My Small World

People say that New Zealand is a very small place.  They don't just mean the size of the land mass, but the fact that everyone seems to know everyone else.  We didn't all marry our cousins, but the "six degrees of separation" rule is more like three or four degrees of separation here.  We can usually find a connection in common with fellow New Zealanders.  

I'm off to teach some classes in Tauranga this weekend and I'll be interested to see how many connections are made over the weekend.  

I'm taking My Small World quilt along with me because it's a good illustration of both wool felt applique and hand quilting.  I did enjoy making his quilt.  There are so many different elements within it.  Maybe I should make a 2024 version next year. 

My Small World is designed by Jen Kingwell and is available from Amitie Textiles here.  

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

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3 years later...

Wow! It appears to be about three years since I last worked on this quilt!!

And it's quite close to being finished.  So today I chose my leaves for the second panel and glue basted them down so I can hand applique them when the mood strikes. 

I did enjoy making the wool felt applique flowers.   

I'm hoping to get this top finished before Christmas and then I can add it to the hand quilting pile because I already have ideas of how I want to quilt it.  And as I mentioned a few weeks ago, our guild is having an exhibition in May 2024 and I want to have some new quilts to enter into that.  

The pattern is Don't Leaf Me by Wendy Williams and I bought my pattern from Material Obsession in Sydney, Australia. 

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

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Puddling around

When I got home from Tekapo I had a sudden desire to sit at my sewing machine and just sew.  

I bought some lovely Tilda fabrics at Fairlie on the way to Tekapo, so I cut into them before they could even make it into my stash. 

Now I'm not sure if I even like where this is heading.  

I thought I could be spontaneous and just put random blocks together like in the book, but I much prefer it when I place them carefully.  I've even considered adding sashing to this to separate the blocks, but I'm not sure how to progress yet.  I guess the answer is to make more blocks and see where it leads me. 

I'm foundation paper piecing these blocks to stop the triangles stretching.  

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

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Licorice Allsorts update

This week I started hand quilting my Licorice Allsorts quilt.  

I get my quilts basted on a long arm machine and when this one came back I was a bit concerned because it was more bunched up that usual, but I'm releasing the basting stitches as I quilt it and it's smoothing out nicely.

I'm using Aurifil 28wt and quilting in the ditch to start with.  I'll see what else it needs as it progresses.  

The guild I belong to, Capital Quilters in Wellington, New Zealand will be holding an exhibition in May 2024 and I need to get a wriggle on if I'm going to have new and exciting quilts to enter.  

Capital Quilters 2024 Exhibition—“A Symphony of Stitches”— Saturday 11 May and Sunday 12 May 2024 at the Lower Hutt Events Centre - where the Quilt Symposium 2022 exhibition was.

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

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Summer in Tekapo bag

Last week I showed you the sights of Tekapo.  This week I'll show you what we did at the retreat.  

I taught 14 ladies how to make my Summer in Tekapo tote bag.  We had a great time experimenting with wool felt, Perle 8 threads and ombre fabrics. Everyone's bags are going to look so different because they applied their own artistic flair to the design. 

Tula Pink lining

It was a great weekend with good people and very good food.  And of course the scenery was gorgeous with all the snow on the mountains.  I definitely hope to return to Stitching in Tekapo again. 

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

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Away again?

Yes, I was away again last weekend at Stitching in Tekapo, and I'm away again right now in Auckland for my annual work conference. 

Tekapo is just beautiful.  If you've ever driven from Christchurch to Queenstown you would have gone through Tekapo.  It's just a small town, but it looked so pretty with the snow on the mountains and the blue/green water of the lake. We may be going in to spring in the North Island, but it was still winter in the South Island. 

Here's a few photos  of Tekapo.  I'll blog about the stitching retreat next weekend when I have more time.

The Church of the Good Shepherd

Frosty!!

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

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Shades of Indigo

I haven't managed to do any quilting since I've been back from my holiday, but I am making progress on my Shades of Indigo cross stitch. 

There's still one more wide border to go after I finish the one at the bottom of the photo above. 

Part of the problem for me is deciding which colour thread to use for each new border.  Once you deviate from the pattern you have to make all the decisions yourself!! And sometimes that requires stitching a bit to see how it's going to look on the fabric and against the previously stitched areas.  

in May 2023

Now you can see why I called my link party the Peacock Party - blues and greens are my favourite colours.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below. 

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