Quirky Quilts

There appears to be a large demand for memory quilts.  I have so many requests to make quilts from t-shirts and clothing but I believe there is a better option.   Recently I have been making what I call ‘Tree of Life’ quilts which use just a small disc of fabric as a memory rather than a large patch.  Fabrics of completely different material and texture can be used.

A large wall hanging

Apart from the white background, this whole piece was made from my client’s mother’s clothing.  The tree trunk was a t-shirt and the top and bottom beautiful silk jackets.

I have just made a set of three similar but smaller pieces from the baby clothes of each of my client’s three children.

This quilt is 1000mm x 700mm and if you want one similar made, the cost is $300 + P&P.

This one took me a very, very long time to make but it was for my godson’s 21st birthday so that made it more than worth it.  It is made from shot cotton and has a superb, soft feel to it.  Given that it was a BIG quilt, it was tricky to line up everything, particularly the quilting, on both sides.

Green Side of Quilt

Blue Side of Quilt

Australian Landscape

I was thrilled to receive 2nd prize in the Abstract category of QuiltWest.  Standards really high this year and my friends at https://ourhousequilts.wordpress.com and  http://pippaquilt.blogspot.com/ also got prizes for their stunning work.

I made this commissioned quilt at the beginning of the year for a client’s daughter’s significant birthday.  I have just received word that she is thrilled with it!  It is so nice to get feedback!

As a distraction from finishing off the two quilts I am entering into QuiltWest 2018, I have been making rope baskets.  You can become quite obsessed!  I have now run out of rope and have a cupboard full of basket gifts – so back to quilting.

• The background is the Puerto Rican flag with the heading “No La Trata Humana” which reads no human trafficking in Spanish.   I stated in my first email, this wall hanging will be a gift for a charity that fights Human Trafficking, particularly child exploitation.
• The yellow flower is an old Puerto Rican symbol for the sun.  The charity’s logo is appliquéd in the centre of the flower with some of the governing values of the charity in the ‘petals’.
• Taino symbols are quilted into the blue section of the flag.

This piece now hangs in the offices of the Ricky Martin Foundation in Puerto Rico.

I am hosting the first Contemporary Quilt Group Studio Day on Wednesday.  The facilities allow you to try things that are a bit messy to do at home!  I am planning to use various methods to apply soy wax resist to cotton and silk fabrics and some rope bowls I have made. Fabrics and bowls have been washed and soaked in soda ash so that once I get around to dyeing, which I will do later at home, the dye should take. I wonder what it will all turn out like…. and I wonder what other members will be trying….

After the hard work associated with renovating a bathroom which is almost finished, I had fun this weekend making things to go in it.  I made a wall hanging and co-ordinating tissue holder.  I also made a basket for the toilet rolls from washing line – first time I’d done this and it worked very well.  The framed embroidery was made last year.

Renovated bathroom

Wall hanging

Co-ordinating tissue holder

Basket for toilet rolls

I am thrilled that my piece ‘Construction’ has got through the first stage of the juried challenge ‘Bridges and Borders’ at the 2018 Australian Quilting Convention.  I now have to send it to Melbourne so I need to add the very complicated hanging sleeve.  I am sure the instructions are incorrect as you end up with a whole lot of raw edges.  This is proving more difficult than the making of the actual wall hanging.  I can’t post the actual piece at the moment – that will have to wait until early April when they are judged.  Fingers crossed.

Hanging Sleeve – look at those raw edges!

I have just finished my third new baby quilt in a row!  This is a large, cot quilt or playmat.  It definitely has an Aussie feel to it with the feature fabric (which is on the back as well) showing kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras and crocs.  The row of 3-D triangles at the top of the ‘bedding’ gives something for the child to fiddle with.  Faces of bears are drawn on to avoid any hazard.  It is 100% cotton.

So I have restocked my supply of kids quilts, but if you want something different to what I have in stock, please contact me – I can always make a custom quilt to suit your requirements.

Now, I had better get back to some more creative work and complete some pieces for QuiltWest exhibition.

Three Bears (135cm x 86cm) $150