Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently had the honour of meeting Holly Ruffles at the Walton Bridge, The Gap Girl Guides Life Leadership awards ceremony. At 12 years old, Holly is an outstanding young needlewoman, displaying great skill and patience to the task for which she has received high-level recognition. Being home schooled, Holly began sewing at the age of eight as part of her curriculum. After winning at the local Brookfield show, Holy entered the Brisbane Exhibition, where she won first place in junior hand embroidery. However, her recognition has not stopped there.

Holly caught the attention of Jenny Adin-Christie, the embroiderer to the Royal Family, and was invited by Jenny for a private lesson at her workshop in Surrey, England. Holly has since won further competitions for her works, including the 2013 Brisbane Exhibition award, as well as the Royal Sydney Easter Show, where her work was displayed in the special cabinet for winners of the Excellence Award. It is expected that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would have seen that work on Good Friday during their official visit.

Holly's hand-sewing success has since been accompanied by further wins in machine-sewing competitions, often producing works outshining those of much older competitors. Holly's family and The Gap community is justifiably enormously proud of her.