Sylvia's Bridal Sampler - post 1

I had very high hopes of making lots of blog posts this year and then was cursed with 'writer's block'.  I became super organised with my photos along with a schedule for posting and then each time I sat down to complete a post, I went blank.  I am hoping that I am over that now, because today I am so excited with what I am sharing! 😍

Yesterday, I completed a mammoth task - I finished the very last block for my version of Sylvia's Bridal Sampler from the book by Jennifer Chiaverini.  140 x 6in blocks total. 

There's a LOT of work in that block stack!!

Such a huge pile of blocks when stacked together!

And.... below is a photo of them all laid out.  There was no rhyme or reason to my layout, I simply plonked them down on the floor in the order that I took them off the stack.

The whole quilt so far

 I am adding in a 'papercut' block to the centre so that I can have a 12x12 block layout instead of 10x14.   As you can see, I still need to complete the hand-applique of the centre block.  This will stay on the floor overnight and I'll do some tweaking to the layout to balance it a bit better.

I started this quilt in Feb 2023 when a local quilt group - Kilmore Quilters - started this as a sew-a-long.  I kept up all through 2023 and then in 2024 I returned to tertiary study.  Sylvia was then boxed up and shelved until January this year when an option came to have the quilt ready for a group display in September.  Just the impetus I needed to pull it out and get cracking.  

It has taken me 4 full months in between working, family and social commitments to get the blocks completed, attempting a little bit each day and then some days no sewing at all.  Almost every block has been an absolute joy to work with some that had me inventing new swear words!!  

I have the sashings, cornerstones, borders, binding and backing all prepared, ready to pick up and sew.

But first - I must vacuum the floor before moving onto the next step of sewing the top together - it's full of threads and dog-ear corner snippets 😉

Irish Trip Around The World

Waaaay back in 2020 in a time of lockdowns and only being allowed to go around your own neighbourhood, I made a carer's call to an elderly friend who lives walking distance away.  She handed me a batik jelly roll.  That jelly roll sat for quite some time while I decided what to do with it.  Hot pink, bright yellow, med grey and dark greys certainly had my brain ticking over.

Fast forward to April 2021, and I was going through my bookcase, I remembered that I had been given this book from Lorraine few years earlier and thought "what if....?"

I settled on the pattern Quick and Easy Irish Trip from the book, as my first foray into combining strip piecing for quite a structured setting.

For the background, I found the perfect piece from my stash.  Then it was a case of sorting the jelly roll colours and labelling the strips into their correct positions.

Once sorted, it was a case of making strip-sets and then sewing those strip-sets in order to make the pattern.   It was actually quite easy once I got my brain into gear and understood the process and placement.  I completed the quilt top at a quilt group sewing day.

For the quilting, I cross-hatched the central panel in with YLI 'Sand' lightly variegated cotton thread and for the border I used Signature dark grey thread, following the circles in the fabric pattern.

Once quilted and bound, it was photo time!  I think the reason I was drawn the border/backing fabric was the fact that it looks like the colours of the ironbark eucalyptus trees, like you can see in the background of the photo on the right below.

In the final quilt photo below, I really like how the colours pop in the dappled late afternoon shade.

This is a finish from June 2025, where the winter weather gave me plenty of time to quilt and do other sewing things indoors.

Finished size:  43.5in x 64.5in  (111cm x 164cm), which is perfect for donating to a local quilt group for the community-in-need quilts.

** Book used:  Trip to Ireland by Elizabeth Hamby Carlson; an absolutely fabulous book about combining Irish Chain and Trip Around The World patchwork patterns.