Koalas and Kookaburras

I don't usually use Australian themes in my pieces but these quilts were for a baby born overseas, so koalas and kookaburras seemed to be appropriate.

This one features kookaburras and a flower that is vaguely Australian (I've seen the flower before but not in that colour):

And this is the back, which features a strip of the fabrics used on the front:

This one is more colourful and includes koalas as well as kookaburras:

The back also features a strip of the fabrics used on the front:

Denim, denim and more denim

I had some scraps of fabric left over after making denim bags and decided to use them up on a project that I've had in mind for some time. There weren't many scraps so I also pulled out my box of old jeans, which I've been collecting for at least 10 years. I have used some of them in the past for cushions and even a journal cover. But now I was ready to attempt something a bit bigger - a queen-size bed quilt.

Now, I could have cut the fabric into squares but I thought it would look good in 2.5 inch strips (I'm really good at making things difficult for myself). So I cut lots and lots and lots of strips and joined them together into a strip that was about 140 metres (over 150 yards) long. It rolled up into a very large "jelly roll". I then cut it into 50 strips, each a bit over 2 metres long, sewed them together, and quilted it with ditch stitching (it felt like wrestling a boa constrictor).

And here it is all finished:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar saga - the final instalment - Olivia

When I bought the Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt kit (about 8 months ago), Olivia took the photo from the kit, climbed up on the couch and sat gazing at it lovingly. So I bought more fabric for a quilt for her - but then I had to buy more after passing the first quilt on to another child. She loved the quilts so much that I had to hide them whenever she came around. 

Finally, on her second birthday, she became the proud owner of her very own Very Hungry Caterpillar Quilt - and here she is enjoying it.

And I'm not making any more!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar saga - Part 2 - Darci

Back in September, I wrote a post about a Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt, which I made for an expected great-niece but which went to another little girl instead. At the time I thought that a VHC quilt might not even fit in with the new baby's nursery decor but a photo my son posted on Facebook soon revealed that they really, really wanted a VHC quilt for their baby. And Darci is now the owner of her very own VHC quilt.

She's even wearing a VHC onesie to complete the picture.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar saga - part 1

Recently, being unusually organised, I went in search of fabric for a quilt for a baby that's due at the end of October. I found a kit for a Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt and was immediately won over. So I purchased the kit and made it up the next morning (it's so easy working with a centre panel and ready cut strips). 

I've always quilted my quilts myself but the one in the shop had been commercially quilted with a caterpillar, butterfly and leaf pattern (see detail of reverse below), so I sent it off to be quilted and was very pleased with the result.

So, I'm all organised for the new baby nearly 2 months in advance? Nah! Why not? Well, a colleague thought it was the perfect birthday present for a one-year-old and bought it off me. After all, I had plenty of time to make another and the parents might prefer something different anyway ...

... to be continued.

Pa Ywel's quilt

When my friend Pa Ywel said that she wanted to make a quilt, I invited her to choose some fabrics from my stash. I had bought these purple/red/orange fabrics to make a quilt but then got cold feet about how to put them together. As you can see, Pa Ywel did a great job with her first quilt. And I managed to reduce my stash a little without actually doing any work. :)

Purple & white

Emma moved into another bedroom on her birthday and was allowed to choose the colour scheme. And, of course, my job was to make the quilt. Each block in this quilt consists of 17 separate pieces of fabric and there are 54 blocks - 918 separate pieces of fabric.

Candy quilt

I made this quilt for another recent arrival. Astrid arrived a week late a month ago but I only finished the quilt last week. I'm really happy with the bright, fresh pinks and greens, although this photo doesn't show them very well.


This detail provides a better view of the fabrics, which are from Moda's Me and My Sister Designs.

More quilts

I've managed to complete a couple more quilts recently. The blue and white one is a surprise for a friend in Brisbane.

This one is another one for my granddaughter Emma. Her mother chose the fabrics and asked me to put it together. She seems to like the finished product.

Quilt time

When I heard that a grandchild was on the way, I was very eager to make a quilt. I bought lots of fabric and eventually put one together with the help of my son. I cut the fabric and he sewed it together, although I managed the border and binding on my own. I was able to do some pinning, probably because I haven't been using my hands too much this year and especially not spending hours every day using a keyboard at work.

I don't think that it mattered too much that I didn't finish it before my beautiful granddaughter Emma Rose arrived. It is now on her cot and I have started on another one.