Pillows, and more pillows

I have been bitten by the pillow bug (or cushions as we call them in NZ).  They sew up fast, they can be on display, and you don't need to do a gym workout when you are quilting them!

My first pillow was from the ever talented Sami who does all her piecing by hand. I was in a Flickr swap with her and received a gorgeous pillow from her. I loved this pillow for the colours and the fabrics she used and it is a really unique take on a log cabin theme.

So this one little pillow looked a bit lonely on the couch so I made a Churn Dash pillow to go with it.

And now truly thinking I definitely needed a 3rd pillow I signed up for The Great Pillow Fight Swap on Flickr.  I got an amazing pillow from Emilee and she had also made an awesome tote out of Cotton and Steel fabrics. I love them both and the tote gets used regularly.

And the back is just as gorgeous as the front. One of my fav fabrics from Cotton and Steel.

And then Sami and I decided to do a private swap from Anna Maria Horner fabrics. I made her the Sew Together bag  and she made me a pillow. It arrived the other day. One pillow of awesomeness!!!

The back of the pillow

She also made this adorable little pincushion as well which I just love.

And then I signed up for Round 2 of the Great Pillow Fight swap. It is a holiday theme and my partner had quite specific requests as to the colours she wanted. I spent ages trying to decide which pattern to use. She didn't want a particularly Christmas themed pillow so I thought I would do something along the lines of the Rocky Mountain Puzzle (which I'm glad I didn't as Lisa did an amazing one and I am hoping I get that, but I bet I don't as it's not in the colours I requested!). I then was perusing the web and came across Julie's website 627.Handworks. She has some amazing paper pieced patterns so I  downsized the Caldonia Star to 6.5" and pulled a bunch of fabrics in my patterns colours.

She seemed to like what I had started so I carried on....

and ended up with this...

I straight line quilted it with Aurifil 2600, which is a lovely soft grey. I used Ruby for the binding to bring out the pinks and reds and for the back I used a Basic Grey print that would echo the greens, aquas and grey.

Auckland Festival of Quilts

Yesterday I went up to the Festival of Quilts which is the annual quilting show each November that the Auckland Quilt Guild puts on. I hadn't been for about 3 years, so Rachel and Julie joined me this year as well.  There were lots of different exhibitions, but we decided to hit all the shops first and then  look at the quilts.  I think the highlight was the remnant bin for $1 a remnant. I scored some Tula Pink (mainly Foxfield and Moonshine), and some Melody Miller. They were big remnants...fat eighth to fat quarter size.

While perusing the shops eagled eyed Rachel spied a quilt that was near and dear to her heart.  This is Rachel's own tutorial and it was just beautiful.

Rainbow Crosses by Shelley Pathak

And with Miss Wooden Spoon herself. She's gonna kill me for this!!

We met up with Anne, Adrianne, Juliet, Leonie, and Liz for lunch. It was first time meeting for some of us as well as catching up with old friends.  Anne, Adrianne, Rachel and I are all going to Quilt Con together, so we are all very excited about that!

Then it was off to look at the quilts...Here's a few of my favs from the day...

Love Triangle by Melanie Hastings.
Pattern by Elizabeth Hartman

Hexagon Obsession by Marie Harrison.
These were ¼ inch hexies...soooo tiny!!

Road Block by Annie White.
Original design using silks and shot cottons

Delectable String Star Mountain by Robyn Rognstad.
This was one of our favs and Robyn's original design

Close-up of one of the stars

Strawberries and Cream by Ashleigh Ward

These were hanging in one of the hallways. Unfortunately I didn't get the details

Moderation Module by Heather Bassett
Original design using improvised strips with negative space

Perseverance By Alison Hartley
Giant cathedral windows quilt!!

Pinks and Reds by Robyn Rognstad
Original design. She did the stars quilt we loved!, That's Julie admiring it ;)

Pacific Pathway by Donna Ward
Donna owns my local quilt shop and does amazing quilting. She quilted my Tula Pink quilt.

Four Inch Delight by Julie Brittain
This was stunning...so many blocks all 4" in size but some were so intricate.

Housetops II by Robyn Croft
Based on quilts by the Gees Bend quilters. She used her own hand-dyed cottons 

Graduations III by Robyn Croft
Inspiration from Nancy Crow

Return to Rosy by Rebecca Owen
Made during a quilt quiltshop with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Malby

Simply Beautiful by Julie Vazey
Inspiration from Blue Ginger by Anne Scott

Windmills of my Mind by Julia Vazey
Inspiration: Cinca de Mayo by Karen Stone

Winter Geese by Melanie Hastings

Summer Geese by Melanie Hastings

Cheery Canary Bee Quilt by Carolyn van Wonderen

Zigs and Zags by Helen Harford
Kit by Fons and Porter

Brain Waves by Robyn Rognstad

Fractured by Heather Bassett
Inspiration: http://lindasquiltmania.blogspot.co.nz. She used a neat puzzle quilting motif all over

The Big Pineapple by Susan McRae
Inspiration: Material Obsession by Sarah Fielke

Bright Starry Times by Alison Haines
Inspiration: Country Garden Quilts by Kaffe Fassett

Painted Garden by Donna Ward
Inspiration: Diamond Alley by Sassafras Designs

Inside Out by Judi Schon
Inspiration: Kati Spencer

I loved the quilting on this

A Traditional Affair by Judi Harford.
I looked at this and thought it was Red Letter Day by Thimbleblossoms but then read Judi started this 20 years ago

Say it with Flowers by Anne Joule
This was incredible. Made entirely from ties, english paper pieced and hand quilted.

And The Best of Show:
Dockside Reflections by Alison Laurence
Inspiration was from her own photo at Circular Quay