Vintage Quilt With A Smidge Of French General...

Or...I Wish I Had A Quilter's Table.

I'm writing this post in between snatches of pinning my quilt layers in readiness for machine quilting.  

Pinning quilt layers must have to be the worst part of making a patchwork quilt!  

Do you agree?  

I can understand why sending a quilt off to a 

long-arm quilter could be so tempting. 

But apart from that, I think this quilt has been my most magical quilt of all so far.  I have been 'planning' it as I go along. Maybe that's a bit of an oxymoron. I don't have a pattern for it and the original squares given to me by my Sister were not identical in size posing a few challenges. 

There is a little story behind this quilt.  My Sister gave me six squares of blue cotton fabric masterfully embroidered and, or appliqued by sewing machine.  

One of the squares has been hand appliqued. (Sturt Desert Pea)

Some of the machined applique is layered and cut to produce a finished image using up to three prints of cotton fabric. (Sun Burst).

These were part of sewing class my Sister attended and she felt she had no use for them so passed them on to me.

At first the only way I could imagine to re-use them was as cushion covers but that is too obvious and I don't really like too obvious.

Shortly after I thought I'd make a quilt with them but life took over and even though I'd purchased a selection of fabrics to add to the squares the project was set aside for many years.

Until this year...

It's my little Sister's sixtieth year this year and I have decided to make the quilt using her blocks and gift to her for her birthday.

I hope she likes it!

The reason I would LOVE a quilter's table is because stretching and pinning a quilt is back-breaking when it's done on the floor!

I purchased my batting about a month ago. (Yes, life got in the way ... again!)

At that point my quilt hadn't quite come together yet...I was still contemplating blocks/sashing/borders but since I was at the quilting supply shop and I didn't know when I'd be back I purchased two metres of batting for this quilt. 

As you can see from the photograph above...it was perfect!!!!! Couldn't believe it.

And here is the quilt top.

Some of the fabrics are scrappy, some are stash busters, and some were purchased just for the quilt. Of course all were very carefully selected to complement the 70s-80s prints my Sister has used in the Australiana themed squares.  At the top right is a frill necked lizard and its frill is actually 3D.

Isn't she clever?

Oh...and the French General?  The four cornerstones were made from a fat quarter I found in my stash.  The colour is perfect. 

Now must get back to my pinning!

I'm linking to

Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday with Lee

Quite coincidentally Lee is having a vintage quilt revival at her blog spot...

Perth

On Tuesday 23 April Mr Honey Pie & I returned to Sydney after a eight day stay in Perth, Western Australia.

We were there on the occasion of our eldest's  marriage.

Perth is the capital city of Western Australia and spreads itself out cautiously from the banks of the Swan River.

By worldly standards, it is a very young city, being founded in 1829, becoming a city in 1856.

Our first visit to Perth was in 1998.  At the time it was nothing more than the size of a large town.

But my how it has grown, thanks to the minerals boom.  
Our son took his first job as a geologist in the gold exploration sector in Western Australia and has since made Perth his home.
He lives within four kilometres of the CBD.

This snap was taken of the city at sunset from Kings Park.
The Swan River is to the right.  

And here is the same view after sunset.

Perth exudes a serenity I have yet to experience in any other city.
Everything is central, the city being small enough to not yet have lost its sense of cosiness.
Many of the original seaside housing has been demolished and replaced with newer contemporary dwellings giving it a clean sharp image.

While the cost of food in Perth might be higher than in Sydney, the cost of rent is lower and the purchasing power is much higher.
Perth is the fourth largest city in Australia.