Halfmoon Bay

This is a completion from a project started during my class with Brenda Gael Smith at the National Quilting Symposium in Christchurch earlier this month, for her 'Serendipity Circles' quilting class.

Brian had asked me for a quilt for the auction at the Southland Charity Bowls event (which is next weekend) so when I was in the class I knew I would use the blocks for a lap quilt.

All the fabrics have come from my stash (I LOVE blue) and I am so pleased with how it looks with the mix of light and dark blues/mints/aquas. 

I wanted a square lap quilt so added the side strips to make it about 48" square.

I used a variety of free motion quilting designs for different parts of the blocks, using same-colour threads on the top and an aqua thread in the bobbin, to do a loose side to side zigzag 

for the sashing, a flower petal design across the curved blocks, and stippling for the rest of the block.

The backing is whole-cloth, wide yardage that was in my stash and is the perfect shade 

of deep aqua blue.

For the name, I wasn't inspired so I posted some in-progress photos on Facebook and some of my friends suggested names. I nearly went with Susan's suggestion of Every Which Way Is Blue, but Lenae shot in a last second suggestion of Halfmoon Bay.

That name immediately really appealed to me as all the blues remind me of the different moods of the ocean and waters found around that gorgeous piece of NZ as well as the fact that the kids and I are currently reading a Des Hunt novel that is set on Stewart Island - that seems serendipitous to me!

Linking up to share my project with Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday! Kia ora!