I joined the group in 1988. I had been a sewer for many years when a friend who was a designer was asked to establish Kaldor Fabrics. She asked me to make her a very large cactus. I had fun doing it even though I was under the pressure of a deadline. I really was thrilled with my cactus. However, I only got to keep it for one day before it was whisked away It was the first of many cactus.

In 1988 I went to an exhibition at Hyde Park Barracks and saw a man, Alan Tremain, weaving on a frame loom. I was very interested in the technique. Alan referred me to BASDA.

I went along to my very first meeting. They were trying to find a treasurer, there and then I offered myself as treasurer even before I had joined the group. I was treasurer for eight years. Then someone else offered to be treasurer so I opted for Vice President. I did not want to be President as I am not a leader but a doer. thought I would rather be very helpful to the President, Kirry Toose.

When someone else wanted to be Vice President, I decided I wanted to remain on the Committee as I liked being part of a viable group of people. I think everyone should become a committee member at some stage in their life (there was much applause from the audience). I was thinking about my next position. We were in need of a Newsletter Editor. I was hesitant at first, thinking, What if I got names wrong? What if I made mistakes? I eventually got over the what ifs, and decided that our many country members needed a chatty newsletter to keep them in contact with what was happening. I felt I could only do my best. What does it matter if you make small mistakes? So I became our Newsletter Editor.

I work for a small IT company and am able to do my own thing during my lunch hour. I can sew or iron. My boss finds what I do interesting.

We just recently published a coloured newsletter which costs $2.70 per issue instead of $1.50. We feel the colour is worth it as we do an artist profile for each issue. We began with Inger Hunter — we published photos of her and her work. Penelope is the Lois Lane of the group. It is her job to find the stories.

We have a reputation of being a clique. None of us feels this is true. We are very welcoming of new members. When I look around the room I can see many grey heads. Our membership is mostly old too. There are young members also. Textile students come to our exhibitions and furiously take notes. Some of them join.

We do everything to fabrics — this year Kirry Toose put in a submission for a special display at Darling Harbour as part of the Quilt and Craft Show. We were given a larger stand than usual. The display was bright and colourful. Expertise Events asked us if we would travel to Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane. We agreed ad they paid us $7,000 to fly the display to the other venues. The display featured bras of all kinds as we were raising money to support research into breast cancer. We organised a raffle to raise the money. The first prize was a trip to the Montana Wearable Arts Award. My bra was the one with the two cats. We get new members from each show.

For our 30th birthday we wanted to do something really special. Kirry decided to approach the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust and ask to use the Palm House for an exhibition and is worth a look. We have made all major works for sale. We now have a new brochure, which contains the membership form and photos of many different works by many different artists. It is in colour, as colour is a feature of all our work.

In the Newsletter we often reprint articles warning old and new members of the dangerous chemicals they use to alter fabrics, as some of our members have died through ignorance of the safety precautions they should have followed. We are encouraged to make our own badges to represent ourselves. This is mine — it features my 2 cats block printed inside a heart. I have embellished it as well.

We have many workshops. We have a travelling suitcase exhibition called Gilbert the Globite. Gilbert has travelled far and wide and has become very worn. We will make a son of Gilbert or perhaps a Gilbertina to take his place. Gilbert has his own website where people in towns he has visited have written about the experience of meeting him. He is very popular.

Over 100 members have joined because of the work they have seen at displays and exhibitions. Our numbers have risen from 195 to 400. We now need to reassess the whole group as people in Melbourne want to form their own group. We are also getting new members from South Australia and Queensland. We also have social days between meetings. On these days we set up tables and have a Bring and Buy. We are often amazed by what people consider precious. Kirry has thought of a challenge Bag. The bags cost $10 and the money goes towards buying books for our small library. We have fun doing these. Our next Challenge is to make a sublime talisman. The bag has assorted wires and fabrics. We must use 75% of the bag materials plus 25% of our stash. The finished talisman cannot be bigger than an A3 sheet of paper.

Most people are serious about what they make. I like to have fun with what I do.

Lynne then showed us samples of her work. She said people often asked for; there was a dragon wall hanging, a fabric covered money box lined with black fur: jewellery named q>Curious and Curiouser, which drew on Alice in Wonderland, especially the Queen of Hearts; and a selection of wonderful jackets she has sewn. One was printed using Styrofoam blocks which had been transformed with a soldering iron — they had to stand upwind as the gas emitted was toxic; an evening jacket made from different fabrics and fully lined — Diana Rigg bought one of her jackets, a jacket sewn from Sanshi (Japanese fabrics). It is a short sleeved jacket Lynne made for herself. She could have sold it 100 times, a machine embroidered jacket with a plain back and unlined. People have asked her to provide a pack with ideas and instructions. She is happy to do this for $200 and her most recent jacket called Flight of the Bats. The design came from her concern about the bats negotiating the fireworks over Sydney. The background was black and on that ground were the fireworks over the lights of Sydney with small bats here and there. Her skills at fabric collage and embellishment were very obvious.