Time to Quilt

Over the Christmas and summer holiday period, which in New Zealand lasts from 1 December to 28^th February, we have had a lot of time with our family but I did manage to spend a week at the New Zealand Quilt Symposium in Palmerston North. I *needed* to be there because I had two quilts entered in challenges! One of the quilts, After The Party, was a collaboration with my friend Helen. Helen designed and ‘drove’ the making of the quilt which told her story. I helped to make the quilt and clarify the design to give it impact. This challenge was sponsored by the Human Rights Commission asked quilters to collaborate on a work that would speak to the issue of violence against women and children. Our quilt was one of the two joint first prize winners.

The other quilt challenge was the New Zealand Hoffman Challenge 2006. My quilt, A Butterfly Fantasy, was the overall winner in that challenge.

This was all very exciting but very tiring too. At Symposium I started two new quilts in two different workshops but I haven’t had time to do any more on them since coming home. This picture shows the quilt started in the Jane Sassaman workshop. I now have THREE unfinished delphinium quilts started in workshops… I think that must be one of my goals for this year, to finish at least one of them! The second photo is another unfinished delphinium quilt started in a Ruth B McDowell workshop last year. The centre was started in the workshop and the borders were subsequently designed in EQ5 and then added.