December 2025 Show & Tell

 We had a fabulous final meeting of the year, with a great turn out and a yummy Christmas lunch at St John’s Club.

This year we did a paint chip challenge. I didn’t take photos of each individual entry, there were over 30! A wonderful response to the challenge. We had to use the two colours we were given but there was no restrictions on what we could make. There was a wonderful variety of colourful items. At the end of this post I have put photos of the ladies with their entries.

The winner of our challenge was Hanna Snelling Berg with this stunning entry.

First up for Show & Tell is the quilt I made from the Laundry Basket Quilts recent mystery sew along. This is a wedding quilt for my son and his fiancé. The bride-to-bee’s favourite colour is green and her surname is Kelly, so I am calling this “Kelly Green”.

Dianne H did Betty Carrick’s flower class at Hidden Hollow in Palmerston North. Beautiful.

Dianne also made “Quirky Birds” as a picture fo her husband. Something to make him laugh.

Dianne also did Amiee’ Homestead Quilts beginner class to as she said, learn the bits that I missed in my early classes at Mt. Isa in Queensland.

This beautiful wee bag was made by Maureen L using a Jenny Hunter kit. Marvellous Maureen says as everything was supplied. Lovely colours.

Maureen has also been busy doing Christmas embroidery at the Embroidery group. A gorgeous pyramid Christmas tree and 2 bells.

Bag making is very popular around here. Veronica made this By Annie bag pattern.

She also made this tote bag from a pattern by Jenny Hunter. Clever incorporation is a panel in the bag, I think.

Donna completed this Christmas Pear using a kit she got from the Cambridge Quilt Symposium. Finally stated and finished, Donna says.

Frances also did the Laundry Basket mystery sew along. She incorporated a couple of changes so it is not exactly as the pattern. Having said that, I made also made a couple of changes to two of the rounds, so she doesn’t have that on her own! I love the colours Frances chose.

This next quilt is made by Dianne Hay for a grandchild and Dianne used Kiwiana fabric.

I don’t remember who made the nest quilt. I don’t have an information slip for it to jog my memory. Please let me know who made it and I will correct my error.

Belinda loves paper piecing intricate designs and the following quilt is no exception. The pattern is by Cotton & Bourbon and it was quilted by John Neilson.

Next up is a bag by Gail J (I think, correct me if I am wrong.) it is machine embroidery on vinyl. Lovely!

Then we have an oldie, but a goodie, A cross stitch Christmas Shop scene stitched by Jo C. This pattern was very popular when it came out.

Finally, here are all the Paint Chip Challenge ladies with their entries.

Have a peaceful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. See you in 2026.

November 2025 Shw & Tell

It was a lovely meeting yesterday and our AGM. Thanks to all those who stood for committee and to those who had been on but did not stand for re-election. Congratulations to all who were elected.

First up for Show & Tell is not a quilt at all. A lot of members enjoy other fibre arts as well as quilting and we love seeing what they have been making. Donna has been knitting socks and this is her latest pair. It is done with variegated wool and so the colour patterning doesn’t always match. With Frances on Donna’s shoulder suggesting she should try and make them match, Donna did make an effort and the ribbing does. The rest is more like a translation down 😀

I do love the colours even if the socks don’t exactly match each other and I would certainly wear them!

Donna has also finished her table runner from the Modern scrap quilt class. It is for her friend who has a really long table, hence the extra length.

Donna and Lesley have both been working on the Candy drop quilt pattern. Lesley used a grey background.

Donna used a dark grey/black for her background

Susan is having a ball making items in her favourite colour of green. The latest is this sweet flower wall hanging. Susan got inspiration for the design from the quilt show held in Featherston earlier this year. I love the flowers.

Dianne Harries is an embroiderer extraordinaire and her Autumnal Toadstool was done at a class at Stitch Tūī in Cambridge with Sue Lucas. Everything is stitched with single strands of silk embroidery thread.It is fine, detailed work and stands about 3-4 inches high.

Dianne also showed us her latest canvas work called Amadeus variations. She used hand dyed threads by Steff Francis.

Yvonne has completed the latest Laundry Basket Quilts Mystery quilt. The clues were given out weekly over 9 weeks. Yvonne used vintage reproduction prints collected over the years, mostly fat eighths making it scrappy, which Yvonne likes in a quilt. It is a big quilt, 90 inches square. Some others of us are also doing the same pattern but we are a bit behind Yvonne.

Yvonne is also a member of Rose City Quilters and started this quilt, Can Can Snowball, in a class with Chris Jurd after Tote and Gloat in 2023. She fussy cut Kaffe Fassett and Kathy Doughty fabrics for the blocks. The inset edge triangles are from an Ikea duvet cover. It the fabric pattern works for your quilt top use it, I say. Yvonne won a ribbon at the recent Rose City Quilters show.Best use of colour, I think.

Hanna is well on the way to finishing her Modern Scrap Quilt from the class. She just has to add a border. Lovely colours.

Lesley, Judy and Rosie have made the Take a Stand bag, a By Annie pattern. Rosie also made the smaller bag, also a By Annie Pattern. These ladies love making the very popular By Annie patterns. 

Last up is a quilt made by Caroline for her son and daughter in law. It is called mushrooms and has very cute mushroom fabrics in it. Caroline did a pieced backing in green and pinks which was the wedding colours of the couple.

October 2025 Show & Tell

 A great meeting today with a special guest speaker appearance by Amiee Torwick of Amiee’s Homestead Quilts. Amiee brought some of her special vintage and antiques sewing tools collection. She has some fascinating pieces. 

Here Amiee is showing a treasured recent acquisition of a chatelaine. Some of the tools on the chatelaine date back to the 1890s. It is a really beautiful piece.

On to our Show & Tell:

First up, Marlene showed these two wall hangings, called The Wayward Me (Years Ago) made using panels. These are for two of Marlene’s friends and while the panels are identical Marlene quilted each one in a different style, one using the Pauline Quilt Method which has you take a lot of pressure off the presser foot (Marlene says a setting of 6 on her machine) and the other using a walking foot. Marlene says there is a lot less puckering when you lighten the presser foot.

We recently hosted Jenny Hunter teaching her Modern Scrap Quilt class. There was a choice between making a table runner or a quilt. It was a fun day and here are some of the results.

On the left is Sandra’s and on the right Veronica’s. Both of these are finished table runner's.

Veronica also made 4 matching placemats. I love how she contrasted the binding with the blocks in her runner and placemats. It makes for a very striking effect.

Carol used beautiful Japanese fabrics for her runner on the left. Caroline wasn’t convinced she liked the pattern we were doing but ended up really enjoying it. Well done, Caroline.

Hannah used some painterly fabrics for her piece on the left and  Gail used some modern funky fabric which I love. She is going to make more rows to complete a quilt. Her row is on the right.

The next piece from the class is a whole quilt top and is a very special piece. It is called Hug Of Memories, Forever In Our Hearts and is being made for the daughter of Linda’s colleague who recently passed away, unexpectedly. Each of these are blocks contains a memory photo and I am sure the daughter will treasure it.

Jenny bought a kit at Cambridge Symposium last year and has completed it. It is called Jardin de Poche - The Posh Garden. It appeal,Ed to Jenny because it is a mixture of patchwork and embroidery and Jenny loves to do both.

Beverly made this NZ postcards quilt from the remnants of a king size quilt she made 20 years ago. She got creative with the backing to use up more of the leftovers.

Caroline’s sister is about to visit from the UK and Caroline made this bed runner for her to take home. I am sure her sister will love it and want to know why it isn’t a full size quilt - apart from luggage restrictions!

Veronica was at her group’s retreat last weekend and was very productive making two bags. She also showed a little gift bag each retreater was given but I didn’t get a picture of that, sorry.

Morag made Robyn’s Quilt for a friend. It’s a really nice pattern using a jelly roll plus extra fabric.

The next 4 quilts are for The Te Awhina Quilt project.

The first are blocks from an Amiee’s Homstead Quilts Saturday Sampler from a few years ago. The blocks were made by France’s late daughter, Amy and were put together by Mary. I quilted and bound it.

This blacks and whites with blues quilt was made, quilted and bound by me.

This striking quilt, also using black and whites but features reds with a zingy lime stripe.

Finally, a beautiful Jen Kingwell pattern made, quilted and bound by Marlene.

I am very grateful to everyone who supports this project. I have it on very good authority that patients are using their quilts when snuggling up in the lounge and take them with them when they are ready to go home.