The Rich River Quilters were excited to kick off the Foundry Art Space’s 2024 program on Friday night.
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The group, which boasts about 35 members, filled the gallery with quilts of all sizes and shapes, including a quilted chair.
Assistant secretary Helen Quinn said everyone was excited to get involved.
“We try to do an exhibition every two years as that gives the members time to get things together and make the quilts,” she said.
“Last week, when we were looking at all the courts and deciding what to put up, it was really interesting to see all the beautiful work that’s come in.
“The group is absolutely amazed at how beautiful the quilts look hanging up and they’re keen to come and do their duty in the exhibition and be here and talk to the people who come in.”
As well as sharing a love of quilting, Ms Quinn said the group’s focus was on learning new skills and spending time with people.
“Sometimes we have guest speakers in for workshops and we go on little trips ourselves,” she said.
“We went to the wool shop in Bendigo together and it was a great time. So apart from meeting every week, we do a lot of social things together.
“For one of my quilts, I did the background of a rainforest, which I completed a little while ago, and then I found all these animals in a magazine and I thought that would look really good on it.
“That led me to try appliqué for the first time, which was a great learning experience for me. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out.”
Foundry chairperson Judi Lawler said it was great having the Rich River Quilters in the gallery.
“They are a lovely group of ladies and the work they put into this is fascinating. It’s an amount of hours that is really admirable,” she said.
Aside from beautiful quilts, Ms Lawler said many interesting exhibitions were coming to the Foundry this year.
“We’ve got textiles, we’ve got theatre, which is unusual, and paintings, some really well-known artists coming in,” she said.
“It’s shaping up to be a great year and we’re very excited for everything 2024 has to bring.”