Pantograph - Pumpkin Patch

Tiffanies Treasures Kiwiana Panel Table Runner

Beatrice | March 13, 2026 | 1 Comment

The other day I looked at the Kiwiana panel I had been gifted by the owner of Tiffanies Treasures in Auckland and realized that it was approximately the size of my coffee table. I also had enough leftovers from the Hoffman Kiwiana fabric that I had purchased from Tiffanies Treasures for the backing of one of my New Zealand quilts. I pieced the backing and quilted the panel again with New Zealand Koru by Christy Dillon. It is such a nice swirly pattern and exactly what this panel needed.

I finished stitching the binding yesterday, and now it is decorating my coffee table, a daily reminder of our fantastic trip. If you are wondering about the bowl, it was given to me a few Christmases ago by one of my customers, Mary L., who is not only a gifted quilter but also a very good potter. I used to keep candy in it, but I have too much of a sweet tooth to not take one every time I pass by, so I stopped that fairly quickly.

It was a nice, quick project, and I am glad that I figured out a good use for this pretty panel.

Tiffanies Treasures Table Runner Detail 1

Tiffanies Treasures Table Runner Detail 2

Personal Projects

The Finished Quilt – Kiwiana Scrappy Squares

Beatrice | March 6, 2026 | 1 Comment

I am on a roll and finished the second of my Kiwiana quilts. Technically it is the third – I pieced the Garden Tiles top before I pieced this one, but I am still thinking I might be custom quilting the Garden Tiles top and haven’t started on it yet.

Last year I made a donation quilt from scraps using this alternating pattern that I saw somewhere online. In late October, when I was starting to feel a bit better and wanted to start sewing again, I thought this pattern would be a nice way to use up all the Kiwiana fabrics I had bought in 2024. With two finished quilt tops in the closet, I really wanted to use up as much as possible for a third quilt. As much as I love New Zealand and these fabrics, it was time to move on to something different.

And I was right – after cutting all the squares I needed for the quilt, I had only very small scraps left over that went right into the scrap drawers. I put the top together last November, and around the same time Christy Dillon of My Creative Stitches published an edge-to-edge pattern called “New Zealand Koru”. Koru is the Māori word for loop or coil and is often associated with the unfurling frond of a silver fern. It is an important design in Māori art, and I decided it was perfect for this quilt.

Two down, one more to go… but I can promise you already I will not have the last one done by next week 🙂

Personal Projects

The Finished Quilt – Kiwiana Illusions

Beatrice | February 27, 2026 | 2 Comments

The first of my three New Zealand quilts is finally done. The top of the Illusions quilt has been finished for a while, you can check out the original story here.

I quilted it in January after our return from our second New Zealand trip and even stitched the binding fairly quickly afterwards. I am very happy with the way it turned out, it is a lovely pattern and great for showcasing some special fabrics. And of course I love the 3D effect.

Usually I prefer custom quilting my own quilts, but in this case I could not think of any special quilting that would enhance the pattern of the top. The illusion is clearly the star of the quilt, and I decided early on that an allover pattern would do. Of course it needed to be related to New Zealand in some way, and I tried to come up with a pattern based on a scroll I saw on a sign near Mount Cook. That is something I am certainly not going to try again anytime soon. There is a reason why I am not a pantograph designer. I found it very difficult to draw a continuous design, but somehow it worked out in the end and is even a bit similar to the scroll on the backing fabric.