Since January 2012 ~ Leafy Glen
A dear friend of mine wanted a new quilt for her bedroom and came up with the inspiration for this quilt.

Seven batik jelly rolls were found with a focus on purples and greens and aquas; the jelly rolls were opened and arranged in color value from light, through medium, to dark. Then the pieces in the jelly rolls were each cut into several 2.5" squares and each piece arranged on the design wall to blend with its neighbours, easing from one color to another across the blocks.
The design wall is 8ft tall by 11ft wide so the quilt is arranged on its side to fit. The top right hand corner is the darkest and the bottom left will be the lightest with a gradual flow through the mid-tones in the center.

The two different sized leaves are pieced in opposite colors so that they contrast well with the background and although each leaf is mostly one color, each section is a different fabric. Each block without a leaf has 49 pieces.

Since I recently had shoulder surgery, arranging the squares (which I had cut prior to the surgery) has been very therapeutic during my recovery whilst listening to books on CD!

Since August 2012 ~ Morning Glory
This lovely antique quilt was brought to me in serious need of some repair. It is hand quilted and hand appliqued in a design of the Morning Glory flower in bud and bloom.

The binding was seriously worn and is in need of complete replacement. Many of the blooms, buds, stems and leaves also need repair or replacement by hand. Luckily the fabrics used originally were solid colors and I have managed to find very close matches.

Since May 2010 ~ “Garden Delights”
Three sewing buddies and I have been working, bit by bit, on a Debbie Mumm design for the past year or so....we meet up and each sew a block or two a month amidst lots of laughter and great lunches!

It's a really fun project as it is well outside my 'usual' choice of quilts ~ so it's good to push the boundaries somewhat! We decided to try to use as much of our scrap stash as possible so the fabrics are a rather eclectic mix! We have also taken it in turns to supply one of the fabrics used in each block to each other, so that we each have a little of the others' fabric in our own quilt. For example, I had a great fabric that looked like a thatched roof which worked very well for the birdhouse roof and there was just enough for all of us. We also decided to embellish the heck out of it, so anything goes in terms of embroidery, buttons, ribbons and sparkles! Watch this space....!

Since April 2011 ~ "Shades of the Orient"
Our bedroom is decorated in Oriental style and I wanted to make four window panels to match the decor and protect the rug from the sun.

I came across a wonderful book called "Quilting With Japanese Fabrics" by Kitty Pippen in which she has many beautiful Sashiko designs which have intrigued me for a while now. In another book called Easy Japanese Quilt Style there is a beatiful wallhanging that blends large print Asian fabrics into a scenic view. I am planning to do a blend of both into which I will incorporate a gorgeous panel of white Ibis amongst hanging wisteria, together with Koi carp swimming in a pond amongst the water lillies.

Across the top of each of the four panels I plan to place three Sashiko designs, but these will be no ordinary Sashiko! I have used the traditional designs as applique templates and used the gorgeous McKenna Ryan Silent Inspirations fabric range for the pieces which are then satin stitched with complimentary colors. On the left is a sneak preview of four of them, although I have a total of 12 which are almost done now....

Since October 2008 ~  "Log Cabin Twister"
This is a paper pieced project from a book called "Log Cabin with a Twist" which has lots of different shapes at the centre. I had some beautiful Asian fat quarters in shades of turquoise and beige; one of the fabrics had both colors which was perfect for the centre square of each block. I had to find and add more fabrics for a total of fifteen and then I cut as many strips as the fabric would allow, so the size of the quilt will depend on the fabric available. Some I only had fat quarters, but others I had some yardage so I shall wait until I have completed all the blocks before deciding on how to set the blocks and add borders.

Here is one of the blocks so that you can see the fabrics....I'm looking forward to having them all done so that I can start putting them together as there are two ways of laying the blocks out and I haven't yet decided which way I like best.

Since November 2009 ~ "Falling Glory"
This one was made at a weekend retreat organised by our Quilt Guild. I elected to do the mystery project rather than take UFOs (Un-Finished Objects!) and we could choose to have fabric bought for us or to take some we already had. When I looked through my stash a beautiful leaf fabric was calling my name and I had enough for the pattern, plus I had three complimentary fabrics available too! What was interesting, and pure luck, is that the green fabric had a light and dark banding across the diagonal of the width of fabric. The way the fabric was cut and sewn resulted in the appearance of sunbeams coming through the leaves....either that or an over-active imagination! I liked it anyway and once I finally get it quilted, I'm planning on making it the table cover during the Autumn.

Here it is unquilted as yet....I'm still thinking about how to quilt it, whether to use a pantograph or whether to do a custom design. In many ways I'd like the practice of custom work, particulalry as it's my own quilt for a change!