Life is Good: AUTUMN LEAVES IN SPRING????

While we are embracing Spring in Australia, the small quilt challenge for October was to incorporate the maple leaf block into a design. I have always loved this block. It was one of the blocks in my first large quilt, an album style quilt run as a block of the month over twelve months in 1998 at
The Quilter's Store in Auchenflower, Brisbane.

I hand appliqued and machine pieced this quilt in 1998-99 and hand quilted it in
1999-2000. Making the quilt involved learning lots of new skills - needle turn applique, how to inset seams, how to baste a large quilt together, mitring borders and hand quilting. No wonder it took so long to make!!!!

The small quilt challenge was a much easier project. The day I finished machine quilting it I sponged out some chalk marks and hung it on the line to dry. It was so windy that the little quilt looked like a gymnast going round and round the uneven bars just begging to be watched.

I included a bright red leaf as a reminder of Autumn on the South Island of New Zealand. During several trips to New Zealand I have been amazed at the bright yellows, the striking reds and oranges and the deep maroons of the spectacular autumn foliage in Christchurch and Queenstown. Because of our milder climate and the type of trees planted in Brisbane we don't see such an abundance of autumn leaves nor the depth of colour found in colder areas. I quilted veins on the leaves to distract from the squares and half-square triangles in the piecing.

I so enjoyed sewing the maple leaf blocks for that quilt that I was inspired to make another smaller quilt with different fabrics for each part of the leaf.

Mid October I visited the Stitches and Craft Show at the Convention Centre in South Brisbane. My friend Judy and I both travelled there by train. We live approximately two hours drive time apart so it was a perfect opportunity to catch up. I was very restrained, buying only a small bundle of reproduction fabrics. My main aim was to find information about threads and stabilizers for machine embroidery, and about machine embroidery patterns that can be used for quilting on a home sewing machine. So while I didn't purchase much on the day, I have lots of information about different websites for online tutorials and shopping. Enough to make my head spin.

Queensland Quilters hold their annual quilt show in conjunction with the Stitches and Craft Show. These photos give just a glimpse of some of the exquisite work on display.

Beautiful Applique

1/4" Hexagons in Liberty Fabrics appliqued onto a white background

Dear Jane

Hand Appliqued Small Quilt

I also saw a little stool which I loved. I've asked my husband to make a similar one for me, another project to add to his retirement "to do" list. I love the little storage area underneath. So cute!!!