Kia Ora,
As it is now December I can officially say Seasons Greetings to you all and a very big welcome to our new members. I hope you enjoy participating in the programmes we are offering over the coming year.

It has been a very busy couple of months for me, beginning with the Waikato Guilds exhibition in Gordonton. A very impressive array of quilts. Next was Symposium. I spent seven days in Wellington and enjoyed been back in the city I grew up in. Between putting up the Lines and Brown Challenge’s, looking after them, signing up new members, sightseeing, participating in a two day workshop, looking at the exhibitions and going to Wow it was a pretty hectic time, but a very worthwhile experience, especially winning the Best Applique award.

Nostalgia by Valda Sutton, Congratulations Valda, it’s beautiful!

Congratulations to the Waikato Guild for putting themselves forward to host the next Symposium. Not too sure of the dates yet but we will let you know as soon as they come out.

Having just got back from Symposium I was asked if I could be a judge at the Auckland Festival of Quilts. As Aotearoa Quilters Lines and Brown Challenges were going to be there as well, I spent 5 days there, again looking after the challenges, signing up new members and sightseeing around Auckland. The exhibition was outstanding. It was easy to see what many people did during the lockdowns in Auckland as the variety of quilts was amazing.

Next on the agenda the following weekend was the face to face meeting of the committee of Aotearoa Quilters in Rotorua. With five new committee members it was an important meeting as they had to acquaint themselves with how we worked, get to grips with the planning of The Great New Zealand Quilt Show, take responsibility for jobs and plan the programmes for the next two years.

I do want to thank you for waiting patiently for all the information to come out about The Great New Zealand Quilt Show. For the reasons stated above everybody has worked hard to get it all out to you. It is all on the website and there is something for everyone. Four tutors all offering different styles of patchwork suitable for all levels. The Red challenge conditions and entry are there as well as the conditions and entry for The Great New Zealand Quilt Show. Take time to read it all and I hope you can participate in at least one activity. Watch out for other information about the GNZQS and the progammes on offer for 2023 in the New Year.

What became apparent over the last few months was the lack of younger people interested in our craft. I have had several conversations and discussions with a lot of people on what we can do to encourage the next generation. This could be offering classes at school holiday time, having special stitching days for younger people, sponsoring someone to attend symposium / classes. Work with a school that still has fabric as part of the technology curriculum. I do not know the answer but perhaps some of you may have some ideas. We do need to do something otherwise a lot of knowledge will be lost and that would be a very sad indictment.

I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas, enjoy the holiday break, looking forward to seeing you all at The Great New Zealand Quilt Show.

Regards Valda Sutton, President and Convener of TGNZQS