Two Quilt Tops Finished

Over the last 18 months or so I have been slowly working on hand stitching 2 quilts
Last month I finally finished Mountmellic.

Mountmellic is designed by Di Ford Hall and was the Quiltmania Mystery Quilt for 2014.  I received all the fabrics from Threadbear Quilting in Castlemaine in their Block of the Month program.
The whole quilt is stitched by hand. Piecing was with Aurifil thread and I used YLI slik for the applique.

In June I finished My Small World top.

My Small World was designed by Jen Kingwell and the pattern was published in the Quiltmania Spring 2015 magazine. This quilts is also made completely by hand and took almost exactly 12 months to finish.
At the moment I am hand quilting it...

I am using Aurifil 12 for the sky and Perle 12 for the rest of the quilt.

I am working on finishing a couple of other projects too. More about them soon. :)

More from Making the Australian Quilt exhibition.

This is the original Auntie Green's quilt. It is one of the first quilts hanging in the exhibition and it took my breath away as I walked around the first corner. It was made by Mary Ann Wellen in England in 1860.

A masterpiece of pieced hexagons made by Prudence Jeffrey, sewn on the ship on the way to Australia in 1857.  Each hexagon is less than half an inch!

Roebuck quilts one and two. These quilts include chintz fabric. They were both also made on a ship on the way to Australia and were sewn by 2 sisters.

This amazing work was stitched by Corporal Clifford Alexander Gatenby while he was a prisoner in a POW camp in Germany. The wool and cotton stitched onto this army blanket came from items of clothing  discarded in the camp. Needles were hand made from spectacle frames and ground down toothbrushes!

Beautiful Broderie Perse.


I also visited the exhibition of Italian Jewels Bulgari Style at the NGV, St Kilda Rd.

I finished my afternoon with a delicious afternoon tea at Ganache Chocolate in Collins st.

Quilts In The Barn 2016

This weekend is the very last Quilts In The Barn, so it was a not to be missed day for me.

The theme this year is antique quilts. Hanging were quilts belonging to Linda Collins, Claire Jones, Bev Bannard, Jill Pearce and Leah Zieber, who is Linda's international guest this year.

Lots of photos following!

Can you imagine how long it took to stitch together all those triangles!! The hand quilting was amazing too!

Two basket quilts...

This quilt, Brenda's Bounty belongs to Linda Collins. The pattern for this quilt is in her book  Treasures From The Barn.

More quilts of Linda's that appear in her book...

One more of Linda's, Panama Pyramids, which is the subject of a sewalong on Facebook and Instagram @panamapyramidsewalong2016.

A couple of photos of  Leah Zieber's area.

Leah has a beautiful display of antique dresses and quilts,

Also tiny quilts..

Look at this tiny sewing machine!! :) Today was the first time I had seen a Singer Featherweight.

Many of the quilts on display were hand quilted. So much beautiful work!!!

This red and green quilt had a variety of hand quilted designs in the alternate blocks.

This is from a small whole cloth quilt.

Another beauty..

This next quilt had a repeating block..

Embroidery, hand quilting and a scalloped edge.

I loved this bird!!

Berries ans still more hand quilting!

A few more quilts..

Some interesting fabrics in this one.

Every year Linda has tables and chairs set outside for everyone to enjoy refreshments. On each table is an old quilt (covered with plastic to protect it from spills) These quilts don't seem to be photographed and shared as often as those inside the barn, so I thoughT this year I would share photos of some blocks from several of these quilts.

Thank you again to Linda, her army of helpers and all the local and international guests who have shared their quilts and expertise with us! All the best Linda for your future ventures!

The Making The Australian Quilt Exhibition NGV, Melbourne 2016

This was my favourite quilt in the exhibition. It is an unfinished quilt top made by Elizabeth Hardy in England before she came to Australia in the 1830s.

I love this quilt, not only because of the fabrics, but also the workmanship.

Here is a close up of the centre medallion and some of the borders. That narrow pink border is not a print, they are a narrow strips of fabric, perfectly pieced!

The broderie perse is chintz, still with the glaze. Below are a couple more photos of the borders in this quilt. Some of the fabrics are hand painted!

Lots of great fabrics in this quilt!!!

Here is the centre of another quilt using lots of broderie perse...

The maker of this quilt is unknown. The fabrics span 1815 to the 1840s.

I love the quirky blue and gold border on this coverlet...

This coverlet was made by Elizabeth Smith. It was probably started in the 1830s, when Elizabeth still lived in England and completed in the 1850s after Elizabeth arrived in Melbourne.

I took a couple of photos of part of the Rajah Quilt.

That delicate appliqued border is amazing!!

The Rajah Quilt was sewn by convict women who sailed Australia aboard the Rajah in 1841. These women had been taught patchwork while in Prison in London. This is the only known example of a convict quilt made on a voyage to the colony.

Just a few more photos of parts of quilts.Unfortunately I didn't get details of these.

A hexagon quilt, shown under glass. The papers are still in all the hexies. Some are printed, some have hand writing on them. The hexies have been joined with tiny whip stitch.

I really love the fabrics in these old quilts!!!

I wish I had taken a photo of the original Auntie Green! She was breathtaking!!

There are 88 works in the exhibition, ranging from large pieced and appliqued quilts, to simple waggas, patchworked clothing and hand embroidered pieces.

The Australian Quilt Exhibition is at NGV (Ian Potter Centre) until November 16. Well worth a visit...or two!