Holiday Quilting Part II

While I'm on holiday I am hoping to complete (or at least start) a series of hangings that might or might not be joined together into a travel journal quilt.  As you can tell, I don't plan very precisely, I'm much more of a 'make it up as I go along' sort of quilter.  The miniature Storm at Sea quilt might be part of this, or not.

I have, however, given the projects quite a lot of thought and decided that I must make them with fabrics bought locally and therefore I must go to lots of quilt shops while on my travels!  I've also thought about places and events that might be sources of inspiration.

While I am in Singapore it will be Chinese New Year.  This is on 14th February this year and the New Year will be the Year of the Tiger.  There are lots of inspirational themes there - tigers, lanterns, fireworks... and I'm wondering if there will be a specific range of fabric available in the same way as we have Christmas, Hallowe'en ranges etc.  I'm planning to visit Quilts n Calicoes in the Tanglin Mall in Singapore and am sure Ira will point me in the right direction.  On her website is a lovely range called Twelve Moons that I like the look of.

In Sydney I will be meeting up with Sal, my GGCS partner, and I'm sure she will find us one or two quilt shops to visit.  My thoughts so far are moving towards using some of the range of Aboriginal design fabrics available but again, I won't know until I get there, I might end up being inspired by the Sydney Opera House or doing something based on the harbour or the botanical gardens, I intend to keep an open mind.

The largest part of the holiday will be spent in New Zealand and, in addition to the Timaru Mini-Symposium, there will be inspiration beyond my dreams.  I'm hoping to enjoy a few quilt shows, including the NANZQ that I shared in my previous post.  I would like to use the wide range of Kiwiana fabrics available and I imagine I will be working on something to do with nature - the coast or the bush, or maybe the glaciers or the sounds.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend Gail Lawther's book on New Zealand to you.

I bought a copy at the Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate, attracted mainly by the words, "New Zealand" and it has turned out to be one of my favourite books.  Not only has Gail created 35 very interesting quilts and used a wide variety of techniques but she includes all the patterns and templates should you want to replicate one yourself (or will make one for you if you so desire).  The text and photographs in the book are wonderful for a wannabe-Kiwi like myself, with stories of places visited and things experienced it works as a great advertisement for New Zealand.  It is also a great reminder of some of the things I have seen and done on previous trips.  Should you need the ISBN to get your own copy it's:
978 0 9553499 3 5
I am keen to create my own version of a tivaevae, a Cook Islands-style quilt, at some time and Gail includes a tempting project using sun-created images of NZ flora that interests me:

So, as I say, inspiration beyond my wildest dreams.  Watch this space and I'll share it with you.