A quilt Lucas

Lucas's Spinning Wheels Quilt

I've started my next hand pieced quilting project a few nights ago.  I have chosen a block from my Quilters Album by Jinny Beyer called 'Spinning Wheels' for Lucas, another one of my great nephews.

I'm using some of the same fabrics used in Jake's Sinning Castles and Lachlan's Spinning Stars quilts.  I'm not sure why but the quilts for my great nephews are much more complicated that the quilts for my great nieces. Maybe it's because I haven't had to make as many.

With the pattern and fabrics chosen I have graphed out the block design from the book, created the cardboard templates and have sewn together the first block. I am yet to decide whether I will make the quilt just from these blocks using the different coloured fabrics in each block or whether I will add a sashing in between the blocks. I will sew some more blocks before deciding.

Spinning Wheel block being used for Lucas's quilt

Blue toned fabrics

The cream fabrics

Graphing the design ready for the templates

Cardboard templates

The first of many Spinning Wheel blocks for Lucas's quilt

New fabrics for quilts

Fabric for some more Quilts 

I have enjoyed machine sewing Jessica's quilt so much that I have brought some fabrics on sale to make  two or three new quilts. I am not sure what pattern I will use but am thinking of simple squares and rectangles. Hopefully if the quilts are sewn neatly enough I may be able to sell some to friends... one day....

Hopefully enough fabric for two new quilts

I really need to finish off Jessica's and Mani's quilts before I start anything new but I have a feeling my impatience will win out in the end.

New fabric for a bright quilt

Hand quilting Olivia's quilt

Olivia's quilt


Most of my evenings are spent hand quilting Olivia's pink quilt. I decided to do a simple 'in the ditch' stitch around the squares. I had planned to have Sarah, Hannah and Olivia quilts finished last year but that plan got delayed since meeting Andrew. Thankfully he is patient and best of all likes seeing me sit and sew. If I'm not sewing he'll ask me why I'm not sewing - a hint to pick up the needle.


Normally I just baste the quilts with basting spray but recently I started using the curved safety pins as well.

Olivia's quilt

Safety pins cover the back of the quilt

a section of quilting (needs pressing)

Mani's 'Shabby Chic' quilt

Mani's Shabby Chic quilt

I started another quilt towards the end of last year for a girlfriends 50th Birthday. I have finally sewn the quilt together ready for the batting and backing.

I had trouble sewing the quilt on my old machine. The machine didn't like the changes in fabric thickness between the cotton and chenille.

I have now resewn parts of the quilt ready to be finished off. I am planning to machine quilt this quilt using a shadow stitch line around the blocks.

Lachlan's Spinning Stars Quilt

I've been working on Lachlan's hand pieced 'Spinning Stars' quilt all of 2011 having started cutting the templates and fabrics in 2010. 


Over the last two week I finished the borders and am now ready to put the batting and backing on before hand quilting it. 


I have been keeping a blog of making Lachlan's quilt so if you'd like to read it you can find it at: http://spinningstarsquilt.blogspot.com.au/

I made my other great nephew a quilt called 'Spinning Castles' and have now started on a third quilt for my other great nephew Lucas. Lucas's quilt design is called 'Spinning Wheels'. I have been able to use the same fabrics in all three quilts just adding a few extra as I go along.

Jake's Spinning Castles quilt

Lachlan's Spinning Stars quilt

The first block of Lucas's Spinning Wheels quilt

Jessica's Matryoshka quilt

Jessica's Quilt
Jessica's is the first quilt I have sewn totally by machine. It has been so much fun seeing it come together so fast. Thee have been times that I feel like I am 'cheating' but I felt the pattern was really more suited to sewing on a cine rather than my usual method of English piecing. I just hope that Jessica doesn't feel that I took the easy way out to sew her quilt.

For Jessica I am making a Rosalie Quinlan design called 'Matryoshka quilt'. I chose the fabrics with Ruth when I was in Canberra before Jessica was even born.

Cutting out the fabrics

It took me two days to cut out all the fabric for this quilt. Cutting the strips took the longest time!

I had a lot of fun sewing the blocks and loved the way they came together so fast.  I was on holidays after Christmas so had lots of free time to sit and sew.

First blocks sewn together

Blocks pressed ready to be laid out before sewing together

Pressing the blocks took almost as much time as sewing them!

With 49 blocks sewn it was time to lay the quilt out and place the blocks. It was harder than I thought to make sure that I didn't use the same block colours next to each other.

Laying out the blocks

Like sewing the blocks, the quilt top came together very fast. I think I sewed and pressed it all in two afternoons - the fastest ever time for me!

Jessica's quilt

Charlie testing out the backing for Jessica's quilt as I ironed it.

Charlie giving the quilt a test run.

Charlie thinks this quilt is very comfortable - time for a nap

I am now looking forward to sewing the Matryoshka dolls onto the quilt. There are seven dolls - one on each row.

2012.. a new year and more quilts

It's the 10th January 2012 already and I've started the year with lots of projects from last year to finish and new one started and others not far away.

Just in the last two weeks I have sewn a quilt top for Jessica, put the bindings on Lachlan's quilt ready for batting backing & quilting, sewn a quilt for a friend, brought material for two new quilts and designed and sewed the first block of Lucas's quilt. Not a bad effort for two weeks into the year!

One of the biggest changes for me this year with quilting is that I have decided that machine sewing quilts is not so bad after all!

For Christmas I was given some vouchers so I am now the happy owner of not one but two sewing machines.  A little decadent but it now means I have a machine for quilting and a machine for basic sewing and repairs.

I finally bit the bullet and decided to put away my treadmill which I haven't used properly in over two years (It's had more use as a clotheshorse than a walking machine!) and make myself a sewing corner in the back room. 

My new sewing area.

I am looking forward to another year of creating quilts for my family and friends and am excited to see what I make this year.