What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Today we've had a public holiday to celebrate Matariki.

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in midwinter and for many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. From Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.  

Back in 2018 I made a quilt called Matariki +/- 1.  I entered it into the QuiltNSW Sydney Quilt Show and I won a Judges Commendation for it.  

I don't have this quilt any more because a very kind grandma bought it to go on her grandson's bed when he ...

Two years ago I went to the Taupo Quiltmakers' Exhibition and loved it.  This year I've been invited back as the guest exhibitor.  

The exhibition is called "Quilting with the Stars" because it's going to coincide with our first Matariki public holiday in New Zealand on Friday 24 June 2022.  Yes, beware Kiwis, the public holiday is on a Friday - not a Monday.

In Māori culture, Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and of the celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. This marked the beginning of the new year ...