Final Day of Teaching in New Zealand

Today was the final day of teaching for my New Zealand trip.

I taught the second day of my "Longbourne" techniques class.  

                                 

The ladies had done a little homework last night on their centre rectangle applique block including stems and urns.

Some ladies had never done English paper piecing so I was able to introduce them to the highly addictive world of fussy cutting and whip stitching.  I hope they are now converts.  We made samples of different shapes to take home.

I was so fortunate that the day was fine and Rachel took me out to see the awesome snow covered mountains from the road.  Love it,

Thank you Rachel for your wonderful hospitality, all the beautiful home cooked meals and treats and the trips out and about.  I look forward to returning.

Show and Tell and "Longbourne" Class at Ashburton, New Zealand.

It was lovely to see a big crowd of over 50 women at my show and tell presentation for Annie's Country Quilt Store in Ashburton last night.

I enjoyed showing all of the quilts I was able to fit in my suitcases this visit. These included "Pemberley", "Lambton", "Longbourne", "Winchester", "Hartfield", "Wentworth", as well as several pieces in progress and samples for patterns.

                                    

Here are some pieces of a "secret sewing project".

There was a great atmosphere.

Thank you for coming ladies.

Today I taught twenty ladies my techniques for hand applique.  We worked on the centre applique rectangle for "Longbourne". We had a great classroom with plenty of space.

Plenty of yum yums for sale by Rachel of Annie's.

I have another busy day of teaching scheduled for tomorrow.

Last Day in Auckland and Journey to the South Island

After a busy three days teaching in Auckland for Patchwork Passion, I had some time off and enjoyed a wonderful visit to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium.

I was delighted to see the large display of Antarctic penguins, both Gentoo and King penguins. I was very lucky to see feeding time.  Here are the smaller Gentoo penguins.  Such characters.

We also saw the larger King penguins including the most gorgeous nine month old brown fluffy chicks.

Here they are swimming to feed on some fish.

Later in the evening I presented another show and tell to some lovely ladies and one gentleman.

Thank you Robyn of Patchwork Passion for having me teach for your lovely shop.  I loved every minute and look forward to the opportunity to visit again.

                         

Here I am with gorgeous Cindy.  Thank you for your most generous hospitality.

I left Auckland in heavy rain and flew to Christchurch in the South Island.  I saw some stunning snow covered mountains from the plane and landed in sunny weather.

I was met by Rachel of Annie's Country Quilt Store who drove me to Ashburton to visit her beautiful store.

A gorgeous store with beautiful displays and wonderful fabrics in reproduction, modern, floral and Japanese styles.

My "Longbourne" has been on holidays in Annie's, waiting for me to come and teach in class.

Having an early night, ready for tomorrow.

Fabulous Show and Tell in Auckland

It was wonderful to see two girls bring in the finished quilts which they began at the January 2015 NZ Quilt Symposium.

This is Lynda with her stunning gorgeous "Spikes and Specks" quilt.  Wow, I love it. Just three borders to go.

And here is Sally with an amazing version of "Rosings", sewn on a red background. Beautiful. Also borders to go on.

Here is a funny shot of Cindy holding up her piece of fabric - some serious fussy cutting there.  Lol.

Just such a beautiful view from the workshop room window.

Three Days with Patchwork Passion on Retreat

I have just completed the most magical three full days of teaching at the Vaughan Park Retreat Centre in Long Bay, north of Auckland for Patchwork Passion.

Thank you so much Robyn for your warm welcome and superb organisation of a most wonderful retreat.  The ladies are indeed lucky to have such a wonderful shop in Auckland giving girls the opportunity to attend such a fabulous retreat.  The venue was ideal, comfy beds, hot showers, delicious meals, an amazing view of the beach and a great workshop room.

All of the ladies worked very hard on their sewing and achieved some amazing results over the three days.  Thank you to everyone who attended for your company, your enthusiasm and all the laughs.  You were a joy to teach.

Here is a look at all the fabulous "Pemberley" centres.  They are all gorgeous.

This one is by Robyn, such gorgeous colours and using a new Moda Collections for a Cause fabric in the scallops.

                                

By Debbie, I love the soft purple and blue tones.

By Phillipa, in rich reds and pinks.

By Karen, who was a dynamo and was my "go to girl" for the next demonstration of techniques.

By Carolyn, an amazing departure to see my design in bright colours.  I love it.

                         

By Marianne with rich reds and blues.

By Isabel, in delicate colours with a beautiful pot.

By Marianne in lovely rich colours:

                                  

By Judy with a lovely combination of colours:

                           

By Joy, who was working in a combination of Japanese woven fabrics and reproduction cottons.

                                 

By Elizabeth, with a very special pot.

By Lesley, also with an amazing pot and beautiful flowers.

                               

Now here are all the different versions of "Lambton" which were made in class.

The first is by Cindy in wonderful reproduction blues and browns.  Cindy achieved heaps of work.  She is a very quick worker.

This is by Lynda in gorgeous teal and pink.

Here is Lynda holding hers up at the end of the day:

                         

This is by Pauline who chose a border with beautiful colours which she has matched in the centre.

This is by Louise in gorgeous red and blue.

This is by Ann in pretty pink and teal with lovely fussy cutting.

This one is by Anna in dark blue and brown.

                         

This beautiful one is by Lindsay using bright peach, green and blue.

This one is by Jenny using teal, brown and pink.

This is by Sally in red and blue.

I think you will agree I have had some amazing New Zealand students.  Beautiful work.  I look forward to seeing progress on these quilts.