![Julie Latcham will host the WHK Toomba Ladies Day on Saturday, April 20, Julie Latcham will host the WHK Toomba Ladies Day on Saturday, April 20,](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-agfeed/2016072.jpg/r0_0_600_400_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
JULIE Latcham is one of those endlessly energetic ladies who gets things done.
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She was busy raising a young family and running a growing patchwork and textile art business, Cow Paddocks Patchwork, when she first decided to host a fundraiser for her local kindy six years ago.
Held at the Latcham’s property, Toomba, 12km southwest of Dulacca, the first event included the handover of dozens of beautiful quilts. Known as the Quilts of Love, the quilts were made by local ladies and donated to paediatric special care units at Toowoomba hospitals.
Since that initial event, the WHK Toomba Ladies Day has evolved into a major fundraiser for the entire Dulacca/Drillham community, attracting over 120 guests in 2012.
While the Quilts of Love handover is still an important part of the day, Julie said the WHK Toomba Ladies Day has now become about much more than just sewing and fundraising.
This year the ladies will have an opportunity to browse Julie’s flourishing garden and hear from guest speaker, Alice Greenup, who has just released her first book.
Guests can enjoy gourmet food prepared by the Drillham P&C and are invited to dress for the occasion with prizes awarded for the best dressed, loveliest heels and best hat or fascinator.
Five stallholders, Panda Pearls, What2Ware Shirts, The Fudge Lady, LK Jewellery and Scrap4Fun, will also be open to shoppers.
“The whole event has really grown over the past six years and you certainly don’t need to be a keen sewer to enjoy the day now,” she said.
“We have the quilts on show throughout the garden and guests are invited to walk through the garden and I’ll talk for a bit about how I have gone about creating it.”
“We have only invited five stallholders and we always try to ask people that you don’t see at every market.”
Julie and husband Jeff moved to Toomba in 1998 and now live on the property with their children, Lochie, 11, and Hayley, 9.
Julie was working fulltime when she first moved to Toomba and said it wasn’t until she stopped work to have children that she started her garden with earnest.
“There was nothing here then and we had to get through the worst drought in history,” she said.
“It’s not a prize winning garden by any means but it is certainly starting to take shape now.”
“I have used Tipuanas for shade and bougainvillea for colour dispersed with mock orange and durantas.”
Julie is also excited to have Alice Greenup attending the 2013 Toomba Ladies Day to speak about the release of her new book, Educating Alice.
Born a city girl, Alice writes frankly of the challenges she faced when she met and married her beef producer husband, Rick, and moved to the country.
“I’ve read the book and it’s very addictive – a great read and I’m very excited to have Alice coming along,” Julie said.
Throughout the day, Julie will also have the doors open to her remarkable patchwork and textile art shop, Cow Paddocks Patchwork.
She started the business after finding herself at a loose end while home with young children.
Julie now travels across Queensland conducting patchwork and textile art workshops and is currently booked up 15 months in advance.
“I do have a purpose built shop here but it’s a mobile business and is also online,” she said.
“It initially started as a bit of a sideline business and financially we didn’t put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves but it has far exceeded our expectations and been a very successful little business.”
Julie was named as a finalist in the business category of the 2012 Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network (QRRRWN) strong women in leadership awards.
She said the awards process was greatly rewarding.
“There was a lot of personal development and webinars about how to use social media to market your business which was very helpful,” she said.
Funds raised from the 2013 Toomba Ladies Day will go to the Drillham P&C.
Quilts for a good cause
SEWERS from across southern Queensland are busy putting the final stitches on their masterpieces for the 2013 Quilts of Love Challenge.
Hosted by Julie Latcham from Cow Paddocks Patchwork, the challenge has seen more than 300 beautiful patchwork quilts made by local ladies donated to paediatric services in Toowoomba to be given to babies spending time in special care.
Julie started the challenge six years ago, inviting local ladies to produce a quilt and bring it along to her inaugural Toomba Ladies Day for an official handover to hospital staff.
“People were making the quilts before then but it wasn’t until I put a deadline on it and created an event where we could display all the quilts and do an official handover that it really took off,” she said.
“Since 2007 we have made and donated over 300 quilts.”
“We get wonderful feedback from the hospital staff and others who have spent time in the special care units that these quilts are greatly appreciated.”
“They help take some of the sterility out of the hospital environment and allow people to create a sense of home while they spend time there.”
This year’s challenge will be held in conjunction with the 2013 WHK Toomba Ladies Day which, over the past six years, has grown to become a major community event for the Dulacca and Drillham regions.
Sewers have been invited to create a quilt either 50cm or 1m square and are asked to send them to the Cow Paddocks shop by April 1.
“The quilts will be judged and if they are in by April 1 they will be eligible to go into the lucky draws,” Julie said.
“The quilts will then be officially handed over to a representative from St Vincent’s Special Care Unit.”
“This year we have invited the Injune Creek Quilters who have been busy sewing Breast Cancer Bags which will be handed over on the day to a representative from the St Vincent’s Breast Care Unit.”