Summer – When the Pohutukawa flowers
My quilt depicts a typical seaside scene on the coastal areas of Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty, with lovely beaches, clear seas, blue sky and the beautiful red flowers on the Pohutukawa trees on the beach reserve or clinging precariously from cliffs. Our native tui frequents these trees for pollen and the sound of this magnificent bird is a real sound of summer.

The open flowers were stitched on soluble fabric and the “pollen” centres were created by free motion quilting. The flowers were then dissolved in water to remove the soluble backing. Fabrics used were hand dyed fabric, a commercial print and ultra suede for the twigs to give the visual effect of their fluffy texture. The quilt is backed with another fabric from the same Pohutukawa series.

Close up view: