The Top Is Now Finished

Needle Stars from Wellington Quilt Symposium 2009

Now I need some time to quilt it. I thoroughly enjoyed this class with Paula Nadelstern. We had to draw up the pattern, fussy cut it out (the border is the fabric I used), then piece and sew. Paula has a great way of sewing the little pieces together - you will have to attend one of her workshops to find out or get a hold of any one of her books! So with a fabric repeat of 4 inches (10cm) I have managed to get 9 different kaleidoscope blocks measuring 10 inches (25cm). The border idea came from Susan Claire - check out her website, she is one talented lady designing some lovely quilts - and has a wacky sense of humour to boot! Finished size is: 55 inches (140cm) square.

ANZAC Day Remembrance and Sewing

Today is ANZAC Day. A day for New Zealanders' and Australians' to remember and give thanks for all servicemen and women who gave their lives so that we can live in peace and under a democracy. I attended a lovely Dawn Service at Linton Military Camp - the early morning was just beautiful and complemented the service. A young Private spoke about what ANZAC Day meant for him and finished it by singing a verse from White Cliffs of Dover - so lovely to hear.
Later in the morning I joined my friends Karen and Carol at Carol's place for some sewing - they were working on their Tote and Gloat Challenges. I had finished making 9 blocks of Needle Stars (class with Paula Nadelstern at Wellington Symposium).
Here are the blocks:
Now to decide on the sashing:
No, that doesn't look quite right - how about this?
No, the red is still a problem! Ah well, you will just have to wait and see what I decided on - the sashings are finished and at least I can show this much at Club on Monday night, but I think that the borders need to be a little bit more special than just cutting a couple of strips and sewing them on.
I took Chloe around to Carol's for a change of scenery, but I don't think she was very impressed with their big dog Monty! She spent most of the afternoon acting as a door mat.

Aren't I Lucky?

Freshly picked from our little orchard.

Figs

Feijoas

Chestnuts

Great pleasures from small treasures!

It's All Over for Another 2 Years

Today was the last day for Quilt Symposium Wellington. The next one will be held in Queenstown 2011.

Today I was an 'angel' in Sue Nickels' class, doing machine applique - I learnt a few tricks to keep my work a lot neater, which is a bonus. Sue's sister, Pat Holly, had also come to New Zealand with her. Pat works alongside Sue with quilts and designing. Pat had a morning doing the Hobbit Tour of Wellington - visiting the sites on Mt Victoria and Weta Workshop.

Paula Nadelstern Class

Today I was in the class tutored by Paula Nadelstern. She was teaching us her Needle Stars which are based on a 45 degree triangle - this is the block that I finished today, and I'm really keen to make more - perhaps it won't be a WIP (work in progress) for too long!!

Here's The Winning Quilt

I've taken a photo of the New Zealand Mail challenge quilt that won Merit and is currently showing in the exhibition. I named it Odd? One Out! (sorry it's not hung very well).

WooHoo! In The With The Winners!

I don't mean to blow my own trumpet - well, who else will? - but I won a merit award with one of my entries in the New Zealand Mail challenge, for Quilt Symposium. By no means it's not perfect by quilter's standards - but then, a quilter wasn't judging this challenge! And, I don't even have a photo with me to post with this! Never mind, I used actual stamps, line and form, and just 2 borders complementing the colours of the stamps.

On the other hand, it was also fantastic meeting up with fellow quilters I haven't seen for a while and have made friends with at other occasions. Roll on, the rest of the weekend!!

Wellington Quilt Symposium

Today is day one of the quilt symposium, I had a good drive - more traffic heading north out of Wellington, than heading south - and spied snow on the ranges, and it was cold at Waikanae. I have picked up my goodie bag and enjoyed looking at the tutor's exhibition - there are going to be some fantastic classes over the next 5 days. Tonight I am going to the Welcome and Awards Evening and will hopefully catch up with friends. Tomorrow I am and 'angel' in one of the classes - won't know which one until I turn up tomorrow morning - great anticipation there. I will have at least other exhibitions to browse through, especially to look at the other entries in the New Zealand Post Challenge and the New Zealand Quilter Challenge. Some of the names in the catalogue are very high fliers in New Zealand and international quilting (what was I thinking to join them?). Ah well - lots of inspiration and plenty of new people to meet.

Tote & Gloat Challenge

The Tote & Gloat Quilt Challenge this year is Go Green. Here are some teasers from 2 of my finished entries (I may have another one if I sort things out and work hard, but chance will be a fine thing, too).
This is the corner of an old handkerchief I found in my MIL's glory box. It was really too thin to be used for wiping one's nose, but here it has been given new life and a chance to show off my quilting skills!
The second one has a photo of my dearly beloved with a camel - in the background is a C130 aircraft, so I've played on the Defence Force going green by considering using camels as a means for transporting troops - this is a segment of the 'newspaper' report. You will need to click on the photo to be able to read the report.
I printed the 'article' onto fine silk-like paper that had Vliesofix on the back, put it through the printer, allowed it to dry, then ironed/stitched it on to the quilted background. This is just a humorous piece of work.