Quilts of the World part 4: New Zealand

Part of the 2016 Pacific International Quilt Festival was the World Quilt Competition XX, which is a special exhibition within the larger P.I.Q.F. This competition, which is open to quilters from many countries, starts out each summer on the East Coast of the U.S.A.; the best quilts from that show then go on tour to the various regional shows in America. We hope you enjoy this presentation, continuing with quilts from NEW ZEALAND.

Please note: We're selling beautiful quilting and crafting books and fabrics at low introductory prices on e-Bay! Also, we're continuously posting free patterns on Twitter!

Tranquility, 36 x 40", by Sonya Prchal

Sonya Prchal writes," Mimiwhangata Coastal Park is a favorite destination of mine. This beautiful sunset inspired me to create a quilt to capture the memory. My design was composed from my photos. Whole cloth painting was my primary technique, as I felt it would depict the intensity of the sunset beautifully."

Sonya adds, "I used extensive free motion quilting to enhance the work, with a variety of thread types and weight. Tranquility was both challenging and satisfying to make."  This original design is sewing machine quilted. We admire the elegant sophistication of this work and the way that the colors of the water perfectly reflect the setting sun.

Fabulous Feathers, 94 x 94", by Carol Newsham

Fabulous Feathers won a Judge's Choice award at the 2016 Great New Zealand quilt show. The Princess Feathers quilt pattern is by Kim McLean; for the pattern see Glorious Color.  The fabrics are by Kaffe Fassett.

Carol Newsham notes, "I love doing hand applique. From the first moment I saw this pattern by Kim McLean, I was going to do it, but not in Kaffe Fassett fabrics. They were too big, bold, and bright, even for me. However, I soon realized that everything else would not give me that 'zing' I was looking for. Kaffe's magenta Bekah fabric grabbed my attention and subsequently provided the inspiration for the colors I would use in my quilt." Carol's lovely work is hand appliqued and hand quilted.

This Beats Chopping Firewood, 54 x 64", by Maree Le Comte

Maree Le Comte explains, "I learned the hexagon techniques at a class run by Shirley Mooney. I did the class because I was interested in the technique and so that I could have a day off from cutting firewood." We certainly agree with Maree. We'd much rather enjoy a day of quilting than cutting firewood, doing housework, or pretty much any other kind of work that we can imagine!

Maree continues, "Once I saw the technique, rather than following one of the suggested layouts, I played with the pieces to come up with my own layout. This is the layout which worked best with the quantity of fabric I had." This original design is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted. We really appreciate the quality of  Maree's worksmanship and her sewing accuracy, which gives these bold geometric lines a stunning appeal.

My Nearly Insane Journey, 95 x 96", by Sue Flego

This wonderful "Nearly Insane" quilt was based on the 1870 Salinda Rupp quilt, patterned by Liz Lois. The Salinda quilt has 93 six-inch blocks and the finished quilt has over 5,500 pieces. Sue Flego says, "All the 6” blocks were paper foundation pieced and I tried to replicate the colors on the front of the book." Sue's intricate and precise piecing of these small blocks can be seen in the photo below. My Nearly Insane Journey was quilted by Judi Schon from Auckland on a longarm machine.

For more information on the Nearly Insane quilt and other 19th-century samplers, see our 2010 post: Crazy About Jane, Nearly Insane, and Just Plain Nuts.

Abstraction, 28 x 52", by Rosemary Rush

Rosemary Rush says, "This quilt was started as an exercise in design, emphasizing line and shape. I challenged myself to then use colors which I would not normally juxtapose. This quilt is my own design which I machine appliqued and free motion stitched on a domestic sewing machine."  Rosemary's beautiful quilting stands out on this glorious, flowing applique design.

At The Bach, 57 x 48", by Rachel Cadwallader

Rachel Cadwallader says, "A bach is a small rustic holiday home and often found at the beach. A quilt hanging over a door as an advertisement for thread evoked memories of an old beach towel my father used. I wanted to replicate the memory and so the quilt, originally designed by Heather Jones, was made. I used my domestic machine to piece and quilt it.”

At The Bach was based on the free Around the World quilt pattern by Heather Jones at Olive and Ollie shown below.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.