Cathie
The quilting journey of the Aussie Quilt started when Tina brought back a copy of Quilt Mania from one of her trips to England. This excellent magazine featured a Patchwork Studio design using Aboriginal style fabrics.
The magazine was passed around the table and this quilt caught the attention of several group members. Before the afternoon was over an order for the Australian Aboriginal fabrics was placed online at www.ozquilts.com.au, a very efficient supplier, and we had the fabric the next week.
At our next gathering we divided up the fabric. Some ladies were drawn to the reds, others sticking to the earthy tones or the greens. I made my version first and the pattern was so simple that the quilt came together amazingly quickly. How very satisfying. Before long we were all on the floor pinning my version for quilting.
Tina commented wistfully that it would have made a wonderful Christmas present for her son who was living in England. Leslie agreed and added it was a shame because she was off to England the next week and would have taken the quilt over for Tina. I raved on how quickly the quilt had come together and finally we agreed to have a quilting day and help Tina make the quilt.
The next week we all caught the most violent of bugs and all had to have a day off. We gathered (for medicinal purposes, of course) at Tina’s early in the morning with sewing machines, cutting boards and irons. Leslie and Tina sliced fabric furiously, Greta, Annette and Bronwen sewed kilometres, Vicki and Lynn ironed every crinkle out of our lives, Ros made cups of tea and I was mostly a runner.
Tina’s house is split level so it was fun viewing and reviewing from a higher vantage point while the runners rearranged blocks so that the design was perfectly settled and the serpents flowed through the quilt here and there. The blocks were completed before we allowed ourselves the luxury of a splendid lunch and wine on the balcony.
All afternoon the piecing continued until it was finally completed. Then we pinned the quilt for quilting. Totally exhausted we all were but delighted with the day’s effort. Annette took the quilt home to machine quilt and I added the binding and it was hand stitched into place at the next gathering and went off to England with Leslie that week. Job done! What closure!
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Tina
Vicki was then inspired to make her version and that was taken to South Africa for a friend’s sixtieth birthday.
Vicki
My version ended up a thank you present for a Swiss friend for his excellent hospitality during our stay. Greta is hoarding her fabric but our scraps are also together in a hexagonal design pierced by Lynn and Greta and waiting to be completed at our next charity quilt day.
So what a journey one small quilt group have had with a magazine from England, a design from Belgium, fabric with an Australian Aboriginal inspiration, quilts made in Australia and going to England, South Africa and Switzerland.
Do you have a special quilt story? We would love to hear from you!
What to do with all the scraps that a group of enthusiastic quilters store up in a year?
