Back up

It's been far too long without any progress on the quilt front. For the past two months I've put aside Pip's quilt to focus on another quilt for my brother. 


It seemed like a good idea at the time to start this big (queen sized) quilt in October, to be ready for Christmas!  It was a simple pattern and I thought I'd get it done - which I did, funnily enough - but not without it's own fair share of panic and anxiety. It looked pretty good in the end and gave me a chance to dust the cobwebs off my piecing and quilting skills. 


But now I'm longing to get back to Pip's quilt. I haven't started yet because we will soon be moving abroad to our new home and I'm worried about misplacing or loosing bits of it in the move. Not to mention the madness that is cleaning, decluttering and packing for the move in itself, which leaves me with little time on a good day.


So that's where things were at when I happened to pop into Spotlight (a local fabric and craft supply store) at lunchtime one day while I was at work. It's funny how things find you when you're not looking. Have you ever had that happen? It usually happens to me with books. I find the right book I need to read at that time, or it finds me rather, just when I'm not looking.


Ok so maybe *I* didn't find it. My lovely Jeanette found it and called me over straight away. And there it was. Nothing outstandingly amazing. It probably wouldn't win any competitions, but nonetheless it was perfect for me and perfect for Pip's quilt. I bought what was left over on the roll. 

It also almost has all of Pip's colours in it too. I love the words because I will never forget how tiny she was. So tiny that my Obstetrician had to zoom in many, many  times on the screen before we could see her. Laying there so still. So sweet and so loved because she is. I just know it. 


The only words missing are "so sad". But perhaps the flood of tears that have already gone into the other pieces of this quilt have covered that sentiment better than printed words ever will be able to. 

More fabric love and transfers

My mother-in-law popped in to see me over the weekend and brought some fabric love for Pip's quilt. I love the pink fabric with it's design of the trees and leaves and the gorgeous baby aqua blue. There is also a pack of angel transfers because I told her that I haven't been able to find any fabric with angels on it yet that I could add to the quilt, so she got these in case I wanted to add to the embroidery on the quilt. Hmm...ideas ideas! 

I'm not sure where I'll use it yet. Still haven't settled on a design for the shooting star block, but I'm sure it will make an appearance somewhere. Have I mentioned how much I love that pink? Thank you Liz, (best mother-in-law ever).

Angel hearts

This weekend I finally had a nice long block of time to sit down and sew. I only managed to get two blocks done, but it's a start. 6 more to go. 

I'm really glad I swapped around the fabric I used for the pieces that make up each section of the wings in each block. Adds a bit of visual interest without detracting from the generic pattern of the blocks as a group, I think. 

Also glad I picked red thread for the blanket stitches - red for love. Before I started, I wasn't sure if it would give enough definition to the outline of each part, but I really like how it's all turned out.

Fabric, love and fabric love

A couple of days ago, I wrote about healing hearts blocks. Since then a funny thing has happened. 

Annie, my friend in Melbourne is the person responsible for introducing me to quilting. I fell in love with the beautiful baby quilts her mum made her son when he was younger and so I wanted to learn how to make my own. 

Annie and her mum Barbara, a very accomplished quilter who has made some stunning quilts so far are also the people who guided me through my early foray into quilting by leading me astray into my fabric addiction...I mean...by offering gentle encouragement and kind advice. They also happen to be the ladies responsible for introducing me to the Southern Cross Quilters online guild and without them, I wouldn't know what a healing heart block is let alone half the things I have learnt since about quilting.

So I was very touched when Anne offered to make a heart block for Pip's quilt and I promised to send a patch of background fabric to her in the mail. While i was cutting all the background fabric into size this weekend, I cut up a block for Anne too. 

It was a lovely surprise when I asked Anne for her mailing address and got a response asking if she could pick it up in person since she was up from Melbourne visiting family. We arranged to meet for morning tea at Barbara's place today and I had a lovely time catching up, admiring Barbara's latest quilts and talking quilty with them.

Before I left, Barbara pulled bits out of her very impressive stash and offered me some fabric for Pip's quilt! Quilters are usually a very generous and caring bunch, but I was very touched by the offer because it's a special privilege to be allowed to pick pieces from a quilter's personal stash. It's amazing how this project which started off with a simple idea of remembrance has also now played a role in reconnecting me with the very people who started my love of quilting! Talk about coming full circle. 

We sat on the bed and looked through all the different fabrics and colours. In the end, I decided on a yellow fabric which I'm thinking I will use for the star blocks even though I already had another yellow fabric in mind. The yellow fabric has little multi-coloured hearts through it which match the ice cream colours of the quilt so far. I also loved an aqua fabric, also with tiny purple hearts because aqua is the birthstone for March (Pip's estimated due date) and a patch of gorgeous sun and moon fabric which I'm not sure how I will incorporate in yet. 

It's also funny that I was toying with the idea of doing a shooting star block (to symbolise hopes and wishes) instead of a standard star block I'd originally thought of to symbolise hope. The colours in the yellow fabric could easily be drawn out with other fabrics to make the trail of the shooting star and as Barbara suggested, the blue would make a nice border also. 

Before I left, I asked Barbara if she would like to make a heart patch for Pip's quilt and she said yes. She even offered to do needle-turn work (which she hates) if I wanted! Now if that's not love, I don't know what is.

Thank you so much for your contribution to Pip's quilt Anne and Barbara. I can't wait to see your blocks and who would have thought that your quilty influence would someday give me the skills I have learnt from you and since to help me heal a broken heart.