Flosstube

Have you heard of Flosstube? Do you know any Flosstubers? 

After my weekend away at the New Zealand Cross Stitch Christchurch Retreat, I can now say that I know some Flosstubers.  

Flosstubers are people who make YouTube videos about cross stitch! I guess it's the modern version of blogging and I'm still operating in the dark ages.  

But after watching a few Flosstube videos, I think I still prefer blogs for two reasons.  

Firstly, because I use my blog as a permanent record of what I've made.  I can send people links to certain pages or posts when they ask me how I did something.  

And secondly, because when I read blogs I can scan down the screen and use the photos to determine whether I should read the words or not.  It's very hard to fast forward through a YouTube video as current WIPs and new purchases flash across the screen.  

However, many people tell me they find it relaxing to watch and listen to Flosstube videos while they are cross stitching themselves.  If you've never watched one, here's a link to one with a review of the retreat I attended.

Me and my good friend Sue Lucas from Stitch Witches in Dunedin

75 people at the Burnside Bowling Club for the retreat

I had a great weekend at the retreat.  I saw many different styles of cross stitch - historical samplers, Mirabilia, Chatelaine, fantasy... the list goes on.  Quite a few people were using the pattern keeper app which is something I haven't tried yet.  A lot of people were using Q snap frames, and some had fancy Lowery stands too (PS My friend Sue from Stitch Witches is the only NZ agent for Lowery and can get them in in any of the 12 colours.)

I hardly got any stitching done, but I did give a little talk about how to assemble the Gingerbread Village by The Victoria Sampler.  That was on Sunday - the day after Thea announced that she is retiring and closing her business.  That was very sad news.  I've got a whole page on my blog dedicated to the Gingerbread Village - you can read all about it here.  I intend to do another blog post recapping all of the Victoria Sampler patterns that I have made over the years, but here's my biscornu that I love.

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.

  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Aotearoa Quilters Lime Challenge

I loved seeing all the lime challenge quilts at the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in Rotorua. I was really pleased that I had two entries in the mix. 

The winning quilt was made by Camilla Watson and it was amazing.

There were three or four Merit prizes, and I liked this one by Fyvie Murray.

Here's some of my other favourites:

by Brenda Gael Smith

by Lynne Rowe

by Helen Beaven

by Anne Adams 

by Shirley Sparks

by me - Wendy Welsh

(You can read more about my entries in my previous post here.)

So you can see that there are many different ways to interpret a theme.  

These 12" x 16" minis quilts will travel around New Zealand for a year now.  If they come to a town near you, do try and see them.  I expect that they will be in Auckland at the Auckland Quilt Guild Festival of Quilts on 5 - 7 November 2021.  

I'll tell you more about the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in my next post, but right now I'm off to Christchurch for a cross stitch retreat.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Not Your Grandmother's Garden

The Great New Zealand Quilt Show opened today in Rotorua, and I can finally show you my entries in the Aotearoa Quilters Lime Challenge.  

First up is "Not Your Grandmother's Garden".  

12" wide x 16" high

At first glance you might think these are hexagons, but they're not! Hence the name, and the fact I'd just bought some new jeans from Not Your Daughter's Jeans. 

I love experimenting with geometric shapes, and I wanted to try the Fiesta Gitana pattern in Millefiori Quilts 4 by Willyne Hammerstein. 

I hand pieced this mini quilt, and then I machine quilted it because the joins are quite bulky, even with 1/4" seam allowances.  And of course, time was running out!

I love lime, and I'm happy with my mini quilt.  I did learn that it's hard to draw the stitching lines for pieces with long, sharp points like the stars at the centre of these blocks.  My pencil wouldn't go right to the tip, so I fudged it a bit when I did the hand piecing.  

My second Lime quilt is "The Tea is Delicious". 

This quilt was an after thought because I'd bought this quirky Japanese fabric for the Lime challenge, and I didn't end up using it in my first entry above.  

So, I just cut a piece to the required size, and added a combination of hand and machine quilting.  The name was already there in the fabric - The tea is delicious. 

So that's my two entries in the Lime challenge.  I always love seeing all the colour challenge quilts together, and this time I can say that I've got two in the display.  I'll take lots of photos and report back soon.  

I've also got 3 quilts in the main display, and I'll talk about them in future blog posts.  

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of friends at the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in Rotorua. If you see me around, do say hello.  It is lovely to meet quilters who read my blog and like my posts on Facebook or Instagram.  I'm off to pack some warm clothes!

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Pandemic Sampler

My Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers is coming along nicely. 

This is a BIG sampler.  The pattern is 20 pages! Back when I started in August I was stitching one page a fortnight (two weeks), but I'm now happy with just one page a month.  That allows me to stitch or knit other things too, and gives my hands a break from cross stitching.  

I'm really happy with my fabric and thread choices. So many people in the Facebook group question their choices, and opt to start again with different threads or fabric.  I love the simplicity of plain black on a neutral linen. 

In two weeks time I'm going to a Cross Stitch Retreat in Christchurch.  I'm sure I'll see lots of tempting new designs there.  I don't plan to do anymore large samplers, but I am strangely fascinated by the Hawk Run Hollow designs by Carriage House Samplings (especially Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow), and Harbor Haven by By The Bay Needleart.   I can't really explain my fascination with these designs, but I like the art work and the colours, even though they have no connection to my life in New Zealand. 

But, before Christchurch, I'm going to Rotorua for the Great New Zealand Quilt Show next weekend 14-16 May.  I'll finally be able to show you a full photo of my finished Fireworks quilt - made from Willyne Hammerstein's pattern Ballet with Kaffe Fassett, in Millefiori Quilts Book 2.  

Plus another surprise quilt that I haven't told anyone about. 

Plus my Glitter in Green, and two entries in the Aotearoa Quilters Lime challenge.  

Yes, I will have 5 quilts on display in Rotorua.  So my husband is flying up with me for a long weekend doing touristy things in Rotorua.  I'm looking forward to the gondolas, the boiling mud pools, a bush walk in the Redwoods Forest, etc, etc.  Plus lots of time at the quilt show.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter