ok, so this post is a little out of order and should have appeared before the one showing our shoe-boxes being delivered to Kinglake!  But sometimes life gets to be a little higglety-pigglety! :-))

Vicky Trewella kindly came in last Wednesday and helped Sharon and I pack shoe-boxes.  Vicky and I packed and fussed over the boxes, co-ordinating fabrics and stitchery while Sharon minded the shop, cut some of the larger pieces of fabric, tucked needles into felt squares and did anything else she could from the front of the shop.  We had a great morning and all felt so good knowing that these gorgeous boxes were going to lift the hearts of fellow quilters.

Vicky with some of the finished boxes

 

Sharon cutting a larger piece of fabric into fat quarters

 

Beenleigh Quilters (QLD) adopt Kinglake

Our Kinglake Bush Fire Appeal was read with interest across Australia!  Shortly after I posted our Appeal on the blog, I received a phone call from Glenys Payne, President of the Beenliegh Quilters, QLD.  I've copied a section of her follow-up email below - how good is this Challenge? Beenleigh Quilters have decided to adopt the Kinglake and Flowerdale Quilters and are forging ahead with their collection.

"Beenleigh Quilters will be issuing a challenge to all our members to provide a mug bag/ sewing bag for every member of Kinglake and Flowerdale who may have have lost everything.  The bag will be equiped with needles, scissors, tape measures, embroidery cottons and an 8" pre printed stitchery.  In addition, we will be collecting donated sewing items including machines, rulers, mats, magazines and books etc and also hope to raise some funds to purchase the more expensive items like rotary cutters during our quilt show in mid June.  The donated bags will be featured as part of our show and we hope to enlist the support of the local papers and media to gather additional funds and or equipment.  The plan then is at this stage that we will load it up into trailers and between 8 - 12 of us will travel down to the Kinglake area around the end of June."

First visit to Kinglake - Thursday 19th Feb 2009

Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who brought in fabric, patterns, magazines and sewing notions to go into the shoeboxes.  Also a huge thank you to the donar of the sewing machine, and the additional seven machines waiting when I got back last night!

We took 22 shoeboxes down yesterday, together with a cutting mat, 3 rotary cutters, a number of rulers and the sewing machine.  The larger items were given to the Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House for the free use of anyone who wished to use them.  Shoeboxes were given out to 5 individuals as I worked my way through the Kinglake Ranges and the other 17 were left at the Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House for distribution to quilters who had lost everything. I wish you could have seen the faces light up as a little box of beauty was handed to them.

Gail Atkins, the Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House Co-Ordinator, is planning to run free quilting and other craft courses on a daily basis over the next few months in order to give the ladies a place to meet and create as part of their recovery. Like most of us, Gail feels that craft and creating something beautiful is a great balm for a traumatised soul.

I also made contact with Anne Leadbeater who is the Community Facilitator for the Kinglake Ranges and whom you may also have seen on TV recently.  Anne is the person who is basically organising everything up there right now and I will keep in contact with Anne over the next few months to ensure that our donations get to where they are needed most.

Kylie, a Neighbourhood House Co-ordinator who had come up from Geelong to give Gail a hand, accepting our donations.

 

Dawn putting the precious shoebox into her fire-blistered car. Dawn saved her dog, car and a few precious items off her farm.  Only 3 of her small herd of cattle survived.

 

Sean was delighted to accept a shoebox for his partner, Minna.  Sean and Minna managed to save 2 of their 4 horses, their dogs and a few precious items.  Sean and Mina actually bought my old house so I was overjoyed to see him and know that they were safe and to be able to send something to Minna for her to create something beautiful for their new home.  Yes, they are rebuilding. 

 

You may recognise Neesha from the TV and some magazines. She's quite a celebrity these days!  This is the enterprising woman who saved herself, Murphy (her three-legged dog), her neighbour and her neighbour's child by stuffing them all down a wombat hole and covering them with wet blankets.  Neesha lost everything in the fire.

 

I bumped into Katherine outside the Council building/Library which has been turned into Organisational HQ! When I told Katherine why I was down, she asked for a shoebox for her neighbour.  Her neighbour lost everything and was so desperate to do some handwork that she was planning to drive down the nearest Spotlight 50 minutes drive away that afternoon.  Katherine was rapt to be able to spare her the journey.

 

The final shoebox was left with Nola at Nonnie's Craft in Whittlesea for Liz from the Flowerdale Patchwork Group.  Liz lost everything in the fire and is currently staying with friends off the mountain.

Bushfire Appeal - calling all quilters!

Hi everyone

Sharon and I have been wracking our brains as to how best to help people in these disaster zones, particularly in Kinglake.  We feel that the basic needs of the people left homeless are being met by the generosity of so many.  After considerable thought we feel we (and you) are able to assist by doing what we do best: sharing amongst our quilting friends.

We would like to make up 2 types of packages to distribute to our fellow quilters and other women in the greater Kinglake area.  We have chosen Kinglake simply because I already have connections there and would therefore be able to find a contact in Kinglake to assist us with the distribution.  I intend going down to Kinglake/Whittlesea on either Sunday or during the week - as soon as I am allowed up onto the mountain by the authorities - and can initiate the distribution process then as well as take some initial packages down to women in the emergency centers.

• Quilters shoebox:
  A box of goodies to enable a quilter to do some hand-sewing and start to put their lives back together by creating something beautiful for their family members and the home they will be rebuilding. Most of the items will need to be for hand-sewing as the women concerned will no longer have sewing machines. Suggestions are
  • Hand-sewing needles
  • A pair of scissors
  • Tape measure
  • Quilting Rulers
  • Magazines with patterns and templates
  • Fabric from your stash
  • Quilting pins
  • Safety pins
  • Thread
  • DMC threads
  • Seam ripper
  • Vliesofix or similar

• Sewing kits
  This will be a standard household sewing kit for a non-quilter so that the receiver can do basic household repairs such as sewing on a button, repairing a tear, shortening a pair of trousers, tacking up a hem, etc. It could contain things such as:
  • needles  
  • coloured thread: black, white, beige, grey, navy are all good colours  
  • buttons  
  • elastic  
  • safety pins  
  • a pair of scissors  
  • a tape measure  
  • Seam ripper 

If you wish to donate any of your stash and/or quilting notions, we are happy to act as a collection point. Any donation large or small would be very gratefully received.

With thanks

Kay and Sharon

Tuesday, 10th February 2009

Sharon and I are watching the news of the bush fires with shock and horror, as no doubt all of you are.  Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone touched by these horrific events. With Sharon's family living in Yackandandah and Kinglake having been my home until July last year, we are both identifying very closely with unfolding events.  Words cannot express our feelings.