August Allcomers Day

About a dozen happy quilters gathered together at the Red Cross Rooms on Saturday morning for Allcomers Day.  I was happy to be there too, and took my sewing machine along and one of my many UFOs to work on.  Due to health reasons I hadn’t been to many club activities lately, so it was something I was looking forward to. 

Most ladies were working on their sewing machines, a couple of quilts got pinned out, and there was a little bit of hand stitching going on too.  Barbara was hand stitching a pretty little mug rug, just the right size to place your morning tea, she said.  And Debi showed me her paper pieced blocks she was starting, one was a pretty cup cake, and the other was a big black spider!

Wendy has joined a little group of club members all busy hand stitching their own version of the fabulous La Passacaglia quilt.  This is surely a labour of love, and Wendy said that planning the fabrics and colours is so much fun.  These quilts take a lot of time and dedication, and we look forward to seeing the finished products some time in the future.

Wendy busy hand stitching

Kath was sitting at a table in a lovely sunny spot and showed me her sampler blocks.  Made of of red, black and white fabrics, they looked lovely indeed.

Kath’s sampler blocks

Janneke makes many quilts for Ronald McDonald House, and was pinning up her latest one, ready for machine quilting.  Some little one is sure to love this.

Janneke’s charity quilt

I decided to take myself off home after lunch, as the energy levels were starting to flag a little.  With several hours more stitching time, the ladies would have had a lot to show for their day out.  It was lovely to catch up with everyone again, and thanks for your company.

Jenny Benton

Textiles at Te Takare

Have you been to see the “Textiles from Around the World” exhibition at Te Takere?   Our local library is currently showing some of Judy Turner’s treasures collected over many years of travels, starting when she travelled to Beijing with the British Foreign Office in the 1960s. 

Added to over the years, she collected textiles as she travelled through Asia, India, and Africa. She is particularly interested in the cultural role the textiles play in their country of origin.  The beautiful dyed, printed, woven and embroidered textiles  have deep significance to their owners and are thought to convey protection or good fortune.

I particularly liked this piece of colourful embroidered birds, worked on black and white striped cotton, and used in clothing.

Embroidery over striped fabric from Guatemala

The Marsh Arab red rug made in Southern Iraq glowed with colour.  This traditional rug was woven by men and embroidered by women. 

Marsh Arab rug from Iraq

The Toran at the top of the next photo is hung over the doorway on special occasions to bring good luck and prosperity.  The embroidered cloth underneath is known as a Dharaniyo is designed to hang in front of a pile of folded quilts and household items  to make the room tidy.  Wouldn’t all quilters worldwide want one of these beauties?  Both items made in Kutch, north west India.

Toran and Dharaniyo from India

From Nigeria came the Status Robe, assembled from many narrow strips joined both horizontally and vertically to make the garment.  Both the weaving and the elaborate embroidery are the work of men.  The robe sits atop another beautiful textile piece.

Nigerian Status robe

Of course, there is a lot more to see than is shown here.  Do pop along to the library and see these treasures for yourself.  Judy Turner points out that in many communities art is not a picture on the wall, but a beautiful, intricately made textile.  These are appreciated for the skills of the maker, and  the meaning behind the patterns, and are handed down over the generations.

Jenny Benton

Hanging at Winchester House

I was at Winchester House, (owned and run by the Cancer Society)  this week for a meeting and as usual, I always check out what quilt is currently displayed for the month.  This time, it was a vision of whimsical creatures portrayed in watery blues, greens, and lilacs.  This lovely little quilt, Sea Angels, was stitched by Yvonne Symonds, who kindly loaned her quilt to brighten up the surroundings at Winchester House.

Sea Angels, by Yvonne Symonds

After the meeting, Cancer Society Volunteer Sharon had something special to show me.  Her friend had purchased an afghan and pattern sheet from the Op Shop for $5, and Sharon had offered to do the cross stitch designs for her.  Stitching friends have all donated threads for the project – a wonderful collaboration between a group of ladies who all wanted to help out on this project.  Once completed, this beautiful afghan will be backed with something cuddly, and donated to the Ronald McDonald House for a sick child to enjoy. 

Cross stitched afghan to be donated to Ronald McDonald House

July Club Night

It’s no surprise that with such a wet and miserable evening, numbers were well down at Town and Country’s July Club Night.  But we were warmly welcomed to the meeting by Lynne, and settled down to listen to the speaker.

Our speaker was Birgit Moffatt, a bright and bubbly woman originally from Germany who is now living the quiet life in Otaki Gorge.  She is currently doing a textile course, and told us all about how she dyes white fabric with leaves and plants, which ultimately get made into garments.  Birgit passed around her notes on samples, showing how different fabrics, such as silk, cotton or merino, react when the same dyes are used.  She told us about mordents (used to set the dye) and cooking up things in a large copper pot – all quite fascinating.

Birgitt Moffat showing her leaf printed clothing

Selection of garments for sale

The quilts on offer for Show and Tell were down in  numbers too, perhaps everyone is keeping their creations under wraps for the upcoming Quilt Fest.  One very special little quilt caught everyone’s attention.  Kaye had purchased a “colouring in panel” and her 4 year old great niece took great delight making it her very own.  And she did a great job with her colouring in too, for someone so young.  With a castle, a princess and Prince Charming, it certainly is a delight.

Colour added by a four year old

My Maple Leaf quilt, and donated Rail Fence quilt for Ronald McDonald House

Due to circumstances, I had missed a couple of club nights so it was good to meet up with members again.

Hanging in Winchester House

Calling into Winchester House for a meeting during the week, it’s a good chance to see what quilt is on show.  And what an elegant quilt it was.  “Layered Leaves” was made by Mary Andrews in a class in 2011, and is just beautiful.  Close inspection showed the 3D flowers and lacy machine embroidered leaves, all done in hues of pink and green, all beautifully arranged on the background fabric.  The berries are little balls of felted wool, stitched in place, and the flowers are finished with beaded stamens.  Perfectly beautiful!

Layered Leaves, by Mary Andrews

April Club Night

Now that Daylight Saving is a distant memory, the evenings get darker much earlier, so does the drive to the hall for club nights.  But never mind, for everything there is a season, and we were lucky that it was a fine evening without any wind and rain.  Sandra welcomed everyone to the meeting, and then Diane explained the theme and size of the club challenge.  Further details about this will be printed in the newsletter.  Ruby and Kathy were the lucky winners of the raffles.

Robyn from Fox’s Cottage took the stage and displayed several of the new up-coming classes her shop will be running.  Next to take the microphone was club member Ute who has recently started an on-line fabric shop.  She related the story of how the family sold up their business and home in Germany, and moved out to New Zealand.  Seeking a home based business, Ute then decided to import patchwork fabrics.  Check out her website on www.thelifestyler.nz

A selection of Ute’s imported fabrics

Show and Tell brought along an interesting selection, as usual, from quilts for grandchildren, table runners, and wall hangings.

Quilt for a new grand-daughter

There was a nice selection of autum toned quilts brought along for our extra show and tell segment, including my Maple Leaf quilt.  I received the blocks in an internet birthday block swap, but it took me absolutely ages to finally put it together and finish the quilting.  Better late than never, I guess.

Made by Mary

Our speaker for the evening was Chrissie Sheed, President of Rose City Quilters, who told us of her quilting journey and how it has changed over the years.  She started off, as most of us do, making traditional quilts, and brought along one of her early examples, patchwork blocks alternated with candle wick blocks.

One of Chrissie’s early quilts

Then she discovered art quilts, with couching, beading, fabric manipulation, using rusted fabric and even papers.  Chrissie taught herself free motion quilting, and does the most amazing micro stippling.  She kindly handed her small art works around the hall so we could have a close look at them all.  I was a bit hesitant to look at the snake, but it is all done with fabric and stitching, and is an amazing work of art.

Chrissie’s realistic snake

It was another great club night, with an amazing speaker, good company, and time to catch up with fellow members.

Guest Speaker at Probus

Yvonne Symonds was “club speaker” at our Probus Club meeting recently, and did a marvelous job promoting Town and Country Quilters.   She explained about the charity quilts made by members, and also the benefit of the heart cushions made by members a little while ago for those ladies undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

We then saw a selection of quilts made over the years, including several challenges made with her “Evening Bags” house group.

Floral Bouquet Round Robin quilt

Dragonfly, made in a Jacqui Carl class

The tiny houses of Happy Villages were started in a class with Karen Eckmeter were just delightful.

Happy Villages

The Evening Bag Challenge 2014 composed of many small circles completed with different stitches in each came in for a lot of scrutiny after the meeting.  As did all the pretty little buttons and charms used too.  “Look at that one, and that one”, people were heard exclaiming.

Evening Bag Challenge of 2014

Thank you Yvonne, for your short talk, it was very interesting, and the ladies (in particular) in the Probus club enjoyed the opportunity to see your work.