Baskets and Bags.

Here's the 2nd wee fabric basket I made. Not so wee this time. It probably has nearly twice the capacity of the first wee one. The lining measures 17 by 12 inches so that will give an idea of the final size. Finished it sits 6.5 " high and 11 inches from end seam to end seam. I used some of the Laurel Burch Christmas fabric from the jelly roll I purchased last week. I found when I sewed the box ends I got some little tucks in the fabric which bugged me. So I reopened the lining and went in for a repair operation - now no tucks nice and neat. With the end already cut off I was able to put my finger in the end to flatten it; then I tacked it and checked before resewing it. Now I'm happy with it.

As my group ( Tauranga Patchwork and Quilters ) is holding it's Exhibition next Friday, Saturday and Sunday I have been getting my 2 entries ready. I made this big sack for Purple Splendour and the other smaller quilt also has it's own purple satin Pillow case. I am part way through making the label for the big quilt and tried out 2 of the wee die cut hearts on it. They adhered very easily and look cute. It still has to be completed and sewn on so I'm nearly ready. Last year's velcro hanging strips will fit joined together. SO we all have a busy few days ahead. We hang the quilts on Thursday at a different venue this year..... much smaller and right in the city. ( it was all a venue price thing )Room for less traders stalls but that can't be helped.For anyone local reading this it is being held at Baycourt in Tauranga.

What is your favourite non expensive sewing aid? ( I take it we all love our machines; rotary cutters, cutting boards and rulers. ) Mine might be a wee chalk marker. You may all have them BUT if you don't I would recommend one. The screw top end removes so refill chalk can be added and if you look very closely at the pointy end you may see the wee teeth of the wheel that leave the fine chalk line. I find it excellent and the chalk line brushes away later if still visible. ( it's a Clover product )What is your favourite?

Fabulous Quilts.

4 more fabulous quilts I enjoyed at the Show in Hamilton. 3 from the NANZQ Quilts Aotearoa Exhibition and 1 from the Japanese Textile display.

Best use of Colour was won by Natalie Murdoch. I saw Natalie at the show and told her I loved her wall hanging. She was the lady who took our class on Hearts Quilts at Retreat in May last year.Some of the leaves in her piece were reinforced and only lightly attached so they curled like Autumn leaves.

The 2nd quilt here , with the circles is called Mandala by Sachiko Gunji. On close inspection I think it was made using a combination of reverse and ordinary applique, which gave it texture as some shapes bulged and others receded.

The quilt in aqua and brown is by Donna Ward who lives in Hamilton.

The next one I can't remember who made it and now I can't read the ticket but the detail was amazing and the gold made it look very precious.

* Helen -Yes, I did see Mariya Walters quilt.( Best in Show ) It was breathtakingly beautiful. ( the detail was so fine it was almost off putting and I can understand why it took so long to make. The photo on the front of the NZ Quilter mag is the one to get a look at it .The gold around each shape was about 1/4' in or less.)

* - Janice I saw your 2 lovely entries. Your Delphiniums 111 was lovely. My photo of it doesn't do it justice as it was below a large window. Please look at Janice's entries on her blog.

***( all photos are clickable to enlarge and none are my work )

Quilts and Shopping.

This has been a week of variety. I've done orchard work, gardening, been to a funeral and also to the Quilt and Craft Fair in Hamilton.

The photos are a few I took at the Exhibition of quilts and the purchases I made. Huge windows above the quilts made it difficult to get good photos, so I only took about a dozen.The standard of work was amazingly high.( please note quilts shown here are by unknown people)Next post I will tell you about the quilts on display that were by ladies I do know.

I purchased a 5" wide Jelly Roll of Laurel Burch Christmas fabrics, cause I love her designs and have some gift ideas in mind. I started collecting some bright plainish fabrics and those with gold on for a quilt I am to start making for DH ( his idea ), and of course a few fat quarters I loved (just because I loved them.) I also got a couple of packets of the dye cut shapes which are ready to iron on - I've not used them before - so will see if I like them. I went with 4 other ladies - one of the younger ones drove us all , and I bought the least - some of them have an amazing insatiable appetite for spending and obviously the where with all to do it! We had a lovely day out but I was exhausted after the 11 hours it took.Having fun can be tiring.Back to the garden now while the sun is shining.

* Molly, we don't want to move - it's cause it may get too much for us to cope with.We are in no hurry to go, so are prepared to wait and see what turns up.( people are not rushing to buy the property you'll notice )

Colours of Spring.

Photos taken down our driveway, as things start to blossom.

As you come in the front gate 4 Awanui Flowering Cherries are in bloom. Further up towards the house there are Azaleas and Rhododendrons.

The red rhodo is Rubicon.The final photo of yellow flowers is New Zealand native Kowhai, in the park next door..

( photos are all click able - but watch out for that bee.) It gladdens my heart and delights my nose. Enjoy some of my garden.

Little Fabric Basket.

 30 heart pillows my P & Q group got finished on Friday.

With fine weather all weekend things have been busy. I gardened both days till my back warned, " take a break now. " So I did and snuck back inside to the sewing machine and made this little fabric basket. It took me a couple of hours from start to finish.The photos show the cut out parts (there was also batting and lining added later.)The next pic shows it partly completed, then finally finished. It is tiny. (6"by 4.5" high ) Smaller than I imagined from Julz's photos, last weekend. I got the idea from Julz who got the idea from Pink Penguin who has an easy to follow tutorial on her blog in May this year.( Thanks ladies! ) It is really cute and I think could be made in other sizes, so may not be my only one.I can think of all sorts of uses especially as gift containers.
Some answers to comments.* Yes Gudrun we drive on the left hand side of the road in New Zealand. ( they do in Australia too )
* Isabelle I wouldn't expect you to have been to a Kiwifruit meeting - LOL - it's cause we make our living growing them that I have to go to various meetings ( or you can't complain when others make decisions on your behalf! )
Well, back out to orchard work for me - it was too hot this morning phew. I hope there is some high cloud this afternoon.

Somewhere to Hang Your Hat.

Somewhere to hang your hat - maybe ; but much more likely to hang my BAGS.

As I became addicted to making lovely colourful bags I realised I wanted somewhere to hang/ display them. ( not in the cupboard as up till yesterday ). I knew what I wanted - a hat stand....so for months / years, I have been looking in the paper, on Trade Me and second hand shops and never found what I wanted. So I gave in and got a new modern version of what I had visualised.( first we had to assemble it ! - not too bad) It is portable, so I will try it in various places or maybe move it from time to time.( HE HE - there are still some unused spaces on it )

On Tuesday evening I had to go to a meeting ( boring as ; about Kiwifruit )down at the Boat shed at Omokoroa ( remember we took a walk there ). As I approached there was a rainbow landing right on the spot I was going to, so I pulled over and quickly took this photo out the window. There are some funny things accidentally captured in the shot so I left them. By the time I parked the car and walked to a better position the rainbow had all but faded, in all of 2 minutes.( that's Mt. Maunganui in the background. )

I've passed half way on hand stitching the binding!

White heart, red heart.

On Sunday we were invited to visit some folk who have renovated an old homestead and revamped the garden. This is the view from in front of the house. ( looking towards Bowentown Heads )( they have a ride on mower! ) Woodland type garden is set around this long green lawn.The sun was still shining with quite a breeze which of course bought us 2 more inches of rain yesterday. Today we had fog and drizzle but it is clearing now, but back to very wet underfoot.

See the lovely firm cauliflower we just harvested.....there are 4 more to follow in the next weeks. When I buy a punnet of seedlings I put 3 in the vege garden and 3 in some large blue tubs we have up beside the garden shed. The extra warmth those tubs get means the plants in them mature at least 2 or 3 weeks before the ones in the garden; it's a good way to make sure they don't all come ready at once. Yum! ( white heart )

The red heart shapes are preparation for this Friday when our P & Q group have been asked to make some small soft red pillows for the Heart Foundation. They give them out to all Heart Surgery patients when they leave hospital. Apparently they get used for putting between the seat belt in the car and the persons healing scar.

In the photo the 2 at the top are cut out ready to sew together( wrong side showing ) the one at the bottom has been sewn not stuffed.I was just doing some experimenting to show that scraps could be sewn together as well as just using one fabric.We are going to make them chain gang style. Some ladies cutting, some sewing, some stuffing some finishing the hole by hand.

Yesterday as it was so wet I cut and sewed on the binding on Purple Splendour. I was SO careful it went on beautifully every corner just right so that was pleasing. Last night I began hand sewing it down...I have done a small distance of the 33 feet needed. ( I'll be a wee while .)

Quilted Purple Splendour.

"Purple Splendour," is back from being quilted by Jenny at Stitchworks. I love it ..... it has a nice soft feel as the middle section is only lightly quilted. She has picked out the small square shape as well as the diagonals to follow. Around the borders the pattern is repeated big and small like the width of the borders. This was the first time she had used that pattern and she applied it using a pounce pad and stencil. The colour of the backing has shown up rather dark in this photo - it is actually a soft lime green.It has wool batting.( and was lovely to quilt ) The good news was it didn't cost too much to be quilted ; I was pleasantly surprised. It took Jenny, 8 hours to quilt; so she is fast!

As I have completed the ball I was making I can move straight on to cutting some very very long bindings to go around the 95" sides. Luckily I quite like hand sewing.( All in all I am very happy with my first professionally quilted quilt! )

Molly you did make me laugh - I am only too aware of how carefully one has to word things when using the words balls and felt .(otherwise one can have some unwanted guests looking at one's blog after searching for certain words or phrases.)

Happy stitching everyone.