Capital Quilters

Welcome to Capital Quilters

We're a quilting guild who meet on the last Saturday of each month at Waterloo School Hall in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand

When: the last Saturday of the month
Time: from 1:30pm until about 3:30pm

Where: Waterloo School Hall, Hardy Street, Waterloo, Lower Hutt (near Waterloo Station).

Visitors and new members are always welcome. 

At our guild meetings we have guest speakers, show and tell, raffles, block of the month, library and afternoon tea.  You're welcome to bring some hand sewing or knitting.  

We also:

- organise quilting exhibitions

- organise classes with guest tutors

- hold quilting retreats at Silverstream Retreat

- hold Sewing Days where members can bring their machines and sew for the whole day in the Waterloo School Hall. 

- run In Stitches on the third Wednesday of each month at the Hutt Arts Society where members meet and sew for the day.

- make community quilts which we donate to local charities. 

You can follow us on Facebook or Instagram 

or email us at capitalquilters@gmail.com

Capital Quilters Exhibition is Postponed until Sat & Sun 3-4 October 2020

Due to the return to COVID Level 2, we have made the very difficult decision to postpone our Quilted Exhibition planned for next weekend 22 - 23 August 2020.

The Lower Hutt Events Centre has worked closely with us in the last 24 hours, and we are happy to say that we have a new date of 3-4 October 2020. 

We were all really looking forward to this event, and while this is disappointing we know it is the right decision.

We do apologise to anyone who has made plans to travel to our exhibition from outside of the Wellington region.  We do hope that you will be able to join us on 3-4 October.  

Quilted 2020

Click here to see our Facebook event for more information.  We look forward to see you there. 

Hello again

Hello members and followers of this blog. 

Yes, it's been a while since we posted, but that's because we've moved our emphasis to Instagram and Facebook.  Do you follow us on either Instagram (@capitalquilters) or on Facebook? - click here to see our Facebook page.

Everything we post on Instagram is duplicated on our Facebook page, so if you don't have the Instagram  app, don't worry, you can see everything on Facebook.
(Don't try using Instagram on a computer because it's designed for smart phones and tables only.)

If you don't have a Facebook account you can still view our posts without creating an account.  Just try it by clicking here - ignore all those messages about creating a Facebook account. 

Why have we done this? 
The statistics told us that readership of our blog posts was very low.  It's much easier to post to Instagram and Facebook than a blog, and we are reaching a lot more people.  The ability to share posts on Facebook means that some of our posts are reaching 1,500 people.  Of course, they aren't all members, but people are talking about our guild, and all publicity is good publicity.  When it's time for our next exhibition we will be able to generate even more interest due to our large number of  followers.

We will still use this blog from time to time to record important information, but our more frequent posts will be on Instagram and Facebook.  We hope to see you there.   

Winner of the raffle quilt

Our beautiful raffle quilt was won by Mary Hutchinson from Wellington.  Mary came along to our August guild meeting and was presented with the quilt. 

One side

The other side

Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets, and to Helen Malanchak who made the quilt and Cherie Gurney who quilted it.

The pattern is Starry Night by Janice Ryan of Better off Thread.   You can download it for free on the Robert Kaufman website here.


Please note our September guild meeting has been moved to Saturday 29 September. 

Last day to catch our exhibition

Today is the last day to view our QUILTED exhibition at the Lower Hutt Events Centre. 

Best in Show in the centre - Vibrant Curiosities by Wendy Welsh

The standard of quilts on display is very high.  Our members have been working on their quilts for months and months, and the workmanship clearly shows.

There's a wide variety of colours, styles and techniques.  There really is something for everyone to see.  The Best Modern Quilt was won by Helen Malanchak for Bright Star.

The Best Traditional quilt was won by Rayna Clinton for Afternoon Tea in Grandma's Garden.

There are 200 quilts on display, and six pop up shops to visit:

Nancy's Stitch Studio
Quilters' Lane (Masterton)
Thimbles and Threads
Stitchbird
Busy Bee Quilt Shop
Made Marion Craft

If you're in the Wellington area come and see us today - it's your last chance to see these beautiful quilts.

Only two weeks until the exhibition

Entries have closed, and we are delighted to say that we have 200 quilts to display at the brand new Lower Hutt Events Centre.

They are all safely stored at a secret location.

We still have raffle tickets available for our stunning raffle quilt:

Entry to the exhibition is $7 and there will be pop up shops and a cafe.  Start planning a fun day out now.

Exhibition entries are now open

Members can now enter their quilts into our club exhibition by going to this page - capitalquilters.co.nz  (Just click on the website name to be taken there.)

Please make sure you have all your information ready, because once you start you will need to complete the process.  You need to know: 

- Quilt name

- Size (width and length)

- Story

- Design sources
- a digital photo of the whole quilt (if possible)

and for non challenge quilts, your hanging preference

The questions you will be asked on the online form are dependent on your answers to previous questions.  

Please check your spelling as we hope to use this information on display tags at the exhibition.

You will be required to bring your quilt along to club day on Saturday 28th July between 1-3:30pm for hand in. 

Once you have completed your entry you will receive a confirmation email.

If you have any questions contact Anne on annejread@gmail.com . 

Donna Ward class

Last weekend Donna Ward came to teach two classes for us.  On Saturday she taught machine quilting, and on Sunday she taught English Paper Piecing.  This is just one of the beautiful quilts Donna bought along to inspire the class members. 

And here are some smaller samples:

The class covered fussy cutting:

and glue basting:

Here's what the group achieved over the course of a lovely relaxed day:

Block of the Month

We love to see Block of the Month quilts at our Show and Tell. 

Wendy won these blocks in April last year, and one year later she's turned them into this lovely quilt. 

Some close ups:

Each month our members are given a pattern for a block, and each block they bring back equals one entry in the draw to win them all.

Here's another example of a block of the month being turned into a finished quilt.

QUILTED by CAPITAL QUILTERS - our exhibition

Updated 11 June 2018

QUILTED by CAPITAL QUILTERS

Hutt Exhibition Centre, Lower Hutt, 11-12 August 2018

Categories

President’s Challenge - A Capital Day (maximum size 1m x 1m)

Churn It Up Challenge (maximum 2.4m square)

Small Bed Quilt made by one person (under 1.6m wide)

Large Bed Quilt made by one person (over 1.6m wide, maximum 2.4m square)

Group Quilt made by 2 or more people (maximum 2.4m square)

Wall Quilt made by one person (maximum size 1.5m x 1.5m)

Textile Art piece (maximum 1m x 1m x 1m)

Conditions of Entry

You can enter quilts into the exhibition online at www.capitalquilters.co.nz (prefered) of by filling in an entry form.  The information that is on the entry form will be used for labeling your quilt for display so it is essential that the information is correct.

1. Entry is only open to financial members of Capital Quilters as at 28 July 2018.  Only financial members of Capital Quilters are eligible for prizes.

2. All entries must have been completed since January 2016.

3. Quilts must have

○      10cm deep hanging sleeve attached to the back (top). Please add hook side velcro to hanging sleeves of quilts under 1m wide. Note that pins may be used to hand or label your quilt.

○      Label on the lower back (RHS when viewed from back) with the quilter’s name and quilt title with a piece of fabric pinned over the top of the label to cover label during judging.

○      A named bag.

○      Hanging rod labelled with name of quilt and quilter.

4. The exhibition committee and judges reserve the right to change the category in which any item is entered if it is deemed necessary.

5. Insurance is the responsibility of the quilt owner.

6. Every submitter is to rank their entries in order of preference for hanging.  Challenge quilts will all be hung so do not need a preference, just choose challenge if using the paper form. You may enter up to 3 non challenge quilts.  If exhibition space is limited the lower ranked items may not be hung (last resort only).

7. President’s Challenge - A Capital Day - Make a fabric item that reflects the theme ‘A Capital Day’.  The item can be 3D but must be able to be hung for display. It can be made by more than one person. All makers must be named on the entry form. You can create an original design or use a pattern designed by someone else. If the design is not original, you must acknowledge the designer on the entry form. Quilting can be done by hand or machine.

8. Churn It Up Challenge - You must make a quilt (ie three layers secured by stitching) which features a pieced Churn Dash block. The quilt can be 3D but must be able to be hung for display. It can be made by more than one person. All makers must be named on the entry form. You can create an original design or use a pattern designed by someone else. If the design is not original, you must acknowledge the designer on the entry form. Quilting can be done by hand or machine.

9. Group quilt is a quilt made by two or more people. This category includes any quilts which have been commercially quilted, quilted by someone other than the maker, quilts made by more than one person or group quilts like Block of the Month.

10. Textile Art piece can be any item made with fabric, for example decoupage, bags and dolls.

11. Quilt Design. You will be asked to reference your quilt design. It can be an original design, from a pattern or kitset or Block of the Month or inspired by a photo or quilt. It is important that you correctly answer this question.

12. Quilt story. You will be asked to supply a brief explanation (maximum of 75 words) of your inspiration for the quilt and any other interesting details e.g. who it was made for. We suggest you have this in a document ready to paste into your online entry.

13. There will be an option to select for display only - this means that you do not wish to have your item judged, and it will not be eligible to win any prizes.

14. Delivery of quilts.  Entries to be delivered to July Guild Meeting at Waterloo School Hall, Lower Hutt on Saturday 28 July 2018 between 1pm to 4pm. Entries will close at the end of the meeting.

If you have any questions, please contact;

Anne Read                          annejread@gmail.com

Helen Malanchak                 helen.malanchak@gmail.com

WOW - Our February meeting

The guest speaker at our February meeting was Fifi Closton, award winning wearable art designer. 

Fifi spoke about how she came to first enter WOW with a group of friends, in 1995.  She has entered many more times since then, and was thrilled and honoured to win the Weta Workshop Other Worlds Section with "The Organ Farmer" in 2017.

Fifi explained the many different techniques she uses to make her costumes.  She usually makes a sample on a Barbie doll first.  We were fortunate to be able to hold and study some of the Barbie dolls.

Morphology 2015 WOW

Fifi also told us how she uses plastic moulding to create some of the elements in her designs.

Fifi also writes and illustrates children's books, and is involved in many other creative activities.  You can read more about her, and see her other entries in WOW, on her web page here - www.fificolston.blogspot.co.nz


We had some previous Blocks of the Month on show at Show and Tell:

The winner of this month's block of the month was Heather Day:

Congratulations Heather.