Almost before we knew it, October has rolled around and it was the night of the monthly meeting. Our numbers were certainly down, perhaps the inclement weather kept some at home. After the announcements, raffles, new books purchased for the club library shown, it was time for Show and Tell. There were some lovely offerings held up on stage for all to see, and it was good that most makers gave an account of their work. It is always nice to know the history behind the making of a new quilt, all the whys and wherefores add to the story.
Kathy made this pretty little wall-hanging for her daughter’s significant birthday, and will be taking it to London to present to the birthday girl. She added the advice, “Live the Life you Dream” to the quilt. There is a little surprise in the middle of the appliquéd flowers. They are not beads, Kathy told us, but her daughter’s baby teeth (carefully saved for all this time) stitched into the flowers. She wasn’t quite sure what her daughter would think of this little personal touch.
Pretty quilt made for Kathy’s daughter
Jean and her quilting group all made this quilt pattern using black and white adding their own choice of colour. Jean decided to use red with her black and white fabrics, and added a striking red and black fabric patterned for the border. This quilt will soon be going to Hong Kong, we were told.
Jean’s black, white and red quilt
Another family birthday quilt, this time for a 40 year old son. Diane made this using both New Zealand and British designed fabric for her son, who lived in UK for a while. But she won’t have to post it over, as her son has announced he is finally coming back home.
Made by Diane for her son
Heather has completed her Shadow Appliqué blocks and put them together into a top. Don’t the blocks look so pretty together!
Shadow Appliqué by Heather
New club member Avon has been very prolific. She brought along this cute Crazy patch cushion to show us.
Crazy Patch Gollies
And lastly, her beautiful “In Loving Memory” quilt honouring her Father is so very special. It is backed with a piece of her Dad’s tartan scarf.
In Loving Memory, by Avon
The speaker for the evening was, drum roll please……..me!! Our President Sandra had asked if I would talk about our caravan adventures. Guess our biggest adventure was when we were attending a National Caravan Rally up in Auckland where it never stopped raining for days. We were fed up with sloshing through the water-logged grounds ever day, so decided to take a trip out to the Lion Safari Park for a change of scenery. Driving into the large fenced off area we joined the line of cars just in time to witness feeding time. As the truck drove slowly by, lions ran after it, and some jumped up on top of the protective mesh cage as staff pushed large chunks of meat out for the hungry animals. The truck was alongside our car when a lioness on top of the cage decided to use our car as a stepping stone to get down to the grass, where she could enjoy her meal. Imagine the impact a fully grown lion makes when she crashes with two feet on top of the roof, and two feet hitting the windscreen. It all happened in a flash, the window caved in, the windscreen wipers were ripped off, and we were sitting there thinking, “what happened then?”. We were just so lucky that we had a double paned laminated windscreen, and although it was shattered, all the pieces stayed in place. Otherwise we could well have had a frightened lion with big feet and claws scrambling around on our laps as she tried to get free. Our damaged car was the talk of the rally, with fellow campers coming to see what happens when you tangle with a lion. You can imagine the raised eyebrows at the insurance company when Robin went to make his claim later on!
I talked about our various caravans and more specifically about our extended South Island Odyssey trip we did a couple of years ago. And I couldn’t give a talk at a quilt club without showing a few caravan quilts, cushions, and Christmas decorations which get hung in the caravan.
Shown during my talk
Whew - that was a new experience for me, and I really needed a cuppa in the supper room after the meeting to calm my nerves.
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