I belong to a quilt group, which I can confidently say is the best quilting move I ever made. I enjoy so much going every week to the hall where we meet, chatting with the other quilters and sharing some morning tea. Everyone is encouraged to share the quilt they are currently working on, provided they are ready for a million different opinions of course! There is always someone to help you baste a quilt or give you advice on a new technique.

The Hunters Hill Quilters meet every Thursday. There are over 75 members at present. We hold a quilt show every second year, which was voted Community Event of the Year in 2007, and we are actively involved in making quilts for various charities. The group is particularly known for the waggas we make for sale at the show, and for homeless men through the Sydney City Mission.

What is a wagga? Well might you ask. The short answer is that a wagga (pronounced wogga), is a traditional Australian wool quilt, often made from tailor’s samples or old clothes. They were made mainly during the Great Depression as they were a cheap, warm form of bed clothes, however the term dates back to the 1880’s. The quilts were called waggas because traditionally the backings were made from sacks from the Wagga Wagga flour mill.

Recently, one of our members donated a bolt of woollen fabric to the community cupboard. Our President, Kathie de Palo, decided to set a challenge for the group where everyone had to take a piece of the bolt and make a wagga using the fabric. The challenge proved so popular that the bolt soon ran out and the challenge was extended to any wagga that the members made.

The group ended up making 42 waggas in total, and amazing effort! It was decided to make a celebration of the waggas and have them judged and hung.

The hall was decorated with all the quilts hung from ropes and frames around the room. The turnout was a feast for the eyes.

We invited well know quilt historian, Annette Gero, to come and judge the waggas and give us a short talk about her new book and her quilt collection. This wonderful felt quilt is from her book, The Fabric of Society.

This was combined with the group’s annual birthday party, and we all had a fantastic morning tea, birthday cake and glass of champagne!

The quilts are truly wonderful and I wanted to share them and the talents of my quilt group with you. All the quilts will be for sale at out quilt show in 2010. More information is available on prices and availability by contacting me at sarah@sewn.net.au pics, all others except for place getters

Entries:

Highly Commended:

Runners Up:

Winner:

Congratulations everyone on a fantastic exhibition! You can see all the quilts in the SEWN Gallery

Annette Gero’s book, The Fabric of Society, with patterns by Kim McLean, is available from selected quilt shops and from Annette herself. You can go to her website (www.annettegero.com) to contact her. To read a Sewn review of Annette’s book, go to our Book Review section.

There is a free pattern for Florence Tynan’s Highly Commended wagga in the Free Pattern section of Sewn! Get out those old blankets and worn out trousers, and you can try a wagga quilt for yourself.

To find out more about waggas, you can go to:

The National Quilt Register (http://www.collectionsaustralia.net/nqr/wendy.php?PHPSESSID=41f386a6aaa792b3d719be5f27197909)
About NSW (http://about.nsw.gov.au/collections/doc/wagga-quilt-rug-made-of-wool-suiting-by-clare-chamberlain/)
The Powerhouse Museum (http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/search_tags.php?tag=wagga rug)

Do you have a story about your first quilt? We would love to hear it. Send submissions to sarah@sewn.net.au