Last look at quilts from Wellington Quilters Exhibition

Thanks to readers for the interest in the couple of quilt exhibitions I have viewed recently – so here are my final choices from the Wellington Quilters Guild Exhibition.  It closes on Sunday 7th October for anyone wanting to take a last minute trip in to Wellington to see the quilts in person. 

Jane McFadden combined pinwheel, four patch and nine patch blocks to make “Intersections”, using a Moda Jelly Roll plus packs of matching Moda 5 inch squares.  Her artistry with machine quilting won an award for Merit in Domestic Machine Quilting.  This is the sort of quilt which would look good in any bedroom,  traditional blocks using lots of colour, on a soft and restful neutral background, and in an interesting setting.  

“Intersections”, by Jane McFadden

Fyvie Murray is well known for her prodigious output of Baltimore quilts, so this was a change of departure for her.  “Nga taniwha o Whanganui a Tara” shone as only a silk quilt can, but sadly my photo does not capture the complete beauty of it at all.  But be assured, it looked wonderfully lustrous, with the hand quilting creating beautiful patterns of light and shade across the surface of the quilt.  Fyvie wanted her quilt to tell a story of Ngaake and Whaitaitai, two taniwha living in Wellington harbour.  She collected an award for Excellence in Hand Quilting.

  “Nga taniwha o Whanganui a Tara”, by Fyvie Murray

Close up of the quilting

Anna Prussing is another very well known quilter from this guild.  She decided quite some time ago to make a 21st birthday quilt for each of her nieces and nephews.  Over the years, these wonderful quilts, each made especially to suit the tastes of the family member, have often appeared in shows, and I have been lucky to have viewed most of them.   “Blithe Spirit” is number twelve in this series, and was made to capture the essence of niece Claire, a young dancer full of energy and in love with life.   What a wonderful aunt!  This quilt won Excellence in the Waste Not, Want Not category, and also Judges Award.

  “Blithe Spirit”, by Anna Prussing

“Grant’s Favourite Things”, was lovingly stitched by Sue Stephen for her husband’s birthday.  It’s easy to see that Grant is a real fan of planes, and Spitfires in particular.  Sue also found fabrics relating to his other interests of football, wine, travel and war movies in this quilt, all tied together with rows of Flying Geese.

“Grant’s Favourite Things”, by Sue Stephen

I love to see New Zealand quilters taking inspiration from our beautiful country, and Theresa Vaughan did just that with her wall hanging “Streams and Forests”.  Constructed in the “flip and sew” method, the quilt showcases the colours of the sky, the sea, the hills, streams and forests of New Zealand.  I can even see a couple of selvedge strips in there too.  Theresa gained a Merit in Composition for her piece.

“Streams and Forests”, by Theresa Vaughan

I may be a Kiwi, but there is also a little bit of Scots bloods (and English too) pulsing through my veins.  So I was really delighted to see this cute little tartan bag, decorated with brass buttons and wool tassels, made by Rose Greenman. 

“Scots Man Bag”, by Rose Greenman

That’s the last of my photos from this exhibition, and there really was something for everyone to admire, and plenty of space to hang all those large bed quilts in the roomy venue without anything being crowded.

And don’t forget, if you live locally, my own club’s exhibition at Expressions, Upper Hutt, closes on Sunday 4th November, so there is still a little time to get there too.