On Saturday March 1, MMQG Inc. kicked off the first Super Saturday Sewing retreat for 2014, and what a fabulous day it was! With 28 attendees it was the largest event we have held to date, and the new tables and table arrangements set out by Georgia and Sue allowed plenty of room to sew, baste and lay out blocks to tweak and re-arrange.
We were each greeted with a sweet little stripy goody bag containing a Moda Candy charm pack, a quilting pencil and a box of pins for our stash (godsend!). Several members brought an array of delicious treats to share, and Hellenic Republic came to the party again with their yummy and wallet-friendly lunch.
The highlight of the day was a presentation of our guest speaker Andi Herman of “Patch Andi” http://www.patchandi.com/. Andi talked about her quilting journey, entertained us with stories of her quilts and their role and meaning in her life. Andi demonstrated her new pixellation program “Youpatch” and showed us how easy it is to create pixelated images as detailed or minimalistically stylised as you wish. Andi showed us her wonderful quilts featuring pixelated images of Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe and a cute rabbit.
Show and tell was eye-popping fun with members unveiling their latest projects and show-casing their talents with colour and design. Many members have resolved to complete their UFO’s in 2014, and are already displaying their productivity!
Several members brought their latest book purchases, (which were arranged on a table near the yummy baked goods!) creating a special Book Corner, where a few quiet minutes could be spent with a coffee, topping up our quilting mojo with fresh ideas. And a yo-yo or two!
Siska and Caroline suggested we go Indonesian for dinner, and very kindly went down to Sydney Road to collect menus for everyone to peruse. A magnificent meal was delivered : too easy! Thank you so much Siska and Caroline for organising this, we all loved it!
A final special thank you must be made to Alys, who kindly donated a $30 GJ’s voucher to be raffled, which was won by a happy Anne.
To sum up, this event was a highly enjoyable way to greet the cooler weather and augurs very well for some fabulous sewing and friendship for MMQG Inc. in 2014!