Second Doiley Quilt 2018

I have a lot of my mother's doilys and don't want to get rid of them for sentimental reasons. Few people use these delightful little pieces of lace any more. My mother had a big collection some of which she made herself, others she bought or were given to her. I handsewed each of the doilys to a square of unbleached calico, put a couple of borders around each block and made them into a quilt top. Hopefully my grandsons will appreciate having a little something that belonged to their great grandmother. I have taken photos of some of the individual blocks and also taken one of the quilt.

Bronnie's Quilt 2008

Just found this one and only photo of my cousin Bronwyn's quilt. Bronnie contacted me on Ancestry and identified herself as my second cousin. We met up on the Gold Coast where she used to live. Later I made the quilt for her.

This quilt was made very quickly in a weekend and so had to be a simple pattern. She wanted blues and the pattern is post and rail.

Another Scrap Quilt top made July 2017

I made this quilt top last year when Natima came up for the weekend. Nat always has a quick project for us to do together. I haven't finished this yet but it will be a nice gift for someone in the future.

Jan & Tony's Quilt August 2018

This quilt has over 200 blocks in it and has taken me about 18 months off and on. Each of the pieced blocks has 20 pieces in it and the blocks are only 6 1/2 inches square. The last 20 pieced blocks were VERY tedious. The beautiful colours were chosen by my sister-in-law when they were out here visiting in 2017.

 A close-up of the top

 I like to embroider my labels

 Label and part of the back. Most of the backing was a new sheet I bought at Salvation Army Thrift Shop with yellow roses on it.

 Blocks and quilting

Blocks and borders

My professional quilters decided to retire and I had to find a new one. Fortunately I happened upon artnquiltingstudio.com.au online at Sandy Beach and sent the quilt to them. Their website has a very convenient form to fill in for a quote and Sandra responds within 24 hours. Being a queensized quilt it was too big for me to haul around on the machine with my gammy shoulders. Sandra did a lovely job of the quilting and I have already sent her another because I was so pleased with this one.

18th Century lady's "Hussiff" or Pocket March 2018

I have been pinning pictures of these pretty things for ages on Pinterest. Some hussiffs are embroidered, some are pieced, some are both. They were tied to a woman's belt (often underneath her petticoat) and used to keep sewing materials in or keys or the like.

When Nat visited me a couple of weeks ago we decided we would make a couple of different ones: a pieced one and an embroidered one. They seemed to have become a little art form a bit like fans or netsuke in Japanese art. There are many lovely examples on our Pinterest boards. Below is the pieced one I finished a couple of days ago. It is made from reproduction civil war fabrics.

 Front of "hussiff" (above). Pockets were frequently made from scraps. They didn't waste their fabric!

Pocket back (above)

 Close-up of rabbits and embroidery (above)

Close-up of rabbit appliqued with buttonhole stitch. Nat and I decided to applique rabbits to the pockets in memory of our visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales a couple of weeks ago to see the magnificent "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries dating from 1500.

Annie's bird table runner February 2018

I used the triangle ruler for the first time on this table runner which has Australian baby birds on it. A very sweet fabric. I could have done better on joining the stripes on this one. The others are better.

Retro Baby Shawl 2017/2018

 I've been making these beautiful shawls for many years and they are much treasured by recipients. A number of people told me that their babies loved putting their fingers through the holes. The frilly/frothy effect on the outside of the shawl makes it especially attractive. My first one was made for my daughter 43 years ago. I also took great delight in making one for her first baby in 2005. It's an old Golden Hands pattern from the 70s which I still think has not been bettered as a very special heirloom baby gift.

The close-up above shows the delightful detail of the central flower. The shawl took me over a year to make because it was only worked when I had no hand sewing to do for my quilting. By the time you get to the outside rows it takes a few hours to get around each row so it needs patience towards the end. The materials for this shawl (3 ply white acrylic) were gathered from many secondhand stores by friends in Yarnspinners. Thanks everyone! I can't tell just by looking at it that it was made from a bunch of scraps. Acrylic yarn has its uses doesn't it? The shawl is very soft, very white and can be washed often in the washing machine. It's strong, resilient and stain resistant.

Mug Bags for Lena, Maria of Yarnspinners and Lis of Global Piecers. Feb 2018

 I always make mugbags for any new members of Yarnspinners. These belong to Lena and Maria who recently joined. I always enjoy doing these so that they match with the chosen mugs.

The bag above is the same style as the mugbags but will probably not be used to store a mug. It's for Lis in my Global Piecers Group. She lives in England and I met her on my wonderful shibori trip to Japan.