It Makes Me Stop and Think.

Before I start on the subject of today's post I want to say Thanks for the interesting comments about the mail boxes.Those were very normal ones - I will start a collection of strange inventive and unusual ones! Sharon, microwaves probably make very weather proof mailboxes - a good use for a clapped out one.Unfortunately boxes sometimes get trashed here, too, Deb. Julie - so glad you like Avos - I'll try and remember that if I am coming your way, as we grow them.

**********************

I'm so glad it is the Weekend - a long one here ( Labour weekend NZ ) as we have been working SO hard. My neck and arms get over worked and my finger tips look like I smoke 50 a day.( which of course I don't )( We are crush tipping and bud thining the Kiwifruit )I have been neglecting my blog friends this last busy week - sorry.

*********************

It Makes Me Stop and Think.

Until recently a lady who I will call J here, was a member of the P and Q group I belong to. She became less and less with us ( in every sense of those words ) She has 2 things wrong with her and one was interfering with her ability to speak ( and possibly think ).For a while she was still driving and that concerned us, but then that too stopped. For some months she still liked to come and sit and be with us; but then quite rapidly she became worse.

The out come has been that her husband and family have moved both of them to a very nice residential care / home ( at Tamihere near Hamilton ) where she can have on going help. In the course of moving and cleaning out their home for the shift the husband boxed up ALL her fabric and unfinished quilts and batting. There were just so many flimsies and unfinished projects. ( maybe she really had started them and forgotten and started something else? )ALL her stuff was delivered to our group. SO as a group we decided it would be best for us to buy any fabric we wanted from her stash ( What I got is in the 3rd photo ) for a sensible donation and we would all select quilt tops we thought we could finish for her - then we will delivered them and the donations to Tamihere to the home so she and her family and fellow residents can use and get pleasure from them.

J's favourite colour was GREEN! Almost every quilt has green in it.

I selected to finish for her a top with green and purple, as I was most likely to have fabrics suitable in those colours. It has a seaside theme. It has been a challenge! Never before have I tried to work with so many problems. The middle 14 inch square - isn't ( square ) and things got worse as I continued out. Some stitching has popped undone, so I have tried to use the machine quilting I have done to hold those wee patches firm. As I sew I am humbled and troubled by J. It is a very salient lesson. What if my family had to clear out my sewing cupboard? What if someone else had to finish what I have started? I am going to write a note for the inside of the sewing cupboard door with my current wishes for my gear ( it can be changed over time ). I will make time this weekend to put the binding I have selected ( see top photo )( left from my Purple Splendour quilt ) on to the quilt and continue doing some hand quilting to liven it up. The machine quilting - mainly in the ditch is not perfect because of the shape but I have learnt about fudging and stretching parts to help the problems.

Personally I am a finisher, but I too have a few works in progress in my cupboard. I have also got some very special fabrics that I would not want wasted , so I must not be afraid to cut into them....I can always get more ( if I get to be very old .LOL )

In our group we have several ladies with health problems, so I am very lucky to be fit and healthy - able to work and sew and garden - for now anyway.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. ( it is pouring down here now so I will get to sew.Yippee! )

Mailboxes.

If you walk where I walk, along country roads in BOP, New Zealand you will come across MAILBOXES.

Many stand in friendly groups.

Do you prefer red or green?

Yellow or blue?

Grey or silver perhaps? Or black? Some stand beside fruit stalls.

Our mail box stands in a group of 4. Do you have a mail box or letterbox ? Have you ever taken it's photograph?

Then There Was 3.

A flowery "Good Morning to You! "

There are many very lovely Rhododendrons flowering at the moment. This one ( called Unique ) I spied had been attacked by thrips which makes the leaves all silver. I picked this bunch and removed all the leaves and put them in a large vase to admire their delicate beauty.

Then there were 3!............ 3 fabric baskets of slightly different sizes.( did they morph or was there some reproducing going on in the sewing cupboard ? )

Even more strange ( not really ) they then progressed and grew in the mind of the maker at 3 am, into this purple bag. It has short handles ( half padded - new trick ) and 2 pockets in the lining and will be most useful. I just have to find the right beautiful button for the closure tab and it's mine to use. ( do click to enlarge the photo so you can see the fabulous fabric. )

The sun is shining so now I must go and do crush tipping on the Kiwifruit ( ugh! ) ( I will probably think up my next project while working cause it's a repetitive mindless job. )

* It's about a year since we first tried to sell our property and were still here! Considering the World Economy maybe it's just as well??? Who knows ?

Sometimes It's in the Detail.

Although there are more quilt photos I could show, I will finish Our Exhibition by showing some closeups.
Sometimes it's in the detail and finishing or extra touches that makes a quilt distinctive.For example in the border around a quilt that didn't really appeal to me it's border detail did.Tiny flowers and leaves made by folding bias tapes joined the quilted stems and twigs together.( click to enlarge )
Pat Heslop made the whole cloth quilt by hand - she wanted to always have some handwork to do and this is the finished result.Hard to photograph - but it was amazing.
Anna used special buttons on her wall hanging of blue and white teapots( see previous post for photo ). They each had a word like love, hope etc.


If there is something about the quilt in the final photo that you think you have seen before - you would be right. Shame it's a bit dark in the pic. I was very proud of it, and it was a large splash of yummy colour right as you walked into the room.
Answers.
* Yes, Paula they are french knots.The rest was stitched in the ditch - quite lightly quilted.
*Yes Anne B we do know who Kenny Everit was we saw him on TV frequently many years ago.

Yet More Quilts.

More Quilts from Our Exhibition.

The top photo is a scrap buster quilt by Jill Mc Coy.

The blue and white triangles had a fabulous clean crisp appearance . I love it's simplicity.

Jenni Scott made both these fabulous bags. She won The Challenge - where the star block she has used in the bag had to be incorporated into what ever you made.The other bag she made at a class - it has covers for a drink bottle, phone, coin purse etc all part of the Mother bag. It is sensational. ( I think loosely based on a Japanese pattern )She loves browns and fawns.

Helen O' Connor's frog wall hanging appealed to lots of the young viewers we had enjoying our show.

This lovely red Dresden plate quilt by Barbara Clarke, can be found in Issue # 28 of The Australian Quilters Companion - where she gives instructions on how she made this quilt. ( lucky us to now have her in our group! )

(photos enlarge with clicking ) More tomorrow!

Our Quilt Exhibition.

So far our ( Tauranga Patchwork & Quilters ) Exhibition is going well. It was very busy yesterday morning. I am not there today but am back all day tomorrow. I will over the next few posts show a selection of the quilts. ( too many to show all )

The double wedding ring quilt was made by one of our ladies, who has recently found out she has lung cancer ( not a smoker ) so we are hoping she might win Viewers' Choice. It is made using all NZ fabrics which is lovely.

The (dolls ) ladies were made at a Jill Maas class. What attitude - they are adorable.

I happened to over hear 2 small girls, about 7 and 8 I'm guessing, trying to decide which quilt to vote for. One understandably liked the very bright ( pink, purple and lime green ) quilt with the Gerbra flowers - She said, "I'm going to pick this one." The other girl so" No! Can't you see that is boring. It is just the same thing repeated again and again.' This one over here that I'm going to vote for is much more interesting." ( it was a pictorial quilt. ) Discerning viewers!

All photos enlarge with clicking - More on Monday!