Category: Queen bed quilts

This one was for my daughter, Viv, who liked the picture I showed her. It was inspired from a Hobbysew Block-of-the-month designed by Chris Jurd, but I used different fabrics (mostly Aboriginal designs). I also made modifications to the original pattern, partly to ‘fussy cut’ and showcase the lovely motifs on some of the fabrics; and partly to make life easier, having been confronted by my evident limitations during the Moonglow quilt project. I enjoyed the ‘cheekiness’ of fussy cutting the three goannas chasing each other along one of the borders. As with the Moonglow quilt, this pattern was too small, so I enlarged it and added more borders. This is possibly the best-constructed quilt I have ever made. I made a colourwash quilt from some of the leftover fabrics (see Wall hangings tab) and a two-sided doily for Viv’s bedside table (shown here). And I made yet another wall hanging from the ‘leftover leftovers’.

My daughter, Bec, selected this design. It looked gorgeous, and it was – but also fiendishly difficult. The more complex star squares were beyond my capabilities, so I doubled-up on some of the easier ones. It was a bit too small for a queen-sized bed, so I added some borders, which I also think enhanced the design. I was pleased with the result, but now think I could have done a better job.

As noted above, after the tragic demise of the silk bedspread, I needed to make a new quilt for our queen-sized bed. I had been looking for an excuse to make this one, because of its fresh, crisp colours. Apart from its sheer size, it was relatively easy to construct and quilt. Some of the fabrics were lovely Laura Ashley prints from the 1980s, that were leftovers from a quilt my mother made for herself.

I loved this quilt once it was finished, because of the shiny texture, the colours and its look of the Art Deco style. The top was pieced from Dupion silk of various plain colours of soft pinks and browns on a cream background. It was difficult to make because of its size and the insertion of piping (which I made myself) around the edge of the main part. It was very slippery and difficult to control, too. I also made the lace embroideries of dragonflies, which were sewn directly onto the chocolate-coloured quarter-circle pieces. The quilt was also problematic once completed, because I had chosen a bubbly satin backing. So it kept slipping off the bed. Even worse – the silk was too fragile and eventually frayed (an expensive mistake). However, it was really beautiful for the 6 or 7 years it lasted, and despite everything, I remain proud of it. On the positive side, I learned quite a few lessons. I replaced it with the ‘Choc mint quilt’ (displayed below) in 2015.