ICE - or Dunedin in the Snow, a row designed for UKQU rowalong, 2018

Way back in April we decided it would be fun to do a rowalong. Two groups of bloggers were given a theme each, ours was 'ice', theirs was 'fire'. Being the furthest away, I was given the first row to do. Now aside from the freezer, I haven't been near ice and snow for a good thirty something years. But it got me thinking about the last time I was that cold ..... 

Dunedin in the SNOW!

This was a Sunday morning on a winter's day. My flatmate and I were taking a walk the long way round to enjoy the magic of the snow. The whole city was quiet and resting. I wanted to interpret this feeling in fabric: the dark trees, the brilliance of the snow, the buildings. 

Dunedin has lots of amazing buildings. It was a major port and the stepping off point for the goldrush in the early days. So this is what our student accommodation looked like. We had the top floor and it seems to me that these buildings should be celebrated. So this house is the centre of my row.

I chose to use fusible applique, because to get the level of detail I wanted there were going to be some small pieces. The house to the right is another Dunedin house that we lived in. Once again, we had the top floor. This house is on High st, and what you can't see from the road is that there is another floor below as the hill descends very steeply. This house is weatherboard, a very popular building material as it is safer in earthquakes. I love the symmetry of the house and the little porch in the centre. Those verandah poles were a bit diabolical to cut out, but worth it in the end.

The house to the left is a more modest affair, but still very typical and it was also a student flat lived in. you can see the fun I had gong through old photos.The water tower is actually from Invercargill, but what a great building. the church is a little country church, perfect in the snow. 

Invercargill water tower and 8 Pitt st, Dunedin, New Zealand

Central Otago church and High st, Dunedin

Morris st, Palmerston North and Invercargill water tower

So, after designing the pattern, selecting the colours, transferring the designs, cutting and placing the pieces, the next step was sewing ... finally. Then I decided it might be an idea if the last person had some snowflakes to tie all the different rows together .... 

These are taken from real snowflakes and simplified. I think they are so gorgeous. 

My next step was to mail my row to the person doing the next row and the snowflakes and label to the person doing the last row. 

After that I could sit back relax and watch what inspiration the other bloggers found in the theme. Here is the final quilt, finished and displayed on the British Patchwork and Quilting Magazine site at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.

The pattern is available as a free download off the UKQU website