Before I became enamoured with small quilts I made large bed size quilts. I used to hand-baste them on the tile floor which always took at least a couple of days, then machine quilted them on my trusty Janome 4800.
It was a slow a laborious task, so a pile started to form and somehow they just became a memory - well, since then long-arm quilters have become the norm and their services now more accessible.
What would we do without their magical transformation of our flimsys!!!!!
In my last post I featured a couple of flimsys that were screaming out for release, their cry was heard and now they are proud quilts......
This is a reminder of the first one.
It is a 'Scrap Mania' design by Kaye England. She had made two, one using African and the other Batik fabrics.
I decided to use Australian Aboriginal fabrics.
The layout is not a straight set, but varied according to the different sized blocks, 6", 8", 10" and 12".
This sketch will give you some idea.
These are the blocks.
Most photos really don't do justice to some quite busy quilts, and Indigenous Aboriginal artwork is busy and colourful. The fabrics are rich in colour, vibrant and have a lot of movement. Here are some of the individual blocks!
These little insects are sugar ants, and a popular and delicious find out in the bush!
As you can see they are traditional blocks but take on a life of their own with such wonderful traditional designs.
Here is the quilt out on my front lawn.
This is the pieced back.
Not the best photos, the morning sun is filtering through the tree in the background. But you get the idea.
I really went out of my comfort zone working with these fabrics, but I did learn a lot about colour and how to get a scrappy look without driving myself nuts trying to match things up and be too contrived.
My next completion is a little more within my comfort range, it does however contain lots of different fabrics, they range from scraps of Japanese, Aboriginal, Civil War, Contemporary Floral, and a few other odds and bits, there's even a small yellow William Morris print in there too!!
I made the flimsy early 2007, and just recently had it long-arm quilted and sewed on the binding!!!!
Here are a couple of close-ups!
Despite the wide range of scraps, I am really happy with the overall look, love the close quilting design, and this time used a 60% wool/40% poly blend batting. It's the first time I've opted to use this as a batt, as I usually stick with 100% cotton. This is now on my bed for the next few cold months of winter!!!! The finished size of this quilt is 84" x 84".
The last of the gentle warm days of Autumn are still with us but not for long. I got home late one afternoon a couple of days ago, took the dogs for a walk and really took in the beauty around me, it was very still and my Liquid Amber tree is proudly sharing its gorgeous change of colour!!
Looks a little odd, this tree shedding it's leaves not far from the Alexander Palm trees and the rather huge gum on the other side. But winter does visit the sub-tropics too!!
There was a koala visiting in my trees last week, but it was getting too dark at the time to get a photo, I'll keep a look out for him and try to get a pic.
On the other side of the road a lovely view from my driveway of the surrounding hills, so still in the late afternoon light.
Today it is quite miserable, overcaste and rainy, it's also a day off, so have spent it leisurely inside. Still working on getting some of those large UFO's completed.
Thankyou to all of you who have left comments on my blog, I find I don't post as often as I would like, but appreciate my followers nonetheless.
Soon it will be time to chose an alternative to Google Reader to follow my favourite blogs, and I have been doing a bit of research today, looks as though it's going to be a toss between Bloglovin and Feedly!!! What a pain LOL!, I loathe change especially when it comes to technology, it really does do my head in..........
Take care all, and thoughts go out to all those poor people who lost loved ones and homes in Oklahoma this week.....we've had quite a bit of coverage on the news here, so sad.......
Take it easy,
Merilyn
14 comments:
Your quilts both look wonderful! I love the nine patch one! :0)
Congratulations on the completion of these 2 UFO quilts! They are both wonderful! The pieced backing on your scrap mania quilt is so pretty! Such a lovely compliment to the front.
Your views are amazing - thank you for sharing those beautiful landscape pictures!
I'm with you - I don't like change, especially when it comes to technology stuff. I hope the transiton goes smoothly for you!
Merilyn, your Scrapmania Quilt using the aboriginal fabrics is outstanding. I love the fabrics and the varied blocks. And you can never go wrong with a 9-patch. My favorite block next to the sawtooth star.
Always nice to see what you've been up to. Looks like you're going through your UFO pile with vengeance! LOL!! Imagine all these completed quilts stacked in the cupboard ... swoon ...
Love the 9 patch quilt. I'm a believer of 'Less is More'. Simple but with maximum impact.
Both of your UFO finishes are beautiful and I know the 9-patch quilt will keep you warm this winter. Let us know how you like the batt.
I love seeing the pictures of your native flora!
Lovely finishes.
The aboriginal fabric is striking. I used it to make a baby quilt for a friend ;-)
Love your shots of the wooded hills. Very pretty setting.
First of all, if I had a beautiful view like yours across the road, I don't think I would get anything done! It's spectacular! Your quilts are wonderful! The Aboriginal fabrics are facinating, and the backing looks good enough to make it a reversible quilt! I'm sure you have a real sense of accomplishment finishing these two beauties... congrats!
How interesting to have a little peek into your past. Different fabrics but the same care and attention to detail as in your current projects.
Great quilt, and how nice it must feel to have it complete. I, too, love your pieced back and think the back can stand on its own. I'm new here so I scrolled down to some of your previous posts - I love your romantic 9-patch, which is similar to one I am working on - a UFO that just needs to be quilted! And the circle goes round and round...
Merilyn, your Scrapmania Quilt using the aboriginal fabrics is amazing. You did a great job...I would have really struggled with that busy fabric.
Love the nine patch, a beautiful traditional timeless quilt.
Julia ♥
Hello Merilyn, I love the nine patch quilt...loved seeing your landscaped pics..Hugs O'faigh
Congrats on the two finishes - they're beautiful in their own ways. You'll never get tired of looking at the sampler with those wonderful fabrics! The 9-patch is beautiful in it's simplicity. Love the quilting pattern. Enjoyed seeing some of your view. Looks very peaceful.
How did I miss this post? Congratulations for finishing two UFO's! I like them both and it must feel so good to have them finished.
Thanks for including some photos of the beautiful countryside! Also, just want you to know I don't like technology changes either and have no idea what I'm going to do about Google Reader.
Just testing. Elyte
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