SAQA Benefit Auction 2013

I joined SAQA at the end of 2012 as I had decided I needed to do more with my art quilts.

Each year SAQA hold an online auction to raise funds. Check out their website (click here) for how the auction works. 

Here is my auction entry, 'Fishnets'.

It appears on SAQA's Auction page 2A. 

The auction starts in early September and sometime around then there will be a blog hop for most of the Oceania entries.

Red 12by12

Aotearoa Quilters have a challenge that will be displayed at the Taupo Museum during the Quilting Symposium in July. 

Each quilt is to be 12 by 12 inch square and RED. All the quilts will be for sale at the same price, members and non-members can enter.

Here is my first completed effort, a third in the series of blanket stitched sari silk strips on to woollen felt.  

The quilts aren't due until 1st July so more could be coming ... a great chance to try different techniques, styles, etc.

West Wind

On ANZAC Day, after an early start for some, we had an enjoyable afternoon walk amongst the wind turbines.

West Wind is Meridian Energy's wind farm at Makara, near Wellington.

 

We took the easy route and walked from the recreation area car park.  An energetic alternative is to walk up from Makara Beach.

Great views down to the northern baches past the main part of Makara Beach, onto Mana Island.  On a clear day the view north would be amazing.  
 
 







To the south/west and the Malborough Sounds and Cook Strait.  
  

April ATCs

The theme for the April ATC swap was 'Time for Tea'.  

 




Evie's interpretation 'Time for Tea ... is Any Time'.




Carolyn's 'Tea for Two'

 

I followed Sue Bleiweiss' article, Quilting Arts April/May 2013. 

One of my favourite quilt artists, who uses this technique, is Pam Rubert.

Another Mini

Another mini

A random-ish selection of 3 1/2" squares.  Some squares have black triangles on diagonals.

Straight line quilting with either a blue or green variegated Sulky 100% cotton thread.  The lines are in groups of six, quick and easy.

Snakes on Ladders

Snakes on Ladders is my first piece using silk sari strips, my son suggested the name.

I buy over-dyed sari ribbon from Dale Rollerson (www.thethreadstudio.com). One of her techniques is blanket stitching the sari strips onto a base fabric. This created an interesting piece - but what to do with it? 

After machine needle-felting the whole piece I still didn't know what to do with it.   

So I cut some strips and some more, laid them on some woollen-mix felt and eventually came up with an arrangement that I liked.



I entered this (about a year ago) into Aotearoa Quilters online challenge 'On the Line' and won Best of Show! the prize being a great pack of fabric from Distressed Threads.


I've created a grey and pink version called Fishnets that I've entered into SAQA's Benefit Online 2013 Auction, more about that in a later entry.

Fabric ATCs

I belong to a Yahoo Group that swaps fabric Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). 

For March the theme was 'no limits', here are my cards that I created:

The original fabric came from Distressed Threads.  I added a thin layer of cotton batting and quilted around the shapes.









 Rust from Jane and a tulip from Les.

a fabric swap

I joined Leslie Keating's Handprinted: a fabric swap III.

My four swap partners come from all over - USA, Canada, Wales and Australia.

The idea is to hand print a fat quarter of fabric for each person.  Each person specified their favourite colour/s, I think I mostly met their requests.

Here is a sneak preview:

The four packages have been posted ...  now what will I receive?

More minis

Some more small quilts for Neonates.  Another Mosaic pattern by Elizabeth Hartman

And another Mosaic, I think this will be my last using this style. 

 

I've almost used up my supply of pink FQs.  Various widths of strips of pink had white strips joined at either end.  This was a bit random if I did this again I'd take more care with the lengths of each piece when cutting.


I used this piece to practice my free motion feathers.  I spray starched the top, stabilised the back with freezer paper then using a stencil marked the feathers with an ordinary pencil.  
  
The spray starch and freezer paper makes the whole surface like drawing on paper.  Any pencil marks either wear off when stitching or just wash out.  

After the marking the pattern and removing the freezer paper the quilt top was basted and quilted.  Another advantage with the spray starch is that the quilting surface is nice and smooth.

This is based on Elizabeth Hartman's Sparkle Punch Quilt (follow the link for her tutorial).  Here I was using up my bright FQs. 

The quilting is Orange Peel.  Looks hard but is quite easy using the grid created by the seams.

Next time I'd try making the stars a solid and the background patterned.

A Day Out

The in-laws were in town so we had a day out.  Drove to the other side of the harbour and to the end of the road. Its been a long time since I'd been that far along - there is now a Wahine memorial for the 1968 disaster. 

Hebe

Followed by a picnic lunch at Days Bay and a bit of a walk up in the bush.