Sew Wots Stitching Morning

The Sew Wots gathered out in the heart of the rural countryside country side today and I drove off up and down unknown roads in the rain.  Luckily I was heading the right way and soon arrived at Helen’s home.  Thank goodness I made it safely and didn’t have to resort to a cell phone call to get rescued.  To tell the truth, navigation to new areas is not one of my skills.

One of the ladies had brought along a whole pile of magazines, so there was not a lot of stitching done as most very busy flicking through the mags, seeing what took their fancy.  Hostess Helen showed us a pile of quilt tops she had recently made, all using 5 inch squares.  Paula arrived a little later with the most glorious Christmas quilt which she was finishing off with some gold stars on top of the trees.  This quilt has her fabulous custom quilting, Rabbit’s Patch Quilting, and is just beautiful.  She will no doubt show her creation on her blog when she has finished with the embellishments.

I did some more stitching on my “Thanks” stitchery, which will eventually be a cushion for my sewing room.  It is coming along slowly, and is my take-away project.

What I’m working on

Helen’s beautiful fluffy cat was much admired, and she was quite happy on top of one of the easy chairs keeping an eye on all the ladies who had come to visit.  She rushed down from her perch at one stage, vigorously attacked the scratching post, then jumped back on top of the chair for a bit more R&R. 

Helen’s fluffy cat

After a lovely morning tea, we packed up and headed off out into the rain once more.  It is always such a lovely morning when this small stitching group gets together, and I really appreciate being invited to join.  Thanks so much, ladies.

Quilt Fest Part 2

After a quick lunch at home, I returned to the show with friend Dot in tow.  It is always interesting to view quilts with a non quilter beside you.  Not that Dot is a complete novice, she had very competently made her first quilt some years ago, with a bit of helpful advice and rotary cutting from me.  I made a bee-line to Wright Fabrics stall, had been there earlier in the morning but wanted to return with a colour swatch in my hot little hand.  Trying to remember in my mind what particular tone of green I was after was too difficult – I wanted some sage greens for my daughter’s proposed quilt.  Shopping done, it was back to viewing the quilts.

Fay stitched together 10,000 one and a half inch squares over several years to make “The Grand Old Duke of York”.  What a huge undertaking!  Personally, I just couldn’t work with such tiny pieces, so I really admire her skill and perseverance.

The Grand Old Duke of York, stitched by Fay

“Matilda’s Waltz” is a beautiful Block of the Month quilt combining pieced blocks and stitcheries, in pretty soft colours, taking Paula three years to complete.  Then expertly quilted on her Long Arm quilting machine. 

Matilda’s Waltz, by Paula

There was an admiring crowd gathered around Griet’s “Winter Garden”.  Each individual block is a delight of lace, embroidery and selvedge strips.  This is one of those quilts which really need to be studied closely to appreciate all the handwork which has gone into each block.

Winter Garden, by Griet

Robin and I spent a very happy couple of weeks travelling around Ireland some years ago,  so I was very interested in this lovely quilt.  Frances stitched her quilt “Ireland”, using different tones of greens to represent the 32 counties.  Each block shows an aspect of the Irish culture.

Ireland, stitched by Frances

I’ve never made a colour-wash quilt myself, and have always admired them.  Mary stitched this beauty, “Dragonflies and Lily Pads”  from a pattern by Whims.  It is so pretty, and I loved the 3D iridescent dragonflies.  How did she do them, I wonder?

Dragonflies and Lily Pads, by Mary

And to finish, this bright and cheery Golly quilt caught my eye.  With pieced background blocks, and happy little gollies, or maybe piccaninnies, having a fun time, it is a really delightful quilt.  Sadly, I’m not sure who made it. 

Golly quilt

It was great to bump into some of the ladies at the show from my former club, Pinestream Quilters.  A bus .load of them had come up from the Hutt Valley to visit Quilt Fest, and it was lovely to catch up with them again.  And a special hello to my former quilting buddy Jenni F, we used to attend Pinestream club nights together, and now both of us have moved away to different areas.  My friend Dot also met up with people she hadn’t seen for some time, so it a very interesting afternoon.

I had a great day, with a couple of stops at the Quiltstop Cafe to rest and refresh.  Plenty to see and admire, lots of great merchant stalls, the Sales Table, and the popular $5 stand full of bags crammed full of all sorts of goodies, all going out at $5.  Indeed, there was something for everyone.  I came back for the third time later in the day to help with cleaning up, and was amazed that most of the work was already done.  So I demounted some  tables, ready for the nice young man to cart them away, helped load quilt poles onto the back of the ute, gathered up my Santas and went off home.  Congratulations to the organisers and club members of Town and Country Quilters for a wonderful day.

And once home there was a nice surprise waiting.  Robin prepared and cooked our evening meal while I rested my weary feet.  Isn’t he great!

Quilt Fest Part 1

I received my Town and Country Quilters Club badge just in time to wear it at Quiltfest 2013. It was a matter of being up bright and early and down at the Events Centre for the big day.

This way to the exhibition

I had put my name down on the roster for the early shift to sell the raffle tickets.  The major prizes were a Bernina 350PE sewing machine,  and a beautiful beach themed quilt, made with blocks stitched by club members, and expertly quilted by Rabbit’s Patch Quilting.  I was selling the $1 raffle tickets, which were for $100 of fuel vouchers, a “money plant” festooned with “scratchies”, or a lovely dolls house. Our little group of raffle sellers tried very hard to get the people passing by to part with a few  extra dollars as they walked up to the hall to view the exhibition. 

Get your $! raffle tickets here

It was rather drafty sitting in the corridor, so when the next shift took over I needed warming up with a nice hot cuppa from the cafe.  Then it was on to the exhibition to have a look around.  I loved the large Christmas Corner which was assembled from items loaned by members,  There were Santa's galore, (oh look, there’s my two hand made Santas), Christmas Stockings, and all sorts of Christmas delights, but sadly my photos of this did not come out at all well. 

The organisers had done a great job of hanging the quilts in the exhibition, and it was so nice to take my time and have a good look around.  There was a great selection, and here are just a few which took my eye, starting with this wonderful Christmas Block of the Month stitched by Janelle.  These hand appliquéd blocks are quite intricate, and Janelle has done a wonderful job.

Santa’s Flight, by Janelle

“Springtime” had the flavour of a Baltimore, but with a pieced border.  Frances found the pattern in a copy of the APQ magazine, and the quilt is machine appliquéd and machine quilted.  I really liked this, it has a nice fresh look to it, and it would really be the star of the bedroom. 

Springtime, by Frances

It was lovely to meet up with blog reader Roz again, who had travelled down from Dannevirke with a couple of friends to view the exhibition.  She reminded me that next time we are staying in the caravan nearby, to pop in again for a cuppa.  It was nice to catch up with you again, Roz.

Meeting up with Roz again

Just look at these crazy kitties – perhaps they have been nibbling on some cat nip!  This fun quilt is called “Whiskers” and was machine stitched and appliquéd by the very talented club member Griet.  Any youngster would love this bright and cheerful quilt.

Whiskers, by Griet

Mmm, these look familiar.  Yellow Ted, Pin Cushion Lady, and Lucy the Rabbit (sitting on the ends of the rows) are mine, and are helping to decorate the hall.  I do hope they are behaving themselves, while they are AWOL from home.

Soft toys on display

Then it was time to rush home for some lunch, and contact my friend Dot to see if she would like to come and view the quilts in the afternoon.  More from the exhibition later………

Town and Country Quilters October Club-night

With our Quilt Fest quilt show coming up fast on Saturday, it was a very busy meeting last night.  Lots of things to cover making sure that everything is running smoothly ready for the big day, and all the myriad of details seem to be well under control.

Our speaker for the evening was Helen, from Wanganui, who told us about her quilting journey.  Like most of us, she learnt to sew at home on the kitchen table, and really hated having to pack up her project when mealtimes came around.  Helen had brought along two big bags of quilts and it was interesting to see how her ideas and tastes had changed over the years from traditional to more arty quilts.  This piece is heavily machine stitched in a variety of colours and threads, and represents a braided river.

  Our speaker Helen and her braided river wall-hanging

While Helen was speaking, I was wondering where I had seen her before.  Then the penny dropped.  She is the writer of Honey Bunch Quilting blog, and a regular reader of this blog, she told me.  It’s rather like thinking you know the TV actors whose shows beam into the living room regularly, I had seen Helen’s photo on her blog and recognised her from that.   Some of the quilts she brought along to show us are featured on her blog.  It was so lovely to meet you, Helen.

Our guest speaker’s other duty for the evening was to judge the Challenge entries for our upcoming quilt show.  The participants had to use a small piece of green patterned fabric to the best advantage, and add whatever other fabrics they desired to make a cot quilt.  The category winners were Intermediate, Advanced, and Judges Choice.

Kathy’s cot quilt, 1st in the Intermediate section

Paula won the Advanced prize

Helen had made two cot quilts and won Judge’s Choice for the quilt on the left

After the club raffle draw (no, I didn’t win yet again) our members Show and Tell took place.  Cheryl has fallen in love with the endless possibilities of the kaleidoscope design, and brought along three is this series to show us.  Although I only managed to take photos of two of them, one bright, and one soft and pale.  It is intriguing how different the blocks are when they are cut from the same fabric.

Cheryl’s bright kaleidoscope quilt

Same design, but so different

Everyone loved Heather’s Japanese Traditions quilt with those beautiful sashiko panels.  Such a lot of stitching, and the dark panels look so nice against the Japanese fabrics.

Japanese Traditions, by Heather

Helen has been really busy, it seems.  As well as stitching two cot quilts for the challenge, she also completed this lovely quilt in time for this month’s Show and Tell.  The colours in Triangle Tango are lovely, and the quilt is nicely finished with the triangle border.

Helen’s Triangle Tango 

I couldn’t attend the previous month’s meeting as I was feeling rather poorly, so it was good to catch up with everyone this time around.  And don’t forget, all local quilters, about our Quilt Fest Show on Saturday 12th October, at the  Horowhenua Events Centre,  Victoria Street, Levin.  From  9 am – 4pm,   $5 entry.  See you there!

Last look at Marton Quilt Show

I’ve been waiting for the phone call, but it seems that I didn’t win one of those huge gift baskets at the Marton Quilt Show after all.  Oh dear – I was so looking forward to collecting my prize.  Never mind, I’m sure the winners will be enjoying all those exciting goodies packed in the baskets. 

With so many lovely quilts on display I’ll show you a few more which took my fancy, starting with this gorgeous piccaninny quilt.  Called “Friends”, this was a kit set quilt from Cherry Pie quilt shop, and stitched by Elaine Butterfield.

Friends, by Elaine Butterfield

“Flower Patch” certainly says Spring, doesn’t it?  Made by Jean Fuldseth using her own hand dyed fabrics, it certainly is pretty as a flower garden.

Flower Patch, by Jean Fuldseth

There has been quite a uproar here in New Zealand recently when the government reduced the snapper fishing limit daily catch for recreational fishermen from nine to three.  After the fishermen loudly complained this low limit was changed to seven per day, with an increase on the length of the fish.  Marlene Gordon said she couldn’t resist making this wall-hanging for her fisherman husband for Christmas.

The New Snapper Limit, Yeah Right!, by Marlene Gordon

There were all sorts if interesting Pin Cushions on display, and the public were invited to vote for one as their Viewer’s Choice.  After looking long and hard, dithering a bit, and changing my mind several times, I finally decided on this one.  Very cute, I thought.

My Viewer’s Choice in the Pin Cushion competition

I recognised “Memories – Mum’s Dress, 1950’s Style” from the cover of Issue 84 of the New Zealand Quilter magazine.  This was made by Sue McClelland as part of a challenge, incorporating a very pretty floral fabric.  It was great to see this quilt in “real life” after reading about it in the magazine.

 

Mum’s Dress, 1950’s Style, by Sue McClelland

And lastly, there was a display of New Zealand inspired quilts.  Rochelle Reilly created “Kiwiana Christmas using the koru shape in New Zealand fabrics.  This was beautifully quilted by fellow blogger Linda who writes her Razzle Dazzle Quilter blog.

Kiwiana Christmas, by Rochelle Reilly

So that is the last from the Marton quilt show.  But there is another show to visit on Saturday.   My new club, Town and City Quilters are holding their bi-annual show on Saturday 12th October at the  Horowhenua Events Centre,  Victoria Street, Levin.  From  9 am – 4pm  $5 entry, which gives you a free ticket in the door prize which is a fabulous batik fabric pack from Wrights Fabrics in Morrinsville.  I’ll be on the raffle table for a while, come along and enjoy the show, and do stop to say hello
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Meeting up with Nancy J

On travelling up to Marton for the weekend, we popped around for a first time meeting with fellow quilting blogger Nancy J – aka Jean.  Jean’s blog is “All Points of the Compass”, do check it out.  Jean is a very keen and talented photographer, and she shares many of her beautiful photos of her surroundings, trees, flowers, and lovely sunsets on her blog. 

/ Jean (Nancy J) and Jenny

We got acquainted over afternoon tea, and talked about all sorts of things, as you do.  Jean then showed me some of her quilts, starting with her purple Tibouchina wall hanging.  This was an Anna Williams class, and started as a photo which was manipulated, printed on fabric, then heavily machine quilted.

Photo from Jean’s garden

This striking wall hanging was from another class by Anna Williams, and is called Shaded Face.

Shaded Face

Here is Jean trying to hide behind Autumn Falling, a pattern found on the Internet and made with lovely batiks.

Autumn Falling

A grey heron came calling on the back lawn and we both rushed around, clutching our cameras, hoping to get a photo or two.  But the bird was quicker than us, and flew away – all I managed to snap was a photo of his trailing back feet as he flapped away.  While I was outside, I was intrigued by this charming little bridge going over the stream.  The property is bounded by native bush and plenty of birds come calling, we were told.

Peaceful back yard setting

It was so nice to meet up with Jean and Hugh (hope you get well soon, Hugh).  Thanks so much for your hospitality.

Rangitikei Country Quilters Quilt Show

Who doesn’t love going to a quilt show?  And spending the weekend away in the caravan too, just because we can.  Robin dropped me off at the hall, I paid my $5 entry, and purchased tickets in several raffles (fingers crossed, I just love those big baskets packed full of goodies).  Into the hall I walked, full of quilts, quilts and more quilts. 

The quilts were displayed on racks, and around the walls the spaces had been nicely divided into little rooms.  Lots of extras were added to the displays, such as dolls, prams, and stuffed toys, making at all look very homely.

 

Children’s quilts on display

A group of ladies were crowding around “Poached Eggs and Blueberries”, by Sue McClelland.  Mostly stitched by hand, it was meant to be a small wall-hanging but grew out of control.  Each of the centre circles or ovals have different stitching around them.

Poached Eggs and Blueberries, by Sue McClelland

Simple but very effective, black, white and red always makes for a graphic quilt.  Designed, stitched and quilted by Christine Maas.

  Red Maketh the Magic, by Christine Maas

The quilt club organised a group of ladies to sit and stitch to show non quilters just what is involved in making a quilt.  These two ladies were busy sewing on old Singer sewing machines – aren’t they lucky to still own one of these!  Like a lot of people my age, I learnt to sew on a treadle machine, and they are very collectable these days.

Showing how it is done

This bright and breezy quilt was stitched from lots of spotty fabrics.  Made and quilted by Anne Mimmack, and the pattern was sourced from the Internet, and won a Red Ribbon for Best Junior Award.

Spot the Daisy, by   Anne Mimmack

I love big quilts, and this simple but graphic block really caught my eye.  So much, that I chose this as my Viewer’s Choice.  Brenda Martin made her quilt from a Keepsake Quilting pattern, and made it from all sorts of odd fat quarters.  Hence the name, Allsorts and Oddfellows.

Allsorts and Oddfellows, by Brenda Martin

As I wandered around the exhibition, I was thrilled when two ladies approached me to say they are quilt blog readers.  It is always great to get feedback and to know that what is written is read and not just floating around in cyber-space.  Thanks for stopping to chat, ladies.  I went off to find the Merchants Mall, and although I looked, fondled, picked things up, and looked some more, only came away with two fat quarters for my burgundy and cream quilt.  Then it was on for coffee and cake and to rest my feet.  The cafe was run by college students as a fund raiser for their up-coming South Island Kayaking trip.  Now, back to the exhibition

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I love the cosy look of wool quilts and Betty Lambert came up with the perfect name.  “Winter Warmer” is her own design and made from wool fabric.

Winter Warmer by Betty Lambert

And last but not least, this pretty bag won a Red Ribbon for Judges Prize.  Embellished with organza flowers and beads, it just shouts “Springtime”, doesn’t it?

Field of Daffodils bag, by Judith Scott

I had a lovely morning at the exhibition, looking at and admiring all those beautiful quilts.  Still have more photos, so may put some extra up later.