QUILTFEVER - QUILT RELATED BLOG

Long time no post

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:54:00 GMT

In December my darling husband had a heart attack, came to my studio and said we might need to get a check up before church. The day ended with a helicopter flight to Dunedin and a stent scheduled for the following morning. They gave him a mighty strong clot busting shot- which probably saved his life. What challenges present themselves without warning. I had made a little quilt that in some small ways expresses this. The quilt was part of a challenge. We had to use a thick green string in our work, and the challenge was "a common thread'. My piece is called MORTALITY. Showing a clock about to hit midnight, and mice aging rapidly until the last one is obviously just hanging on. An amusing representation of a serious subject. Grateful for my husband's return to health, thankful to be continuing forward. Sobered by the close call and as always, trusting God for the next chapter, whatever may come, because mortality really is something we all have to face one day or another.

The NSW SHOW

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 21:32:42 GMT

Really happy to have attended this amazing Australian show. Both my Joyful Tweets quilt and The Beetles were exhibited. Sadly the friend I hoped to hang out with broke her foot shortly before the show and had to sit this one out. Played volunteer while there, wearing white gloves and cruising all over the exhibition. A group of art quilters from Japan showcased their unique work, and held daily talks. A wonderful show, and well worth the trip across the water!

October 07th, 2025

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 20:38:56 GMT

So for an upcoming COOTS (Central Otago Outside The Square) exhibition, we are supposed to make things to sell (as well as our portrait, challenge piece and exhibition pieces).

The size for the sell items was 5 to 6 inches square, and minimum of 3 pieces.

I decided to make smaller beetles, mounted on canvases then I embellished the critters with metallic paint and Modge Podge for shine and a bit of glitter well MP'd down. Just for fun. Our exhibition will held in the Arrowtown Museum gallery March 5 - April 12th.

When the quilts are in the post... (a long one)

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 11:19:43 GMT

So recently we had an event in our family that necessitated a rushed trip from NZ to the USA. My darling (much older) sister had quite unexpectedly gone to sleep on earth and woken up in heaven.
Before we boarded the plane for the states there were three quilts that had to be dealt with for different reasons. Two under deadlines. Such a mundane consideration at such a time, but in truth we had been planning on going over to the states just 4 weeks later anyway to celebrate the arrival of a grandchild.
Two quilts had been promised to the NSW quilt show, in Sydney and needed hanging sleeves attached before being posted. The other quilt was with a professional long arm artist being quilted for my eldest grand-daughter's upcoming birthday.
I rang my contact in Sydney and asked I could send the quilts to her instead of waiting for the specific date requested? Yes of course. The Beetles and Joyful Tweets both needed to be sent.
I also rang my Wellington quilter and asked if she could post the quilt, not to Blenheim but to Idaho? Yes of course. She was doing her wonders on the child's quilt.
With the tiny bit of time between learning we had to leave and actually leaving there was only time to put the hanging sleeve on ONE quilt. The obvious choice was to try to prep the heaviest and largest. The other had to be packed up and taken with us to be posted from America.
On the way to the airport the largest (bird) quilt was posted. About two weeks after we arrived in the states, the second exhibition quilt was posted, and the Wellington to Boise quilt was anxiously awaited. Three of my precious works were somewhere out over an ocean winging their way to their proper places.
When the two exhibition quilts made their way safely to Australia, there was a huge sigh of relief. (This time next week we will have seen them at the NSW exhibition.)
The child's quilt arrived in Boise before the much anticipated 6th birthday. Hopefully that sort of stress will never be mine again! Whew!!! There is a story about the bird quilt and the Hawaiian monstrosity as well, but this post has gone on quite long enough.

Newest creations: Quilty Crawlies

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 09:15:47 GMT

Did you know the beetles make up about a fifth of known living organisms?
My obsession with pattern-making took a six legged turn one night when fighting insomnia. The result was this fun (and a little weird) quilt top!
Not sure yet how I will ever quilt the thing.. Like most of my current work, this is a raw edge appliqué project. The top pattern is available on my Etsy shop as a download.

My raw edge appliqué obsession.

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 09:33:25 GMT

Lately, (let's say for the past four years) my love for raw edge appliqué has gotten a bit more frequent. Still love traditional methods of quilting, but oh how those raw edge shapes appeal!

Why? Maybe the challenge? Take an idea, turn it into a line drawing, reverse construct the drawing into pieces, then decide on colors, and turn it all into a fun puzzle.

When the old shoulder gave me fits, my position at the machine changed out of necessity. For least stress, my chair is very low and my arms rest on the sewing table. This gives me maximum control with minimum stress on that shoulder.

This has become a permanent change methinks. It also has the bonus of being very close to where all the action takes place, easy to see all the little twists and turns needed to accomplish this method.

If you are looking for an addiction, give raw edge applique a go!

Happy New Year

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 22:45:11 GMT

Well I hope 2025 finds you elbow deep into quilted creations!

Although many pattern ideas are crowding my mind- My first agenda for the new year was to rearrange my sewing room!

My fabrics have been wrapped around comic book boards for a while which aided in finding what I needed, but these were in the main area, on bookshelves and potentially exposed to light.

Draping the shelves with cloths protected these quilt materials from fading. This has been inconvenient and also has created a messy looking work environment.

The sewing room really needed a big makeover to make things more efficient and easier to manage. The whole first week of 2025 was spent on this much needed (boring) maintenance. Worth every moment that it took!

Here's to lots of creativity in an enjoyable environment for 2025!

Hung some of my work to add color

Most of my batiks fit in one double closet! The other closet holds my non-batiks all protected now from dust and light <3 Bonus: bookshelves are adorned with only books and such. Ready to get seriously quilting now!

Raw edge appliqué.

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 21:05:01 GMT

Currently finding myself obsessed with raw edge appliqué pattern creation. Like - compulsively. All these ideas are perpetually crowding me. Now that the HUGE job of putting HARE THEY ARE on the market is done, some of these ideas can come to be. Play time!!! How about letting this little man be your valentine?

The group decided on a pattern...

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:02:01 GMT

The ladies from our monthly group decided to all do a Wendy Williams pattern called Colour my World. It was amazing how different the same pattern could look when interpreted by different quilters. Jenny went with a dark background, patterned doorways and jewel tones, while I opted for the safer and more boring light background and solids fabrics. Not going to admit jealousy, much.

Organized fabrics make them easier to access.

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT

In a wonderful turn of events, the idea of organizing fabrics (on acid free cards) came my way. Since my stash was in perpetual scramble every time I got 'into' a project, this idea appealed strongly.
My collection of batiks in particular are smaller cuts. Tranparent bins kept the color groups separated, but to find a specific fabric was annoyingly difficult.
By using these cards, and even cutting some in half or even smaller, my stash is now an easy-access thing of beauty.
(A few of my wrapped fabrics are pictured here.)