Ulysses

There wouldn't be a day goes by that I don't see these beautiful butterflies flying around the garden.
So when I saw Anna's topic there was only one subject I could 'do'.
Hope everyone had a great break over Christmas.
Rod and I are off to NZ in April for a couple of weeks and then we are flying into Brisbane to take care of some of our grandchildren while their parents are away.
Looking forward to the fish challenge.
Don't like them much at the moment though 'cause I got the dreaded ciguatera poisoning at the end of last year!
Busy finishing off a new quilt that I hope to submit to Houston and of course like any quilter there are another six developing in my head!
Happy stitching.
Cheers,
Ruth

Pohutukawas at The Point By Kerry

Pohutakawa 's for you Australian ladies are a large native New Zealand tree that  flowers at Christmas time . We purchased another  beach home(this time on the waters edge) at One Tree Point last year  and this was our first Christmas so we eagerly awaited the flowering of our lovely old trees. The boat really is moored there and the fence posts really are that colour. This view is across the Whangarei Harbour to Whangarei Heads . I hope you enjoy the view as  much as we do everytime we can  be there.

Mt Fuji-Jane

This quilt of Mt Fuji which is simple but actually took a long time to think about. There were a number of ideas that went into the scrap bag! for me this was certainly a good challenge... as there is a wealth of material and ideas to choose from. On a trip to Japan a few years ago we were lucky enough to take a clear photo of Mt Fuji while on the bullet train. It is a wondrous site that is often hidden in clouds.

I see we have fish next....hmmmm...what fun!!

Through the Window - Helen

I spent considerable time trying to develop an idea that wasn't a literal "Through the Window". And along came the thought of suffolk puffs (surprise, surprise !!) made with net to create a "window" over the quilt.

I'm absolutely delighted with my collection of "My Collection" quilts - thanks again to everyone. The quilts will soon be hanging in my sewing room. At a recent Quilt Encounter committee gathering we suggested a display of Helen and Deb's quilts at QE this year to show the project that developed from Brenda's presentation about Twelve by Twelve last year. Looking forward to the Fish challenge.

Through the Window [of my camera]

What a delight it was to do this challenge! Tom and I travelled around Australia a few years ago and we came across this beautiful gum tree. It was full of gum blossoms, bright yellow in color. I took a photo with my camera and have wanted to make a quilt of it ever since. I tried to insert the scan photo I took, but to no avail. It just wouldn't accept it. Sometimes I don't like this block very much. I will try to send it through on an email. So here is the quilt! I hope you enjoy this quilt Anna.
I so enjoyed making this, but was a little unsure of the gum blossoms. If anyone knows how to make gum blossoms look like gum blossoms I would love your help.

Look forward to the FISH challenge. Thanks Deb.

Window Shopping - Deb

I thought about this theme for quite a while. I was all ready to start on a ship's porthole when I came across some images on the internet of people window shopping. I'm sure we've all spent time peering through shop windows lusting after items beyond our budgets! (In my case it is certainly not high heel shoes!)  The quilt is machine appliqued using Vliesofix and it took three goes to get the organza 'window' to sit right!!  Some appropriate 'fashion' fabric provided the cut out mannequins.
The Quilt Encounter committee had a get together recently and Helen brought her 'Collection' quilts along. It was great to see them in real life. I do hope we can have a get together in the future and all bring our quilts.
Well, since I live near the beach my theme is 'FISH' and you can interpret that as broadly as you wish!!

Through the window and Jump to Light Speed

“Through the Window” presented me with a dilemma.  Was Anna looking for insights into our lives and homes, such as what is outside the dining room window, or was she perhaps wondering about the workings of our minds, in the “Alice Through the Looking Glass” sense?

I thought this over and outside my dining room window the fountain, surrounded by woolly bushes and bottle brushes looks lovely at this time of year.  But I know how to take a photo and make a little appliqued picture so I decided to think laterally and attempt something new.

I seemed to remember from my university days that Einstein made some remarks about what would happen if one flew out the window at the speed of light, but I couldn’t recall exactly what he said and I no longer have the books.  However, this thought led me to the “Star Tours” ride at Disneyland,  where passengers sit in a “space craft”, piloted by R2D2 and C3PO,  and watch through the front wind screen as they are hurtled through space and make the jump to “light speed”.

So here is my little quilt.  It is called “Through the Window and Jump to Light Speed”.  I hope you like it.  If nothing else, it made my husband laugh!

Kay