Hamilton Trip Part 2

The purpose of the Hamilton was of course to attend the Craft and Quilt Fair to get inspiration from the quilt show and the merchants, and to shop :o)

I actually didn't take a lot of pictures, I think I was enjoying looking too much, but these were two of my favourite quilts.

The squares are made with the chenelle technique, using different colours for the underneath layers. The effect was incredible and made it look like the top fabrics were different. I think you should be able to see what I mean in this close-up.

The 2nd quilt was called "Rhubarb". I loved the bright colours and strong shapes.

The other highlight of the trip was the chance to visit my favourite quilt shop, Grandmothers Garden at Gordonton. At this shop it is not just the fabric that makes the visit worthwhile, though there is certainly plenty of that. Hazel who owns the shop is an enthusiastic cook, and when there are big events on she serves homemade scones with jam and cream, and cups of tea in beautiful china cups and saucers. These are served free throughout the day, and her scones are just divine. We visited 3 times (once a day for the 3 days were there) and were lucky enough to also partake of Hazel's vegetable soup on the Friday night. This shop is a joy to visit - it is busy and vibrant, the staff are lively and helpful and there are inspiring quilts everywhere. The only fault I can find with Grandmothers Garden is that it is not closer to where I live! Mind you, I bought quite a good selection of their fabric home, so it feels a little bit like I am there anyway!!!

Hamilton Trip

At the end of September we drove to Hamilton for the Craft and Quilt Fair (more about that later). We were lucky enough to have some beautiful weather for the drive up through the Desert Road so we took some photos that I thought I would share.


Just a week after our trip Ruapehu erupted! Only a "minor" eruption - it blew large rocks up to 2 km from the crater.

We stopped at Tokoroa because I had read about a quilt shop there (it helps to have a book called "The Crafty Girls Road Trip Guide" because you can read about quilt shops everywhere you go).

The quilt shop had a fabulous selection of Christmas fabric which I just had to indulge in (!!!), and I found a really cute baby panel which will make a quilt for a colleague. But possibly even better than the quilt shop (oh okay, maybe just as good as the quilt shop) were the Talking Poles - Tokoroa's version of totem poles. The town has been holding and an carving symposium for several years, and these poles are the outcome of it. They are a great symbol for the town which has been built up around the forestry industry. I especially liked the one with leaves and flowers on, and have some ideas for a wallhanging based on this.