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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-07-03 Daily Xml
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CYSTIC FIBROSIS QUILT PROJECT

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:34): On 28 June, the Minister for Health was unable to attend the launch of the cystic fibrosis quilt project in the North Adelaide Community Centre. It was my honour to attend in his place and to pass on his apologies and best wishes for the event, and I was tremendously impressed by what I saw and heard on the night. I saw a fantastic collection of hundreds of quilts of all shapes, sizes and colours, with wonderful designs, all beautifully and lovingly made by members of the South Australian Quilters Guild.

Attendees of the function, opened by Dr Hugh Greville, included the executive committee and members of the South Australian Quilters Guild, staff from the Royal Adelaide Hospital thoracic department and friends and family of the project, all involved because of the wonderful work of Rosie Player, the clinical practice consultant of the cystic fibrosis service at the RAH.

Herself a quilter, she said this project evolved from the love of patchwork, as well as the joy quilters have from their craft. Their goal is to ensure all adults with cystic fibrosis in South Australia receive a quilt that they can use either in hospital while undergoing treatment or at home as they manage their disease. The project represents the community care and support for all with cystic fibrosis in this state and, in turn, support for health-care providers who provide care for this group of adults.

Happily, in discussions with Dr Greville, I heard of the great developments that have been made in treating CF, so much so that people are living well into their adulthood and even into their 50s. New drugs are providing great hope and, while a cure, as such, is not yet possible, a great deal of exciting work continues. I pay tribute to all working in this area and to this end.

This was not the first time I had been impressed by a quilting project, though. During the Queensland floods, I know that hundreds of quilts were sent to those in that state who had lost everything and that they were very grateful for the gesture from the South Australia Quilters. The hundreds of hours that go into creating a quilt really show that quilting is a labour of love. I heard that, with the Queensland occasion, many hands were needed to pack the quilts and send them off. The transport was paid for by the very people who had already provided the materials and labour. This is a wonderful gesture, and shows the awareness of community spirit of quilters.

The Zonta Club of Para District Area are also involved with good works and quilts. At their biennium dinner earlier this year, I saw dozens of Wee Care and New Beginning quilts handed over by the ladies who had worked to produce them. Thanks went to the coordinator, Lois Henderson, and Zonta Advocacy and Service Chair, Julie Sinclair.

The Zonta quilting project has been going since 1994. In that time, several hundred quilts have been distributed to families through the Northern Domestic Violence Service, (previously known as the Para District Women's Shelter). These quilts are known as New Beginning quilts. A few years later, the club added the smaller quilts for the Women's and Children's Hospital Paediatric Emergency Department, and these are known as the Wee Care quilts and are for children who have been involved in motor accidents.

Primarily, this is a service project which began as a fellowship exercise and is now sharing skills and ideas, and fun and fellowship, while at the same time helping women and children in need. The quilts are distributed annually via the handover dinners. The project has been recognised on a number of occasions in the Premier's Awards during Service Club Week. It is a service project that, rightly, Zonta members are very proud of, and one which we hope will continue for many years to come.

Zonta also provides toiletry bags for the Northern Domestic Violence Service shelter and Tickled Pink bags, suggested by breast care nurses initially at the Burnside hospital but they are now also provided for women in the north recovering from breast cancer operations via the 'Hospital at home' department of the Lyell McEwin Health Service.

The Quilters Guild of South Australia also has a group called the Southern Comforters. Over the years, the Southern Comforters have made donations to many charities, including Ronald McDonald House; Ruby's Shelter for troubled or homeless youth; Cyril Lindsay House, a sobriety group for Aboriginal men; Prison Fellowship; Louise Place, for single mothers; St Josephs' Family Shelter; OARS; and many more.

They also provide Little Quilts of Love to the maternity sections of hospitals to be used in the sad circumstances where a baby dies at birth or very soon thereafter. The tiny quilt is used to wrap the baby when he or she is taken to the parents. They are also involved in the Festival of Quilts raffle which, in the past, has supported organisations such as Catherine House, Autism SA, Make a Wish Foundation, Loreto Vietnam, Cancer Council, CanTeen, AIDS research, Cranio Facial Foundation and South Coast District Hospital.

The project I was most interested in seeing, though, was the Bedford Mystery Quilts Project. Over the years, 200,000 pieces of fabric, or 2,100 metres, have been prepared in 20 workshops, and a giant cheque for $75,060 was presented in July last year. I am going to make it my business to go and learn a bit more about the Bedford Mystery quilt. My quilting skills are not very good, but I will certainly go and look at it being made, and I wish them well in all their future endeavours.

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