It suddenly struck me while I was waiting for The Hubbie to return from a walk last night, that is wasn’t windy. This might sound a minor thing to notice, so let me expound slightly as to why this was so significant.
The night before it had snowed on the hills, despite it being mid-January, and the middle of summer. We have had a howling gale of a wind for weeks now, with a weather bomb mid-week, and another storm coming. Flooding, landslides, all the usual winter stuff, but in summer instead.
There is a joke doing the rounds on FB that the Bible calls 40 days and nights of rain a biblical curse… whereas here in the Manawatu it’s just called Summer.
Anyway it wasn’t blowing, so I did what any sane person would do and grabbed a quilt top, a camera, and a person to hold the quilt aloft.
May I introduce my variation of the Midnight on the Oasis quilt by Jen Kingwell. It has one border less than the original pattern, and I took a few liberties with the other borders too, but otherwise it’s pretty much what the pattern ordered.
My plan is to ditch stitch around all the borders, and then attack with Perle 8. There is so much colour that nice big stitches will accentuate the folksy nature of the quilt. First comes basting of course, which I’m saving for tomorrow, when the next summer storm is set to arrive.
Today it’s lots of fun with fabric dyeing, which I’ll share next week. Here is a hint of what we are playing with. Colour swatches on art paper, from our experiments in fabric dyeing. I have been dyeing the greens and blues, while Daughter #1 loves the brights. Needless to say our hands are brightly multi-coloured despite wearing gloves.
Have a great weekend.
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.
quilts across the aisle 
Lovely, lovely quilt. You must be pleased with it! isn’t the cold wind disappointing! We walked the dog in the Redwoods this morning and I had on a cardigan as well as my winter jacket. Hubby was staunch and was still in his shorts and short sleeves. Well we all know that summer really arrives the day that school starts again!
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Certainly hoping for a spectacular autumn this year to make up for the summer. I admit I’ve never seen so many puffer jackets being worn in January before. Funny, but slightly tragic. Keep warm.
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It’s a lovely quilt with incredible detail. My husband and I spent the last three winters in NZ (we live in Quebec, Canada) but couldn’t go this year. Maybe we were lucky if the weather is that bad! Congrats on your finish.
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Thanks, and probably a wise decision to stay away this year, though our autumn will hopefully make up for all this weather. Thanks for visiting.
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Love this quilt. Yes, I too am sick of the sound of wind, huge storm in Auckland last night, I have leaf confetti and debris everywhere to clean up today.
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I read in the herald you had a rough night. Hopefully you have power, so you’re not without coffee, or, wake up juice as I call it.
Have a great day, maybe you can bribe a child to do the storm cleanup while you sew?
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Gorgeous quilt. Thanks for visiting me – Napier was lovely on the weekend – higher temps but still windy! Hope you enjoyed the rest of the long weekend.
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It was quite productive, with lots of dyeing done. Almost forgot about Rose City last night though, with all the activity. Have a great week.
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Great quilt! I’ve given up on summer (it will no doubt turn up when we all go back to school and then we will be too hot in the classrooms!) At least all the yucky weather is a good excuse to be inside sewing!
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Where are you Tarnia? Is everything okay?
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Hi Alison, watching a replay of the Lions match…..but otherwise quilting, but not blogging much, as you noticed. Our youngest went flatting in February, and if anything, I have been busier at times ferrying her around, and weathering the storms as she copes with leaving home, then coming home again….then leaving again…
Plus I volunteered for another committee, and have been busy taking minutes etc. It has been a year of change, mixed up with the first stages of empty nesting. Hopefully things are going well up your way.
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Good to hear that it’s not a major issue with family or health etc. Empty nesting can be challenging – we went through a rough patch and had to learn to be good mates once again. The house had always been full of teenagers and suddenly they were gone.
Alls well with me – been knitting for a health initiative that teaches solo mums how to parent. They graduate with a pepi pod, bedding and hand knitting for baby. Lost my sewjo for a few months but got it back recently so am enjoying some appliqué once more.
Mal had a nasty accident with a skill saw and his hand so that really turned our world upside down – he is on the mend again now after surgery and huge amounts of hand therapy. We take our hands for granted till something goes wrong.
On the upside I won an amazing holiday for 4 to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands – just by buying two Cetaphil skin care products. We went in late May and had the most incredible time – oh how the other half lives! 5 star treatment in an exclusive resort for 7 nights – then back to reality but with wonderful memories.
Nice to be in touch. Take care.
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