Quilters Show and Tell

Sarah's Elephants

Submitted by Emma How.

You can see more of Emma's quilts on her blog.

I made this queen-size quilt for my sister's wedding gift. The centre is based on a Valori Wells Radiant New York Beauty design. These blocks are foundation-pieced.

I used one of my favourite fabrics as the background to the feature blocks, and spent ages finding matching colours for the stripes.

My sister is devoted to elephants, so there was no question of whether I would incorporate them; just how! The rows on either side used Margaret Rolfe's foundation pattern (except I added a 4th leg - they looked odd with only 3 showing!). And I snuck in a pair at each point of the large red diamond.

After the photographer had left for the groom's house, I hung the quilt on his backdrop (hope he didn't notice the tiny pin-marks later!) for her to see when she came back in the room. It caused quite a stir!

Submitted by patchworkmaniac.

You can see more of patchworkmaniac's work on her Flickr page.

I was asked to design a quilt to teach a few years back and this was the result. It was designed for the one step up from beginning quilter and it was my idea of a technique sampler. Machine piecing, foundation piecing, applique and rotary cutting. No takers - well I wasn't worried, I had myself a beautiful quilt and I am very pleased with it anyway.

 

She's Hot Mum

Submitted by Linda White from Gum Valley Patchwork, Cooriemungle, Vic. Australia.

Linda has her own patchwork shop and you can see more of Linda's work on her blog.

I made this quilt - Karen Stone's New York Beauty pattern - 3 years ago to celebrate our daughter Emma's impending 18th birthday.

Over a period of about 3 months I made the 30 different blocks, and every afternoon when Emma would come home from school she'd race inside to see which block I had completed that day. The reaction was always usually the same  's*** hot Mum' (please excuse my language - Emma's words not mine!).

Next came the borders and these were drawn up on long pieces of paper for foundation piecing. Knowing that I certainly couldn't quilt it good enough I sent the quilt away to Susan Campbell of Rowdy Flat Quilting. Susan did a fabulous job - every block is quilted differently.

When I entered the quilt in the 2006 Victorian Quilters Quilt Showcase in Melbourne I wanted to call it 'S*** Hot Mum' but I chickened out and instead called it 'She's Hot Mum'. I have had the quilt hanging in the shop on display whilst Emma has been away overseas in the UK, but it will soon head back to Melbourne to take pride of place on Emma's bed. I really enjoyed making this quilt and am very proud of the way it turned out. (My husband loves it too!)

Rainbow Quilt

Submitted by Emma How.

You can see more of Emma's quilts on her blog.

I made this quilt as an experiment with colour and foundation piecing. Each of the rainbow strips was foundation-pieced in 2 sections.

I roughly planned out the span of colours on each, cut strips of loads fabric about 1.5' wide (but at odd angles, and not too carefully) allowing a different fabric for every inch (plus a few spares). I ordered the fabrics then sewed them onto foundations - on which I'd only marked the overall finished shape.

It's quilted with some fancy, shiny rainbow thread which kept breaking on some lines, and took a while to match up colour sequences, but luckily my zig-zag fitted neatly onto the finished size. It ended up being a gift for my cousin's first baby and I'm currently planning something matching for their second due in a couple of months.

Christmas Gold

Submitted by Judy B.

In 2004 the Golden Harvest Quilters presented me with these blocks as a farewell gift, along with some fabric to match, a plant and a photo Album, and made me a Life Member all at the same time. As those who were there on the day I received my blocks should know, I was thrilled, and challenged! Also speechless! I had to think about how I would put them together while I unpacked, and for some time after. The first problem was that here were so many blocks that I would have to make lots of wall hangings. Or a quilt! And if it was to be a quilt, how about queen size for our bed, and leave out the wadding so we would actually use it during summer.

Before the blocks became threadbare from me playing with them, I put the small borders around each one in Jan 2005, and got them together, though still ragged around the edges two days later. The project was left a bit rough around the edges for more thinking time while I planned the border. It came out again in May 2006 and but it was not until the day the Golden Girls celebrated their 20th birthday on Wednesday 13th September 2006 that it became less ragged. Finally the day came, while the Golden Girls were celebrating at the 2006 Christmas Party, I got it all together, sandwiched (with out the filling so we can use it over our summer Christmas), quilted and within days it was completed and on the bed.

It looks absolutely wonderful, and every time Brian wiggles a toe bells ring! (I'm not telling you what is going on when the bells ring for extended periods of time, but we will have to curtail that sort of activity while we have guests!) I am delighted with the results, and it is sort of sad to put it away during the colder months, but what a thrill it is to get it out when the Christmas decorations come out for their annual airing. It is unlikely that I will ever forget the Golden Harvest Quilters anyway, but I have no doubt that the memories will come back every Christmas despite age and old timers disease!

The Original Beach Quilt

Submitted by Emma How.

You can see more of Emma's quilts on her blog.

This is the original Beach Quilt made for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's wedding in 2005, preceding the Seaside quilt for their daughter.

It's Queen-size, made mostly of 2' squares, and what I remember most about making it is crawling around on the floor, at almost 8-months pregnant, trying to get the placement of all the squares right.

I finished the binding at about 2am the morning of their wedding.

There are a few foundation-pieced sections, including the sun, some Margaret Rolfe dolphins, and the sea-gull which I drafted myself, and a few appliqued touches - the whale, bikini and sailboat.

Warm Hearts

Submitted by Paula Rowe.

I made this quilt top in 2005 and have just gotten around to getting it quilted.

It is flannel with wool batting and I have called it Warm Hearts.

Each heart was machine foundation pieced then hand appliqued onto each block.

 

Emma' Seaside Quilt

Submitted by Emma How.

This is one of my favourite quilts. I made it for my niece when she was born in February 2007. Her parents are both keen sailors, and I'd made them a queen-size beach-theme quilt as their wedding gift, so this had to match.

I decided on the 'above the sea', 'on the sea', 'under the sea' idea, but spent ages mulling how I was going to tie the whole design together, before finding the perfect starfish and stripe fabrics and coming up with the central on-point square.

My favourite part is the beach, with the waves running up the sand, and the cute toys and deckchairs. The water was added over the sand and chopped the tops off a few of the toys, so I embroidered the handle of the spade, the back rim of the bucket and the flag on the sandcastle over the top, giving it a more 3D effect. And of course there's the obligatory sailboat! 

I'd been collecting sea fabrics for ages, and had a wonderful time cutting out bits from each of them to add onto large foundation bases.

Because the shape and size of each piece is dependent on the print, it's a bit of pot-luck just what the end result will be like. And because it uses just a little bit of lots of different fabrics, it boosted my stash! I'm still collecting beachy fabrics for when she has a little brother or sister.

It's simply quilted, with echo-quilting around the sun, some wavy lines in the sky and on the water, and underwater I did green seaweed and some watery swirls.

Sandra's Quilt for her Mum

Submitted by Sandra McLay of Foothills Fabric and Threads.

Sandra is a co-owner of a quilt shop - read about the shop on their blog.

This is a quilt that I made for my Mum.

It is called Strawberry Laurel and was made in a class with Alison Niclair at Sandlyn House.

I  made if for my mum's 80th Birthday which was in 2003. 

It is machine applique blocks, foundations pieced sashing, quilt as you go with hand quilted wreaths.

I didn't do the full size quilt, I omitted the borders.  It sits on top of my mums double bed and she loves it.