In this period of isolation, I am making quilts from my stash and trying different things. This quilt is intended to capture the feeling of Australia.

Australiana (152cmx145cm) $350


Lots of time for sewing now! Yesterday, I looked at my batik fabrics and made this simple quilt. At present, it is just the quilted strips which is lovely in itself. But it would lend itself to some sort of appliqué being added. As an example, this has been done ‘electronically’ below with the addition of a kangaroo – but it could be a koala, a piece of coral or a symbol – you choose. The quilt then effectively becomes a background to the object of interest.

Leaping Kangaroo 110x140cm $100 (background quilt only) or $140 (quilt with simple appliqué object) + P&P
Although I haven’t before shown iPad/tablet sleeves on my website, they are a very popular product of mine. I have made one from the left over material from my Code Orange quilt.

iPad/tablet sleeve 275mm x 225mm $39.95 +P&P

Close up of sleeve
The sleeve provides extra protection for your tablet when you leave home and your headset and miscellaneous items can be popped in as well. They make wonderful gifts.
This week, I have had no urgent commissions or competition/challenge pieces to work on. Commissioned quilts are becoming prohibitively expensive now that good material costs between $25-$28 per metre. So I decided to start making quilts using my stash of fabric which was bought when prices were cheaper. Below is the first of such quilts. It is a 100% cotton large lap quilt with a black back. There will be more to follow – so if this one doesn’t appeal, there will be more, very different ones, to follow.

Code Orange 138mm square $295 + P&P

Close up showing the orange quilting
I recently made a very personalised quilt for a client. She used Spoonflower (an online, on demand, independent custom fabric design company) to select fabric which represented her friend’s many interests eg alpacas; cooking; dance etc. She then ordered an 8″ square sample of each chosen fabric which I subsequently made into this quilt. All parties were thrilled with the result!

Personalised Quilt
I was thrilled that my statement piece ‘Road Rage’ got selected for the juried contemporary quilt exhibition stitched and bound exhibition held at the Zig Zag Gallery in Kalamunda. The exhibition opened today.
The piece depicts the anger on the road where cyclists are vulnerable. Injuries and worse occur. White, ‘ghost’ bikes mark where cyclists have been killed. I wonder when attitudes will change

Really enjoying doing a bit of my own work between my commissions. Finished my piece for the juried Stitched and Bound contemporary art exhibition and am hoping that it is good enough to get in! I’ve also just finished this wall hanging (above) for our living room which I love – must have started it a couple of years ago. Lots of beading and embellishment if you look carefully.
Someone wanted to buy Our Quilt for the ‘grey side’. Given that I had entered it into QuiltWest and had wanted to keep it for our own bed, I made another! Surprised myself that the actual costs of materials alone was $400! Quilts aren’t cheap to make these days which is a real shame.

5 years ago, I made my quilt ‘Bikinis on Turquoise Bay’ which won a first prize in QuiltWest and was chosen as one of the best quilts from WA to be displayed at the Australian Quilt Convention.

We have just returned from a fantastic trip up to Ningaloo National Park and guess what? Turquoise Bay still looks the same!

I have had a short break from making commissions to finish the quilt for our bed. At last. I love it. It is two sided and the bright side uses improv piecing which takes much longer than you would imagine. The muted side incorporates pieces of the curtain and blind fabric.

The bright side

The muted side
Tales of a Stitcher
art quilt exhibition
Handmade patchwork quilts for sale - off the peg and made to order
Handmade patchwork quilts for sale - off the peg and made to order
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