Cotton On Quilters

February 2012

2012-02-05T15:00:00.011+13:00

February 2012.

Greetings every one,

Here we are into another year and already another month. With such an unusual summer - is it a late Spring or is it an early Autumn? - What ever, there have been some very busy quilters during the holiday period. As you will see by the interesting work laid out ahead.

Late on Friday, we found that our usual venue was not going to be available for Saturday - the council was turning off the water - so in the interim Carol, our President, found us another venue at The Oaks. Many thanks to your boss Carol for the hospitality at The Oaks Collegiate Inn.

At the November meeting we had our AGM and election of officers and so begin the New Year with a new president and committee. There are some great ideas ahead as the enthusiastic new- comers are brimming over with ideas.

And now our gallery of projects - some completed work and along with some work in progress.

First up was Joy Eyre with these two quilts

Here we have Diana Jones a very new member and her very first quilt ever. Congratulations Diana.

Rosalie belongs to the Friday night group. They have decided to work through this Carrie Hall quilt as a block of the month. Here we have her first three blocks. Rosalie has chosen to use freezer paper for shaping the appliqué.

Carey produces quite a lot of work. The first of her Show and Tell is quilt in brights....

and here we have a quilt carry bag. The bag opens out flat, then folds to dome the top and bottom together. Draw strings at the sides carefully encases the quilt. I am very interested in the idea, Carey.

Frances showed The block that she has made for the centre of adaptation of the Friday night Carrie Hall block of the month. Beautiful Frances. I love the colours.

Kath Elliot a front view......

and a back view of her quilt

Suzie Bradley,on the right, one of our younger members is working on these octagons. Carol is helping her hold a variety of the blocks. Well done Suzie.

Jenny has this work in progress. A rose quilt.

Tracey tells us she is "on about cats" at the moment and here is a selection of her cats.

First two bags - one complete.........

.......and the other a work in progress.

and don't you love her cat!

Donna Bradley has an interesting project in progress. She is making a quilt for her daughter's 21st and using photograph blocks which feature events in Helen's life and her family. Below is a series of the photograph blocks.

Donna will combine the blocks with linking heart blocks. What a lovely project Donna. I look forward to seeing the completed quilt.

Here's Donna and her husband, looking younger than ever!

Carol's first quilt is a completed Mystery Quilt. It has been professionally quilted and looks magnificent.

The final showing for the day was Carol's "The Cats Meow"

A Late October

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Here is the Show & Tell from October. Rosalie was away for this meeting and I took the photos. My apologies for the late posting and for the lack of info on some of the quilts. If anyone can tell me about those quilts which don't have names I'll be happy to add them in.

The first quilt up is by Veronica. She used beautiful floral fabrics from Moda for this lay and cut style quilt

Next is a saddle bag by Donna. very funky fabric on the saddle part.

And a handbag by Carol. Love the pleats

Carey and Donna often work together and the next two quilts are rag quilts made with fabric pre-cut packs. First is Cary's:

And next is the front and back of Donna's:

I cannot remeber who made the next seven quilts, so if you know send me an email and I'll make the appropriate corrections.

Next is a pair of positive negative wall quilts by Sue.

The next 5 quilts are by Helen. First is her entry for Aotearoa Quilters NANZQ 'On the Surface' Challenge. It wasn't accepted for the challenge but was chosen to hang at Quilts Aotearoa in Hamilton

Tabasco Sauce was exhibited at Queenstown Symposium.

The next two quilts were made for Helen's friend Clare who is expecting grandchildren. The first is called 'Little people'

The second is 'Woven Marshmallow'

And lastly is a scrappy star quilt.

2011-12-03T18:39:00.001+13:00

A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FROM COTTON ON QUILTERS.

December Show & Tell 2011

Karen made this bookshelf quilt for her Daughter on completing her degree in journalism.

Liddy shows three blocks ladder, flower, and window.

Great use of driftwood and stitching.

Frances is putting her Saturday sampler together by the quilt as you go method.

Another finished bag from Frances in Batiks.

Carey transformed a jelly roll in to this beatiful quilt

Carey also made this wall hanging as a gift, and had enough fabric left over for a bag as well

Both Donna and Carey have been busy with these two beautiful coloured quilts

Carol with her table runner in progress with NZ fabrics.

Mug Rugs from Alison

Helen with her Expresso saturday sampler Quilt.

Another version of the Saturday Sampler in Batilks from Helen.

Ramdon techniques in another saturday sampler quilt from Helen

Sands quilts from Jeanette.

Veronica with a miniature quilt.

Veronica with two sands quilts

Veronica made this apron for an 8 year old.

Table mats by Veronica.

A great quilt to by Veronica.

Pauline used her Saturday sampler as a bed runner.

Doreen made a bag each for a grand daughter and a great grand daughter.

Madeline made this colourful wall hanging for a nephew's 21 st.

A great Xmas wall hanging from Tracey.

Saturday sampler in Batiks by Marie.

Xmas quilt from Donna.

AFTER SHOW & TELL

Another talent from Jean a beautiful chocolate cake

Afternoon tea was was a great success

A last close up look at all those beautiful quilts.

Have a safe and happy Xmas and new Year and we look forward to seeing some more great quilts in February 2012

November show & tell

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Here are the quilts from November show & tell.

New Zealand kiwiana fabrics used in this quilt by Maureen as a 70 th Birthday gift for her Sister in law, quilted by Quilts end.

A cute bear quilt made for Sands by Rae.

Maureen L showed us this lovely chicken quilt

These two quilts may look the same
one is a wall hanging, and the other is a bigger quilt by Rita.

xmas text by machine for interest

A quilt for Alison's caravan Great colours.

Colleen was really proud of her Elephant.

Another great bag and table runner from Carol

Linda made her bag at a Gret Lombard class.

Three Sands quilts by Marie.

August Meeting and Show and Tell

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Warm and cosy quilting was a good way to spend this Saturday morning. Outside it was cold and bleak but the warmth of the friendships inside made it very easy to forget the nasty weather and enjoy one anothers' company. The room was a buzz as we pieced and quilted away to our hearts content.

Show and Tell was very interesting as you will see. Because of the wintry weather plenty of work was completed since we were last together

Doreen made this beautiful Christmas Tree Skirt. It was large and so took some holding to keep it straight while I photographed it. - Well done Doreen

Tracy has been busy. She is very keen and always or nearly always, has something to show us. This month she has three items to show us.

A purple butterflies quilt;

A matching blue and purple rabbit;

And a pool table cover. Thanks Tracy. The little girl who receives the quilt and matching rabbit will love them.

This Rail Fence quilt was made by Karen C. Well done Karen.

The next two quilts were made by Donna and Carey. - They are like our Siamese twins; Great friends who work together and often produce like projects.

Donna's houses!
and Carey's houses. I wonder what their next subject will be!
Jenny has two items this month - a flower wall hanging
and the twelve days of Christmas. Both very beautiful quilts.
Maureen has three quilts of interest this month -The first was a little girls quilt with very interesting blocks featuring dolls and flowers.

This is a view of the back of the little girls quilt.

Here is Maureen's little boys quilt. And yes......
........it has an equally interesting back. Each of these quilts are reversible.

This is the quilt that captures my interest. Maureen has been working on this BOM which featured in the Australian Homespun.

It is beautiful Maureen!

And here is an example of the quilting from the reverse side. Congratulations Maureen it looks beautiful.

This is Julie's "Under the Sea"

and Julie's BOM off the internet.This is the back of Julie's quilt above.
And the last quilt for the day is Marie's animal cot quilt.

July Meeting SANDS Quilts and Show and Tell

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July Meeting and Show and Tell.

Yes our July Meeting was the usual buzz of activity.

As always people were glad to see one another - a month seems a long time to be apart when you all share the same interest. The first activity was the block of the month from The Cloth Shop. The first photos are a selection of this months block.

Because of the limitations of space some members are choosing to make their blocks at home and bring some hand sewing to club.

Below is a view of this months BOM from The Cloth Shop.

Recently we were asked to assist SANDS - Stillborn and Neonatal Death Support- with making Memory quilts for families who have lost little ones. This idea has been received with enthusiasm by our members. Two ladies came from Sands to talk to us about their work so it was great to see their pleasure when they saw the quilts that some of our members have already made for this cause.

The first quilts - seven in all were made by Jeanette - The quilts are beautiful Jeanette and I am sure will bring consolation to the families that receive them.

These next two quilts were made for SANDS by Frances.

And these next three quilts were made for SANDS by Jean.

The ladies from SANDS were so happy to have a selection of quilts to take away. Thanks to Jeanette, Frances and Jean.

This beautiful circular appliqué top has been made by Doreen for her daughter. A work in progress, we look forward to seeing the completed quilt Doreen.

This exquisite wall hanging was purchased by Pauline on a recent visit to Peru.

Such is the popularity of Dr Seuss. This is Sue's quilt. It captured a number of OOs and AHs from those present.

Maureen's quilt "Tequila Sunset" has been made for her daughter. These lucky daughters who receive beautiful quilts from their Mums - a sign of lots of love.

Eileen has made this quilts in beautiful Kaffe Fasset fabrics. So rich in colour on the front-

and the back.

Carrol has been busy bag making

and also made this runner from a split nine patch. Carrol is very industrious.

This Bird of Paradise table runner has been made by Tracy - another industrious member.

Helen has made this scrap quilt with crumb blocks. Helen also produces a great deal of work and is also developing her quilting technique.

This lovely Peter Rabbit Quilt also has Beatrix Potter fabrics in the borders. Very lovely Sonia

Anita is very happy with her border prints in this quilt she has made. It is a good reason to celebrate, Anita.

Anita has also made this quilt. French Braid batiques. It is beautiful Anita.

June Club Meeting and Show and Tell

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Club Day 4th June

Our June club day happened to be a good day for staying inside. Cold, wet and bleak; but that seems to be a good time to enjoy the warmth of one another's friendship. The Cloth Shop Saturday block of the month was once again a feature of the activity. Completed blocks were displayed on the display board.

We have had a request from SANDS(Sudden and Neonatal Death Syndrome) to provide memory quilts for bereaved families. This has been responded to and SANDS will be the recipients of our community quilts this year.

Cath's quilt features Teddy Bears - a quilt for her grandchild.

Rosalie has completed the first block of the month from the Australian Homespun Magazine "The Quilt Shop"

And has begun to work on the next block - The Post Office

Rita has made her quilt using floating flying geese. It was her first attempt at machine quilting

You can see by this reverse photo that Rita has achieved a very uniform stippling.

Lorraine has a group called Chaos Quilters who meet at the St John Ambulance rooms. This quilt has been made by members of the group for St John to raffle as a fund-raiser.

I am sure they will be very happy Lorraine, it is a beautiful quilt.

Carol likes to link with quilter friends in many countries. One of her latest activities has been to exchange mug rugs. Here are two mug rugs from one of her friends in Sweden.

Last month Janice showed us a novelty necklace she had made. Jeanette took up the idea and here is her novelty necklace.

Rosemary has been busy making pin cushions.

Madeleine has made this lovely fairy quilt for her grand-daughter

Jean has been delving into the Ark and found this cushion - The first one she ever made. It is made using thermo drape material which, she says, really lasts well.

Jean has also made this novelty sewers scarf. There are numerous little pockets for scissors, thimble, cottons and the like and also attached pin cushion. Thanks Jean. I like that idea. It will save dropping scissors and losing the cotton down the edge of the chair.

Jean has also recovered an old pattern of a tea cosy which she says she has not made for some time but here is a lovely new tea cosy in today's colours

Maria is rejoicing awaiting her first grandchild and here is the quilt - all ready and waiting.

This is a SANDS quilt made by Frances. She has quilted hearts into each of the corners.

Helen showed us this quilt she has put together for an elderly lady who has gone into care. Like so many she passed on her stash and among the materials were these blocks which Helen has assembled them and will return the completed quilt to her

The next quilt was shown at the symposium and was made for one of the challenges.

The title is "The Remarkables"

Another quilt shown at symposium - "Left Over Tobasco Sauce"

The quilting work on this quilt is magnificent- a pity that it does not show in the photograph.

This large bed quilt for her son also features a significant amount of quilting.

And here is Helen's son. Helen has developed this painting technique at a class she attended at symposium. Work in progress.

May Show and Tell

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Today was another busy meeting with a variety of activities happening. Because of the numbers doing The Cloth Shop BOM there has been a general consensus that those who are able will sew their blocks at home and deliver them to Helen in time for her to photograph them and get the next block over from Palmerston North. Whew! What a good idea.

Janice, our newsletter editor, is also presenting a block of the month Nursery Quilt in the newsletter. There are a number of members doing that also.

Janice shows us the second block of the nursery quilt. Really cute Janice, thank you.

Rosalie is doing a block of the month with a difference. She is working on the Australian Homespun BOM and here is the first block - work in progress. In the original design the materials are of Moda Wild Rose selection. Because these materials could not be obtained easily in her home town, Rosalie has matched some materials to suit.

Lesley showed us the quilt that she has made for her friend's birthday. We would all love to be one of your friends Lesley!

This is one of Audrey's recent quilts

and here are two rag dolls that Audrey has made.

Pat has made this Christmas Stocking for holding the Christmas vouchers.

Great idea Pat.

This large floor play mat has been made by Margalite.

Remember Alison's work in progress last month.Here it is completed.

A small appliqué quilt.

Donna had an interesting story for her quilt. Near to where she lived there was a tree which was called the mushroom tree because of its shape. It stood proudly on a hill until the rains came and the winds blew and that little tree was carried in a landslide to the bottom of the hill. Donna photographed the tree at the bottom of the hill and produced this landscape. The first photo shows the photograph of the landslide and tree alongside the quilt.

Here is the quilt a little closer up. Donna began making this quilt at the Chris Kenna workshop.

Rosemary's Pin Wheels with Teddy bears. A child's quilt

Veronica's place mat. I like the soft fawns and creams Veronica.

Veronica also showed this little girls quilt for her grand-daughter - an adaptation of a pattern from The cloth Shop.

Keitha has made three table runners. The one on the right is made in NZ native fabrics and based on "The Tall Poppies" pattern from The Cloth Shop.

Jeanette has made several table mats. One has used an old doilie, the others in NZ fabrics and Japanese fabrics.

Frances has made this bag from a Jellyroll. The bag is from the pattern shown us by Catherine from The Cloth Shop.

April Show and Tell

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April

Today at club we continued with our block of the month from "The Cloth Shop." The enthusiasm continues.

Since our last meeting we have had our exhibition. It was lovely to hear visitors comments that we "Have gone up a notch." This was very encouraging. A great deal of effort was put in to the production of a very well presented exhibition and only quilting exhibitors will know what that takes in effort from all concerned with nearly 300 quilts on show. It was a truly marvellous effort from all club members.

The first to show her work today was Rita with this square in a square. This was a large quilt and difficult to capture the full size in one photo.

Doreen showed us this wall hanging made for her grand-daughter to celebrate her 11th birthday.

Tracy is a very industrious quilter with some lovely variations of quilts.This is a pattern from The Cloth Shop.

Margalite usually makes very large quilts and this King size is no exception - Calico and scraps quilt as you go. Once again difficult to capture the whole quilt in one photograph.

Alison showed us a work in progress. The appliqué is beautiful Alison> i look froward to seeing the finished quilt.

March Show and Tell

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MARCH - A club day for Cotton on Quilters that was a hive of industry and activity.

Helen offered us the opportunity to sign up for the Saturday Block of the Month from the Cloth Shop in Palmerston North. Thirty seven club members agreed to take part in this. It was first expected that there would be only a few members taking part and the sewing of our blocks would be part of our techniques training which is a regular activity in our club. But, with the numbers who decided to do this it was an all out hive of industry while Helen attempted to assist those less able to decipher the written instructions we received with our blocks.

The photographs below indicate the activity that took place.

Sewing space was at a premium

Queues met at cutting boards

and ironing boards

and yet we managed to complete our block of the month.

It was also the day we handed in our quilts to prepare for the exhibition

Lorraine and Janice carefully recorded each quilt on computer

A mammoth task which drew a sigh of relief when completed.

After all the other activities of the day came the Show and Tell.

Leslie made this quilt using some printed fabrics

Rosemarie's waist coat. Really smart!

Keitha, one of our newer members has produced this scrap quilt.

A great blend of colour Keitha.

Janice is an artist and there is no doubt about the joy it is to see your work Janice

Tracy showed us two quilts she has made recently

Bugs

and Poppies.

Thanks Tracy no need to be shy about your achievements. They are beautiful.

February Show and Tell

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Every one was so glad to be meeting all their friends after the Christmas break. There was a general buzz at club today.

The first up for show and tell was Carol with her Cat Christmas Stocking and mug rug. We never know what you are going to come up with Carol.

and mug rug.

We never know what you are going to come up with Carol.

Lyn has made a gift for her friend of a Casserole Carrier and Oven Mitten. Am I the friend Lyn!

Karen has completed her landscape from last year's workshop and made a small quilt.

I love the way you have incorporated the fern appliqué. A typical N.Z. touch Karen

Frances has made two lovely little handbags for her grand-daughters.

One wanted a fairy, The other a wise old owl.

What happy little grand-daughters they must be, Frances

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December Show and Tell was brief but there was some showing of fine quality work.

The first was this Christmas Trees and Star Wall hanging.

Marie showed us one of her first quilts. There was some fine machine quilting.

This is a view of Marie's quilt from the back

Pauline's quilt was very colourful

Linda's Christmas table runner was also beautifully quilted

This is a view from the back of Linda's table runner

Veronica has completed her "Stack and Whack

Heather's Christmas table runner.

Karen has completed her pin-wheel quilt.

Maureen has been busy with her Christmas stocking. It's stunning Maureen

Exhibition 2011

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From Helen: Congratulations to everyone for all the beautiful quilts displayed at our exhibition. We exhibited a record total of 287 quilts from 53 exhibitors. That does not include the guest judge and guest group exhibits. We had lots of positive feedback from our visitors.We raised nearly $880 for the 3 charities in our Choose a Charity quilt auction. Of the 35 quilts presented we sold 22. Well done, and thanks to all who supported this project.

Congratulations also to all the ribbon winners and those who sold some of their pieces.

Prizewinners:

Magazine Ad Challenge
1st Janice Dowdeswell "The Dancers"
Merit Wendy O'Neill "Rugby Fever"

Make Us Smile Challenge
1st Robyn Parkinson "Fat Chicks Big Night Out"
Merit Maureen Little "A Quilter's Workout"

Fabric Challenge
1st Janice Dowdeswell "I Had a Little Nut Tree"
Merit Frances Hollenback "On Guard"

General Exhibition
1st Helen Pedersen "Poetry In Motion"
Merit Maureen Little "Gentle Breezes"
Merit Marie Lagrand "A Taste of Kiwi"
Merit Amy Hollenback "My View of Hurunui"
Merit Maria Newell "Double Wedding Ring"
Merit Annette Bourne "Oriental Dreams"

Viewers' Choice
1st Lyn Smailes "Gollyville"

Show and Tell November

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Our November Show and Tell featured some new members showing their first quilts.

Once again many styles and techniques featured.

Frances showed us how she makes a quilt sleeve that fits over a picture for Christmas time so that she does not take her pictures off the wall and they become the support for her christmas quilts. A great idea Frances.

Helen showed two quilts that she had completed. She has been practicing her machine quilting patterns and these were featured on her new quilts. Her second quilt was also hand dyed.

Well done Helen.

Karen's quilt titled "A mile a Minute" was hand quilted.

Here is Judy's Christmas Ball - Not a Pudding.

Rae won last months raffle of 10 fat quarters and here is the result!

A lovely Christmas Quilt.

Sue showed us her bright Baby quilt for the family new-comer.

Lyn had two quilts ; the first this "I Spy"

and the second this bright quilt with the bright pinks chosen by a special needs child.The colours and tones blended very well.

This was the quilt which one of our youngest members made. she was guided by her grandmother. Well done Summer.

and here's the quilt Rita, Summers grandmother, made.
Lidy's quilt in blues and red was very attractive.

This was Liby's quilt - her very first with all hand dyed materials.

Susan's Christmas quilt had machine embroidered roses.

Maureen showed us her first challenge quilt "Earth, Wind and Fire.

The next three quilts were made by Joy. Joy tells us for these scrap quilts she made 365 blocks, from which she created seven quilts. Fantastic Joy. I'm sure you have made a big dent in that scrap box.

October Show and Tell

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The first show and tell this month was from Rosalie who is a keen Bonsai enthusiast. This is her crab apple in flower for the Spring. Rosalie told us the story of her tree which is 23 yrs old.

We look forward to seeing the tree in Autumn when the crab apples will be there.

The following are photographs from the September and October Show and Tell.

We are so fortunate to have very tallented and enthusiastic members.

Because we are approaching our exhibition in March, 2011 we will have two half nighters in order to complete projects for the approaching exhibition.

Show and Tell August 2010

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Greetings folks.

Our August meeting was a buzz. There was plenty of activity.

Several visitors and four new members joined us. Welcome. We are always glad to have new members because then we know that our Cotton on Quilters is alive and well.

Janice demonstrated weaving material for background in picture quilts. Janice has added some great effect to her quilts by using this method. Thanks Janice. We hope to get a video of this up on to the blog sometime soon.

Members have also been very busy lately and there were some great quilts in the show and tell. It continues to amaze me, the originality and artistic beauty of the quilts that I see. Really, we have some talented members.

Here's what we saw at show and tell:

Sunburst - This is a charity quilt which is in the making. Maureen has taken on Rita's challenge from last month; To show more work in progress. Well done Maureen.

Maureen has also completed this "New York Beauty" for her daughters 40th birthday

Jean has been working on this scrap quilt after deciding that she needed to do some thing with the bit and pieces - Note the detail of the cat. They all have little embroidered faces.

This baby quilt is made by Karen. It is from a Susan Claire pattern "Ted and Dog". It is her first attempt at red work. Well done Karen

Jenny's quilt in greens is her 'stack the deck.'

Keitha, one of our recent new members has completed this baby quilt. It is backed with polar fleece and beautifully quilted - as you can see by the detail photo.

This Quilt is also made by Keith for her adopted grandson's birthday.

This is made by one of our new members Linda. She is using a 'quilt as you go' to join this large quilt. Linda came as a visitor today and decided to become a member.

Welcome Linda.

Alison's son is coming from Australia to visit her and so she has made this lovely white heron, the New Zealand Kotuku, to give to him when he arrives. Note the detail of the label on the back of the quilt which explains the legend of the Kotuku. What a lovely gift Alison.

Donna started this quilt back in 1996 as a block of the month quilt. Three years ago she finished the last block. Family commitments began to take over and the quilt was put on the back burner to sit as one of those UFOs we all seem to gather. But, happily, here it is - finished.

Sonia has been thinking of her new 6 week old grandson as she made this building blocks quilt.

Sonia also made this stack and whack at Anne's workshop. It is now completed as a quilt as you go. Note the detail of the quilting from the back. Well done Sonia.

This lovely bright quilt is made from blocks given by Joy and put together at our UFO 1/2 nighter by Helen. It will be for a charity quilt.

This is Lynn with her Country Women's Institute challenge in which she won 1st prize for her tea cosy. Congratulations Lynn.

Heather has made this baby quilt for a work colleague who is having a baby after 7 years. The bag, which is only the second she has made - "My daughter is not getting this one," she says.

This is Colleen's jelly roll quilt made in rich reds for her mother who is in a rest home. How lovely and warm it looks, Colleen. I am sure she will love it.

Janice has completed her boat and stars mini quilt which she began at Greit Lombard's workshop.

Well thats all for now. As you see we are a very active group and love our patch work and quilting.

Griet Lombard workshop

2010-08-10T07:22:00.009+12:00

Our Griet Lombard Workshop

Cotton on Quilters have taken on a couple of great activities recently. In June the Whanganui Museum took some old quilts from their vault and put them on display. To participate in this event, Cotton on Quilters were invited to take part in an activity to introduce people to the art of quilting. A number of adults and children participated. Cotton on Quilters Members brought along their sewing machines and assisted the children in making notebook covers, simple appliqué, and use of a sewing machine. This was a very rewarding activity. Several of children were found to be very interested in fabric craft and produced some wonderful work to take home. I daresay that their activities featured in the show and tell at school the next week. And yes, their were some boys as well as girls and all the children enjoyed what they were doing.

In July, we had a challenging and enjoyable workshop with Griet Lombard. What a talented lady.

The title of our workshop was "Think outside the square" and think out side the square we did.

We made stars, houses, boats, trees, people and cats. Each block was put together by foundation piecing.

Here are some photos of the workshop.

We made stars! Every star was shaped differently.

An example of Griet's star quilt

We made houses- and every one's house was different

People's imagination was ignited and they made lighthouses and windmills.

An example of Griet's house quilt.

A group working at their pieced blocks and thinking outside the square.

Heather is absorbed in her task.

Frances and Helen love what they are doing.

Donna and Carey always enjoy working together.

The smile on Janice's face says it all!

Placing our blocks to be admired by others!

We made cats!

Donna made a large block. It will be interesting to see what you do with that Donna.

Oh - ho! In the course of the workshop Helen spotted this adaptation on Carey's Machine! Note the cup that replaces the cotton spindle which had broken off.

Necessity sure is the mother of invention.

We made people and as we made each block the people held hands!

We made all kinds of boats,

and trees which were called coping blocks. They were used to fill spaces as we put our quilts together.

Janice made stars to add to her boat block.

Throughout the workshop we saw people take Griet's ideas and adapt them to their own styles. It was a fun workshop in which we all developed and learned new tricks .

Thanks so much Griet for a wonderful and exciting workshop.

July Show and Tell

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Hello Cotton on Quilters and anyone else interested in our blog.
Our meeting on 3rd July was well attended. It was the day that our quilts for our "Choose a Charity" Auction were to be passed in. Keep watching our website for the complete catalogue of quilts which can be bidded for in a silent auction. I will keep you posted.

Update:

There were some great quilts and wall hangings shown at show and tell. The delay in getting the photos on to the web has been because the blog editor was having some technical difficulties. Now that these are put right I am sure you will enjoy viewing what's ahead.

Here are the photos. .

A feature of the photos this month is the large number of quilts that members have made for the "Choose a Charity" Silent Auction that will be a part of our exhibition March 2011. All the quilts that are being donated for the Choose a Carity Auction had to be in this month and so there are a number of quilts featured here. All together there were 37 quilts donated by members for the charity of their choice.

Carey and Donna spent a weekend at Loraine Richardson's retreat in Waverley and managed to complete their lovely star quilts begun at an earlier retreat. - Aren't they stars!

Good work girls. Great to see the results of your concentrated endeavours.

Donna's quilt.
This is Rosalie's quilted wallhanging "One of a Kind" for the Choose a Charity quilt Auction. Her quilt has a candlewicking centre and applique on the borders.

Doreen has made this stained glass window with butterfly. - A Choose a Charity quilt for auction.

This delightful little Noah's Ark quilt is Pat's contribution for Choose a Charity auction.

Kathleen has made these next two lovely quilts -
First this multi coloured Grandmothers Charm Squares;

and then this lovely Building Blocks in vibrant colours. You've been really busy Kath. What a lot of work.

Rosie has been busy with this large King Single Square within a Square for her son who has outgrown his last quilt.

Rose obtain this Blackl and White wall hanging as last year's Xmas Club quilt and has completed it for a gift for this coming Christmas for her brother and sister -in-law. What a delight it will be for them to receive this Rose. It is beautiful.

This lovely Sun Bonet Sue is Lynette's work in progress. The outside sashings is from pyjama flanelette of the 1960s. We look forward to seeing the completed quilt Lynette. It will be so lovely and warm - in more ways than one!

Lorraine has made this quilt of clowns for her Choose a Charity It's delightful Lorraine and makes me smile each time I look at it.

There are some quilts below and I am not sure who made them. I will add their names as soon as I know the artist.

I am not sure who made this kaleidescope quilt. Maybe the person who made it will let me know who she is soI can add her name to it. Another Choose a Charity quilt.

The colours in this picture quilt are beautiful. Again, I hope the person who made it will see it and let me know who she is. This is one of my favourites. There are a few that are among my favourites. Another for the Choose a Charity Auction.

Madeline chose this wild life theme for her lovely Choose a Charity Quilt. It has a very calm restful feel about it. The animals look so peaceful.

Another Quilt for the choose a charity Auction and I don't know who made it!

This picture quilt of Betty's is remniscent of Amish style. Note the quilt hanging on the line!
Another of my favourites! You can see that I will be casting a number of bids!

Janice made this beautiful picture quilt for her Choose a Charity Auction. It features a woven fabric background. Janice tells us it is reflective of the country area she lives in with hills and deep valleys, trees and lining the crest of the hills and the birdsong all around. Can you see the bird in the foliage?

June 2010 - show and tell

2010-06-07T18:30:00.007+12:00

Hi there! After a month travelling in Europe, and relying on Helen to keep the Blog up to date, I am back on the computer.

It was a beautiful sunny day on Saturday but this did not stop the quilters from getting together for their monthly meeting. The hall was a hive of industry. We have been having some good demonstrations from Helen Pedersen on quilting basics as well. These sessions are most helpful to those of us who are still learning and some of the old hands like to keep an eye on the demos also.

This month's demo was on machine quilting. I would say that rhythm is important in developing even stitching and design. Maybe a little music would be helpful while quilting.

Now for Show and Tell.

Frances G. completed her Dresden Plate design and expressed her pleasure with the completed quilt. Yes Frances, it's beautiful.

Sonia is using a "quilt as you go" technique on her stack and whack. She still has the top border to attach. She hopes to finish it before our next meeting and so we would not get another chance to see it.

We might see the finished quilt yet!

Doreen always presents some amazing art work. These butterflies look as if they're ready for flight. Her work is always inspiring.

Yes you are seeing double! Alison has made a quilt for our "Choose a Charity" Auction. She liked it so much that she decided to make another the same for herself. The leaves are three dimensional. The Autumn colours fit in with the season.

Here are Dawn's stack and whack blocks. She has made two sets of blocks with the patterns in reverse direction. They are for the beds at a farm home stay. A pair of quilts on the old iron bedsteads -won't they be lovely.

Keitha is a new club member. This is one of the first peices of her work that we have seen.

A very cute angel is on duty. We could all do with one of those!

This is Heather's contribution for "Choose a Charity" auction.

Anita's cocks are crowing! Can you see which one is cock of the walk. She has chosen some very vivid colours for her quilt. Some of the colour combinations are quite daring.

May Show and Tell

2010-05-31T23:02:00.000+12:00

Hi, the show and tell is late again 'cos it's me doing the pictures. Our new blog editor is tripping around somewhere overseas :-)

Lots for you to see this month. The club had a very successful stack and slice kaleidoscope class recently so first up is Veronica's blocks:

The fabric she used was a blue background floral - something my eye would have passed right over in the shop - but look at the stunning results:

The lovely Lone Star is also Veronica's. I've always wanted to make one of these but have never gotten around to it.

Next is Rose's pretty quilt. Look at the lovely orchid quilting:

Sonia also did the class and is quilting it in two halves. This is the first half:

She also showed her grand child's quilt in progress - building blocks - very effective:

Joy made this denim square quilt, very useful for the cold weather we are having at the moment:

She is lucky enough to have a daughter living in London who sent her this lovely squishy package from the Victoria and Albert Museum shop:

Heather is making this bear block into a small quilt for our "Choose a Charity Quilt Auction which is to be held next year in conjunction with our exhibition in March of next year.

Heather's blocks from the class were set on a blue background:

Karen was sent fabric specially to make this quilt to go in a piano:

Rita has recently joined our club and is originally form England. She brought a couple of her early quilts. First up is a stained glass style quilt (1995):

There were lots of luscious fabrics in that. The next quilt (1998) belongs to Rita's husband and is hand quilted:

Margalite is the club's queen of "quilt as you go" and this one is stunning:

Janice recently purchased Anna Faustino's book. 'Simply Stunning Woven Quils I think is the title. Here are two pieces using the woven background technique. The first is for the Choose a Charity Quilt Auction and the second is for her grandson:

Very cool!

Lois made this very graphic quilt which has some cream fabric that has a self-shine circle pattern. It made for very interesting texture and contrast with the other cream fabric and the black. Very effective:

It is a very large bed quilt and we weren't tall enough to do it justice :-)

Donna also did the stack and whack class using a highly patterned floral that she has had in her stash for some time. This fabric has appeared in several quilt. I think she must have purchased the whole bolt!

This type of fabric produces really successful blocks. Donn has also made a quilt for her very good friend with a coffee theme

On the back are several quilty sayings

I made a quilt from the fabric I won in the raffle a few months ago. It is ready for quilting but has been sitting, waiting, waiting, waiting (and its club again on Saturday, yikes!) It looks very washed out her. In reality, it has quite a yellow tobacco tinge:

Audrey's result from the class made from a black background fabric with funky cats and dogs:

Again the use of a fabric with lots of different colours makes for stunning blocks. Audrey also showed us her wedding anniversary quilt with photo transfers in the border:

And this bright and breezy cut out style quilt

Carey made this 'black and white with a hint of red' quilt:

And lastly Frances' blocks form the class are going in a strippy style quilt, with the left over blocks appliqued as flowers on a vine, looks fab!

That's all folks - as the old cartoon character used to say.

April Show and tell

2010-04-05T20:31:00.005+12:00

Short and sweet this month. Many members were enjoying an Easter holiday and so the faithful few gathered for the meeting.

We are running a "Choose a Charity" Quilt auction at our exhibition next year. This is Veronica's contribution:

Rose N has completed her "Five Golden Rings" also for the auction.

Audrey's quilt is called "All That Jazz" Another contribution for the quilt auction next year.
Aren't these three quilts lovely.

Amy has made these animal friends inspired by the magazine "Stuffed"

Carols table runner "Carols Cats" cute faces - and a real smooge look!

Carol loves bags. We call her the "Bag Lady" Here is her latest made with lovely Laurel Burch cat fabric.

Carol received this next bag in an on-line swap. I like this bag. I hope she puts it down and forgets about it! I'll put it to good use.

Frances did a mystery quilt class by Susan Claire at Wellington Symposium. Here is the result of her efforts. The border comes from Judy Martin's Log Cabin Book

New Blog Editor

2010-04-05T19:24:00.003+12:00

Hi.

I'm Rosalie. I am taking over from Susan as the new Blog Editor.

Missing In Action - Feb Show and Tell

2010-03-17T20:58:00.001+13:00

Hi everyone

For those of you who have been wondering where February's Show & Tell went to, it is here. Susan accidentally created a new blog rather than a new post so, to save her having to re-post everything, here is a click-able link to Show & Tell February 2010.

Happy viewing!

Show & Tell Dec 09

2010-01-03T15:57:00.002+13:00

Frances has made this sweet little fairy skirt and blue dress. I think it must be for someone special. They are so cute.

Show & Tell Dec 09

2010-01-03T15:04:00.018+13:00

A delightful quilt made by Judy P. Lovely soft blues and pinks. She has made this for herself.

Anne P has been very busy making a lovely quilt her grocery manager's new daughter.

Madeline has made these fabulous quilts for her grandsons. There are spiders on the back...eeekk. The blue and black in made in the Pagoda Block.

Doreen has made this delightful Christmas wall hanging. She says it is "a work in Progress". It has been emblellished as well.

Maureen M has been sewing overtime. She has made some soft dolls and dresses for her granddaughters.

Marie has made this quilt from a design she found in the Australian P & Q magazine. She of course has done her interpretation of it. Now she just needs help on how to quilt it.

Betty has finished her blue and yellow ginger jars. She has done all the applique by machine and it's taken almost two years to complete. This is truly stunning to look at. A masterpiece.

Rae has shown us this little quilt made from a postcard picture. Really cute.

Carol B made this cute reindeer in purple with spots. And a bag from a 20"square.

Annette B has bought along some projects that have been finished. The jandals quilt is very bright. I think she got the idea from a Fons and Porter Magazine.
There is also our previous years Row by Row challenge. This is called 'Summer Holidays @ the Beach with mother'. This is such a fun quilt.
Then there is this years Round Robin. And a delightful cot quilt with flowers and hearts.

Myra has done a small Christmas Runner.

Frances C has done this stunning Patridge in a Pear Tree. It has taken 3 years and it is all hand quilted. Another masterpiece. I admire anyone who does hand quilting.

Barbara C has made a gift for her neighbour for Christmas. A lovely tablecloth that she made in two weeks. She also has finished her 'half nighter'. This was a do your own thing quilt. She had embellished it with all sorts of baubles and trinkets. Really cute.

Show & Tell Dec 09

2010-01-03T14:54:00.001+13:00

Sorry these are late but I thought I had it all figured out but no not me. I have finally done it and if I have anything wrong I do apologise in advance. Here's hoping for a successful quilting year.

2009-12-13T14:34:00.004+13:00

Test photo of this beautiful sampler by Doreen

Hi

2009-12-13T14:21:00.001+13:00

I am now the new blog lady..just doing a dummy run..

November Show & Tell

2009-12-04T20:39:00.008+13:00

Just in time (it's the December meeting tomorrow - yikes!) I'm posting the November Show & Tell.

First up is a picture of what happens when someone brings fabric to fossick through :-)
Alison wanted one of Griet Lombard's one-of-kind handbags when we visited her on our Mystery Bus Trip recently. The one she wanted got sold before she could put her hand on it so she commissioned Griet to make her one in turquoise. The photo isn't so clear but the bag is lovely. Karen also showed her Griet bag but the photo disappeared into the ether.
This is my scrappy quilt called God's Eye (after the wool and stick weaving we did when we were kids)
And the horrifically bright ziz zag quilt finally got finished (it's alright for me to say this, it's my quilt - ha, ha)
I also made this bag - and I'm not a bag person
Donna demonstrated these Christmas tree ornaments
Maria showed us her lovely Double Wedding Ring quilt top which is being sent off to the quilters. We won't see it again - it's going to a wedding!
Margaret made this lovely stack 'n' whack
Frances G showed us her miniature house wall hanging
and her very cute teddy bear quilt
The applique on Myra's bag was lovely
Tracey made this ever-popular bug quilt
and this absolutely gorgeous rose wall hanging
Karen C showed us her country style sampler quilt
Illeen made this very simple but very sweet lap quilt from 4 1/2" squares. I love the fabric.
Rosalie was making good progress on her community quilt. It ended up a lot bigger than this and is now finished and distributed

Rose made a wonderful job of this Japanese Cranes quilt
Judith used a variety of techniques in this heart quilt
Lynette finished her row by row quilt with a Halloween theme
Brenda has finished her first quilt. It took while but she got there!
Heather showed the Tiki quilt made from a Kiwiquilts pattern
and she has finished quilting her Perfectly Imperfect quilt.Barbara finished her round robin quilt

And finishing with an animal theme Rae made this very cute dachshund wall hangingand Amy showed us her progress with the blocks from Griet Lombard's cat pattern. You goota love their expressions.

Mystery Bus Trip - an illustrated tour - Part One

2009-11-22T20:41:00.008+13:00

A few weeks ago our club had their biennial Mystery Bus Trip. Now when you live in the lower half of the North Island it gets harder and harder to make things a "mystery" - or so I thought! I organised the last 2 but this one was in the very capable hands of Betty, Karen and Judy. I knew that the Dannevirke quilting group had their exhibition on and my guess was that we would visit that and then come back to Palmerston North, but no, I knew NOTHING! We went nowhere near Danevirke or Palmerston North. We went to Levin, and its evirons. First stop was Cherry Pie Quilt Patch. In the classroom the ladies are admiring Cheryl's latest patten, a very lovely Christmas quilt and checking out the notions for sale.
Examining the finer points of a quilt:
Carol and Alison in the tea area:
Next stop was at Toad Hall. Maureen was pleased to pick up this sample of fabric sushi.

Susan Claire (Mayfield) of Toad Hall - aka the Gourmet Quilter certainly knows how to make fabric tantalising.

Some finished shopping before others:
And there had to be a little bit of show and tell while waiting:
Finally, here we all are on the veranda outside Toad Hall
There were some pretty happy shoppers amongst that lot!!

(More next post)

October Show & Tell

2009-10-15T21:24:00.009+13:00

For the October meeting we had a sewing morning working on our next raffle quilt. Helen had cut and prepared all the block pieces and the ladies sewed. We made good progress. The border blocks are diamonds:

And the centre is 54-40 or Fight blocks and Corral blocks. I must admit I have never seen the Corral block before and Icouldn't find it anywhere in EQ6 or my book of 500 blocks. I'd love to know where it came from:
The quilt was from Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine Vol 16 #8 and was designed by Frances Leate. We changed the centre block so it had the 54-40 or Fight star points, rather than the Ohio star points in the original design that were in the centre. We are looking forward to seeing the finishee quilt.

The past few months have been really busy for those of us involved in the Row by Row challenge and the Round Robin challenge. soem ladies wanted to do one and some wanted to do the other, so we rane it simultaneously. It made for a great Show & Tell since the ladies did not know who owned the set of blocks until they were displayed. this Row by Row was run slightly differently to the last one the club did. This time the blocks for the rows were not joined together so the owners could decide on a different arrangement of the blocks if they didn't want just rows. The owners made the first row and the other participants had free reign as long as the blocks added up to 48" wide. The fabric was supplied by each participant ( I think).

First up is the set of blocks owned by Heather. She chose a Christmas theme:
These belong to Susan. I think flowers were her theme and the flowere in the centre of the third row were fussy cut:
Then Margaret gets this set of blocks. I couldn't help making a comment about having seen those 54-40 or Fight blocks somewhere else recently!
Alison chose an Autumn theme and has these lovely blocks to play with:
We were all very interested in this halloween theme quilt. Lynette willhave agreat time putting these together for her grandchild. The bat row was very cleverly done with solid black appliqued onto a black and gray printed background and isn't the spider delightful! In fact the whole thing is very cute:
Annette wanted log cabins in bright colours and that is what she got! I can see this one growing into quite a big quilt:
Teresa loves country style quilts and these blocks will make up into a very nice quilt:
Then we moved onto the round robins. These tops were put together (of course) and had more detailed instructions for the participants to follow. All the fabric was supplied by the owner of the quilt. The first one is owned by Bernice:
This dramatic red, black and gray quilt is going to Veronica:
Rae did a very nice needle-turned block for thec entre of hers and whoever did the next row made a great j0b of the blue and white points:
Topsy-turvey for Myra. The third row had to incorporate setting the top on-point and log cabin together (not as easy as it sounds) and whoever did the stripes and tiny white triangle log cabin round was very clever:
Very pretty colours for Rosalie to go with her fushia centre:
Another dramatic combination of colours , this time for Maureen:
Annette chose blues and grays for her top:
Now we move on to the general Show & Tell and this is Annes community quilt finished:
And this is Rae's community quilt, also finished:
Another finished community quilt from Maureen. ( Don't I recognise those star points in the sashing rom somewhere??):
There are a few more quits form this months show & tell but we had some camera problems and didn't quite get all of them on. So we apologise to those members whose quilts didn't make it into this month's post - sorry :-(

September Show & Tell

2009-10-15T20:11:00.007+13:00

Oh dear, I've been bit slack again, but only 2 months behind this time :-)
First up is two quilts by Donna and Carey made in the popular 'postcards' design.

Donna and Carey love working together on the same pattern and they repeated it with these two lovely quilts:
Helen has been busy and has just the binding to sew on this scrap quilt:

She has also made this top completely out of scraps with the design relying on the placement of light and dark fabrics only. No regard was given to colour at all. The little squares are 1" finished. The ladies thought she was mad when they saw her sewing them at club!
And this is Helen's contribution to the community quilt project:
Susan mad this bag from a $5 remnant. Very stylie!
Frances G finishe this delightful chook wall hanging:
Carol had a brother's wedding to go to and this is the quilt she made for the happy couple. Lovely freesia fabric:
Audrey made this table runner with beautiful appliqued flowers:
Marie is one of our newer members and this is her first quilt:
Heather is working on this heats and flowers quilts:
Glenys completed this very nice table runner in the stained glass style:
Amy is planning to teach an "orphan" block class next year. She put together these blocks to show what can be done:
(Should I let you in on the secret that she raided her mother's orphan blocks stash for this top?)

Is It August Already?

2009-08-01T22:07:00.010+12:00

Since I have been such a slack blogger for quite some time you have 3 lots of show & tell to feast your eyes on today. I don't think I have ever made 3 posts in one day and may this teach me a lesson to do it straight after each meeting! Make sure you scroll down to get the June, July and August Show and Tell.

There were lots of quilts today. The first one is a strip-pieced hexagon spider web quilt by Susan:
Next are two Cathedral Window quilts by Rosemarie:

Joy has made 4 more scrap quilts. I'm only showing half of them because 'someone' was standing in front of the other half when the pictures were taken :-)

Anne is one of our senior members and is vision-impaired, but still she quilts!
Frances G made this ever-popular gollie pattern:
Not a 'quilt', in the sense that it has no batting, and it was not made by her, but Kath thought this piece of embellished embroidery from Thailand was worth taking a closer look at:
Judy made this scrap quilt for our community quilts project:
Veronica made this for her grand daughter:
Maureen is also a member of Rangitikei Quilters and won a prize at their recent exhibition with this very interesting piece:
Carol is sending this top off to the quilter on Monday. Lucky she noticed one of the borders is on upside down before she sent it!
Audrey did a workshop by Anna Williams. I think it is called Persian Carpet:
This was made by Rosalie for a new great niece:
The next two are cot quilts made by Rose for the community quilts project:

Ruth has finished stitching her sashiko piece started in Robyn Burgess' Symposium workshop:
Anita, who is the queen of the basting table, had been practising herf ree motion quilting on these two pieces:

This is Madeline's quilt for the community quilt project:
and this is Rae's donation:
Myra has finished the NZ fabric waistcoat for her husband. She says he is gooing to wear it to work next week. good on him!
She also made this quilt and used a walking foot for the first time:
A lesson from Frances on the perils of using wool batting. This is the very first quilt she made, for her grandson. Guess what happened when it got washed? He won't let her fix it up. He loves it the way it is, all wrinkly (like some of us are getting!)
As Frances showed her latest work, her daughter Amy was heard to say " she went through all my cupboards!". Amy was away on holiday and France 'pinched' this quilt so it could get to the finished stage. Amy started it for her first daughter Georgia (now 2 and a half) and Frances completed the quilting so Sienna, Amy's second daughter (who is now about 7 months old), can have a quilt too :-)

July Show & Tell

2009-08-01T20:41:00.010+12:00

And moving right along we now have the show & Tell from July.

Doreen is a couple of years the 'wrong' side of 80 and is a fairly recent convert to quilting. These table runners are her latest pieces. Isn't she doing well?
Pat made this very popular Bugs pattern:
and this scrap cot quilt:
Lyn made this retro apron. I remember my mother wearing these "cover-all's"Susan fussy-cut every single hexagon on this I Spy quilt. It was fantastic:and the Disney characters she embroidered on this quilt are very sweet:
A new member, Ann, was brave enough to bring some show & tell to her first meeting. She showed us this sampler quilt with lovely soft colourings:
and this popular pattern, from Grandmother's Garden I think:
The ladies liked the bag Ann used to carry her quilts in:
This is a scrap piece made by moi. I was given several, well lots (make that hundreds!) of pre-cut 1 1/2" squares and I couldn't bear to ditch them (the ladies thought I was nuts sewing such small squares together) so I am teaming them up with half-square triangles in this Jacob's ladder variation. I kinda like it:
This quilt was made using the very beautiful Nancy Halverson fabrics and the photo does not really do it justice. Made by 'I don't know who' since I can't find itwritten on the list I was given:
Roesmary made this scrap quilt using quarter-square triangles:
Lesley's pieced hearts quilt was very cheery:
Madeline did a 'piece and cut' type workshop at Symposium (sorry, I don't know who the tutor was. She made the resulting blocks into this bag:

Frances is doing the very lovely Susan Claire block of the month. This is one of the borders:

June Meeting?

2009-08-01T19:33:00.010+12:00

Actually, today is the August Meeting. I got the message today that I haven't done the club blog since May! Woe is me, where does the time go??

So here is the Show & Tell from June"

First up, Myra has done a lovely landscape of Mt Ruapehu and has finished her Happy Villages quilt:
She also showed us an early piece, tied rather than quilted:
Joy is the scrap quilt extraordinaire. She has such a great collection of bright scraps that her quilts are always lovely. Here are two of the latest :

Heather has done this lovely scrap quilt using very tiny pieces. Those little squares are cut at 1 1/2"!
Jean did a fantastic postcard workshop at Symposium. I love the reflection in the land(water?)scape. The leaf is pretty cool too:
Alison finished her Mary Transom 'Autumn Harvest' quilt from the workshop we had a while ago:
This is the results of the printing and dying class Betty did at Symposium. A very nice effect on commercial fabric:
Tracey made this wall hanging:
Lorraine did Gloria Loughman's 'Escape to the Rainforest' workshop at Symposium and this piece is still in progress. I can't wait to see it finished.
She did this quilt at our recent half-nighter:
Rose embroidered the birds on this wall hanging very beautifully:
Trish made a couple of bags:
Madeline made this very nice scrap quilt. I like the sashing and cornerstones around the squares:
Heather made this lovely fused applique I Spy quilt.
Amy is quilting her Cloth Shop Saturday Sampler by the Quilt-As-You-Go method. The colours are too dark in the photo but the fabric is gorgeous:
Three of our members did a Round Robin simultaneously with a group of ladies from England. There were supposed to be 4 of us but one had to pull out because of a bereavement. This is Barbara's
This is Helen's
And this is Annette's:
Lastly, remember that saying "I'd rather be 40 than pregnant"? Well, Rosie discovered she was pregnant at the beginning of the year (much to her 15 year old daughter's disgust who felt she needed to have a 'birds and bees' talk with her father!) This is a quick quilt I made for the coming baby:

May's Show & Tell

2009-05-02T20:11:00.011+12:00

We had a cosy meeting today as some of our members decamped for Tote & Gloat in Palmerston North. I hope they had a great time.

First up is Rae's very cute light weight travel iron. It does steam! I think she got it from Briscoes. I will have to pay them a visit.

Illeen did June Nixey's class at Symposium. She thought it would be a nice relaxing way to use up some of her large stash of 5" squares. I think June had them working hard judging by all the samples Illeen showed us:
Illeen also did Vicki Pignatelli's curves class. I love the fabric she used:
And just in case she didn't have enough to keep her busy Illeen did a third class with Paula Nadelstern. This was the complete opposite of the curves class. Everything had to be precise:
This is the quilt Donna made for her daughter's 21st birthday.
It has lovely bumblebee quilting which you can see on the reverse:
Donna is on a roll. This quilt is for her grandson and she made it in 3 days! I think the way Donna has used the Hungry Caterpillar print is much nicer than the arrangements the american magazines have been showing:
And the reverse is cool too:
Heather has finished her table runner using a 'big block' from our newsletter series last year:
This large quilt was made by Teresa in the 'quilt as you go' method. Teresa usually works in country colours and wanted a change. A very pretty quilt:
More from symposium classes. This is Sue's class sample from Libby Lehman's thread play. The thick decorative thread was used in the bobbin:
And in this class, taught by Anne Jolly, Sue was only allowed to take 3 fabrics. She found that a challenge and sneaked some extras in:
And now for a change of pace; this quilt is made from totally recycled material. I'll bet you would never guess it is made from old pillow slips. I didn't realise when you unstitched them that they have so much fabric in them. There are no joins in the strips. Totally cool! Well done, Audrey!Colleen showed us the first quilt she ever made, which was for her grandson (who is a bit older now). Only Colleen is allowed to wash the quilts given to members of this family which is why it was temporarily back in her possession:
Judy has nearly finished this lovely quilt, a design by Bronwyn Hayes I think. It was well applauded. I think everyone would have liked to take it home:
Amy is doing the Cloth Shop Saturday Sampler and is trying different fabric combinations. It is amazing what a difference value and colour placement makes to the look of a block.
Frances took the Images of Science class taught by Jenny Bowker at Symposium. These are not flowers, they are microscopic protozoa. I love the 'lip' of light blue at the top:
Finally, I took two classes at Symposium. The first was Layer by Layer Landscapes by Gloria Loughman. Most of the students did a variation on one of the patterns provided, but I tried my hand at an 'original' so I didn't get very far. It is still in pieces:
And this is what I made in Dena Crain's Darned Quilts class. It was total fun. Both of my tutors were excellent and well worth the investment.
Frances has just reminded me of the hilarious merriment I caused today when I was trying to explain how we cut the circles out and swapped them over. I went on to explain that you could do three circles, putting the "A" circle in the "B" hole, the "B" circle in the "C" hole and the "C" circle in (yep, you guessed it) the "A" hole! Now I know why Dena, the tutor, explained it as A to B, B to C, C to A. I bet she has 'been there, done that'!

April Show & Tell

2009-04-04T20:01:00.007+13:00

The club meeting was busy today with the start of the new club Row by Row and Round Robin Challenges. Participants took home their paper bags and we look forward to finding out how they start off their rows/blocks.

One of our members, Kath, gave us a lively techniques training on using Dynaflow.

Our guest speakers were from the Cancer Society talking about the dangers of skin cancers. Often overlooked as 'just skin cancer' it was a timely reminder to us all about keeping a regular check on our bodies and knowing what is 'normal' so we can tell when it is not, so we can get a check done early.

Here is the show and tell from today:

First up from Tracey, a new member. Tracey's husband saw this Mckenna Ryan pattern and told her she had to make it. Thing is, it is her first quilt. Tracey's husband made the frame. Pretty good, huh?
Next is a Sudoko quilt by Margaret S. Beautiful fabrics in this one:
I finished the binding on my scrappy, strippy quilt. This is going to Australia to the bushfire quilts appeal.
This is called Leftover Tabasco Sauce. I made it using all the leftover blocks from our club banner. There were exactly enough to make this 9 rows by 14 columns arrangement.
The following has a little story attached. Frances and I went to Wellington a couple of weeks ago to see the Monet paintings. Of course, a visit to Wellington is incomplete without a stop at Minerva bookshop. Anne Scott told me about this wall hanging that Rosemary McLeod had brought in to the shop, saying Anne could give it a better home than she. Apparently Rosemary had bought a piece of furniture from Dunbar Soan auction house and this piece was inside it. The label on the bottom says it is a 'Pot Pourri Challenge' made by 5 Cotton On Quilter members in 2001. I wasn't a member of the club then, so I took it along to see if I could jog some memories. It was a colour challenge and each person had to make 5 blocks with a given colour theme and they were shared around. This is what Mary Gullery, a long-standing former member did with her blocks. Sadly, Mary died over a year ago and some of her collectables and furniture went to Wellington to be autioned. Voila! What goes around comes around :-)
Next up is Frances G's black redwork sampler. The pictures are all about life in the garden:
Margaret made this cool Beatles fabric quilt for her 16 year old son. I love the fabric:
Rosalie made a sewing bag in a class at the Home Sewing Centre. Of course, it is hard to stop at just one!
Karen A is making this lovely bright childs quilt:
Rose is embroidering Australian motifs which will end up in a quilt:
Doreen made this kitchen wall hanging from fabric she won in a club raffle last year:
Carol is making this wall hanging to take with her to America. She leaves in a couple of weeks. I wish I could fit into her suitcase. She is meeting up with quilters and attending a quilting retreat.
The fish are biting in Audrey's quilt:

I wish I had a better picture of this quilt made by Jenny using fabrics she got in France. She has hand quilted it beautifully and has done a no-binding finish. Lovely!

March Show and Tell

2009-03-07T16:43:00.007+13:00

I want to say congratulations to our new president, Frances, and myself. We both had quits accepted for Symposium. Only 5 weeks to go. Now, where did I put that class needs list??

Now, aren't I a good girl? Club was today and here I am getting the Show and tell photos up on the same day. I couldn't stay for the afternoon meeting so I get to see them just as you do, digitally.

The club has a good number of activities planned for this year and they are proving to be very popular. Thirty women signed up for the Mystery Bus Trip later in the year. Full already! And plenty of time to save up some cash to flash (that is assuming I have any left to save after Symposium.)

First up we have Alison's Flower Block quilt:
Alison also made this Trip Around the World for the daughter of a friend. Lovely colours:
Sonia made this delightful quilt for Keaten:
Veronica hasn't been doing much quilting as such lately, but she has made these lovely bolster cushions:
Susan has nearly completed her Row by Row from last year. Susan was the envy of many at club today as she was using her embroidery machine to quilt in sections. We were very interested!
Ruth used a strip piecing technique to make this graphic quilt top:
Rosie G is making this quiolt form NZ fabrics. I think it is for her brother. She is looking for ideas on how to make it bigger:
Riane has been working on her Bow Tie quilt made form the charity fundraiser CanTeen head scarves:
This is Rosemarie's Log Cabin Disaster. The star points were supposed to be 6o degree triangles but the pattern was printed incorrectly and they wouldn't fit together. Much fudging ensued!
Lois' daughter is being married in Ireland soon and this quilt is to celebrate that happy event. If my memory serves me correctly this is a Cloth Shop pattern. We wish Lois a safe and happy trip.
Madeline has been working on these very cute cats:
Lynette made this flower quilt based on a picture her grandchild drew. Very nice!
Heather has finished her NZ Postcards quilt. I'm not sure what Veronica was doing with the camera at the time :-)
Carol, queen bag maker, has made these two:

Judith has made this table runner from NZ fabric:
and this is her version of the NZ Postcard quilt:
Lyne is working on this Gollie quilt. There are a lot of pieces to applique!
Kathleen has been having fun with squares of cloth and Dynaflow dyes. Very pretty.
Maureen attended Anna Williams' Print Magic workshop (I have done one of these as well. Unfortunately it is still a WIP):
That's all folks. Come back next month!

February Show & Tell

2009-03-04T21:37:00.005+13:00

Yes, I know it is March already and this is February's Show & Tell and it is only 3 days until March's meeting. I Know I have been a real slacker at posting the Sow & Tell over the last year. I promised at Feb's meeting that I would be way better this year. Well, hmmm...

It is true that one should do Show & Tell posts immediately after the meeting because I can't remember who owns most of the quilts shown here. Bad ex president!

Scotty dogs:
This is a bag Amy made, inspired by the wonderful bags seen in the Quilts Japan magazine.

The front:
The back:
The side:
Why, do you suppose, I take photos of such variable quality??

Amy also made this bag, I think for a friend who lives in Korea. I was told she could have sold the bag about 5 times over in the space of getting from the airport to her apartment.
Here is a lovely Jacobs ladder quilt done in autumn colours:
And another autumn toned quilt made, I think, from fabrics purchased in Canada. (Phillipa's?)
Now whose bag is this?
UPDATE: My sources tell me this is Anita's bag

The sun block in the top lefthand corner of this quilt was fab. Much brighter than shows up here. It made me feel very cheery.
Delightful daisies, or is that gerberas? (Everyone knows I don't garden)
A gollie quilt
Moira is making a wasitcoat for her husband. Please excuse the perspective. It really isn't as big as it looks.
The back:
I'm sorry, I really have no idea who this quilt belongs to. I hope someone reading this will be able to tell me and I will make an update.
Ditto for this one
This lovely baby quilt was made by Rosalie for her niece's baby:
The back:
We had a visitor from Wellington and she showed us this dramatic quilt:
Janice's husband turned 60 a few months ago. At the party Janice had bloks of fabric ready for people to decorate and now she has most of the top finished. Very clever.
That's all folks. I hope to be back next week with March's offerings.

December 08

2008-12-14T14:19:00.016+13:00

I have performed my last official duty as President of Cotton On Quilters, a position I have held for the last 4 years. It has been a great time and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It has been busy at times which is why this blog has not been kept current, especially this year! However, I have promised to change this. My 'off the committee' position is to keep the blog current. The posts will continue to be labeled as uploaded by 'president' - that's me - not the current president :-)

I wasn't able to attend the December meeting as I was attending my mother's 80th birthday but Veronica did a great job of taking pictures for us. The first few are of the lunch tables:

We had a decorated box competition, which was won by Veronica with her ingenious Christmas pudding. the lid comes right off and the gift goes inside - well done, Veronica!

Show and Tell was mostly Christmas themed - as can be expected at this time of the year. COQ members who also attend a Thursday group brought along their Christmas round robins to show. These were contributed by Jean, Donna and Helen A:

Donna finished her Christmas stocking:
Audrey and Carol made these very funky Christmas boots:

Lesley's table runner

Madeline's table centre and Rather Christmas wall hanging"
Annette's cornucopia:
Sue made this lovely blue horses quilt:

and Veronica this string scrap quilt:

Pauline made these Happy Villages landscapes from our Karen Eickmeier workshop run by Diane Southy:

Helen A made this lovely quilt for her great niece. It is called All Sorts. A great way to showcase converstion prints:
This huge quilt was made by Annette, a great pattern:
This japanese fabric quilt was made by Audrey and Carol:
Frances, the new president, has signed up for Susan Claire's new block of the month. Susan's original-designed quilt won Best Bed Quilt in the recent NANZQ exhibition held in conjunction with the Quilt and Craft fair in Hamilton a few months ago. It is a stunning quilt and Frances fell in love with it.

Cotton-On Quilters' Show 2008

2008-04-16T07:00:00.002+12:00

Well, the show is over and done. I will leave Helen to provide a report but here are pictures! You can see all the pictures in the album here or watch the show below. If you want larger versions of any of the photo files for printing please email me (Janice) with the image number which is in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. You will need to go to the link above and look at it full size to see the number. I can also provide a cd of all the images if you want one - details in the next newsletter.

December Show & Tell

2008-01-26T09:42:00.000+13:00

Now that January is nearly over I thought it was time to put up the show & tell from the December meeting :-)

First up is Margaret's kiwiana placements:
Then Maria's version of the very popular Chris Barrington Santa:

Veronica loves everything cowboy:
Including the coffee. I have this Jacqui Karl pattern too, but it lies around in its plastic sleeve waiting for a caffeine fix:
Judy made this beautiful quilt of falling autumn leaves:
And this is June's lovely kiwiana themed quilt:
Margalite has been really inspired by Jane Sassaman's book. A fantastic way to use solid homespun fabric:

Eileen has made a wonderfully subtle star quilt:
It took her a while and the leaf blocks started out as another quilt but Frances' shadow autumn leaf quilt is stunning:
Jean's Children's quilt - really cute:
Joy is our community quilt organiser and she makes great kids quilts:
Love those snake heads!
Anita showed us her snowball quilt:
Bernice finished her Rookie Class quilt. I am very proud of her:
She did the class with her daughter Donna. Bernice was tickled pink when she finished her quilt before Donna.
The Christmas Angel graced our end of year lunch with her presence:

And the lunch was really rummy. a great way to end a busy quilt club year.

Xmas Dinner

2007-12-05T08:44:00.001+13:00

Our club Christmas celebrations this year included a sit-down, fully catered 'traditional' cold ham, cold turkey, new potatoes and salad dinner. It was a wonderful meal well complemented by the festive table setting. Members each contributed and received a hand made xmas cracker with quilty contents and Frances contributed a poem which she recited just before the dessert was served:

The daughter of the farrier
Could find no one to marry her,
Because she said
She would not wed
A man who could not carry her.

The foolish girl was wrong enough,
And had to wait quite long enough;
For as she sat
She grew so fat
That nobody was strong enough.

It didn't appear to deter anyone from helping themselves to the little pavlova desserts!

October Show & Tell

2007-11-10T20:16:00.000+13:00

It is now November and I need to put up the October show & Tell before the November stuff. I have got behind!!

At the October meeting Carol demonstrated how to do really accurate piecing with freezer paper for our Techniques Training session. Can you see her Featherweight Singer. That is a real sweetie of a machine (and I covet it mightily):
Anita and Colleen basting a quilt:
This is a beautiful Bible Block Quilt that Phillipa is making to hang in her church:
Veronica's Cats
Margalite makes quilts to go on beds. This is the first of 3:
And the second:
And the third:
Wow, what an output. Isn't that Stack 'n' Whack fabulous? Do you think blue is one of her favourite colours?

This is Jenny's Quilt:
A cool handbag made by Pauline:
Carol did an internet challenge based on colours starting with the letters of her name. She is holding a very cute drawstring bag made from 2 fat quarters:
These are pincushions Carol got from and internet swap. I love the egg!
And this is a really cool fun quilt:
Frances made this Shabby Chic basket quilt:
Helen H did a wonderul piece of discharge dyeing:
Audrey made these 2 cat wall hangings:
Very cute cats!
And this sweet table runner:
That's all, folks (until next time)

September Show & Tell

2007-10-31T23:01:00.000+13:00

A bit late I know and there is still October to do (August Show & Tell didn't get photographed.) I'm not sure if I can remember all of who made what and I've forgotten most of the "Tell" part and some of the photos are less than best, but here it is:

First we start with a quilt-pounce demonstration from Ruth:
Lorraine's baby quilt:
And her cot quilt for Raetihi:
Karen's baby quilt
Judy's Black & White Ferns:
Pauline's Asian Quilt:
Jeans's cushion:
Jean's Quilt:
Jean's Table Runner:
Joy's Go Bag:
Kiwiana Hearts:
Bright Quilt
Colleen's Fruit:
Frances' Flower:
Heathers first trapunto:
Janice's Four Season's Internet Swap
Shattered Poppies
Ruth's Rosedbuds (completely hand pieced and hand quilting in progress):
Redwork Angels
Rae's Flower Quilt:

Off To The Quilter's We Go

2007-09-02T23:50:00.000+12:00

The raffle quilt is all basted up and will be on its way to Bev for quilting sometime this week. A huge thanks to everyone who contributed.

Photos from September's Show & Tell are ready for posting but it is time for bed! I will get them up during the week.

The Piecing is Done!

2007-09-01T00:40:00.001+12:00

The raffle quilt is now to the basting stage. The first picture shows the centre 100 blocks pieced together.

The second photo shows the borders and corner blocks added. The first photo is truer to the actual colour.

We will baste it up at club day tomorrow and then the quilting will get done. Yippee!

The Borders Are Done!

2007-08-20T21:59:00.001+12:00

The four borders and four corner blocks of the raffle quilt are now complete:

Don't they look great! All I have to do now is trim up the blocks for the centre and get them pieced together. I wonder how long that will take?

Test Post

2007-07-29T10:32:00.000+12:00

Our blog has disappeared! this post is to check if I can still post.