Quilt Show in Hastings

 How wonderful to have a quilt show in Hastings to check out during my weekend trip away, put on by Wine Country Quilts.  I had a free day on Saturday before the family birthday, put the address into the Sat Nav, and after a little hiccough, finally saw the sign.  Did you know I'm somewhat navigationally challenged while driving? 

This must be the right place

After paying my $8 entry fee, and buying raffle tickets, I entered the door.  Wow, it all looked wonderful.  I love seeing big bed quilts, and there were plenty of those on display.

Where to start?  I'm pleased I had my walking stick with me as I slowly wandered around, walking slowly is hard on my back.  Here are some quilts which took my eye.

"Catfish" by Linda McAdams, applique, painting, lace making

There's something about the timeless designs of William Morris.  Sandra Vinden created "Arts and Crafts Revival" in this simple design which showcases this lovely fabric line.

"Arts and Crafts Revival"

This large tee shirt quilt had a lot of interest.  Linda Ralph pieced "Those Days, 40 plus years of Concerts".    You could imagine all the memories this quilt holds.

Tee shirt quilt full of memories

I had seen versions of this intricate design on blogland recently so it was great one in real life.  Lyn Churcher stitched "Colour my World" as a BOM and machine quilted it herself.  I'm most impressed and don't think I could tackle anything like this.

Colour my World

I liked the simplicity of this one, made from men's shirts, complete with labels.  Sorry, but I didn't get the maker's name this time, and I'm not sure if it was made as a memory quilt.

Made from men's shirts

And we have to have a Kiwi to finish off with, don't we.  This one was so pretty.  Leanne Kenah, guest exhibitor, stitched "Le Fleur Kiwi"  using thread painting over fabric applique, and then machine quilted it.  This pretty piece included part of a doily made  by her grandmother.

Le Fleur Kiwi

I didn't really check out the merchants area, nothing I really wanted at the time.  Sadly, I shed a few tears when a well meaning quilter approached me, she  was formerly from Levin but had moved away and recognised me.  "Hello", she said, "You travel around in your caravan with your cat, don't you".  "Not any more", I replied and promptly burst into tears.  Dear me, that comment was a trigger, and I'm sure that will continue to happen from time to time.  I do hope I didn't embarrass her too much.

The family birthday celebrations were on Saturday evening, and the following morning I had a cup of tea, no breakfast available at this motel, and packed up for the drive home.  I encountered quite a bit of heavy fog driving out of Hastings on Sunday morning.  Or was it mist, I really don't know the difference.  Time for a spot of morning tea a little later and I turned off the road into Norsewood and I ordered a cup of coffee and a date scone at the cafe.

Cafe at Norsewood

On the 15th September 1872 the sailing ship Hovding arrived at Napier with 483 new settlers from Norway.  A few days later the men trekked through the heavy bush to reach the area now known as Norsewood. That would have been very hard going for them indeed.   Families followed and the community became established, and over the years many more Scandinavian settlers arrived.  This family of three happy trolls, father Norvirke, mother Margit and son Ormvah are sitting in the sun to welcome travelers.  Norsewood trolls are very happy creatures, not like those other trolls which hide under bridges ready to eat you up!

Happy family of Trolls

I made it home safe and sound although the muscles on my side were still very painful.  Time to collect Gemma and settle down after our trip away.  Sadly, no phone call came through to tell me I had won the raffle.

Off to the Quilt Show

Its been such a long time since I’d been to a quilt show.  My (non quilting) friend Dot and I went up to Palmerston North to “Celebration of Quilts” put on by Rose City Quilters.  Entry was a very reasonable $5 and we took a ticket in this striking star  raffle quilt hanging on the wall.  There were also more raffles featuring gift baskets, one for quilting supplies, one for gardeners, and a gourmet basket packed with interesting goodies, so of course I needed tickets in those as well.

Entry to the show and the raffle quilt

Of course, there were all sorts of quilts on display, large, small, pieced, appliqued, and several made with panels.  As I mentioned to Dot, all these quilts would have been made for a purpose, to suit the maker’s own home, as a bed quilt ort to hang on the wall, or maybe a gift for a family member or a special friend.  Colour choice is  very personal,  and everyone sees colour and design differently.

Best in Show was this poignant small quilt by Erilyn McMillan and was taken from a photo showing a child amongst the crosses in a field of remembrance.  The different shades of grey and black have been achieved by countless little embroidered  seed stitches.  This little quilt has to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Best in Show by Erilyn McMillan

Another neutral coloured quilt which caught my eye.  By Dianne Southey who used a hand embroidered table cloth laid over grey fabric and extensively quilted.  It was made double sided by adding beautiful lace on the back.

Made with a table cloth

Of course, there were plenty of colour in the hall as well.  Such as this trio, giraffes and a zebra.  And three attentive cats checking out the birds on the tree branch.  Sorry, didn't check the labels for the makers names.

Safari animals and cats

We bumped into our caravan friend Thelma and her daughter Sally Anne who had a quilt on display.  So of course we wanted to know which one it was.

 

Mary Anne with her quilt

These two really appealed.  Our beautiful native bird, the Huia, was much prized for its feathers and is sadly now extinct.  This seemed to be  created from a panel, I think.  And the motor bike quilt was a birthday gift to a grandson.  Once again, I didn't take note of the makers names.

Two more beauties

After being on our feet for a while, I really needed to sit down at the small café run by the quilt club.  A sandwich, muffin and cup of coffee revived us, and it was great to sit down for a while.

Then there was the Challenge to check out, the entries were based on the makers interpretation of a flag, and were to be 12 inches square.  Ooops, no photos of these challenge quilts.  Then I checked out the quilt vendors and was very restrained, only buying one fat quarter!  Dot was amazed to see the variety of fabrics, quilt kits and patterns on offer.  She has actually made one quilt some years ago, and has another on the go, but quilting is not really her thing.  Instead she is a very talented card maker.    It was nice to have her company as we walked around the exhibition, and enjoy a girls day out.

Town and Country Quilters Show

Last week my quilt guild held their bi-annual quilt show.  There’s always such a lot of work going on  behind the scenes to organize such an event.  With two guest exhibitors, and plenty of quilts from club members, there was plenty to feast our eyes on.  Then there were the merchants, all ready to entice us with all sorts of goodies.  I did make a few small purchases, I must admit, things which just had to come home with me.  Here are just a few of the quilts on display which caught my attention.

Centre Point, by Faye Davis

Summer Sweets in Springtime, by Paula Shailer

Frogs by Dianne Walker and Baa Baa Bedtime  by Sheryl Meech

Infinity, by Fay Davis

Positivity, by Paula Shailer.  Making a Plus Quilt is on my Bucket List

Our guild members are a very talented bunch, and there were plenty more which I loved.  We wandered up and down the rows, checked out the many merchants, stopped and chatted to friends and had a great time.  Then the cafe beckoned for a most welcome sit down, and enjoyed a delicious sandwich and scone for lunch.  Congratulations to all involved for all the hard work in organizing and running the show.

Kapiti Quilters Exhibition

I always enjoy a quilt show, and met up with my friend Shirley from Waikanae yesterday morning to view the Kapiti Quilters Exhibition at Southwards Car Museum.  Kapiti Quilters is Shirley’s quilt guild.  After paying the admission charge, and buying a few raffle tickets, we admired all the community quilts made by club members.  They were cleverly displayed on the walkway leading into the hall.

Community quilts made by Kapiti Quilters

There were so many quilts inside the hall, that the sensible thing to do, we decided, was just to take our time.  Here are some from the exhibition which caught my eye.  There were several New York Beauty quilts on display – all those paper pieced points!  This one was by Pat Crengle and won an award for Best Machine Quilting on a domestic machine.

New York Beauty

I’ve always admired Plus quilts and hope to make one sometime.  These two were stitched by Jane McNamara and Sandra Kilin.

Two quite different Plus quilts.

I loved this beautiful quilt made with lustrous glowing colours,and different sized blocks.  Made by Sheryl Meech, it was awarded Best in Show.

Circles, by Sheryl Meech, Best in Show

My pick for Viewers Choice went to this delightful William Morris inspired Baltimore.  Sadly, I didn’t take note of the maker’s name, but it did win two blue ribbons.

William Morris Baltimore

What else?  I rather liked this little rug (or maybe it’s a wall-hanging) made from selvedges.  I’ve done a few selvedge projects over the years but have never seen anything quite like this.  This was entered in a challenge so I’m not sure who made it.

Shaggy selvedge rug

And who is this who was looking for me?  It was blog reader Felicity from Ormandville, and we seem to bump into each other at quilt shows.  Felicity had made me a little gift for the caravan, a little pad with rubber grippy fabric on the back, to help you take the tops of jars.  Thanks so much Felicity, and it was so lovely to meet up with you again.

Felicity with a gift for me

By this stage Robin had done what he wanted to at the shops, and let me know he was waiting upstairs in the café.  It was time we joined him for lunch, and sit down and rest our weary feet. Shirley and I had a lovely time together admiring the quilts – I do enjoy a good quilt show.

Feilding Kowhai Quilt Show

A quilt show while away on a camping weekend – that sounded like a good idea.  Two of us went off to see what it was all about, non quilter Kath and myself.  When we arrived at Coach House Museum to find the car park quite full.  Always a good sign, this means that there were plenty of keen and interested ladies inside.

We paid our entrance fees, bought some raffle tickets and entered fairyland.  The quilts were draped all over vintage coaches and gigs right throughout the large museum.  The Hoffman Challenge is always interesting to check out.  Each entry had to contain some of the interesting border type challenge fabric, and could not be rectangular or square.  I loved the tall giraffes, made up of lots of tiny pieces, and very definitely not rectangular.

Hoffman challenge fabric and my favourite pick

We wandered slowly around the quilts on display, stopping to inspect those which really took our fancy.  Such as “Flowers in Art” by Bronwyn Dungan, combining both cross stitched blocks and applique.  Nice restful colours and very pretty indeed.

Flowers in Art

With a call out to her quilting buddies for some extra dot, spot and circle scraps, Marino Kitto soon had enough to complete “With a Little help from my Friends”.  Such a lovely bright and happy quilt. 

With a little help from my Friends

Stitching a patriotic Anzac Poppy quilt is on my wish list for “sometime” so I was really interested in “Anzac Poppies” by Margaret Arama.  Margaret was the lucky winner of the poppy blocks through a Block of the Month competition and assembled the blocks like a banner.

Anzac Poppies

What’s not to love about this striking zebra?   Joyce Waugh was asked to make a zebra quilt for her friend’s daughter.  Once it was made she found it difficult to give away so decided to make another!

Zebra by Joyce Waugh

And in keeping with the savannah theme, I rather liked “African Adventure” by Mary Lloyd.  After collecting enough African themed fabrics, Mary then stitched the quilt using many half square triangles.  You can see some of the old vintage machinery at the museum peeking out behind the quilt.

 

African Adventure

We saw several William Morris inspired quilts at the show.  This one, “William’s Irises” was a five year long labour of love stitched by Aimee Torwick.

William’s Irises

And look at these two stitchers sitting outside the vintage Hawkers Van from years ago.  These two happy ladies were hand stitching away and chatting to the show visitors as they walked by. 

Two friendly club members, happy to show us what they were doing

It was a lovely show, and a first for my caravan buddy Kath, who enjoyed it too.  Well done, Kowhai Quilters.

Town and Country Quilters Quiltfest

It was time for Quiltfest, my club’s quilt show.  All the details of running such a big event had been percolating behind the scenes for quite some time.  Due to my ill health and subsequent treatment over the last six months, followed by a long planned holiday in Australia, I was unable to help out.  We arrived home just in time for me to attend the show, so I didn’t miss out completely.

A trio of friendly faces were on the front desk, to take the entrance fee, and hand out a couple of slips of paper.  One was to write the name and number of Viewer’s Choice, and the other was for a chance to win a brand new sewing machine from our major sponsor Krazy Cow quilt shop – wouldn’t that be wonderful!  Then there were three more happy faces on the desk selling raffle tickets – what a nice friendly welcome.

Welcome to Quiltfest

There were challenge quilts to check out, vendors to visit, and the T&C $5 bags of goodies to look at too.  These bags were certainly good value, and great from the seller’s perspective too, as it was a great opportunity to downsize and declutter one’s sewing room.  But what about the quilts, you want to know?  Our club members had been working hard over the last year, and there was a wonderful selection to look at, and linger awhile.  Here are some which I found particularly appealing.

Diane’s quilt which she made for her son’s 40th birthday really caught my eye.  His quilt was designed to depict icons from his country of birth, New Zealand, and also icons from his years living in London.  The Chinese characters featured show his paternal parentage.

40th Birthday Quilt for Troy, by Diane Young

Other People’s Dreams by Griet Lombard is another great example of her love of working with recycled embroideries, crochet, and old linens.   I just love Griet’s work, so soft and pretty, and this got my vote for Viewer’s Choice.

Other People’s Dreams, by Griet Lombard

I had seen Sandra working on this quilt at sewing days over a period of time and had always admired it.  Floriason Rouge is now completed, and looks wonderful.

Floriason Rouge, by Sandra Collins

Archer’s Safari Quilt, by Cathryn Christensen, and Cool Cats, by Maureen Taylor

Plus quilts have been on my “must make one day list” so I was rather drawn to this lovely version, Accentuate the Positive, by Marjorie Law.  This was made for a friend who is unwell, and has a passion for Anzac Day, World War 1, and poppies.

Accentuate the Positive, by Marjorie Law

Ramblin’ Rose, by Jan Rodgers and Autumn, by Diane Walker

Chock full of beautiful glowing batiks, Up and Down the Squares was made by Sandra Collins, based on a pattern from The Cloth Shop, in Palmerston North.  The black accent really sets of these fabulous fabrics.

Up and Down the Squares, by Sandra Collins

After wandering up and down the rows of lovey quilts, I really needed to visit the café for a cuppa and a scone with jam and cream for a “pick me up” and to rest my weary legs.  It was a great show, many congratulations to all who helped make it such a success.