Fish and Flowers Quilt Finished.

Well here it is, completed! I thought I better post the finished quilt before it got too far in the past and I forgot. I made this quilt for a friend of my mum's 80th birthday. She's young at heart and was thrilled with the gift.
This was a different quilt for me, but when I think about it, it's a bit similar to the Outback one, with a background of strips and raw edge applique on top.

I used a Moda Marbles Pastels Jelly Roll plus some summery fabric strips for the background, then scraps of bright fabrics for the applique. I like the rickrack flower stems and stripey fish. Then I outline quilted in black around all the shapes and stipple quilted the spaces. I've never been a fan of stippling, or done quite so much, but it grew on me with this quilt. So much so, that I stippled a whole quilt after this one!

I used a 2 inch black and white stripe on the back, and I think it works. When you turn the quilt over, you can see the quilting (also in black and white) like a line drawing on the back. It's a bit of fun.

xoxo Ann.

A Very Nice Day

I had a very nice day at the end of last week.
I was quilting my Fish and Flowers quilt in my shop, when a quilter and blogger from Cairns dropped in. Debbie, from Deb's Quilting, stayed for a coffee and chat. It's really special when someone you've never met in person, but reads your blog, contacts you and you meet in the flesh. I'm sure you know the feeling.
I used an all over stipple on the quilt, after free motion stitching around the flowers with a black thread. They're quite large, and I found it a little challenging keeping the stitching lines straight, or smooth, and although I've done a lot of machine quilting, I've never actually stippled such a large area.

As I was doing the stippling, I was surprised by some old friends from Dalby, a bit further west of Brisbane. I went to school with Ruth, and was the bridesmaid at her wedding. It's great to see a couple still together and happy after more than 20 years!

I finished the stippling, and was quite pleased, then to do the border in some kind of wavy, crinkly design... my sewing mahcine spat the dummy about a foot from the end of the last edge.
That's when Sandi from Embroideroo popped in with her sock monkey for a loan.
Here he is sitting on a can of insect spray. Since we've had so much rain, the ants have invaded and I've had to resort to surface spray to protect special things like the cats' food mat and kitchen tidy bin. Yuk!
But the monkey is sweet. Just in front is a magazine with quilt patterns from Don't Look Now. Kellie is a really talented designer - beautiful quilts- and I'm pleased to stock her patterns in my shop.

Later that evening I was visiting some blogs and a beautiful little quilt at Bumble Beans caught my eye on a number of side bars. (I think Victoria at Bumble Beans must be one of the most prolific and amazing quilters in the world!)It was part of an exhibition to raise funds for Alzheimer's disease research and awareness, Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. I checked out the website, and bought Victoria's beautiful quilt, Memories! So exciting! My own grandmother had Alzheimer's, so I felt a special connection to the quilt and the cause.
Have a look at the websites, and you too may find something you like to support this worthy cause.
Hopefully I'll receive the quilt soon - I'll show it to you,

xoxo Ann.