Matariki +/- 1 - QuiltNSW Southern Stars Challenge 2018

I'm back from Sydney and am delighted to say that I won prizes for both of my quilts!!

First up is my entry in the Quilt NSW Southern Stars Challenge 2018.  

It's called Matariki +/- 1 and here's why:

Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Maori New Year. It rises in the southern skies in mid-winter and heralds the start of the Maori new year. For many years we were told there were seven stars in Matariki, now some people think there could be nine.

My quilt has eight stars - hence the name - Matariki +/- 1.

This quilt is different to anything I've ever made before.  I started by foundation paper piecing my stars, and then I used a wide variety of dark blues to fill in the sky.  I made half square triangles, flying gees, triangles in squares and diamonds in squares.  

I didn't have a master plan when I started, but I just kept going until I had filled in all the gaps.

I hand quilted with a wide range of threads, including Aurifil 12 wt and Wonderfil Dazzle in blue and yellow. 

I'm very pleased with how this quilt turned out, and was delighted to receive a Judges' Commendation for it.  

My inspiration came from a photo I saw on Facebook of a quilt made by Panni Szabo.  She gave me permission to make a quilt similar to hers.  

You can view the full list of prize winners, and photos of their quilts on the QuiltNSW website.  

The Southern Stars winners are all here.

Size: 47.5" x 52" (121cm x 132cm)