Cairo Stars: 2002 (Started: 2000)
The
colours for this quilt were inspired by a poster of Egyptian museum pieces –
all ochres, turquoise and yellows. It
looked so exotic and I was up for something “completely different”. I had also seen a star pattern I was
interested in trying out, but in the end I was too lazy to draft it up so went
with a less complicated design. I chose
two blocks – a simple 4 patch and a star from 1937 (in a Jinny Beyer book) I hadn’t done much in the way of patchwork in
2000, so this was the perfect remedy.
Nice ‘n easy to piece and in only a few days I had a sunny, scrappy top.
The
top had a wide border area perfect for hand quilting and having been inspired
by a course I had recently finished with Luixin Newman (Hand Quilting, 19/8/00),
I decided to continue my learning on
this top. As luck would have it, I found
a rather nice pattern in a New Zealand Quilter Magazine (#38, 2001) and I was able to put Luixin’s
expert tutelage to good use. Mind you, my stitches have a lot more
“perfecting” to go before I’m capable of reproducing Luixin’s fine (really,
really, tiny!) stitches.
Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 152 x 199cm
Block Sizes: 9.5”
Cut in: 2000
Pieced & Basted: Machine 2001
Quilted: Hand 2002
Quilt Type: Own Design
Quilt Finished: 2002
Exhibited: Dangar Island Australia Day 2010
Collection: Home# 039
Pattern Name: Indian Star1937 & a Simple Four Patch
Pattern Source: Jinny Beyer’s “The Quilters Album of Blocks & Borders” p46
Fabrics Purchased: A stash buster
Fabric Design: Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Mountain Mist Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton
Lessons Learned:
This was a nice simple quilt – a rainy day special. Whilst I quite like the result and it certainly provided a perfect vehicle for practicing hand quilting, I’m not sure that it challenged me. I began to ask myself whether I really needed to make more quilts if this was all I was going to achieve. So, rumble, rumble, the wheels of change were set in motion.
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| Cairo Stars - a quick fix & fun experiment |
I
managed to cut and piece this quilt at Watsons Bay. It was ready for quilting by 30/12/01 so
despite a busy schedule I was able to progressively hand quilt it - cross-hatch the centre and a lovely fan for the border (a relaxing way to finish off a busy work day) at Kensington.
The result isn't particularly "Egyptian", that was more about the inspiration for this design but it did make for a nice change of
colours for me to tackle. And there is always something so comforting & soft about a quilt that is hand quilted.
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| A nice feather |
 |
| Leftovers used in a quilt label |
Quilt Finished Size: 152 x 199cm
Block Sizes: 9.5”
Cut in: 2000
Pieced & Basted: Machine 2001
Quilted: Hand 2002
Quilt Type: Own Design
Quilt Finished: 2002
Exhibited: Dangar Island Australia Day 2010
Collection: Home# 039
Pattern Name: Indian Star1937 & a Simple Four Patch
Pattern Source: Jinny Beyer’s “The Quilters Album of Blocks & Borders” p46
Fabrics Purchased: A stash buster
Fabric Design: Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Mountain Mist Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton
Lessons Learned:
This was a nice simple quilt – a rainy day special. Whilst I quite like the result and it certainly provided a perfect vehicle for practicing hand quilting, I’m not sure that it challenged me. I began to ask myself whether I really needed to make more quilts if this was all I was going to achieve. So, rumble, rumble, the wheels of change were set in motion.
