Monday 1 September 2008

Schoolhouse Quilters' Exhibition



It always amazes me how it takes all day to set up a quilt exhibition, but it comes down with lightning speed. There is a secret. We are indeed fortunate in Schoolhouse Quilters to have a well-organised group of women who are ably backed up by some wonderful menfolk who never let us down.




As you can see, Brookfield Hall is a very pretty heritage listed building and the perfect place to hold an exhibition. On Friday morning we were inundated with quilts arriving in their bags, a truckload of display stands, sales room items, card tables for the refreshments room and several volunteer helpers. Somehow out of all this confusion the beginnings of a quilt show started to emerge.







The piles of quilts were sorted into their appropriate sizes and from there decisions had to be made regarding where the larger quilts were to be displayed around the walls and hanging from the rafters. Then it was time to call in the heavy artillery - those unsung heroes, men with their ladders.



Once the larger quilts were in place, the smaller ones were arranged on the display stands, and the sales room was set up. The catering girls set the tables with pretty tablecloths and fresh flowers and we were ready for opening the next morning.












Despite dire threats of a rainy weekend, we had in fact the most glorious weather, worthy of late spring rather than the last two days of winter. The crowds on Saturday morning were very large and kept the girls in the sales room quite busy - so much so that I couldn't even stop to take some photos.





The exhibition was enjoyed by all who came and most people took advantage of the refreshments room or sitting outside under the marquee, renewing their strength with cups of coffee and tea and enjoying lovely sandwiches and home baked slices.












For the first time, this year we invited the local primary schools to participate in a competition to make a quilt using the theme of fire prevention, as the proceeds from our charity raffle quilt this year (see picture at the top of this post) will be going to the local bushfire brigade, a wonderful voluntary organisation which helps to keep us safe during those terrible bushfire seasons. Frankly, we were gobsmacked when the entries poured in from little children in Grade Three - 7 and 8 years of age - and this was their first attempt at making a quilt. My hat goes off to those dedicated school teachers who guided their pupils in such a way that the enthusiasm oozes out of the finished products.



This was the winning quilt (left) and my favourite (right).



The presentation of awards to the children on Sunday was such a happy event.
















Once the formalities were over, the children were shown over the fire engine parked outside the hall and were even permitted to sound off the siren - big excitement. Even some of the big kids got in on the action!





I was very pleased with the sales I made over the two days. The baby booties were snapped up fairly early and by the end of the weekend I had sold several dresses, aprons, bags, etc, with queries for some commissioned work.







I am sure there were plenty of weary bodies dragging themselves out of bed this morning, but all will agree that it was all worth the effort. We had such fun!

12 comments:

Joanne said...

What a lovely exhibition it was Robyn. My friends and I had such a lovely time - your photos and words tell the story beautifully. Congratulations on such a successful weekend!

Impossible Alice said...

Oh wow, my mum would go crazy with glee is she saw all those quilts! I don't know much about quilting myself, but I do know how much work goes into it and some of those quilts are lovely! Looks like it was a great exhibit :)
And I just adore your children's clothes, they are the cutest :)

Anonymous said...

Brookfield Hall is so lovely. It is a great venue for a quilt show. The weather was perfect. Mum and I had a nice time admiring all the work. I especially liked the sales area, where I was fortunate enough to pick up a pair of baby booties and meet the maker!

I love your post about the exhibition. Could you let us all know who won viewers' choice?

Hot Fudge said...

I'm so glad you and your mother enjoyed our show.

Sadly, I don't have a complete picture of the quilt which won the viewers' choice award. However, you can see it partially in the picture of the two log cabin quilts hanging from the rafters - it's the blue and white quilt on the wall to the left. It was made by nationally recognised quilter Janet Woods (that's her husband Derek climbing the ladder). Janet hand quilts to perfection and has taken out major awards both in Queensland and interstate. And on top of all that, she's such a lovely person!

Bec said...

Wow, that really looks wonderful Robyn. I can't believe how good those quilts are that the kids did. That is very cool!!! And what a beautiful venue - Brookfield is so pretty, and the hall is just perfect. Glad you had such a lovely time :)

BrisStyle said...

lovely photos Robyn! I love the quilts the kids did too - so great!

Impossible Alice said...

Hey, I just thought I'd pop in and let you know that I've added your blog and shop to my list of favourites on my blog :)
Hope you're having a great week and enjoying this rain!

Amalou said...

Congratulations on all your sales! What a beautiful hall and so many colourful quilts. It's wonderful to see kids getting into doing craft. It seems all the hand craft skills are coming back to the younger generation, it's such a positive step to squash the mass produced market that's damaging our planet.

Impossible Alice said...

There's a surprise in my blog for you when you have time to look :)

Hey Harriet said...

Looks like a beautiful exhibition! Congrats on all those sales & I'm glad you had such an enjoyable day :)

Rosebud Collection said...

What a beautiful display..So many gifted artist..Just lovely..Enjoyed your blog..Your slippers were adorable..That firetruck looked like fun..

Hot Fudge said...

Yes, our co-president Joy Nelson had more fun than the children did!