Kia ora everyone and welcome to the first newsletter for 2024.

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas with family and friends and are looking forward to 2024. Unfortunately, Covid is still around so for some the New Year has not started on a positive note, but I am optimistic and am looking forward to the challenges that the new year brings. I hope you are too. Having spent 7 weeks travelling, we ( my husband and I) have been trying to catch up with jobs around the house and trying to get the garden back to looking presentable. It has been so hot that in the afternoons I retreat to my sewing room.

Whenever I travel I try to buy something in the way of a handcraft from that particular country. In Mexico I bought this piece of embroidered fabric from a craft stall and was able to see some of the ladies actually embroidering similar pieces. Trying to find out any information about this particular embroidery was difficult as they had very little English. Having researched its origins I have found out that it is the traditional embroidery from the Otomi region in Mexico. They use vibrant colours and the designs are unique to their region. The satin stitch technique only shows on the front, it does not appear on the back and is on Ivory coloured muslin. I have been working on it over the holidays trying to strengthen it by making it into a wall hanging, quilting around each design, tidying up loose threads and then quilting the background so it could hang. A good reminder of Mexico is now hanging on the wall.

Now to give you a heads up on what is happening in 2024 for AQ members. In early March the AQ committee will be meeting in Hamilton to finalise details for the 2024 programme and begin the planning for The Great NZ Quilt show 2025. In this newsletter are the details for the next Colour Challenge. We have taken on board your comments and given you more time to get this challenge in, so no excuses this time! You will also notice that you no longer have to make a separate cloth bag. The present Red challenge will finish touring in June and be returned to you.

The current members challenge and the new colour challenge will be on exhibition at Symposium. The current members challenge will be returned to you after symposium and we will announce the new members challenge at the members breakfast. We are planning for this challenge to open at the GNZQS 2025. This is hopefully giving you plenty of time to enter these challenges as well as completing your entry for symposium.

Further exciting details on what is happening in 2024/2025 will follow after our meeting, so in the meantime, keep stitching and be happy.
Nga mihi nui.

Valda Sutton