Sarah's Quilt and Ian's Bar Table Runner May 2019

Several years ago I was given a large bundle of batik scraps of top quality cotton from Indonesia. So far I have made five quilt tops from them. When my friend Sarah came to visit she chose one of them for her lap quilt. The one she chose was a pattern called Chinese Coin, consisting of strips of fabric of varying widths sewn together and cut into long 6 1/2 inch strips. In between there are black sashes of cotton/linen. It's bound in bright pink and backed with a bright turquoise batik. Quilting is of the simplest sort in a grid of rectangles with black thread.

 Above:View of the whole quilt

 Above: Close-up of the strips which vary randomly in width

 Above:The label with the backing

Above: Close-up of the label

Sarah and Ian  are building a new bar and this table runner should fit very well.

It's a simple ninepatch set on point. I made it five ninepatches long but when using this pattern I've often shortened it to suit various purposes. The pattern came from Picklemouse Corner in Leura in the Blue Mountains of new South Wales. I've had it for many years and use it often for gifts as it is very simple and quick to make and also very versatile depending on the fabric used.

Willow's Quilt 2018-2019

I promised my great-niece, Willow a quilt when she came to visit from Queensland. She chose a range of fabrics that she liked from my stash and they were used in this quilt. She clearly adores it and her Mother says she won't sleep without it. Spending many hours making a quilt is worth it when it is appreciated as much as this one is.

 The quilt was a panel from Logans with sweet little girl figures on it in oldfashioned clothes. I interspersed those blocks with matching ninepatches which repeated some of the colours in the dominant blocks. It was great fun and easy to do. The striped sasshing was an accidental stroke of brilliance. I really think it highlighted those dominant blocks.

This last photo was taken when Willow was not well. Her mother says she insisted on having it over her. What a sweetie.

Sewing Bags Workshop February 2019

I had a sewing bag like these given to me by a crafter friend years ago. My quilting friends at Mascot  admired it and asked me to workshop the bag for them. Unfortunately I didn't have a pattern for the bag so I thought I'd make it up as it looked pretty simple. I had lots of reproduction civil war scraps from other projects so I cut them all into strips of varying width for everybody and they sewed them vertically onto a backing. I made the bag in several stages to demonstrate what to do to the group.
The second bag I put the strips onto the backing obliquely for a bit of variety and to show what could be done with the various colours. They each sewed up their bags with lining and an inside pocket and some made a second one. We put large press-studs on for catches and then sewed a button on the outside of the top as in the photo. They have been a great success and fun to make as it's just a small project that can be done quickly. The group also made them in varying sizes suiting their purposes. My favourite is my blue one (below) because it includes a lot of my gorgeous reproduction fabrics in brown and blue. I call them "The Uglies". Somehow they are beautiful even though the colour combination sounds "icky" to me.

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.