Sunday, October 19, 2014

Sunny Southland Day lap quilt

A finish for my wishlist for the  Littlest Thistle Q4 Finish-Along! And now that she has received it I can reveal that I whipped this up last week as a gift for my lovely workmate, Jo Stanway, who had a 'significant' (yet still plenty young enough) birthday on Sunday and is a true-blooded Southland girl, so what better name for this quilt than 'Sunny Southland Day'?
Here in Southland we can sometimes have 'four seasons in one day' at any time of the year but today was absolutely gorgeous and sunny, which happens a lot more often than many North Islanders would believe!
View from the top of the Edendale hill, looking south-east into the Lower Mataura Valley, Southland.
I spent all day and evening on Saturday getting this quilted and I put the plain pale aqua binding on while watching the All Blacks beat Australia 29-29 for the Bledisloe Cup. Way to go AB's!!

Can you spot my Black Bess in the sunshine?
Made during the week from two charm packs of Kate Spain for Moda "Sunnyside" range, plus yardage of white solid...approx 53" x 55".  Photo obviously in the shade - the colours look darker here than in real life but you can see the pattern I used and the loops I used for quilting. The quilt has crinkled up nicely after being washed.
It is based on Meadow Mist Designs' 'Looking Glass' quilt.
I quilted lines of loops side to side and then loose double loops around the outside border.
The back is made from a pale aqua green basket-weave fabric.
Some close ups of some of my favourite blocks - such gorgeous fabrics and the colours are a wonderful mix of aqua, pale blue, a sort of lime green, some inky blues, light and dark salmon/tangerines, lemons and golds, pale and smokey greys...(and the blocks are straighter than some look in the photo, the quilt was folded a bit bumpy underneath)...








One more photo, this time looking east from the hill, with the top of the Fonterra Edendale factory showing in the distance...
And me...(Brian wanted me to hold it for photos to prove to me it wasn't easy to have arms outstretched while holding up a 'heavy' quilt...I was fine!)
Linking up to share with Kelly's Needle and Thread Thursday and Crazy Mom's Finish It Up Friday! Welcome to the sunny south everyone!

14 comments:

  1. Congratulations, it's a beautiful quilt. Nice colours.
    I believe the weather can be lovely - it was when I visited your area a few years ago( and it was May )

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    1. Thanks Ali! It is certainly my favourite part of NZ (though I was born and raised here so am totally biased!) We do have glorious weather which we appreciate all the more because we also often get the grotty weather (usually right when the in-laws visit from the North Island LOL!)

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  2. Very beautiful, I love your version of Looking Glass.

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    1. Thanks Cheryl, that means a lot to me coming from you as the designer! I'm glad you don't mind the adaptations, we'll call it the Kiwi version shall we? Have a nice weekend!

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  3. The loopy quilting really softens the look of this quilt. I've got to try my hand at FMQ!

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    1. It's all just practice! Make some fat quarter sandwiches and have a go (turn them into pillows later on). I did nearly give myself RSI in the wrists though as I wanted to get it done in one day - taking breaks is important. Have a good weekend!

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  4. Beautiful - great use of colors. I adore the quilting as well!

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    1. Thanks Heather, the colours were just all that were in the charm packs, Kate Spain has such lovely fabrics.

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  5. Anonymous10/25/2014

    Gorgeous! The loopy quilting is so perfect for this quilt. And what a beautiful view :).

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    1. Cheers! I was keen to try a new fmq design, and yes, the view is super, I so love this part of the world! Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. Congrats on your finishes :o)

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    1. Thanks Katy! I plan to get a few more done this quarter too! Happy New Year!

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  7. Such a gorgeous quilt - love your loopy quilting too!

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    1. Cheers Kirsten - I totally loved these fabrics/colours and they suited the recipient to a 'T'!

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