Baby Love

All arranged by Miss E to look after "her babies".

Sharing at Capturing Beauty: People, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tina's WW, Alicia's WW.

A Daily Joy

One of the things I love about quilt making is knowing the end product is both useful and beautiful. This quilt is the second I have made, sewn at the beginning of last year as a general use quilt. It came with us on our big holiday last year, and is currently in use as a bed topper on my bed. I just love the joy and satisfaction it gives me to glance at it many times a day as I walk up our hallway.

My first quilt was one of pinwheels and prairie points, made by carefully following a Moda Bakeshop pattern. Being a special gift I took extra time and care as I wanted it to be just right. When it came time to make this one it was so simple and quick by comparison. The idea started with a fat quarter I bought at Big W (discount department store). I went looking for fabrics to use with the fat quarter and found a fruit/pine print at half price in a local fabric shop. The top came together quickly, surrounded by one inch multi-coloured border, then more white.

I enjoyed working out the dimensions and pattern according to the prints I chose. I stippled the white, leaving the prints alone. Straight line quilting around the outer border gave a finish I liked.

The simplicity and contrast of colours and white appeal to me. I still love looking at it every day. It has taken me a while to find a pattern I like for a full size quilt for our bed as I had to be sure I would like it even more than this one. At last I think I've found such a pattern. However this quilt will still be in use elsewhere in our home and will remain special to me.

If you're interested in quilting you can browse hundreds of other quilts and their stories over at the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.

Mother's Day Quilt on Father's Day

About 12 months ago I received my first order of fabric from the US. As soon as I saw the American Retro blue floral I thought of my Mother-in-love. For weeks I considered how to make the most of the beautiful floral which I then ordered in the other two colour-ways as well. I eventually decided on an Ohio Star design with fussy cutting the centre squares to make the most of the print.

Work on the blocks became easier once I knew exactly what I was doing. I had planned on completing the quilt in time for Mother's Day and her birthday (also May) this year, giving me plenty of time to work on the details. However I completed my blocks by early July and thought I would keep working on bringing it together (using my faithful 26 year old Janome on the dining table as usual).

I stippled the surrounding fabric (Kona Snow).

Then hand quilted around the interior of the blocks.

I machine quilted the outer border with widely spaced diagonal lines.

I had intended to add various details of applique and stitching to the large ares of snow between the blocks but decided "less is more" and left it as is.

By early August I had completed the quilt and I didn't want it to sit in my cupboard when I knew it could be in use. In Australia we celebrate Father's Day on the first Sunday of September. After all the fanfare of Father's Day at home, we headed off to my parents-in-love, as we usually do. Gifts, as expected, were given to my Father-in-love, then the unexpected happened......I presented a parcel to my Mother-in-love. She was surprised and a little overwhelmed and thoroughly delighted! I made a matching card with one of the imperfect trial pieces. She loves using her quilt and I am so glad I gave it to her early.

Sharing at PicStory: Self Made (and voted equal second place).

Simple yet Beautiful

Soon after I began looking at quilts on the internet I found two quilts made by Ashley of Film in the Fridge which I instantly loved. You can see her versions here. Once I discovered online fabric shops I was able to source the fabrics and make my own, almost identical to Ashley's. A strip quilt is fast and easy to sew and a wonderful way to display larger print fabrics which are often too pretty to cut into little pieces.

Gently stippled all over, both were in constant use last winter in our living rooms. I'm looking forward to pulling them out of the cupboard soon and washing them up ready for another winter of beautiful warmth.

PS Just a day after writing this post Ashley added a brilliant tutorial on making strip quilts. Well worth checking out, they really are very easy to make, making them great choice for a first quilt.

Hour Glass Quilts

Hour glass quilts had never been high on my list of favourites until I came across a stunning red and white one on Flickr by Christina of The Sometimes Crafter. Although I'm not usually drawn to red, I couldn't stop thinking about Christina's beautiful quilt.

It wasn't too long until I had found some suitable fabric on sale at Fabric Shack and was busy enjoying making one of my own. I completed the quilt above last December in time to give to a dear friend who was visiting. I liked it so much I decided I would make one for our family to keep also.

New Year saw me busily working on the second quilt. This is it, above and below. It is so bright and "happy", I love to glance at it in our lounge room, ready for everyone to use.