Patchwork Swoon

The designer for the last  Aussie Charm Swap for 2015  was the amazing Tula Pink. The swaps are organised by the lovely Ms Midge
When it came time to make a quilt, it was a long time before I could decide what to do. As soon as I saw Camille Roskelley's Patchwork Swoon I immediately thought that Tula's wonderful fabrics might work.  The pattern called for cutting the charms into 2 1/2 inch squares. That took another couple of days of deliberating before I could make myself do that.

The pattern went together very easily once all of the 16 patches were made. Luckily I had some Fox Field scraps as I ran out with 2 of the 64 patches left to sew.   Some of the pieces cut off for the to Half Square Triangles  we also dismantled and used.
The centre star was using Bees Knees in Lapis from the Timeless Collection. The  star points are Hoppy Dot in Shade from Fox Field.
I was so happy with how the top turned out- a relief after cutting those charms into little bits.

Quilting - each element was quilted differently. The centre star was crosshatched, with the centre star in pebbles- well, stones and pebbles really. The outer star patchwork have straight lines on it with the narrow one having a little floral motif at the end of the centre one.  (I couldn't help myself)  For the star points I expanded on the little motif and made a little design with it. The background (which is Baby Geo in Shade from Fox Field) was stippled- a close dense stipple. It has given great texture to those areas. I kept it smallest around the Star, so the star really "pops" as a result.

For the label I made a Mini swoon block.  The backing is a Camo print from Moonshine.  The binding is Tent Stripes from Elizabeth.
 

 

I am thrilled with how this quilts have turned out. The Charm Swap has results on many gorgeous quilts. The fabrics have obviously been very inspiring.

 

I am linking up to Ms Midges Parade of Tula Charm Quilts

 

This is finish No 2 for 2016.

 

 

Zoo Animals -A finish

Over the past months I have shown blocks for the Zoo Animals Block of the Month- a paper pieced project from Quiet Play

Finishing the quilt was one of my priorities for January, so I sewed up the last block- the lion, and put the top together.  I have made it up into a baby quilt, measuring 41 inches square.
Quilting is simple wavy lines, which seems to work fine.
My border plans had to change drastically, after the first choice just didn't work, and look terrible.
This simple frame works so much better.

 

I enjoyed making these blocks, and love the result. Thanks to Kristy of Quiet Play for sharing  and for the block of the month

This was my first finish for 2016.

Catching Up

I haven't written a blog entry since we went on a 7 week overseas holiday. I was planning to show some holiday photos, but I will go ahead and do a quilting catch up to move things along.

I finished 2 quick projects in the 2 weeks before we left. The first one was a gift for a friend for boarding and showing one of my dogs while we were away.  As the recipient was previously a teacher, and their house is decorated in neutral colours, I chose to use Elementary by Sweetwater. I used a Layer cake for the blocks. The pattern is Starstruck by Leila Boutique.
I named my version Latte on The Beach.

The second quick project was to be a gift for a member of our Facebook Quilting group, who Lives in Cornwall and I had arranged to visit. 

I wanted a New Zealand flavor to it so I foundation paper pieced a Kiwi using  a Tartankiwi pattern. I made the original 10 inch size. I surrounded the kiwi by pinwheels in Loretta's favourite colours. The backing and binding is the same Paua (abalone) fabric I used for the Kiwi. 

 

 

On arriving home it only took a couple of days to be back at the sewing machine. The first finish was  using a Daydream (Kate Spain) jelly Roll. Pattetn is Kaleidoscope,  again by Leila Boutique. This was a quick, fun project. A perfect project to get back into the swing of quilting.

 

 The second finish was a UFO from last year. I decided to finish it for one of our sons. He had admired it when it was a finished top on the wall. I had been calling it The Ugly Quilt. It needed a new name so it back me Chrysalis. The fabric is Fortiny by Tina Givens. The design is by Amy Gibson. 

Next was another UFO from last year. I had participated in my first Aussie Charm Swap. The charms were all from Amy Butler. I chose to assemble them in a simple on point setting. I backed it with a gorgeous Amy Butler print

Next is a Christmas Table runner which was for or quilting group swap. I chose to use a winter colour scheme- using Edyta Stars Snowbird fabric. I chose 3 star blocks from the Fat Quarter Shop 2014  mystery quilt, and added a couple of borders. 

 

I decided to add a second quick runner-a fun Father Christmas . Pattern by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts

 

 

I decided to do the Fat Quarter Shop Charity Quilt- Snapshots. I bought the kit which used Daysail fabric by Bonnie and Camille. 

I didn't actually start the quilt until late November, so it was done in a few days.  Once the last block was posted in December I could do a quick finish. This was my last quilt finish for 2015. Number 19. 

One last quick thing for the year. While going through the new blog entries just before Christmas I found a Poinsettia block. It is by Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation I immediately decided to make it up for a member of our quilting group, whose husband was undergoing health problems

That's it for 2015.