Betty Fawcett: Quilt for Ashton

Betty Fawcett, Quilt for Ashton

Betty has just completed a quilt for her newest grandson.    


"The pattern for the blocks comes from "KidsQuilts" in New Zealand. A very easy pattern and lots of fun to make. The corner blocks and the borders are my own design. I needed to take the quilt from cot size to single bed, which is why I added the extra."


"The applique is all stitched on my machine using the excellent blanket stitch it has."

Lyn Duhlig: Benny Loves Melly

Lyn sent us photos of this gorgeous quilt last year but somehow they got missed! Our apologies to Lyn!

"This quilt was made to mark (son) Ben's engagement to Melissa in 2011 (though the quilt was only finished last week - one year after their wedding!). Ben and Mel had been a couple for ten years prior to their engagement - since high school, and the name of the quilt comes from doodles on Mel's high school notebooks.

The patchwork design is by Tula Pink from "Sew Red".  The quilting is my random choices, and all done on a domestic machine.

Next up ... a wedding quilt, and they are expecting my first grandchild in one month, so that's also high on the list."

Lyn Duhig, Kinglake

Lyn Duhlig, Benny Loves Melly

 










And while we're on the subject of Christmas: Cheryl Billing Smith

Not quite a quilt but Cheryl sent us a photo of some of the 24 Christmas Bon Bons that she made for her Christmas presents this year.

Christmas Quilts: Helen Turner

Helen Turner, Christmas Quilt

I made this a number of years ago from a commercial pattern - the details of which escape me at the moment. However ,it was beautifully custom quilted by Robyn McHardy of Sunshine Quilts.

This hangs in my front room every year for about a month and the many iron-on sparkles look fabulous by the Tree lights. The photo doesn't do the colours justice, but I just love it.

Christmas Quilts: Glenice Bust

My quilt of Christmas blues goes on my sofa during the decorations period.
I had a thing for Christmas fabrics in blue for a while!

Glenice Bust, Christmas quilt

You can see more of Glenice's quilts on her blog.

Christmas Quilts: Sue Maynard

This is a little wall hanging. It's not actually as shiny as the photo suggests -the flash on the camera picked up the silver in the fabric.

Sue Maynard, Christmas quilt

Christmas Quilts: Glenice Bust

This quilt was made from a swap of Dresden Christmas Plates and added to over a few years.   

I ran out of fabric for the centres, but I was able to source the Battenberg lace doylies. It was custom quilted by The Quilting Bug, Natalie, in Hoppers Crossing. It is Queen Bed sized.

Christmas Quilts: Fran Cox

This yellow and blue Christmas quilt is a Mystery Quilt I designed and ran for the Mystery Quilt group; it is MQ # 11.

Fran Cox, Mystery Quilt

The square quilt was made from blocks 'won' at Launceston Patchworkers and Quilters. This quilt is very dear to me, as I hand quilted at my mother's bedside in the last weeks of her life.

Fran Cox, Christmas blocks

The row by row was done with others in LPQ. I did 2 rows for this one, so it all went together.

Fran Cox, Christmas Row by Row

Cobblestones swap: Fran Williams

Fran Williams Cobblestones 1

A lot of blocks from the Bright Cobblestones swap, plus some I made myself.

Fran Williams Cobblestones 2

 

 

Fran Williams Cobblestones 3

Fran Williams, Cobblestones 4

Fran Williams, Cobblestones 5

 
I added a black and white border  around each block.
All these quilts were donated to Cancer Support Services to be given to teenagers.

Cobblestones swap: Margaret Provan

Here is a photo of a table runner I made from the Christmas cobblestone swap.

Cobblestones swap: Cait Gordon

Beaches by Cait Gordon

Beaches - Made from the watery blues and sandy colours swap, machine and hand quilted.

It has a wavy bottom – just like mine, LOL! Named after the movie with Bette Midler because I *love* the song, Wind Beneath my Wings. This quilt reminds me of my best girlfriend from when we were kids – we spent many summer days at Cottesloe Beach, Perth.

Orient Express by Cait Gordon

Orient Express Put together in a hurry for the Perth retreat and named accordingly! Made from swaps of cobblestones and different sized squares of oriental fabrics. Machine quilted by Vicki Mumme.

Close-up shows a second quilting design running from top to bottom, but it was hard to see, so I hand stitched over the top of the stitches in 2 strands of cream DMC. Cobblestone blocks also incorporated in the borders, and spares are on the back.

Orient Express (detail)

Cobblestones swap: Jenny Loveder

Here are two of the many quilts I made  using blocks from the Cobblestones swaps.

Jenny Loveder, Scraps from under my table

 

Jenny Loveder, Little Quilt of Love

Cobblestones swap: Sharon Barnes

I enjoyed the cobblestone swap. I made two quilts from the swap, one for my niece (picture above) and one for my nephew. I still have a lot of cobblestone blocks in my 'couldabeen' box; including a set of purple and green ones that missed getting posted.

Cobblestones swap: Hilly van Zuylekom

The photo shows my 2 great-granddaughters in the USA playing with their quilts. The one in the foreground is made with the cobblestones alternated with 'I spy' blocks, the one in the background is similar but made with blocks from a 9-patch swap. I didn't want to make 2 quilts that were the same but nevertheless went together because the girls share a room. And of course they had to be pink.

And then of course she had to sleep under it - on the spot - and had a little snooze.

The girls really liked them :)

At the moment I am making a similar quilt for my great-grandson with the blue cobblestones. Those kind of relatively simple swaps are a real lifesaver!

Cobblestones swap

SCQuilters has run many swaps over the almost twenty-year lifetime of the group. One popular and long running swap was the Cobblestones block swap, which ran from 2004 until 2009. It was originally run by Anne Semmens, until the end of April, 2006 and then by Stephanie Driel until December 2009.

Here are the initial instructions:
A set will contain 6 pairs - a pair consists of 1 positive and 1 negative block of the same 2 fabrics. A maximum of 3 sets can be sent, but must contain different fabrics in each set. Blocks will be swapped in pairs so that each participant will receive an equal number of light and dark blocks.

For ease of explanation, the following is based on using 2 FQ's to make your Cobblestone Blocks, but it is not necessary to have the same fabric for all 6 pairs in a single set.
FQ's usually measure 19" x 21"-22" and can be cut into 7, 2 1/2" x 21"-22" (You need 20 ½" for the blocks, but cut the full width of your FQ to save you making a skinny seam!)
2 FQ's in light/dark or in contrasting colours will make 14 blocks. 7 positive and 7 negative. One pair for you to keep, and 6 pairs to swap.

From EACH of your light and dark fabrics, cut strips 2 1/2" x (at least) 21" long.
Sub cut each strip into 2, 6 ½" x 2 ½" rectangles and 3, 2 ½" squares.
Block assembly - Positive Block
Top row - 6 ½" dark rectangle
Middle row - 2 ½" dark square, 2 ½" light square, 2 ½" dark square
Bottom row - 6 ½" dark rectangle
Negative Block
The reverse of the above - dark square in the middle surrounded by the light fabric.
Blocks must measure 6 ½" square unfinished.
The light and dark Cobblestones blocks look like this:

Over the next few weeks, we're hoping to show you some of the many quilts that SCQuilters made from these blocks.

Virtual Quilt Show: Lyn Duhig

Peacocks & Magpies

Lyn Duhig, Peacocks & Magpies (front)

This quilt was made as a wedding gift in 2012. It has been constructed using a stack and slash technique ( a pile of six peacock coloured fat quarter prints, slashed, the pieces swapped, and re seamed with a different fabric and with a black strip between the two pieces. Repeat three more times - 2 slashes in each direction; then repeat with another pile of six fabrics to make a total of 12 blocks).

The assembly and quilting is "quilt as you go". The blocks were each backed with a black and white flat quarter (the "magpie" part of the quilt's name - the bride and groom are Collingwood supporters). The sashing, intersection blocks, and borders are also quilted separately, with plain black backing. The corner blocks and intersection blocks are machine embroidered. The corners have the bride and groom and the wedding details. All the pieces are joined with more black strips, both front and back, and the binding is also black.

Lyn Duhig, Peacocks & Magpies (back)

Virtual Quilt Show: Bev Beeson

White Birches featured in Quilter's World, October 2010

Bev Beeson, White Birches

It was made for my best friend Donna who lives in Canada. 
I am currently in Canada and brought the quilt over for her.

She loved it.

The quilt features snow laden branches and 3 red cardinals (beautiful birds found in US and Canada).

My second quilt was made as a block of the month from a Patchwork shop in Croydon, Victoria. I cannot remember the name of it but I loved it as it has lots of oriental things on it; fans, kimonos, lanterns, flowers. It incorporated both piecing and sashiko.

Bev Beeson, Block of the month

It was a bit tricky with the piecing - there are six large blocks and each of the 6 blocks has a small red square in the centre (tricky). Borders were also included, making it a 7-month project. It took me a bit longer than that, though!

Virtual Quilt Show: Kayt Deans

Jigsaw

I loved making this Jigsaw quilt, it was the first time I’d used so much black but with the bright colours it worked really well.

Kayt Deans, Jigsaw

Matilda Rose

This quilt was English paper pieced, and as proof of just how obsessive you can become – I used diamonds, cut in half lengthways, to fill the jagged edges so I could bind a straight edge. You only end up seeing about ¼” of it!! LOL!

 

 

Kayt Deans, Matilda Rose

Kayt Deans, Matilda Rose (detail)

 

Virtual Quilt Show: Sandy Leaman

Kiwi Batik Moons
 


Sandy Leaman, Kiwi Batik Moons

I have recently made this quilt for my husband, using, mainly, New Zealand batik fabrics.

Virtual Quilt Show: Ngaire Flynn

Playtime Fun (2011-2013)

My local quilt club here in Wellington (Coastal Quilters) NZ had a challenge in 2011, with the bright commercial material in the corners having to be used. I always enjoyed playing ‘pickup sticks’ as a child, so I used that as my inspiration. 

Ngaire Flynn, Playtime Fun

Part way through making it, my machine decided it wanted to go to the machine hospital for a holiday – 3 months later, it was finally fixed, as the ‘sick’ part had to come from Europe, so the quilt missed out on being completed in time!! So I then had more time to complete it and play with the beading and oil pens. I had fun making it. I used my own hand dyed material along with the Challenge material and finally completed it early this year, in time to hang in our clubs 25th Anniversary Exhibition. Size: 25.5 x 28.5 inches