This Quilt gets a Big Stamp of Approval…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This is the last of  the quilts that I’m detailing in the Kauri Museum.

There were so many that I could have made an individual post on… given you close ups and drooled about colour, technique, patterns and styles.

Many patterns as mentioned in a comment by GH, a fellow blogger from http://www.noodleswithbutter.blogspot.co.uk/  look like familiar American ones… if you look at my post of two days ago, indeed they probably are: quilting has gone International and quilters around the world add their own flavours, textures and colours according to their taste and the culture the pattern comes into.

This last quilt however has a flavour all of it’s own… and a theme that bought back many personal memories.

The quilt is called “Philately” and is a charity project by a local quilters group… and many of the stamps on it were ones I recognised!!!

How funny that memories came flooding back …of looking at stamps on letters as a kid and being fascinated by their designs. I even collected stamps for a little while as a child.

So sad that with the proliferation of e-mail, stamps will never really produce the same sort of memories for my children.

Not every stamp on the quilt is a New Zealand one and a few of the panels (the buzzy-bee toy) are iconic toys rather than stamps… but all in all, the wave of nostalgia that swept over me when I saw this quilt was palpable…

Yet again I’m in awe of the artisty and technical ability of these quilters. Since I’d love to learn quilting one day, these kind of exhibitions serve to both impart large measures of inspiration and intimidation…  I don’t think that anything I could produce could ever  look this amazing LOL.

Sorry if this post is rather photo heavy… there  were  twenty “stamps” featured in the quilt panel and they were all so amazing that I decided to include a close-up of each of them. I hope that you’ll agree that they are each worth their time in spotlight too.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Native Trees and Flowers that Will Never Wilt…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There are several quilts on beds on display at the Kauri Museum whilst we are visiting…  all of them striking but one in paticular catches my eye.

It features many flowers, including so very recognisable New Zealand Natives. The red one in the close up is the Kakabeak   (pronounced “Car car beak”)   and  close to it is a yellow flowered one ( it appears more creamy here  for some reason) the quintessential New Zealand flower: the Kowhai, (pronounced “coe  why”) which has a beautiful yellow flower, indeed the name Kowhai comes from the Maori word for “yellow”.

I love how these have all be put together with a dark background to set them off.. and on the edge of the quilt that covers the pillows is an amazing trailing ivy that details some stunning stitchcraft.

Although some of the quilts in the exhibition were for sale, sadly this one was not and I found myself being more than a little envious of the maker, family member or friend to whom this quilt would be returned to when it went “home”.  The fiber fanatics amongst you will understand and appreciate the time and workmanship that goes into these pieces … so let’s get close up and personal with a little more if it…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Soft Fibers Mix with Hard Wood…

We are lucky to be visiting the Kauri Museum in Northland, New Zealand,  in the very last days of  a quilt exhibition that is sharing the museum’s main hall space. Beds have been made up with quilts, quilts have been hung up for display so in effect we can enjoy several exhibitions for the price of one. Let’s take a look around…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There are various techniques on display… this one features Candlewicking (and detail)…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

…and here’s the diversity you get when different people put their own interpretion onto the same pattern…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Many of the quilts are hanging  in rows,  easier to see with your eyes than for the camera lens to capture… sorry for the odd angles, I did my best in the space available…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)