The
AMQG's second challenge was to make a small quilt (at least 20x24") to donate to the neo-natal intensive care unit at Auckland's Starship Hospital. Two very small members of my extended family ended up in the Wellington NICU unit at just over 22 weeks, so I know these places need cheering up! The challenge was to use a block you've never done before. I wanted to do paper-piecing but since I have technically done that before with BOM I decided to do a star, made with paper-piecing! I used the
Lone Star template from Six White Horses and it turned out beautifully.
I had plans to put 4 stars on the quilt but then reality smacked me upside the head and I did one central one! I think it looks nice though, simple and cheerful. The quilting around the star went just as I'd hoped, but the border...well it's not exactly the greatest but I didn't plan it out as well as I should have in retrospect.
It's hard to take a good photo of white stitching on white fabric but the back looks really neat.
This is beautiful beautiful. Such perfectly good stitches.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving watching all the work you're doing at the moment, lots of new learning. It's making me happy seeing it all.... and I'm itching to do some myself. (I need a sewing room/studio!!!).
Enjoy your week Jacqui xx
Pretty!
ReplyDeleteLove how this star has turned out. From a distance your fabric choice on the edge of the star looks like embroidered french knots. Very cheerful:-)
ReplyDeletelooks fabulous - love it :)
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about paper piecing lately... I think I even have some templates from a project I started something like 10 years ago that are buried at the bottom of one of my fabric bins. Maybe I'll dig it out and see if I remember how to do it... sometime after April, though.
ReplyDeleteLove your star! And the quilting is perfect.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing, Jacqui, I love it. The people I encounter through Sands are always so grateful of donated items like this.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Love it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning! What a great idea for donating little quilts. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt's just lovely, Jacqui! As someone whose new babes spent 10 days in NICU, I can tell you every little bit of colour and love is hugely appreciated! (we were discouraged from dressing the kids in their own clothes, because of the headaches it caused staff in the laundry etc)
ReplyDelete'Really neat'; now that's the understatement of the year, Jacqui :) Whether you mean 'tidy' or 'nice', it's that times 10! I like how you've used mostly circular patterns on such a geometric design too.
ReplyDeleteThat is gorgeous. Beautiful stitching, lovely design and I applaud your colour choice. I can't find the adjective but something that sums up the clinical (in a fresh hygenic way) of the white with the cheerful splash of colour is what I'm grasping for. How great that the quilt will end up in such a fabulous hospital. My godmother's daughter worked at Starship - small world.
ReplyDeleteVery fresh and bright, just lovely Jacqui. What a great idea.
ReplyDeleteWow Jacqui, that is some beautiful sewing! I love it! I can't believe how particular one would have to be with this kind of project. Which is why I dont do this. I like how cheery the design is.
ReplyDeleteLearning is a good thing isn't it? It hurts my brain quite a bit more than it used to, but hasn't lost any of the sense of accomplishment at the end!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I only put it up because I saw you had shown yours too :)
ReplyDeleteHey it does kind of look like knots doesn't it! I hadn't noticed :)
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
ReplyDeleteOh you should! You might not like the fabric anymore (if you're anything like me!) but templates don't go out of style - and it's all the rage darling.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Straight lines are my forté :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm hoping to get a few less fancy ones done up as well, it's such a good cause.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yes it is, hopefully a bright spot in an otherwise very stressful time.
ReplyDeleteThese quilts have to be able to stand up to that laundry system too - no wool batting etc. Although I gather the Wellington NICU has little quilts too I don't remember them from my visits, but it was so overwhelming that really my only memories are of how small and vulnerable the babies looked.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I never noticed the circles and geometric thing - thank you for pointing it out!
ReplyDeleteIt IS a small world isn't it! I expect that kind of thing here in New Zealand but not always world-wide! Do you remember Skybly from LOTR? She did a 6-degrees of separation experiment and had to reach someone in New Zealand and we managed to make the connection between them with 3 people (is that 3 degrees?).
ReplyDeleteI like the contrast of white with other colours - either bright or neutrals. It really makes them shine.
Thanks Renee! I'm much more at ease with this kind of sewing than with the deliberately 'wonky' type. That's the great thing about sewing though, there are so many different things to do you're sure to find something that suits your personality! Hmmm... I can see a book in this "Sewing Your Way to Success The Personality Way" Hellooo book publishers out there?
ReplyDeleteJust LOVELY!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI've been back to look at this several times to study your quilting haha. You've done a great job - I had great plans for mine, but I just don't have enough patience to do anything fancy. I love the effect of that close quilting around the star.
ReplyDeleteI really like doing that kind of quilting, whereas I find the FMQ a bit of a chore - not that I actually like quilting that much anyways! Perhaps if I had a larger, better machine but it's such a bloody struggle with mine it sucks any joy out of it that I might be able to find. I'm looking forward to seeing yours though, you always make such nice things!
ReplyDeleteJacqui - your Little Quilt looks amazing - I just love the one central block and the quilting compliments it so well. What a thrill it is going to be this month for those families receiving these lovely quilts - there are so many amazing ones being created. Must away and finish the quilting on mine. Robyn
ReplyDeleteOh wow it's beautiful!
ReplyDelete