Sunraysia Patchwork Friends Inc.

Brief History of Sunraysia Patchwork Friends Inc.​

The group was formed after Julie Ward, who was keen on patchwork, placed an advertisement in the local newspaper to see if there were other people interested in forming a group. The response was very good and Sunraysia Patchwork Friends was formed. The first meetings were held informally, and later on the group became incorporated in 1989. Presidents over the years have included Noela Crosbie, Victoria Shaw, Sue Hardie, Julie Ward, Marg Woods, Linda Tucker, Ros Arnold, Linda Priem, Vicki Ferry, Amelia Fields and Sandra Gadzinski. The first meetings were held in the Rosemont Community Centre, later moving to the infant section of the Mildura Central School. A little later on, the meetings were moved to the Christie Centre. With increasing hiring fees, it was decided to move to another venue. MADEC was chosen and has proved to be an excellent venue.

Over the years, the group has supported many charitable appeals. The first quilt made was for the Red Cross to raise money for the Nyngan flood appeal. Following this, the group also made quilts to raise funds for other charitable organisations such as Multiple Sclerosis, St Vincent de Paul and Palliative Care. We also made comfort quilts for Mallee Family Care to give to children in foster care. Up until 2009, we also made many Country star Quilts for the Country Music Festival, with profits going to both the country music festival and our group.
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Our first quilt exhibition was held at the Christie Centre in 1992. Two years later a very large exhibition, “Earth, Wind and Fire” was held at the Irymple Leisure Centre, with visiting tutors and fashion parades. Later, a smaller but very successful exhibition was held at the St Andrews Church Hall. In 1998, the venue chosen for the exhibition was the brand new Alfred Deakin Centre. This also proved to be a great success in a great venue. Since then, the bi-annual exhibition has been held at the Alfred Deakin Centre until 2012, when it was held at the Masonic Lodge, Irymple.
Julie Ward also instigated the first “International Quilters Day”. After reading a story in a magazine, many letters were sent to different quilting groups. As a result, 40 ladies came together to share lunch and their passion for patchwork. Sunraysia Patchwork Friends Inc. hosted the day again the following year. Since then it has been held yearly at different places such as Renmark, Werrimull, Ouyen, Loxton, Robinvale, Karoonda and Red Cliffs.
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Julie Ward also started the ‘Sit ‘n’ Sew’ days at MADEC on the 12th June 1995. These are now held on the third Tuesday(7pm),  and first Saturday of the month( 10am-4pm).  A tutorial is also held in the evening on the second Tuesday of the month (7pm). Retreats are held twice a year at Lake Cullulleraine, where many happy hours of sewing and friendship are enjoyed. There have also been group trips to Melbourne to go to the Victorian Quilters Exhibition, with shop-hopping along the way. Another annual event in later years has been a Mystery Night where we all agonise over the making of an unknown quilt or other item
Over the years, we have had many great tutors visit the district to impart their skills to our members. Some of these tutors include Kate Hahn, Judy Turner, Krystine Harris, Chris Kardash, Pam Jones, Jan Tregoweth, Leesa Siegele, Susan Murphy, Pam Holland, Lee Cleland, Michelle Hill and Annette Brown. This is a great way to promote our club in the areas of patchwork, quilting and general knowledge as we do much more than make charity quilts.
Lots of history and lots more still to come. We look forward to you being a part of our future and history.