ACS
Friendship Quilt: 1995 (Started: 1992)
By mid-1992, the ladies were willing to give
a Friendship Exchange quilt a go and we all chose a simple design to make the
task easier on ourselves. I chose a
large Clays Choice block and asked that everyone hand piece it in fabrics they
were currently using on their own quilts.
Just for good measure, I asked them to embroider their name on the block. I added a couple of additional blocks to make
a lap quilt size then finished it with pink fabric borders – very unusual for
me! Later, as I was still enjoying hand
quilting, I chose to stitch a traditional design.
Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 108x 150cm
Block Size: 15”
Cut in: July 1992
Pieced & Basted: Hand 1992
Quilted: Hand 1995
Quilt Type: Group Friendship Quilt
Quilt Finished: 1995
Exhibited:
Collection: Home# 023
Pattern Name: Clays Choice
Pattern Source: Ruby McKim’s Book
Fabrics Purchased: Group Choice
Fabric Design: Floral Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton
Lessons Learned:
I had now been quilting for nearly 8 years and I finally came to the conclusion that hand-stitching quilts, whilst lovely to look at (and a chance to Zen out for a bit in a hectic life), was holding me back. I had a wish list of quilts a mile long and somehow my creative spirit was starting to rebel. The TAFE classes had included a few on machinist skills so I was well prepared to tackle the accuracy demanded when machining together a top. It was time to up-skill.
Ed Note:
The ACS Group spent our first year (1991)
learning how to piece samplers in the traditional manner. We had fun together and managed to fit in a
few other interesting “technique” days to expand our repertoire of skills and
of course to determine quilt construction methods that appealed to us
individually.
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| ACS Friendship Quilt |
Finally I added some buttons (yes hearts) which
seemed the sentimental choice to make a nice complimentary statement about
friendships made over the 2-3 years this group was running.
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| Detail - ACS Friendship Quilt |
Quilt Finished Size: 108x 150cm
Block Size: 15”
Cut in: July 1992
Pieced & Basted: Hand 1992
Quilted: Hand 1995
Quilt Type: Group Friendship Quilt
Quilt Finished: 1995
Exhibited:
Collection: Home# 023
Pattern Name: Clays Choice
Pattern Source: Ruby McKim’s Book
Fabrics Purchased: Group Choice
Fabric Design: Floral Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton
Lessons Learned:
I had now been quilting for nearly 8 years and I finally came to the conclusion that hand-stitching quilts, whilst lovely to look at (and a chance to Zen out for a bit in a hectic life), was holding me back. I had a wish list of quilts a mile long and somehow my creative spirit was starting to rebel. The TAFE classes had included a few on machinist skills so I was well prepared to tackle the accuracy demanded when machining together a top. It was time to up-skill.
