The Great Kiwi Icons Challenge

The Bernina inaugural challenge had stitchers thinking long and hard about their own personal version of a Kiwi Icon, then translating this idea into fabric.  The challenge is travelling around the country and came to rest for a while at my local P & Q shop, Thimbles and Threads.  Kiwi icons of all sorts were depicted on the small quilts, most of which were attractively displayed upstairs in the class room, with a few downstairs in the shop area.

Kiwi Icons on display

Flora and fauna, and the holiday themes of beaches, baches, and caravans were displayed, as were the All Blacks.  I noticed bungy jumping, sheep (we have millions), cheeky pukekos, and buzzy bees, icons all.  Here is good ole Wal being chased by one of those killer pigs in the Footrot Flats comic strip.

Run Wal Run, by Jenny Skudder

The beautifully stitched Tuatara earned Rosemary Rush a new Bernina machine.  The reptile sits on quilted pebbles, surrounded by wonderfully quilted and appliquéd fern fronds.  This one would be my favourite and like all these small quilts, has to be seen up close to be appreciated.

Tuatara, by Rosemary Rush

I guess that a kiwi icon to me would have to be holidaying on our beautiful coastline.  There were several quilts that I loved which depicted this sentiment.  The bach was framed by embroidered pohutakawa blossoms, and the iconic Combi Van was a holiday home from home for generations of Kiwis.

The Bach, by Clare Smith

Kiwi Cruisin, by Sarah Wright

Just Buzzin Around, by Susan Woolhouse features some of our famous buzzy bee toys.  Who can’t remember Charles and Di’s visit to New Zealand with toddler William all those years ago when a buzzy bee was presented to the royals?  Our buzzy bees gained international stardom overnight!

Just Buzzin Around, by Susan Woolhouse

And what could be more kiwi than wearing a pair of jandals to the beach and feeling the warm sand slide over our toes?  They may well be known as flip flops or thongs in other counties, but to a Kiwi this casual mode of footwear is known as jandals.

The Bach Decoration and Insulation, by Karen Benton

This is just a small selection of the quilts on display.  Do go and check them out when the travelling exhibition comes to your part of New Zealand, they are all wonderful little works of art.

Hoffman Challenge Quilts

The annual Hoffman Challenge quilts are touring the country, and luckily for me, were just around the corner at Thimbles and Threads.  I took my friend Dot with with to view these works of art.  The chosen fabric for this year was from Hoffman’s Penny Lane collection, with a flowing paisley design in rich hues.  As always, the quilts for this challenge had to be less than one metre in any direction, and be neither square nor rectangular.  “Ride with Me”, by Joanne Mitchel won both the Best Overall Quilt, and Viewers Choice.  Featuring a prancing white carousel horse, with an ornate saddle and livery, the quilt was harbouring a little secret.  A sensor starts the lights to flash and the carrousel music to play when someone walks close by.  I had to agree with the judges that this quilt deserved it’s awards.  The front horse is beautifully done, as are the background details.

“Ride with Me”, by Joanne Mitchel

The iconic Combi van has been a favourite with young Kiwi surfers and campers for many years.  This one, stitched by Wendy O’Neil, was sporting  paint job straight out of the swinging sixties. 

“Hippie Wagon”, by Wendy O’Neill

“Indian Chief War Shield” by Jenny Scudder was a little piece of calm amongst the riotous colours of the other items on display.  We had to really look to see the challenge fabric hidden under the feathers and clothing.  This little gem was very well thought out and executed and was my second choice.

“Indian Chief War Shield”, by Jenny Scudder

Another small offering which took my eye was the little “Indian Elephant”, by Brenda Reading.  This lovely little elephant was dressed in a pretty cover, finished off with beading.  Quite simple, but very effective.

“Indian Elephant”, by Brenda Reading

The award for Best Contemporary Quilt went to Cindy Watkins for “Masquerade”.  The young lady’s face was peeping out of an extravagant mask, as she fluttered her matching fan to great effect.

“Masquerade”, by Cindy Watkins

The Barn Embroiderers of Chesterfield, UK, worked together to make “Ladies Day at the Races”.  This group of embroiderers were unaccustomed to quilt making and they had to think completely “out of the box”, they commented.  Inspiration came from ladies attending Ascot Races.  I think they did a marvellous job working together to create this beautiful quilt of a lady at the Ascot Races sipping on her cocktail  under her shady hat..

“Ladies Day at the Races”, by the Barn Embroiderers

It is always a delight to view the Hoffman Challenge, and it was interesting to take a non quilter with me and watch her reaction as she studied each quilt. 

Hoffman Exhibition at Thimbles and Threads

Several months ago I viewed the Hoffman Exhibition at Minerva, and sadly no photos were allowed at those premises.  After travelling around the country the exhibition has now arrived at my local quilt shop, Thimbles and Threads.  It is on show upstairs in the classroom, and although I noticed a sign warning not to touch the quilts, I could not see a sign prohibiting taking photos. 

A view of some of the Hoffman Exhibition quilts

I was pleased to get a second chance to look at these beauties.  The rules were that the entries were not allowed to be square or rectangular, and had to use a recognisable amount of the challenge fabric.  “High Five”, by Joanne Mitchel was quite different from the others.  Very cleverly constructed of angular zig zag folds, it was made up of two  different pictures, which could be seen when viewed at an angle.  The face of Sir Ed Hilary was on side, and a mountain scene on the other. 

“High Five” by Joanne Mitchel

The view from her bedroom window inspired Jenny Broadbent to make “Through the Cabbage Patch”.  Rows of cabbages all growing in straight lines, and was that an appliquéd rabbit I noticed nibbling on the cabbage leaves?  Hills and a lake fill the  background and I like how the  foliage frames the top edge of the quilt.

“Through the Cabbage Patch”, by Jenny Broadbent

Another scene which caught my eye was “Lake Ruataniwha”, by Marie Temple.  The challenge fabric reminded Marie of autumn in the McKenzie Country, and her quilt was inspired by one of her own photos.  She has done a wonderful job of stitching not only a lake scene but a lake reflection too.  I particularly like the clever way the she has done the borders.

“Lake Ruataniwha”, by Marie Temple

Lastly, I took a snap of one of the several cloaks exhibited.  This one is “The Cloak of Fire”, and is by Jenny Skudder.  Inspired by a Quilting Arts magazine, this certainly needed a close look to see the different techniques used.  The cloak was bargello, and the flames were double sided with organza overlay, and the hanging fine black threads added another dimension.  This was a very striking piece.

  “The Cloak of Fire”, by Jenny Skudder

As I had only popped in to the shop to buy some cord for a Christmas gift, it was a nice surprise the find this exhibition upstairs.  It is always interesting to see all the different ideas that come from using the same piece of fabric.  Do call in to Thimbles and Threads if you are passing through Upper Hutt.

Friday UFO Night

What better way to end the working week (and for me, the end of my working life, I’m now retired!) than an evening spent stitching together. A group of us met at the local quilt shop, Thimbles and Threads, for a very pleasant evening. Several were already set up with their sewing machines humming when I arrived. Joyce was busy with her “quilt as you go” panels in a pretty green colour way. As she was using a jelly roll, she had to adjust the measurements from the pattern’s 3 inch squares to the 2 1/2 inch size of the roll. So all her pieces were all just that little bit smaller. Joyce was persevering with this project but stated that she wasn’t really enjoying it. She obviously has more staying power than me, I would no doubt have given up by now.

Joyce working on her quilt as you go panels

Sharon had just completed a shop sample using glorious Kaffe Fassett fabrics. That quilt is under wraps at the moment, but she was making a pieced backing out of the leftovers, so I could take a photo of that, to show the beautiful fabrics she has been working with.

Kaffe Fassett pieced backing

Margaret is always busy with her sewing and usually brings several projects to work on. I rather liked her idea of using blue and cream half square triangles then adding blue flip and sew corners to the cream half. It gives a completely different look to the block.

Margaret’s blue and cream blocks

Marion was working beside me and was using up her autumn and bright batiks. She had designed a block to set the two colour families together then pieced them together into a lap sized quilt.

Marion working with her batiks

I have seen many versions of the Disappearing 9 Patch block recently and this black, white and red version that Pamela was working on is very nice indeed. Pamela’s aim is to make a black and white version for each of her three children. Quilt number one had lime green accents, and this version with touches of red is quilt number two. I am really impressed with this pattern and have got it on my “one day” list.

Black, white and red disappearing nine patch blocks

I was busy stitching down the binding on yet more little Christmas quilts. No photos of these yet as they are to be sent away as gifts, perhaps later when the last one has been posted. We ordered take-always again for our evening meal, and enjoyed our choices of delicious pasta and mini pizzas. Perhaps next time I will try one of the seafood pizzas. That one looked delicious. All in all another great stitching evening.

UFO Night on Friday 13th

Who would be interested in a Friday evening UFO night to work on some of those unfinished projects that we all have, the committee of my quilt club, Pinestream Quilters wanted to know. I was quick to put my name down, and joined 10 or so others upstairs at the classroom of Thimbles and Threads, one of our local quilt shops. We didn’t let the fact that it was Friday 13th put us off, oh no, we had stitching on our minds and that is what we came to do. With our Quilt Show coming up next month, it was an ideal opportunity to finish those bindings and hanging sleeves on the quilts to be exhibited. The evening started at 5.00pm with a small glass of wine for those who wanted one, and cheese, grapes and crackers to nibble on.

Fellow club members hard at work at the UFO night

Several of the ladies brought their sewing machines along and were busily piecing blocks. Marg was stitching flying geese blocks together to use in the backing of her quilt, while Pamela was constructing some black and white Disappearing 9 Patch blocks. Marion was working on some cushion covers which used up her extra 9 Patch swap blocks. Linda spent the evening stitching the binding down on her beautiful New York Beauty quilt.

Linda’s New York Beauty quilt

There was quite a bit of rotary cutting doing on too, and lots of hand sewing. What was I doing? I stitched the labels on to the back of two little Christmas quilts, that took much longer than than I expected. Then I completed the hand quilting on a Christmas cushion – the next step on this project is to finish stitching the cushion cover together. And finally I started working on a little stitchery for my grand-daughter Emma. She doesn’t know it is coming so no photos yet as it will have to remain a secret for a while.

My quilt labels for Christmas wall hangings

An hour or so into our evening we phoned through an order for pizza and pasta to be delivered for our dinner. Most of us hadn’t yet eaten so we were really starting to feel peckish. It was quite a long wait, but when it finally arrived, our orders were delicious. Then it was back to our stitching again. As the night drew on the ladies started to pack up and go home one by one. “We can stay here till midnight”. Margaret told us. Midnight – that’s much too late for someone like me who gets up at 5.00am every workday. I lasted till 10.00 pm before heading home, leaving the last few keen ones still hard at work! We all had a good time, working away on our projects in the company of other keen club members. Here’s hoping we have another UFO night again soon.

It’s my Local

I’m so lucky to have my favourite quilt shop just 5 minutes drive away. Thimbles and Threads has been serving stitchers in Upper Hutt for 17 years. I can remember the excitement all those years ago when the quilt shop opened for business! Over the years it has expanded several times and offers an enticing array of fabric, notions, books, wool, magazines, patterns and giftware. Sharon also sells Bernina sewing machines, and offers a commercial quilting service.

Thimbles and Threads

Over the years I have attended many classes here. Being so nice and handy I can easily “pop in” to purchase that roll of cotton when I run out, or pick up those buttons or needles. It’s a great place to look for last minute gifts too. And I have to admit that the fabric selection is mind boggling - we have travelled around the country extensively in our caravan and have not come across another quilt shop to rival their vast selection.

Just a small part of the fabric on offer – there is much, much more

Sharon, and Thimbles, (as it is affectionately known) featured on the front page of our local paper this week. Sharon has offered the local Intermediate School ongoing sponsorship for an annual Young Designer award. With two pupils equal in ability, both girls were awarded a cup and a Bernina Bernette each in this, the inaugural 2009 prize. The girls were thrilled to finally have their own sewing machine, as they have been using their Mum’s machines until their win.

Threads, notions and fabric

Congratulations to Sharon for supporting the school’s fabric technology course. The quilting fraternity is so lucky that Sharon and Harry took that gamble 17 years ago when they opened their shop. If you are visiting Upper Hutt, come and check it out at 40 Park Street, Upper Hutt. I love the shop, but then, it is my local!!