Monday, July 30, 2012

Scrappy and Bright

Sister Linda is librarian for Taupo Quiltmakers.

She recently bought a new batch of books for their library and those people who borrowed the new books were asked to make something from the book and to review at the next meeting.

The concepts of the quilts in this book appealed to me and so I chose the Critters and Crawlers quilt to make.

A basic square within a square block, I decided to use a variety of conversation fabrics to make an 'I Spy' quilt with blue and yellow as the background fabrics.








This is a close up of the results - can you see the stars emerging from the placement of the blue and yellow background fabrics?










Just big enough to cover a single bed, we have a great nephew in mind to give it to.

But wait, he has two younger brothers.

Some more scrappy quilts will be needed to keep them warm and cosy too.

They are already underway so more quilts are yet to be revealed.





Sunday, July 15, 2012

70th Birthday Quilt

This quilting block has become a firm favourite of ours.

This one featured was made as a gift for a friend who belongs to Taupo Quiltmakers and our Sweet Pea group.

It was hung at the recent local quilt exhibition and the red really popped out from the black and white background fabrics.

I wrote in April about the autumn colour one I made for my friend, Cherie.

Just this past week Linda and I made another in shades of purple, turquoise and hot pink for our cousin's 59th birthday.  You can read about that with images on Linda's blog.

Amazing results for a relatively easy quilt block.  If you would like to try this yourself you can find instructions on Bonnie Hunter's website.


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Time for an Airing

At our recent quilt exhibition one of the ladies had made a candlewick quilt which was beautifully displayed on a bed.

The set up needed some props so I offered my two crazy quilt cushions and it was nice to give them an airing in a setting like this.

On the wall behind the bed was this most delightful Baltimore style quilt with a Kiwiana flavour.

Hand appliqued and hand quilted it really is a beauty.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Of Doilies and Such

One of the ladies in our quilting group is extremely artistic and comes up with some amazing quilt creations.

This wall hanging was created as a way of showing off her doiley collection.

I stood for some time just looking at the machine quilting that she had done to create all the texture in this piece.

Her doilies are scattered in various places all over the wall hanging.

Very clever.

If you would like to see more eye candy relating to our quilt exhibition, sister Linda has been writing quite a bit over the last few days so you may like to take a peek at her blog too.

Friday, July 06, 2012

Every Quilt Has A Story

Apart from the Kiwiana Lasagne quilt I made recently, I have made three other Kiwiana theme quilt tops.

After I made the first one I was piecing together scrappy pieces to make a back for it but after I had put all the effort into it Linda and I decided it was worthy to become the front of the quilt and so it is called Back to Front.

Linda found some wonderful variegated red and black thread and worked her magic on the black panels to offset the array of Kiwiana fabrics in the alternate strips.

 This week is the Taupo Quiltmakers exhibition and so we have been able to have it on display amongst a wonderful array of varied quilts of all sizes and descriptions.

A real feast for the eyes - all of them!

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Bookmarks With Heart

The other day I told you about the thread catchers I had been making for our local quilt show.

I have also been making these fabric hearts.

They are not just hearts for hearts sake but they are actually neat little bookmarks.

Again, the idea did not originate with me and you can find the tutorial for making them at Sew Many Ways.

Front of bookmark



Back of bookmark
They are cleverly made so as to create a pocket which slips over the page of the book you are reading.

Of course if you are living in the digital age and only use eReaders you may just like to slip the heart over the corner of your eReader as a pretty decoration.



It also occurred to me that if you wished to gift one of these bookmarks to someone you could place a few small items in the pocket side of the heart. 

After the goodies are gone, the recipient still has the fabric bookmark to remember you by.

Just like the thread catchers, I think these bookmarks could be given a crazy quilt treatment but I just have not got there, yet.

Monday, July 02, 2012

Taupo Quiltmakers Show

After posting about the Taupo Quiltmakers putting on a show yesterday I had a query about the times and dates so thought I would pop their notice up here in case anyone else is ready, willing and able to come and see the amazing assortment of quilts that will be on display:-

[image9.png]

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Stitching is Happening

If you were to visit our home over the past few weeks there would be plenty of evidence that stitching is happening.

The Taupo Quiltmakers group is having a quilt show this coming week and lots of things need to be prepared for this local event.

Quilts need to be finished and sleeves added to enable quilts to be hung for show.

The sales table needs items and one of the things I have been making for that purpose is these cute little thread catchers.

A great way to keep your work space neat and tidy while you work.  Pop any left over threads etc., into the thread catcher for handy disposal later.  Easy to fold up and take with you for portable projects.

If they are of appeal to you, you can find instructions at Sister's Choice Quilts.

The other thing that occurred to me was that you could pop a small vase inside and they could make a lovely container for a posy of flowers.

Opportunities unlimited with these cute craft items.  Dig into your scrap bag and you could be stitching these for yourself or as gifts for your crafty friends.

I think they also lend themselves to being made crazy quilt style but I have not got that far, yet.