The Avalon Quilters have an amazing raffle quilt they have made to raise funds for the Mito Foundation.
The quilt, appropriately named “The Sum Of Us”, was made last year by Avalon Quilter’s 25 members. It is completely handmade and totals over 4500 one-inch pieces, then finished off with hand quilting.
Details show the personal and colourful choices made by Avalon Quilters for each piece, underlining the title of this beautiful quilt.
Raffle tickets at $2 each, are available from members, who meet in the Uniting Church at Avalon every Thursday, 10-2.30, at Patchwork on Pittwater at Mona Vale, and Avalon Fabrics and Craft, in Avalon Parade.
All tickets sales will go to the Mito Foundation, which Avalon Quilters have been supporting for over a decade through making raffle quilts.
Past quilts include ‘Which Way Now’ and based on the Tokyo subway (2022), “Touching Stars” a 1930’s Vintage Quilt (2018), "Ladies Leaping at the Zebra Crossing" (2016), "Josephine Bennett Quilt" (2014), and the ''Frances Wheeler Quilt'' (2013).
The Mito Foundation supports people affected by mitochondrial disease (mito), funds essential research into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cures of mitochondrial disorders, and increases awareness and education about mito.
Mitochondria are the power houses of the cell providing the body with over 90% of the energy it needs to sustain life. Mitochondria take in sugars and proteins from the food we eat and produce energy called ATP that our bodies use to function properly. Mitochondrial disease (mito) is a debilitating and potentially fatal disease that reduces the ability of the mitochondria to produce this energy. When the mitochondria are not working properly, cells begin to die until eventually whole organ systems fail and the patient's life itself is compromised.
The Mito Foundation was founded in 2009 by Pittwater residents Doug and Margie Lingard, their friends, and experts in the field of mitochondrial disease (mito). Doug and Margie have tragically lost their son and then their daughter to mito.
Dr Doug Lingard AM – President & Chairman, MB ChB FRANZCR, is a Radiologist & Nuclear Physician who has been active in both public and private medicine in Australia for decades. He was a co-founder of the largest Diagnostic Imaging practice in Australia, Pittwater Radiology & Medical Imaging Australasia Ltd.
Doug is the Mito Foundation Chairman, a member of the Mito Foundation Nominations Committee, a member of the Mito Foundation Scientific & Medical Advisory Panel and a founding director of the Mito Foundation.
Avalon Quilters started in 1983 when a small group of ladies who had completed a course locally in patchwork, decided they wanted to continue meeting on a regular basis. They began meeting in each other's homes until it proved difficult with small children.
The opportunity to use the Avalon Uniting Church hall came through a suggestion from a member, the late May Read. This was early in the days when there was a growing interest in patchwork and quilting in Australia. The Avalon Quilters were small in number, but large in interest and as the group grew, they were able to meet regularly each week.
Avalon Quilters character stems from the individuals within the group bringing together a considerable array of talent, sharing ideas, a love of quilting, books, family, travel, films.
''We learn from one another in an unstructured fashion, with decisions being made collectively.''
Although Avalon Quilters are currently at their maximum membership, they would welcome seeing another group starting locally and would happily pass on any information which would assist their endeavours.
Four of the most popular basic categories of quilts, or quilting techniques, include the pieced quilt, appliqué quilt, paper-pieced quilt, and English paper-pieced quilt. But there are a LOT of other versions - whole tapestries of quilts that may be made.
Then you must take into account the fabrics used, along with the history and the culture behind quilts.
Apparently the most expensive quilt ever sold was an American Civil War-era quilt known as the Reconciliation Quilt, named for its depictions and references to post Civil war scenes.
At a Sotheby's auction of 1991 $264,000 was paid for it by a couple who collected quilts and later donated it to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska.
This quilt was made in 1867 by Lucinda Ward Honstain of Brooklyn, New York. The quilt was on display in New York in 2014 as part of the New York Historical Society's Homefront & Battlefield: Quilts & Context in the Civil War Exhibition, organised by the American Textile History Museum, as part of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Seeing the works Avalon Quilters are working on or have finished each year is always one of the brightest mornings for the news service, especially when the quilters have finished a raffle quilt to support the wonderful Mito Foundations' work.
Avalon Quilters biannual quilt shows, although there won't be one this year, have been able to raise awareness of the Mito Foundation, and at the same time highlighting quilting, which the members consider a win for everyone.
The Sum of Us Quilt Raffle Tickets are Available at
But enough about our favourite quilters. YOU want to know where you can get your hands on some tickets for a chance to win that beautiful ''The Sum Of Us'' quilt.
Ticket sales for 'The Sum Of Us' quilt for the Mito Foundation will continue over the next few weeks. The raffle is to be drawn at Easter.
You can get yours, at $2 each still, at:
The Avalon Quilters
They meet at the Uniting Church Avalon every Thursday 10 - 2.30.
Uniting Church Avalon,
44 Bellevue Avenue, Avalon Beach
Patchwork on Pittwater
4th floor of the Gateway Building, 1 Mona Vale Road in Mona Vale – just jump in the lift!
Website: https://patchworkonpittwater.com.au/
Avalon Fabrics & Craft Store Sydney
4/24 Avalon Parade, Avalon Beach (in the Village Plaza; where Amber Waves Bakery fronts street)
Ph: (02) 9918 2978
Website: https://www.avalonfabrics.com/
Mito Foundation
(formerly Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation)
Find out more at: https://www.mito.org.au/
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detail in the “The Sum Of Us” 2025 raffle quilt
