Dear Members
As we wind down from the AMQ Festival & AMQA Quilt Show held in Adelaide only a few short weeks ago, we thought it fitting this newsletter be sent out, especially for those who were not able to come to Festival so you are kept up to date with all that went on in Adelaide.
AMQ Festival News
For everyone who did come along, we hope you are all recovering well. There has been lots of positive feedback from all the activities during this time:
- Ricky Tims’ Seminar on the Friday was packed almost to capacity.
- All the classes went really well with students coming away with so much knowledge & renewed enthusiasm.
- The AMQA quilt show was just amazing with approx 120 quilts on show. The quilts were just stunning!! Well done to everyone who entered.
- There was a great range of shops in the Vendor Mall with lots of goodies available for everyone.
- The Alzheimer’s Benefit Challenge received many entries & they looked just fantastic displayed near the cafeteria area. According to the latest Festival blog, they raised over $6,500 which is just fantastic!! Thanks to all who took part in this.
AMQ Festival is the only machine quilting event of its kind in Australia, offering classes in machine quilting, embroidery & technology for both domestic, midarm & longarm machines. We must congratulate Tracey Browning & Sharon Parkinson of AMQF for their tireless efforts in putting this wonderful event together.
AMQA Show - THANK YOU SPONSORS!!!
We thank the following sponsors for their contribution for prizes for the Quilt Show and ask that you visit their website or call them next time you are looking for products/services for your quilting business. If you are reading this newsletter on the Continuous Lines Blog, here http://continuouslines.blogspot.com.au/ the links are clickable.
Dayview Textiles
Malanda Quilting and Sewing Supplies
Horn Australia
Walters Imports ph 07 3277 0799
Australian Machine Quilting Festival
Westalee Rulers
Threads and Tangles
Victorian Quilters Inc
Kennard & Kennard
South Australian Quilters'Guild
Know How Sewing Essentials
Pinetree Cottage Quilting - A1 Quilting Machine Dealer
Creative DRAWings
Mallee Quilts
AMQA Quilt Show (held in conjunction with AMQF)
Congratulations also go to all the prize winners from the AMQA Quilt Show and well done to everyone who displayed their beautiful quilts. The quilts were all simply stunning and most worthy of the accolades they received during the time of this exhibition. Best Of Show, won by Rachelle Denneny of Adelaide, was quilted with a DSM, believe it or not!! This is the second consecutive BOS win by Rachelle who is a most worthy recipient of this award. Well done, Rachelle!!
Just a little piece of trivia for you all. Of the 28 prize winning quilts, 10 were quilted on domestic machines and only 2 of the remaining quilts were quilted using computer-aided longarms. These are pretty good numbers & it’s so great to see that domestic machine quilters are so amazingly talented. Well done ladies!!
Volunteers
The committee & AMQF would like to say a HUGE thank you to all the wonderful Volunteers for your willingness to help in every way during the time of Festival – teacher angels, on the front desk, checking tickets when going into the vendor mall, white glove duty in the quilt show area and helping out in any way possible.
There were others who helped on Judging Day (held prior to festival), setting up the quilt show and taking everything down at the end of the show. All of this hard work was most appreciated. We just could not have done this without you. Thank you so very much for all your help and we hope you will be able to assist us again in 2014.
AMQA Gathering at Festival
Thank you to all those who attended the AMQA members gathering on Sunday evening. Approximately 35 people attended & it was great to meet these members (& their partners who came) and put faces to names. Our President, Raylee, introduced the committee members & spoke of some of the services which this Association can offer to its’ members. We all enjoyed some beautifully presented nibbles and soft drinks with the opportunity to chat & relax. Check out the AMQA Facebook page to see some more pic’s that were taken on the night.
Suggestion Box
We also had a suggestion box available during Festival & it was great to see this being used, with some wonderful ideas coming forth from members. These were discussed at the committee meeting last week with the following responses:
(i) To set up a Feedback form on website – this link can be done, queries will be sent to one of the committee, so members can keep in touch with us and send in ideas and questions.
(ii) Automatic email notification of website updates – this was thought not to be a good idea. The website is being continually updated by our new Web Diva & this may result in member’s receiving quite a lot of these notices & creating more of a nuisance. After all, how many of us receive more than enough junk mail in our inbox already? There is software available that you can install onto your computer that tells you when websites are updated.
(iii) Stronger links with Guilds to improve recognition of machine quilting – this is in process through communication with State Guilds.
(iv) Plenty of notice prior to AMQA Challenge – it was thought there was enough advanced notice. Our next challenge is currently being planned in readiness for early next year, members will be advised very soon (hopefully before Christmas) of details for this.
(v) Information on entering quilt shows, both local & overseas – this information is available on the AMQA website for all members to see for themselves. If you know of an upcoming show, let us know, via the feedback forms and we can post it on the website.
(vi) Promotion of machine quilting by sponsoring categories in quilt shows – this is limited by our budget and something the committee has been discussing.
(vii) Having business logo’s attached to quilts on display at AMQA shows – If quilters’ want to have their logo attached to quilt when hanging, members can supply this. Not to be on quilt when judged, to be a limited size & laminated.
(viii) Supply quilt shops with list of AMQA members in their area – this is up to the shop owners’, perhaps AMQA could approach wholesalers to send a list of AMQA members to shop owners. This will need further discussion.
Continuous Lines Newsletter
Delivery
Please let us know if you would prefer to receive this newsletter by email or snail mail?
We are all quite aware how easy it is to miss this newsletter when receiving by email, let alone have the time to read it through. Then again, physically posting it by snail mail into your letterbox is another alternative, however this comes at a cost & is also time consuming.
Our major corporate sponsor, Lorien Quilting, has offered to help with this cost & the task of sending it out, but we would like to gain your feedback & ask which you would prefer – Email or snail mail?
Please go to the members list at AMQA_Members@yahoogroups.com.au and let us know.
Newsletter Editor
Communication with our members is very important to us. Our new web Diva, Vanita Roychoudry, is the new Newsletter editor.
Publication Date
We plan to send out a newsletter every second month, so you will receive the next one in December then alternate months from February 2013. Deadline for contributions will be the 1st of the publication month and can be sent to editor@amqa.com.au
Newsletter Content
We have a few ideas that would make interesting topics, but we always need more suggestions to come from our members. If you have a question or want to know how to do anything relating for your business or quilting in general, please let us know so we can build on this & keep everyone informed. Someone else may be wondering the very same thing & there is no such thing as a silly question!! So please, just ask us. We are your committee & that’s what we are here for, to help you!
If you have any articles or pictures you would like published e.g. a report on your local quilt show, group retreats, new products, websites or You-Tube video clips you’ve found useful, please submit them to us for inclusion in the newsletter.
Other Committee News
Committee Position Vacant – Secretary. At our meeting last week, it was with much regret that we accepted the resignation of our Secretary, Tonia Brooks. Tonia did a brilliant job with obtaining over $14,000 worth of sponsorship for the recent AMQA Quilt Show. Without her concerted efforts this would not have been possible, so we owe her a great deal of thanks for a job well done. This now leaves us with having to find someone to fill this position.
Because this association was originally formed in Queensland & with the state laws of Incorporation, the Secretary must be a resident of this state or live within 65 kms of the Queensland border. If you have ever been interested in being more involved with the committee & would like to talk to one of us about this position, please feel free to contact Raylee by email at president@amqa.com.au as we need to fill this position as soon as possible.
Members Challenge
There was quite a lot of interest in the 2011 member’s challenge quilts on display during Festival in Adelaide. We are currently organising our next Member’s Challenge for early next year & are hoping to have details available by Christmas. It would be wonderful to have more entries for this challenge, let’s show others what we can do with our skills!! We plan to have details of the challenge in the December newsletter.
AMQA Name Badges
Did you know there are badges available for AMQA members? Those who were at Festival would have seen Committee members wearing theirs (as samples). If you would like one & you have yet to pay your membership fees (which are now overdue) when you complete the online membership form at http://www.amqa.com.au/index.php/about-amqa/membership-application-form fill in your details to have one ordered & it will be sent out to you. If you attended classes at AMQF, remember that you are eligible for a $30 rebate off your membership fees, see details on the membership renewal form.
AMQA Achievements
From Karen Terrens
First Blush won Best of Show at Vic Quilters Show Case in Melbourne. The quilt also won the Longarm category.
Upcoming Events
December 1 - Deadline for submissions for the next Newsletter.
Positions Vacant
Committee Members - we would love to invite members to join the committee. Your commitment is to be available for once a month voice linkup via SKYPE and help out on the committee. Please email the president, Raylee Bielenberg, for more information.
Vice President - please email president@amqa.com.au
Secretary - please email president@amqa.com.au
Vice President
Publicity Officer - technically, this position is yet-to-be created. However, the committee is looking to create and fill this position in the coming months. Ideally a publicity officer will assist with all marketing and media related aspects of AMQA. If you like to talk to lots of different people and are not afraid to be ‘out there’ then please think about becoming the publicity officer for AMQA.
That’s all for this time, if you have anything you would like to contribute to the December newsletter please send it to our new editor by 1st December.
Yours in Stitches
Val Towill
(on behalf of your AMQA Committee)
Coming Up Next Time…
We NEED more pictures - please share your triumphs and quilts that you are extra proud of - don't be shy. Email them to me please! editor@amqa.com.au
Submission Deadline is August 15, 2012, so do it NOW!
Your 2013-13 Committee and Contact Details
President: Raylee Bielenberg president@amqa.com.au
Vice President: POSITION VACANT vp@amqa.com.au
Secretary: POSITION VACANT secretary@amqa.com.au
Treasurer: Gayle Dayman, SA treasurer@amqa.com.au
Membership Secretary: Gayle Dayman, SA membership@amqa.com.au
Minute Secretary: Val Towill, SA minutes@amqa.com.au
Web Diva: Vanita Roychoudry, NSW webdiva@amqa.com.au
Editor: Vanita Roychoudry, NSW editor@amqa.com.au
Committee Members:
Julie Nixon, SA committee1@amqa.com.au
Val Towill, SA committee2@amqa.com.au
Vicki Jenkin, VIC committee4@amqa.com.au
Sharon French
Juliet Edwards
AMQF Liaison/General Committee Member
Tracey Browning, SA webdiva@amqa.com.au
We thank the following businesses for their support.
AMQA Corporate Members
Our Corporate Members are:-
Lorien Quilting - Australian publisher of machine quilting patterns by local and international designers.
We carry block designs and motifs, pattern sets and a huge range of pantographs for all sizes of quilting machine. Our pattern clubs are a must for adding variety to your pattern stash while saving big bucks!
Visit our website for discounts www.lorienquilting.com
We would like to give a special thank you to Hermione of Lorien Quilting for allowing AMQA to use her design "Fantasia" on the background of the new AMQA website.
Geelong Sewing Centre
Avante Longarm sales and service. Sewing machine sales. http://www.geelongsewingcentre.com.au/
Call Bree Frost Phone: 03 5229 6302 Mobile: 0411 129 920
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