Taupo Quiltmakers' Exhibition

I'm just back from a wonderful long weekend in Taupo. The Taupo Quiltmakers Guild invited me to be the guest exhibitor at their "Quilting with the Stars" exhibition over Matariki weekend.  

I drove to Taupo on Thursday with my husband, and 10 large quilts on the back seats of my car.  It's winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, so there was plenty of snow on Mt Ruapehu in the middle of the North Island.  

(Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano, but it's fairly stable and the last eruption was 15 years ago.  The North Island's main ski fields are on Mt Ruapehu.)

When we got to the Great Lake Centre in Taupo my husband helped me to hang the quilts and I took a quick video of my quilts which I've put on YouTube here:

I met so many quilters over the weekend - thank you to everyone who came up and said hello.  It was great to meet so many members of KiwiQuilters - a very popular Facebook group for New Zealand quilters.  The ladies from the Taupo Quiltmakers Guild were very welcoming and friendly too!

I decided to offer some of my quilts for sale and "Turkish Coffee" sold on the first day.  It's now off to a new home in Tauranga.

I did enjoy making this quilt, but there is a limit to how many quilts I can keep in my house.  You can read more about Turkish Coffee here.

I still have some more quilts that I'm willing to part with, so I'll write about them in future posts.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Taupo Quiltmakers Exhibition - I'm the Guest Exhibitor

 

Two years ago I went to the Taupo Quiltmakers' Exhibition and loved it.  This year I've been invited back as the guest exhibitor.  

The exhibition is called "Quilting with the Stars" because it's going to coincide with our first Matariki public holiday in New Zealand on Friday 24 June 2022.  Yes, beware Kiwis, the public holiday is on a Friday - not a Monday.

In Māori culture, Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and of the celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. This marked the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. (from Wikipedia)

I wish I still had my Matariki quilt shown above to include in my display, but a very nice grandma bought it for her grandson to have on his bed at her house.  It's good to know that it's being used and loved. 

Now I have to decide which quilts to take to Taupo.  The good news is that I'm driving up, so I can fill the car with quilts.  I'll be at the exhibition at the Great Lakes Centre for all 3 days, so do come and say hello if you're at the show.    

It feels great to have a mid winter trip to Taupo to look forward to.  The air in Taupo is always so fresh and clean, and I love seeing the snow on the mountains at the end of the lake.  

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

Two quilt shows in one weekend!

Yes, I'm planning on visiting two quilt shows this weekend.  I'm off on another holiday and this time I'm going to the Chateau Tongariro Hotel in the central North Island.  

This hotel was originally built in the 1920's, but it's got all the mod cons now.  I've never been inside, so it will be something new for me.  

I know a lot of you have been to New Zealand, but you've probably never been here because it's right in the middle of the North Island.  It's below Lake Taupo, but off the beaten track (as we like to say). 

I'm also planning to attend the Taupo Quiltmakers exhibition on Friday - see their poster above.   I really should be at home in Wellington attending Capital Quilters exhibition, but I'll be back in time to attend that on Sunday.  This holiday was booked long before we had to postpone Capital Quilters exhibition. 

The other side of Mt Whakapapa, viewed from the Desert Road

We're in the middle of one final winter blast this week, so I hope there's plenty of snow on the mountains.  

I'll report back next week with lots of photos from both exhibitions.  

Meanwhile, 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

A weekend away in Taupo

I'm just back from my work Social Weekend in Taupo.  As we leave Summer and go into Autumn we often have warm days, but cooler nights.  The views from my room at Millennium Hotel were beautiful.

There was so much activity on the lake - sailing, jet skiing, water skiing, paddle boarding, rowing, kyaking, fishing ....

If you've ever been to Taupo you'll probably recognise these views from the township.

And the 10km paved path around part of the lake was very popular with people walking and biking.

I didn't get any hand sewing done, but I did manage to glue baste some more pieces for my Ballet with Kaffe quilt. I was too busy admiring the views and trying to make sure everyone was at the activities they had signed up for.

Now I'm home again, and looking forward to some sewing later today.

You can read all about my cute sewing machine cover in this post here.