Gail Lawther – Glimpses of New Zealand

The Land of the Long White Cloud - by Viv

This was a well attended meeting with 30 participants. We all zoomed in from various locations, from Dunbar to Devon, Northampton to Worthing as well as the normal Croydon and Bromley. We also had Eileen and other members who joined us from their retreat in East Sussex.   We welcomed a new member Marion.

Claire gave us a few notices;

The Quilters Guild exhibition ,24th 25th of July in Suffolk - check QG website for details

Festival of quilts; 29th July to 1st August. Places on this need to be booked in advance.

The next SQ meeting will be back to face to face in the hall on Tuesday, 17 August. Masks are optional but everyone must bring their own mug or cup if they would like a drink.

Sadly Hannah Andrews passed away recently. She has been a long time member of Shirley Quilters and will be greatly missed.

Claire then introduced our well-known speaker Gail Lawson talking to us about her ‘Glimpses Of New Zealand’.

Gail showed us a series of 35 beautiful quilts measuring 10” x 40”. She explained that originally she had intended to make 12 but that she was so inspired by her and her husband Chris’s three trips to New Zealand that she ended up making 35. These quilts celebrated the flora, fauna, buildings and indigenous peoples of New Zealand. They reflected the wonders that they saw but also gave us a peek into the history of New Zealand. Gorgeous quilts depicting everything from the Pohutukawa & Jacanranda trees, the Pukeko bird, Maori art, Seahorses and Braeburn apples to Art Deco houses. The individual quilts were a mixture of multiple techniques with both hand and machine quilting. 

I’m sure that everyone was amazed by Gail's artistry and skills. We may all be inspired to make our own quilt depicting something from our lives that is a precious memory.

Gail has sent us through a form which will give free postage, should you wish to order a book/s from her, in normal times she would bring her books to the talk. The date for use is up to 13th August as Gail will then be on holiday