Bear Family Album quilt

This is a block-of-the-month queen-size quilt that I ordered from Whichcraft in Invercargill in about 2003?  Finally got around to hand-appliqueing the blocks in about 2008 and 2009? Am not sure exactly.

Have had the frames/sashing/border fabrics and the finished blocks sitting in my UFO box for the past two years and have decided (an early NY resolution) to get it done!

7 Jan 2012: quilt-top completed! Now just waiting to be quilted and bound.

Was hard to get a good photo as the quilt is so big (and my handy helper hubby is off bowling!)

24 Dec 2011: So yesterday I framed all the blocks (except for the Mama and Papa as I didn't have enough of their framing fabric so will hunt out some more) and have sewn together the 'children' photos into rows ready to put altogether once the Mama and Papa are done.

Is a pattern from The Stitch Connection by Lynda Howell.

Tessie the teacher

Mama

Papa

Earl the engineer

Rosie the runner

Quillan the quilter

Sam the sports enthusiast

Gus the gardener

Cornelius the computer techie

Nora the nurse

Daisy the dancer

Fred the fisherman

Quilt for...Anna!

Have this week delivered this to our young friend Anna Harpur as a gift for her 11th birthday (just after Christmas) - she is a lucky girl as I found it hard to part with as I just love the fabrics/colours so so much! (But I still have a layer cake in those fabrics so will get onto making my own quilt in the new year!)

I started this back in October using Moda's Amelia design - a charm pack of 5" squares -
created my own design and added yardage, including the black on white polka dot - to make it single bed size.

Has been quilted by Barbara Joyce Quilting at Otautau - she has quilted all over in a daisy design.

Backing was made using extra yardage and a tiny pink and white pin-stripe bought at Spotlight.
Has my 'trade-mark' heart label in bottom corner. 

Close-up of the centre blocks.

Christmas lap quilt for Michelle

Made this lap quilt as a thank-you and farewell (from work) for my awesome friend and teacher aide, Michelle Wallis. 

Michelle and I were very good friends at Longford Intermediate School (many moons ago) and it was really cool to be able to reconnect nine years ago when we moved to Edendale and Michelle invited Kieran and I along to the local playgroup, and Brian joined the fire brigade (where Michelle's husband Bob is a member too).

Machine-patched and quilted; fabrics from a range sold at Kits'n'Things in Invercargill.
Pattern was called 'Christmas Cheer' by Jacky Hens and was from magazine 'Patchwork and Stitching' Vol 3 No 7.

Michelle and I have been working together at Edendale School since 2004 and having Michelle working with a special needs child in my room this year has been fantastic so I wanted to create something special for her as she gives so much to the community in so many ways.

The special needs child Michelle has worked with will be moving on to college next year, so Michelle will no longer work with us at Edendale - she will be working with adult special needs clients in Gore.

12 Days of Christmas

Bought this set of 12 baubles from Ezibuy a few weeks ago, found half price ribbon at Spotlight and spent last Friday night tying the baubles to a ribbon-wrapped hoop so they can hang together. Has added another element to the 'Christmas corner' in our lounge!

Two new giraffes! 7/20 + 8/20 in my goal!

Made these two giraffes for my colleague Jodie (who is expecting a baby in January) to choose from - at the baby shower for her today at work Jodie chose the orange coloured giraffe for her new baby.

I have the pleasure of keeping the blue one for a while - I just love the colours!  Only 12 more to make to reach my giraffe goal - I have 4 pink giraffes sewn and cut out just waiting to be stuffed and put together.

See giraffes 2 - 6 in the series here.

My nephew's quilt...finished!

Have today bound and delivered one single-bed quilt to one very happy 5 year old! (earlier post)

Austyn Andrew Turnbull, age 5

Picked up the quilted top on Tuesday but this morning was my first chance to put the binding on due to school work all week and the elections yesterday.

Was quilted by Janet Pope of Janeve Quilting (lives near Browns) and she did a marvellous job - all the little vehicles, trees, clouds and hills are quilted and she has done a terrific job of the other sections too - I am really pleased with it!

Have used a purple marbled fabric and had a go at machine binding it (following instructions from Crazy Mom Quilts), used red thread for contrast and colour.

Quilt Diva lap quilt

Have just this morning finished this lap quilt for myself - machine pieced and quilted, using a charm pack of Moda Fabrics' 'Quilt Diva' designs by Amy Bradley - made up my own pattern and used some yardage of other fabrics for the borders and binding. I just wanted something bright and colourful that will add a little extra warmth in winter when I am sitting on the sofa stitching and/or watching tv.

The large squares in the centre have been quilted on the diagonal except for the button fabrics, which have 3 circles quilted on them, and the wonky squares fabrics have a large wonky square quilted on each one.

The triangles are quilted in the ditch and the smaller squares are quilted on a diagonal - I used a variegated thread for all the quilting.  The backing is nice warm flannel.

Amelia's Charms Quilt

Have started this single-bed quilt, using two Amelia (Me and My Sisters for Moda) charm packs and my own design. Have used a black on white polka-dot fabric for the sashing (thanks to quilt-blogger Wendy for her Moda Bakeshop Hot Cross Buns quilt 'recipe' for the inspiration). 

the square-patches: four by four blocks with sashing between - squares taken from two charm packs

This week I'll buy some yardage of the Amelia fabrics at my favourite quilt shop in Invercargill, to use for some wide strips at the top and bottom to lengthen it. I have earned my loyalty discount  so will be able to get them for 15% off.

I have also bought a layer cake of the Amelia fabrics so I can do the actual Hot Cross Buns quilt for myself as I absolutely adore the colours.  This charms quilt I think I will give to a young friend who turns 11 at the end of December.

UPDATE: bought some more fabrics (there is a sale on so got 30% discount!) and here is the finished quilt top (single bed size), ready to be quilted and then bound...

Quilt for my nephew

Earlier this year I put together this single-bed size quilt from a kit-set called "On the Go" by Karen Herbert (bought online from In Stitches, Armidale, NSW, Australia) for my nephew Austyn who turned 5 today.

I was a bit slow to get it to the quilting lady (Janet Pope at Browns) and so it is still being quilted. So I gave him a copy of this photo and will give him the quilt in a few weeks when I have put the binding on it.

It is strips of fabric, with hand stitching on the green and orange strips, and the vehicles and hills in the middle are appliqued. There is a strip of 'bargello' style patchwork in the middle.

I will take more photos once I get it back and finished off.

Quilts catch-up!

This scrapbook is slowly getting up to date!

2003 - Queen-size sampler quilt "Family Treasures" - a block-of-the-month quilt from about 1999? at the Whichcraft shop in Invercargill.  I loved the blue and gold colour scheme but had only started patchworking (a couple of cushions) so ordered the block of the month but stored it away until I felt I had the experience to make it.

In 2003 I felt ready to create it - the 12 centre blocks are all different and most were quite easy to do, the outside blocks are the same as two of the centre ones but in a different colourway - I decided to have alternating blocks.  Was machine pieced by me and then quilted by Janet Pope on her big quilting frame - she stitched in the ditch for the geometric shapes and stippled in the cream background.

2005 - I used scraps from the bed quilt to create this lap quilt from a magazine pattern called "Scrap Happy".  The patchwork is machine-worked and quilted in the ditch but I had a go of hand-stippling the centre block and was very happy with the results.

2006 - this is a block from a queen-size quilt pattern from a magazine (that I hope to make one day) but I just made this block as a wallhanging in the meantime. Again it is machine pieced but has hand applique and stippling in the centre.

"My Lavendar Delights" -2004-  own design - so called because I had made three other wallhangings and one cushion using the same fabrics (for my mother, mother-in-law, and a young family friend - no digital images - in 2003-2004) and wanted to make something for myself with the leftovers as I just love the colours.

Machine pieced and hand appliqued.

2005 - a quilting panel - Xmas ABC - machine quilted by me and added the borders

2009 - xmas stocking for my friend Alison's new baby girl Elizabeth - baby was due in December so had to have it all ready to go and only the name to stitch on so she could receive it in time for her first Christmas!