Can’t Lock a John Deere Down!

Can you guess that this was a Covid lockdown project? I had the fabric ready, waiting for the chance to make it, so lockdown gave me time to do it (silver linings!)

The pattern is ‘Square Illusions’ by Jen Schaffer from issue 30 of Make Modern (digital) magazine and it came together really easily - it helps to have a design wall! I love that the pattern of the shapes takes over and it is hard to see where the blocks are (there are 30 twelve inch blocks). 

The quilt measures 60” x 72” and I kept the quilting simple as there is so much already happening in the pattern itself. The backing is just a black and white print.

The quilt is for my friend’s son, Adam, who is a big John Deere fan, so I liked the three-colour scheme of this pattern to fit the brief. 

Otag-O Highlanders - first quilt finish of 2020

My first quilt finish for 2020 was this 'Mirage' pattern (by Yvonne Fuchs aka Quilting Jetgirl).

I made the large lap quilt (60" x 84") in Highlanders rugby team colours for the son of one of my best friends; it easily covers a single bed.

Billy's older siblings have had their quilts so he was waiting patiently for his to turn up before he also heads off to college.

He requested Highlanders colours - the franchise team for the Otago/Southland region in the Super Rugby competition.  Blue is the main colour (Otago is traditionally blue and gold), maroon is an accent colour (Southland is traditionally maroon and gold) and lime is the team's away jersey colour - which I thought would be good for the fourth ring to give a bit of pizazz.

While the original pattern using graduating colours for the triangles within each circle, I instead used just the five solid colours (all from Spotlight) - so it took a bit of maths to work out the pieces I had to cut and where to place them.  The pattern Yvonne has written has about five size versions, so I am definitely keen to try it again with the suggested range of colours.

I had the top pieced before Christmas and so only had to baste and quilt it - I stuck to simple

straight-line walking foot quilting, using a variety of line widths (using the seam lines as guides), and switching between navy, maroon, gold and lime threads.

The backing is a light grey linen-look print (quilt backing width) 

and I used the maroon as a binding (I am a proud Southlander after all!)

The Highlanders were originally called the Otago Highlanders when the super rugby competition started up, but the province names were dropped a few years back.

I simple HAD to have Otago in the quilt name as my friends and I had so many wonderful 

afternoons (and evenings) attending Otago provincial contest rugby games while we were 

studying in Dunedin in the early '90s and the catch-cry for supporting that team is a long, 

drawn-out cry of "Ooooo-taaaaaa-gooooo!!!"

Great memories for me every time I hear it!