Thursday, February 11, 2010

A quilt finish and a shop visit.

I couldn't be happier with my first quilt finish for 2010. Thanks to Lori for this wonderful doll quilt project. I love it, imperfect piecing and all. I even ran out of background fabric and substituted a few squares of another fabric.
I had a couple of days staying with my sister and brother in law and got a good session of hand quilting in which enabled me to race towards the finish line. For your info, I used a non fusible pellon for the batting to get a thin look and I'm quite happy with it for a doll quilt.
While I was on my mini retreat away from the little ones, I had a play with the camera around the garden. A couple of figs were ready for eating off the wonderful old tree in the yard. I had to add the house across the road, I was enamoured with the view of it peeking through the shrubbery.
I mentioned the quilt shop we discovered in Riverhead, Auckland called All Things Patchwork which specialises in designer fabrics and as promised, I took my camera. On the first visit, the battery had run out, on the second visit, the card had been left in the computer. I had to do it, I needed to go back a third time just so I could share with you. If you must know, I enhanced the stash on each and every visit. That will have to wait for next time, there are lots of photos.
You just know there are good things to come when you get to the entrance of the shop and spy this fabulous covered day bed and Kaffes on the opposite wall.
A better view.
Now I have this urge to upholster some old chairs, can you blame me?
A few of the bright, cheerful quilts just hanging around.
Along with the butterflies, dragonflies..............
flowers.............
dollies..............
and cushions which are offered as a beginners embroidery class at the shop.
Take a closer look, (you can click on the photos) these have been hand embroidered to compliment the fabric designs with one strand of embroidery thread all by Jo Dixey.

We were drooling over all of Jo Dixey's pieces including these embroidered pieces.
This one is a wonderful rendition of a pair of breasts, so clever!
We did go to another shop which specialised in Japanese fabrics, taupes  included. I didn't have my camera so I can't share but I did  get this fabulous book by Keiko Goke. I saw an exhibition of her quilts some years back and was pleased that they were included in the book. I purchased a small kit for a needlecase too, in wool which is a new thing for me to try.
I'm back home in a couple of days time so I'll show you my small  healthy stash enchancement then.

51 comments:

Maria said...

Hi Janet! You made such a beautiful doll quilt. And handquilting, it's a hard but gorgeous work.
This shop is great! I'd love to go, but it's a bit far for me :)

antique quilter said...

the doll quilt is beautiful, great quilting! oh my what a shop, not surprised you went back 3 times, just your style!
the book looks great, I love the quilt on the cover, what fun that would be to do with all that quilting with embroidery thread?
can you show me whats inside the book? I may just have to track it down here....
Kathie

Crispy said...

Wow what a great shop!! It's so good of you to make those extra trips, just for us LOL. I look forward to seeing your stash enhancements :o)

Crispy

PatchworkRose said...

Just Love the Doll Quilt and the wonderful quilting but absolutely adore the visual delights of Kaffe and all the treatments on the fabric.Yes I can just imagine upholstered chairs. The Butterflies and dragonflies and all their other creativity is amazing. No wonder you had to keep going back!
Enjoy the rest of your time
Cheers
Lynne

Nat Palaskas said...

Congrats Janet on the first finished quilt in 2010! I love it so much with your beautiful quilting stitches. How big is the quilt, may I ask? What a shop! Thanks for sharing. I have put the address in my iPhone just in case we are in the area. Look forward to see your stash - Hugs Nat

Anonymous said...

Your doll quilt is absolutely beautiful!! The quilting is wonderful!!

*karendianne. said...

I need to come back to this post three times just to take it all in. But I know right away that those flowers are my utmost favorite thing ever on planet in my entire life - I'm just certain. Oh my god if I could make a bouquet of those and have them in my home I'd be the happiest girl ever (again, on the planet!). Oh Janet, thanks for sharing all this wonderfulness.

Abby and Stephanie said...

Darling little quilt. Oh my goodness that shop spells trouble! LOVE the Kaffe bed.

Anonymous said...

What a fun shop....can see why you keep going back. Really enjoyed the embroidery on the fabric - what a great idea!
Your doll quilt turned out great....very nice quilting and fabric choices.

Shirley said...

Now Janet you are a true martyr to the cause of dedicated patchworkers everywhere. It is a wonder you didn't have to be dragged away kicking and screaming. I love the doll quilt and well done on the hand quilting, it looks fab.
Shirley.

Unknown said...

That shop looks fantastic!! A treasure trove for the eyes and wallet! So glad you had a wonderful time. I just love your little doll quilt too. Can't wait to see all the loot you purchased.

Kaaren said...

Your doll quilt is super. I love that pattern.

That quilt shop looks like a tropical paradise. How bright and colorful! And thanks for drawing our attention to the embroidery on the pilows. What a cool idea.

Have a safe trip home, Janet. I llok forward to seeing more of the 'souvenirs' from your trip. (wink)

PatchCreationen said...

Compliments for your wonderful quilt. And the pictures from the shop are great. I would like to buy something there...
Greetings from bavaria
Carola

ranette said...

What a wonderful little quilt and you finished it very quickly!!

The shop is wonderful...I loved looking at the eye candy...so thank you! I'm excited to see your little Japanese wool project.

Looks like you are having a great vacation...good for you!

Thimbleanna said...

Oh Janet! Your Cheddar quilt is fabulous and your hand quilting just makes the whole thing. It's so nice to see hand quilting. The quilt shop looks like a great place to shop -- no wonder you had to buy each time you were there!

Ruth said...

Your CC&C quilt is awesome and your quilting is perfect! I think I'll quilt mine the same way. I can't wait to get mine finished. It was such a fun project.

Lori said...

Your quilting is wonderful Janet and I love the red binding!!
Looks like a great time in the quilt shop-a fun happy place!!
Your vacation is coming to an end already? Safe travels!!

Julie in the Barn said...

The little Cheddar Cheese quilt turned out just wonderful. Your hand quilting really made it perfect.

wishes, true and kind said...

What a beautiful post! Your CC&C quilt looks wonderful and I LOVE all the embroidery on those pillows! What a lovely and inspiring shop!

joan

Jan said...

Thanks for posting those embroidery enhanced patchwork pieces. Love them!!
Isn't the Goke book chock full of eye candy? A wonderful overview of her life's work.

allsewnup said...

Gorgeous quilt ~ the colour change works in beautifully. What luck!
I could spend quite awhile in a place like that. The butterflies and dragonflies are amazing.

Carolyn

Meredith said...

Lovely hand quilting, nice finish for 2010. Thanks for the great photos of the quilt shop. I have wanted to buy Kaffe Laminated fabric. "stash enhancement"

Stina Blomgren said...

Oh my...love those pillows.... thank you for showing them... Love your new finish... :o)

Doris said...

Oh, Janet, how I wish I could have been with you! Those embroideries are to die for! Thank you SO much for sharing such inspiration!

Karen said...

The quilting on the cheddar quilt certainly adds to the "old" look.

Janet said...

Your cheddar doll quilt is wonderful - I love the quilting! I can't even imagine what a fig right from the tree would taste like.
What an interesting store - I especially like the embroidered pillows.
Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

VikiVictoria said...

Absolutely LOVE! LOVE! your Cheddar Doll Quilt!! Next to Lori's it's my FAVORITE!! And the handquilting is the icing on the cake. Can't wait to get mines made!

QuiltedSimple said...

the doll quilt is lovely. and what a great shop - looks fantastic!
Kris

Nedra said...

You Australians really have some beautiful quilt ideas. Love the embroidery work with the simple 9-patch pillow. Congratulations on your first finish. Great job.

FlourishingPalms said...

Janet, your doll quilt is adorable. I'm so impressed that you could hand quilt the entire thing while on holiday. Amazing. And thanks for sharing those quilt shop photos. Very interesting to see how they're teaching embroidery, just by repeating or outlining a large motif. It's a good way to get started, kinda like learning to free-motion machine quilt following a large-scale backing fabric print. Good idea.

Jan said...

Your cheddar quilt turned out just great - I really love the red binding.
The embroidery over the fabric pattern is genius. Very cool.

-girl from the bush said...

hi janet, i will have to go check out that shop myself "its just up the road", you would probably love calico cottage which is in henderson, that is one of my favourites, maybe next time! Love your doll quilt, so cute!! sue

Cardygirl said...

Your quilt looks great...as does that shop!

julieQ said...

I love all the pictures from the shop, how fun! Especially the dragonflies and butterflies, very imaginative. Love your cheddar cheese!

Sue-Anne said...

Lucky you had a good excuse to revisit that lovely shop. You never get to see everything on a first visit. Your little quilt looks fantastic. Thanks for the tip about the pellon. i think I will use that in mine.

Sue-Anne said...

Lucky you had a good excuse to revisit that lovely shop. You never get to see everything on a first visit. Your little quilt looks fantastic. Thanks for the tip about the pellon. i think I will use that in mine.

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Your cheddar cheese and crackers looks wonderful!

Carol said...

Love your doll quilt -- you inspire me to do some hand quilting again. And thanks for all the Kaffe inspiration. I've been collecting some of the fabrics and your photos may get me to cut into them.

Dolly said...

That doll quilt is just PERFECTION !
Thank you for the quilt shop tour. I'm always so overwhelmed when I go to a great one, and can't figure out how to take it all in. It's fun to sit here and breathe it all in, one gorgeous photo at a time.

Julia said...

oh my what a shop, not surprised you went back 3 times, just your style!...the doll quilt is beautiful, great quilting!
I love the quilt on the book cover,
Julia ♥

Terrie Sandelin said...

The quilt is beautiful! And what a great quilt shop -- thanks for all the photos!

Quilts And Pieces said...

OMG - I LOVE your doll quilt. The hand quilting it gorgeous. I wish I could hand quilt that well. I keep practicing but it will never be that good. Yours is spectacular - the quilt I mean, but heck the quilting is too!

Robin said...

The doll quilt turned out beautifully! And such lovely quilting on it too. Thanks for the fun virtual field trip... that looks like a fun store to visit! Can't wait to see what all you found there. :)

Janet said...

Thank you for taking us along on your outing. So many beautiful fabrics and clever ideas.

Rhondi said...

Hi Janet
That shop is fabulous! I wish we had quilt stores like that where I live.

MrsQuilts said...

How many times can a person OOOOH and AAAAH. What a lovely treat for us - thank you for going back a third time with your camera. Just love the cushions. Love the little doll quilt too! Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Kathryn

Jantine said...

This doll quilt is gorgeous. Good for you you did the more intensive quilting in the cheddar, that is really what it needed!

Karen from Sew Many Ways... said...

I just love your doll quilt. I also love all your quilt shop photos...too funny about having to go back 3 times. All in the name of blogging!!!
Take care,
~Karen~

Anne Ida said...

Your Cheddar Cheese and Crackers doll quilt turned out wonderful! No wonder you're happy with your first finish of the year!

XUE said...

I have the same book! My 9 year old & I met Keiko Goke at the Tokyo Quilt Show just last month & she was soooo nice! She autographed it & her assistant took pics of us with her. So exciting since we love her work! We are lucky that we live in Tokyo.

Barb said...

your doll quilt is wonderful - what a good idea to use pellon. I too like a doll quilt to have a nice soft drape.

That quilt shop is really quite something. A feast for the eyes where ever you look. I loved the day bed especially.