Hi there, sometimes it's several days or even a week or so before I get to share my customers quilts here on my blog. I like to wait until they have their quilts back before doing so, however with permission I do share sneak peeks on my Instagram andFacebook pages. So without further a do.....
Lois' Christmas mystery stitchery byThe Country Yard"Noel". Lois asked for light custom quilting as not to interfere with the peeper. Swirls with a few holly leaves scattered throughout.
The quilt measures 49" square, I used Superior's Fantastico "Desert Sage". Lois provided the batting and the pieced backing.
Next is Gayle's sweet wall hanging. Gayle works for Grandmothers Garden quilt shop in Hamilton, this quilt was made as a sample for the shop.
The quilt measures: 24" x 30" it's a Lori Smith design called "Meadowbrook Acres". Gayle supplied the backing and purchased wool batting from me.
Thank you Lois and Gayle.............see you again very soon with the next installment of quilts.
Hello and a warm welcome quilt lovers, I have a lovely treat for you today, Sue'seight-years-in-the-making-grandmothers-garden-quilt!
A few months back Sue contacted me to ask if I would quilt her beloved batik grandmothers garden quilt............of course I said yes, I had been watching her progress reports on her blog. So it was all arranged on her recent visit to New Zealand that we meet up for the first time. Even though I have already quilted another one of Sue's quilts - see here, we had never met, only through our blogs and emails.
Sue was keen to have a New Zealand feel to the quilt, the black fabric is a Kiwiana fabric called "Moko", think swirls, punga fronds and ferns.
The 'Moko'-fern-feather is all free hand quilting, I did mark with chalk the spine to get nice curvature.
I used Glide thread in black. The 'pathways' around the flowers have been left un quilted as Sue didn't want dense quilting.
I thought of all my lovely readers and followers as I was quilting the last few flowers and got to thinking you might like to see how I quilted these flowers...........hubby to the rescue! Women are known for multi-tasking, but I haven't mastered quilting and videoing at the same time :-)
For the flowers I used a Gunold Variegated thread, this colour worked well over the rainbow of colours. The singular red toned hexagons I also used a variegated Gunold thread but this time in pinks and reds.
With a black/grey backing fabric and lots of black on the front, Sue wisely chose black batting.
Thank you Sue for letting me loose on your quilt!
Next a few photo's of my recent trip as a helper with a school Duke of Edinburgh - sliver medals group in training for tramping Cape Reinga - Te Paki next year. A great bunch of kids learning life long skills.
A mock patient with a 'broken leg' being stretchered out!
Hunkering down in the long grass as the rain does it's thing! The lessons don't stop because it's raining.
Blindfolded -lesson you must know where everything is in your pack!
A fun few days away, now back to quilting...............lots of variety in the quilting pile! Thanks for stopping by.
Secrets & more secrets to show you readers..........hang in there at I will show you all the wonderful, delightful projects I have been blissfully working away on soon.
A sneak peak of two completed blocks from the Block of the month I am working on for The Country Yard. I am just loving this project & enjoying using the Apliquick tools Lynette sent me for the applique.
Three quilts & one table runner quilted, binding & labels attached, ready for a wee elf to hand stitch the binding in place all ready for our New Years Launch on the 8th of March. After this date I can show much much more!
The other day I had Simon sleeping at my feet in my sewing machine cover, he was so cute. One evening I couldn't resist taking a close up photo of his paws.
Remember just over a week ago I showed you my first customer quilt of the year, see here. Well Fleur emailed me some finished photo's, complete with matching cushions. What a lovely scene.
A quilt could mean you and your family survived the harsh winter. Hand stitching a quilt was crucial for your families survival. Old quilts, were once 'new' quilts. Made from salvaged scraps of clothing, pondered over, thoughtfully cut & pieced, in many cases by candle light to make a quilt. Most likely not thought of as a keepsake, but a matter of means.
Thought provoking is the old quilt...............where did you come from, who snuggled under you, what were the tears for, and the joys, the celebrations life holds..........................old quilts do that, don't they? They get you thinking...........................................
Because we make quilts more for pleasure, rather then out of need, does that mean in years to come our quilts will not be thought of? Where did your quilt come from, who snuggled under your quilt?
Jill has been busy making table runners for Christmas presents. Jill is a newbee to quilting & is going great guns!
Five table runners, four with tea cups, one with roses. The tea cup runners I did simple straight lines & stipple, for the rose runner, I did scrolls & stipple.
This table runner is now ready to be trimmed for the binding, which Jill had me attach for her ready to hand stitch down.
Carol has also been busy making this next quilt for her daughter for Christmas. Jill made this quilt at a class at Grandmothers Garden with Ngaire Brookes.
Another lovely braid border that I quilted an orange peel design, in the cream border I broke the area up a bit with straight lines & a scroll/feather design. On the red ( not sure you can see that clearly) a curling ribbon.
I had the perfect stencil for the setting triangles.
Some of you might be thinking that I do a lot of sampler quilts....well you would be right! I am happy as I can explore new quilting ideas. I like each sampler block to be different, but have some continuity over the whole quilt. So for example, the curling ribbon I have used on the above block has also been used on the red border.
I used my favourite threads, Madeira polyneons & my up & coming new favourite, Gunold. I have bought quite a few new threads in the last few weeks to try.
The Christmas tree is up & decorated.....by me, my boys no longer think it is cool to get into the buzz of decorating for Christmas. Maybe I will take some photo's of what I did & blog about it. Maybe.......I have a new computer with a completely new operating system that is very different to what I am use to, so this post alone has taken a good couple of hours!!
Well not her quilts, but her designs.
Carol made both quilts through Grandmothers Garden , the first, "Verma's Garden" was a stitchery that Carol did this year. The second quilt, "Summer Maze", was Carol's first appliqué project.
Having met Carol only once at a Lynette Anderson's workshop earlier in the year, I feel very honoured & trusted that Carol gave me freedom to choose how to quilt "Summer Maze". As for "Verma's Garden", Carol wanted stitch in the ditch & a simple design on the strip blocks & the odd butterfly through the border.
"Verma's Garden"
"Summer Maze"
Normally I crop my photo's before loading, but for some reason this one wants to stay as it is! So sorry about the washing on the line.
Carol's appliqué is lovely & isn't this a lovely design?
I love some of the small details, such as these snails........................
And caterpillars!
What about the spider!!
Do you see the dragonflies?..............please click on any of the photo's.
Oh .....& the bee's!
I don't think there is one thing I don't like about this quilt.
Thank you Carol!
