Fond Farewell

Swan Bay Quilters Friendship Quilt: 1988 

This wonderful signature quilt was given to me on my departure from Queenscliff and the Swan Bay Quilters.  It has a central applique medallion, a black swan typical of the area and is surrounded by smaller autographed blocks.  The idea was to use fabrics from their current project or stash.  I still love it as it brings back many fond memories of my time in Queenscliff and the friends I made.

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 68 x 69cm
Block Size: 12” & 6”
Cut in: 1988
Pieced & Basted: Hand 1988
Quilted: Hand 1988
Quilt Type: Friendship
Quilt Finished: 1988
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home# 016
Pattern Name: Signature Blocks around original design Applique Medallion
Pattern Source: Sue Longmore
Fabrics Purchased: Group scraps
Fabric Design: Plains & subtle  pastel prints
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Stretching Limits

Machine Applique: 1988

We recently had a council "cleanup" day coming up so I used the opportunity to have a bit of an "autumn clean" and found a few extra pieces for my photo gallery.  I had quite forgotten how much I enjoyed machine applique, and used it mostly over a period of 3 to 4 years to decorate our family jumpers or t-shirts.  My poor old Elna got quite a workout and I soon realised how much more I could get done (and sooo much faster too) with a machine. I can't quite remember where or when (late 1980's?) I learned this technique. Lots of fun!



Library Bag (all cottons)

Gum Leaf Top (machine embroidery over cotton, silk & leather)

Fragrant Bouquet

Fragrant Bouquet: 2014  (Started: 1988)

FINISHED (2014) yay! & photographed at last!!

This was a rather nice set of applique blocks that I made up in classes at the QNH. This pink & blue set, I think, I began the year following Sue Longmore’s beginner applique class in 1987.  I loved the colours (and they are still popular today) but it took me some years before I could decide on a setting because I didn’t want to replicate the sampler quilts I had made before. 

In 1998, I had decided on having a medallion centre and used one of the blocks from a series of applique lessons for the Randwick girls run by Roslyn Taylor in 1997 (based on Mimi Dietrich designs I think?).  I then came up with the idea for a star and took some pains to make up my own setting, design suitable patterns and machine piece it all together, thankfully having leftover fabrics from all those years ago to select from. 

By 2001, I had chosen a rather thick cotton wadding and found myself stumped again when it came time to quilt – the nature of the quilt seemed to suggest hand quilting but the wadding was very difficult to needle.  So, back on the UFO shelf...

In 2013, the blue star points & the border were
machine quilted; and the rest was, ummmm, happening!
A UFO underway but at a snail's pace...

It took some time before I became confident enough to select machine quilting patterns for applique blocks.  Eventually, after gaining a little confidence, I started stippling the star points.  Too many questions and not enough satisfactory answers, so research continues.  And everything is being done back-to-front. This quilt will be finished....it is so close to it.  Well, eventually!

A detail shot showing both hand & machine quilting mix

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 171.5 x 171.5cm
Block Size: 12” Hand in 1988
Cut & Pieced in: 1998
Basted: Dec 2001
Quilted: Hand & Machine 2006;2013-14
Quilt Type: Applique Sampler
Quilt Finished: by 13 Apr 2014
Exhibited:  No
Collection: Gifted 3 Oct 2023
Pattern Name: Various
Pattern Source: QNH Applique Workshops
Fabrics Purchased: 1988
Fabric Design: Plains & prints
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Cotton Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
Come back to UFO’s and keep persevering.  Sometimes the only setbacks are failing to look at alternate solutions to problems.  Keep learning – new skills may provide the answers you are looking for.     

Single Wedding Ring

Wedding Ring Block: 1988

The red seems a bit too saturated perhaps....

This was another Fort Queenscliff Quilters workshop.  We had decided to try machine stitching a block as complicated as the double wedding ring and had settled on Mary Ellen Hopkins’ “It’s Okay” method.  I finished this project and used it as a Christmas Tree skirt for our “motel” tree, which still resides with us.  

My “motel” tree was a panel (perhaps from Lincraft) which was sewn and stuffed with wadding.  Add a few bells, beads and whistles and voila! You have a tree to stuff into the car when you’re on the road at Christmas time.

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 46cm diameter
Block Size: 18”
Cut in: 1988
Pieced & Basted: Machine 1988
Quilted: Hand 1988
Quilt Type: Group Sample
Quilt Finished: 1988
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home#0 14
Pattern Name: Double Wedding Ring
Pattern Source: Mary Ellen Hopkins
Fabrics Purchased: 1986/87
Fabric Design: Christmas prints & colours
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
I still love traditional double wedding ring quilts and one day I plan to do this. Oh, yes I do! Until then, Mary Ellen’s very easy machine sewn pattern made doing this group experiment easy-peasy. Even better, I had just discovered the delights of rotary cutters. 

Smitten by Amish Colours

Amish Houses: 2006  (Started: 1988)

I had been introduced to the exciting colours of Amish quilts and wanted to make something using these specific colour ways.  I chose a traditional schoolhouse block to make up.

Amish colours - well, sort of!

Gradually, I collected colours and purchased a pack from Keepsake Quilting; probably to supplement what I had already in my stash.  I think I started the house blocks as early as our Queenscliff days in 1988.  The blocks languished for many years as I wasn’t particularly inspired after I had made them up.  They just seemed a little pedestrian, even with their night & day theme, if you know what I mean.

Gray seems to help make colours pop

I finally came up with the additional star blocks after flicking through some old issues of Quilters Newsletter Magazine and began to work them up from some of my leftover plains.  I got to the basting stage in 2002 but it still looked dull….

Backing adds that final lift

Then, back in 2006, I found some vivid stars at Craft Depot in Pennant Hills and couldn't wait to get home to undo my basting.  This colourful backing added a bit of zing to my quilt and I started hand quilting the house blocks and stars. Then I machine quilted the border from the back using the stars as a guide, resulting in an interesting star shape on the borders.  Should have done this all over!!!  Always a lesson learned…  Still another UFO off the pile and finished at last!

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 98.5 x 167.5cm
Block Size: 12”& 6”
Cut & Pieced in: Hand 1988
Basted: 2002
Quilted: Hand & Machine 2006
Quilt Type: Amish Influence
Quilt Finished: 2006
Exhibited: 
Collection: Gifted 3 Oct 2023
Pattern Name: Little School House
Pattern Source: Unknown
Fabrics Purchased: 1988
Fabric Design: Amish Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
Another UFO that waited many years for inspiration to strike! Sometimes it’s quite a pleasure to re-visit UFO’s.  I keep them all in a separate box so that I can challenge myself to finish at least one a year.  (Previously, I had a couple of boxes, so there is progress, albeit slow!!)

Antique Toys #1

Antique Toys: 1988 

Antique Toys made an appearance in my life as part of a group raffle perhaps for the Guild.  I made the duck, a 12” block, in antique colours and rather enjoyed the exercise.  Somewhere in my mind I stored away the idea that ONE DAY I was going to make all of the blocks in this set…..as you do!

Pam coordinated this effort during 1988. Sadly, I don't even have a photo of either the quilt or my block.

(I am never going to find a photo of this block or the quilt that was made as a result of the group's efforts, so I've included my photo of the same block made in 2000 with the Bondi Evening Group for the sake of explanation.)  

Creative Tendencies

Creative Landscapes: UFO (now lost to the Bermuda Triangle of stitching) 

I signed up for a workshop on sewing creative curves by Marcy Paynter (10 Sep 1988) at Geelong Quilters Guild.  It was an interesting effort to make up our own landscape designs.  The design was sketched on card, cut into a jigsaw of shapes and then a variety of fabrics were paper pieced by machine stitching it (a close zigzag) all together.  The concept was good but I flagged when we started to use clear nylon thread to applique the pieces together.  Somehow, plastic thread did not align with my orthodox habits – cotton fabrics and cotton threads….

Needless to say, the piece still languishes in my garden shed waiting to be finished.

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: cm
Block Size:
Cut in: 1988
Pieced: Machine 1988
Quilted:
Quilt Type: Macy Paynter Workshop
Quilt Finished: Not Yet Finished
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home# 012
Pattern Name: English Paper Piecing
Pattern Source: Macy Paynter
Fabrics Purchased: 1986/87
Fabric Design: Plains & bold prints
Fabric Style: Mixed
Materials Type: Mixed
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
Not my kind of thing.  Perhaps I wasn’t quite ready for this type of “creative” play with various textures and thicknesses of fabrics.  The final issue I had was using monofilament thread (clear nylon).  I can understand why of course, but just couldn’t take to it.  As a result, this piece languished in my UFO box until the final decision about what to do with it was made. Despite my feelings, I believe it was a worthy exercise.

Ed Note:  5 April 2015
Finally I've decided to consign this project to File 13....  It has taken some courage to come to this decision but really, there comes a time to just let go.  This was never a masterpiece in the making or even a personal favourite.  After giving two old projects a new lease on life recently, I made the decision that this little number was never going to improve no matter how much hard work went into it.  So rather than keep fretting, it was time to wave goodbye and take it off my stress-inducing UFO list.  Just so I'll remember it, I've taken a few photos, and I think you'll understand:

A gaudy mix of velvets, cotton, sateen and silk

Paper-pieced back view

This was the original drawing

  All gone, no regrets!