Susan and Joanne last week

Last week Susan came to stay Sunday - Friday.  We stitched flat out and did some good homestyle cooking. We both had so much we wanted to achieve. When one of us got tired the other pushed us to just finish x.
Susan was on a mission to get a Dr Who Tardis quilt together for Jason to take to Uni next year. Jason had found one someone had blogged about making online. We nutted out the dimensions and then she was off at a fast pace. We stopped for quick lunches outside because the weather was like the photo below all week:

Frostie and Marmite helped us...

 



Then there was a Tardis quilt top:

 

It took us ages to figure out the lettering but we got there in the end.

 

 

Jason's quilt was so cool and Devin liked it so I decided to make Devin one too.  He is also off to University next year. The week turned into a Tardis production line - not that I was going to start a new project as I have 8 others on the go plus my knitting - that's not including many UFO's! I so wish I didn't need 8 hours sleep a night.



 



Susan also hand tacked together her big bright Kaffe quilt, she pieced on our Maraetai beach trip, ready for hand quilting in a bright pink pearl 8 thread.
I pinned together my big orange "One Fabric" quilt and finished and pinned together my small Inner City (symposium winner) quilt. I want to hand quilt them both so I now have plenty to do. I'll practice my machine quilting on the Tardis on the Handy Quilter frame and domestic machine I have borrowed and have set up in the kids lounge. Bating for it arrived from Fabric.com today (cheaper than buying locally and Quilters Dream Cotton is not available here), so no excuses now.
There is nothing like attending a quilt exhibition and having a quilting buddy over to get you motivated. Keep quilting, Joanne.



NZ Biannual Quilt Symposium

Hi there from down under. Catherine and I met up for the day at the recent biannual NZ Quilt Symposium. For the first time I entered a quilt into the judged exhibition. I got the shock of my life when I won the Amateur Traditional section. Here's a photo of my quilt.

It took me 5 years to hand piece and hand quilt it. It was fun making the blocks as every one is like a new quilt with different fabrics and I could stitch them on planes trains and in the car. Putting it all together was a long slow job.  I over achieved on the number of blocks I needed so have just finished the top of another the same and about 2/3 the size!

I haven't decided on my next hand pieced project yet - they are great to have when travelling. Joanne.

You have all been busy. I am was inspired to tackle the Lone Star UFO....nearly there now. You are all looking well!  I am off to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham  on Thurs. Do you remember Carole Brown Joanne? She is going on Friday so I will call in again!!!!! I am promising myself only to buy fabric for a specific project!!

Still lovely here despite the odd shower.

Mx