21 and Houses!

This is 3 of 3 for the 21st birthday quilts.  Oh, so much fun!  What's not to love about houses that look like Melbourne's bathing boxes on the foreshore?  

Starting with a free pattern that was generously provided by Moda Fabrics when the pandemic started and we all had to be "locked down" in 2020, I found the most perfect use for what was a recently indulgent purchase of a 300 piece x 5in squares batik pack.  

I thought with the 5in pack that I would have had enough fabric to make all the huts, but it wasn't to be and so into my stash I went, which thankfully gave me enough to complete all of the houses with no repeats.

So much glorious colour!  After laying out the colours and deciding what to pair with which one, the cutting began.  And there was lots and lots of cutting.

First up, I made all of the beach hut fronts.   Contrasting doors so that you will know where to enter.

Then I made all of the rooves, some with chimneys so that you know the fire will be burning during the colder months.

After all of the chain piecing and lots of sewing, suddenly the houses seemed to come together as entire units.  Each and every one is so gorgeous!

Then they needed to laid out.  It took quite a while to lay them out and get a colour balance that I was happy with.  Yes, there was input from the rest of the family during this process.  

This is a very happy quilt.  I kept on thinking of family, fun times and being outdoors while making the houses, so hopefully those thoughts have been infused into the quilt.

For the backing, I put together 2 large pieces from stash, which as you can see from the bottom corner, was not quite enough - oh oops!  I had intended to put the label on that odd corner piece, but as you can see in the photo, I inadvertently put the label on the top of the quilt... oh dear.  I didn't realise until after I had gifted the quilt and was looking at the photos that I had done that.  L said it didn't bother him, so that's okay.   Phew!

For the quilting, I quilted in the ditch along all of the long seams and then I used a tumbling hearts pattern from 'quilting made easy' for rows of houses, to symbolize heart and home.  In the border, I made a proper frame with a cable design, like the twist on a rope to echo the beach hut theme.

I used a light pale blue/white variegated cotton thread from  'wonderfil' on the top and the back.

Ta da.... here is the finished quilt.  In the bright sunlight, the houses are positively glowing, just like a sunny day at the ocean when the sun is reflecting onto beach huts.

L is very compassionate about others.  He is very empathetic to those who are struggling and has found a career supporting those who are less fortunate and are struggling.  Here is what I wrote on his quilt label: 

Village of Houses.  Your world is all about community, family and everyone mixing in together.   These little fun beach huts represent the awesomeness of diversity when you allow the doors to be opened up to new ideas and adventures.  We wish you so much love, happiness and joy as you make your path through life. 

To be able to make and gift quilts to boys who have grown up with my own boys into wonderful young men is truly humbling.  

Finished Quilt Size:  69in x 79.5in
Gifted in Feb 2023

Pattern can be found here.

21 and Black & White #2

Another black and white quilt.  Another 21st.  This is the first of 2 quilts for twins who turned 21 a few weeks ago.  A great use of stash with left over pieces from several quilts in the colours and two pieces of good quality left over wide backs - ie:  the black and white fabrics.

I spent a whole day cutting out and carefully labelling the pieces for the each of the blocks.  While it looks simple, the placement of the black, white and colours did get a bit confusing at times. 

I took this quilt away on retreat last year to get the bulk of the sewing done and, with some help from my un-picker when I mixed things up,  I successfully completed the quilt top at the retreat.  I added a small narrow border of the black around the quilt top, just to keep the many seams at the edge of the quilt secure and to provide a small break between the piecing and the striped binding.

Yes, it does seem to play tricks on the eyes a little bit with all of the movement across the quilt top.  I really liked making this quilt top, even if the placement of the black and white through the centre with the merging of the blocks got confusing up close.

So bright in the sunlight!  These photos were snapped in the morning on the day of the twins 21st and the wind was picking up.

I used a woven Kaffe Fasset stripe for the binding because it had the perfect colours.  The backing has a large panel of the binding stripe fabric and all the little left over pieces, plus some extras were used to make a pieced panel.

Domestic machine quilting with a swirl and a row of tumbling hearts/leaves.  I used a Raiman variegated thread for the front of the quilt and a Superior Threads gold for the back.  Love, love this look, especially the gold on the back.

And, finally, here is the completed top in all of its sunlit glory.  

Because this particular M is studying to be an Environmental Engineer and is passionate about the world around him, this is what I wrote on his quilt label....

A conundrum, what to do with the environment?  This quilt represents the finding a way between the black and white of modern materialism and the protecting of nature where the greenery will always find a place to emerge.  Knowing that you will work hard to find your way, we wish you so much love, happiness and joy as you make your path through life. 

A few days after the 21st, the twins Dad called me up to say thank you.  He said the whole family was 'blown away' by the boys quilt gifts and that M almost cried when he read the label.

I've also had a phone call from their Mum expressing both her and their gratitude.

This family is very special to us.  We used to live in the same street and have remained firm friends for two decades now, despite our many house moves over the years.  The quilt for twin #2 is next week's post. ;) 

Gifted in February 2023.
Finished quilt size:  66in x 84in (158cm x 203cm).  

The pattern can be found here.

 

21 and Black & White #1

Black and White is so much fun!  This quilt has so many snippets of fabrics from other quilts that I've made over the years, plus a few extra bits thrown in from one of my friends.  There's been quite a bit of conversation among a couple of online and in person groups that I belong to about black and white with a splash of colour quilts lately, that I thought I'd share this one, which holds a special place in my heart.

I always had a particular friend of my son in mind when making this quilt top, but wasn't sure when I would give it to him, then we were invited to his 21st birthday, and voila! there was the impetus to get this one finished.  

We first met M and his mum when T and I were both in the new "Mothers Group" when M was 4 months old and my son was 3 months old, so a lot of love and memories have been stitched into this quilt.

The blocks are wonderfully simple and so effective when making them, each one giving it's own "wow" factor.  When I took the photos, it was a very dull weather day, with little sun and the colours in the blocks just 'popped' with their own vibrancy.

As I was making the quilt top, I came to realise that it didn't really matter if the black and white merged slightly into grey, there was still contrast between the blocks, with the lime/avocado green binding pulling it all together.

The back is black piece of wide-back fabric with a tone-on-tone print.  I quilted this quilt with a variegated Raiman rayon thread on the front and a Madiera avocado/lime thread on the back, which looked so funky.  Unfortunately I did not get a close up of the quilting on the back.

Wrapped and ready for gifting with the label reading:  

Dear M....., may this quilt join for celebrations, commiserations and all the moments that life will throw at you.  Each time you use this quilt, our thoughts will be with you, gently guiding and supporting.

 

Finishing at 56in x 72in, it's a perfect size for a couch quilt. 

And... one last bragging moment - when M and his partner left the 21st venue, this quilt was the only gift he took home with him, leaving his mum to pack up and collect the rest of the gifts.  An act that truly melted my heart and resulted in having a happy tears hug with T.

Completed and gifted Oct 2022.

Pattern used can be found here