Ovarian Cancer Quilt: TTOF #4

The mail has started to come in!

Today, I received Kjerstin’s block for This Teal’s on Fire. And my word, it’s a stunner. Just look at all those tiny hand-sewn hexies. I could not have asked for more perfect colours, either.

For those who don’t see how painstaking and meticulous the work is, here are detail shots, first of the front:

And then the back. I mean, the back’s almost perfect enough to show on the front, like a textured version.

Kjerstin, thank you so much for your beautiful work on behalf of ovarian cancer patients and their families.

I love this stage of putting the quilt together. Every package is like Christmas!

Ovarian Cancer Quilt: TTOF #3

Number 3 is done.

I like the combination between giant and regular-sized hexies, and it’s also a combination of hand- and machine-stitched. The wheel aspect is a bit more abstract in this one, but I feel the ‘wheel on fire’ idea still comes through clearly.

And now, I’m going to stop until some of the other blocks come through, so that I can see where colour intensity and shapes need balancing across the quilt, and what kind of other blocks I’ll need to make to achieve a harmonious result.

C’mon, Australia Post. Show me what you can do!

Ovarian Cancer Quilt: TTOF#2

… and my second block.

OK, it’s not a New York Beauty, but it sort of made itself, a kind of hybrid Wedding Ring block with prairie points.

I can’t seem to take a straight photo. It’s round in real life!

Next time for the New York Beauty, maybe. Or perhaps something completely different!

I know that there are 4 different sets of blocks already in transit to me, so that’s exciting. My design wall will be filling up soon.

Meanwhile, my work table badly needs a tidy-up!

 

Ovarian Cancer Quilt: TTOF#1

I thought I’d post my first block, to encourage people.

Not that anyone seems to need it, I’ve had some great responses with news of blocks posted already! The Trudy Crowley Foundation is thrilled that we’re producing our annual fundraiser, so the quilt will be going to a very appreciative audience.

So then, here it is. Block #1 of This Teal’s on Fire. Can you visualise it now? A quilt of teal/cream blocks which have circular motifs, or give that impression, touched with flickers of flame orange. In this photo the background looks dark blue but it’s actually a deep teal. The spikes are pieced, but the majority of the block is appliqué.

I’ll be posting everyone’s blocks as they come in. Next on the agenda is a New York Beauty block, which, for the uninitiated is a spiked circular design set in a square and made up of 4 quarters, often paper pieced. These blocks can range from simple to very complex, and some of the most interesting versions have different layouts for each quarter. I’ll be keeping it simple, myself…

Back to the box of teal scraps!

Ovarian Cancer Quilt: It’s that time again

Hurray! It’s time to bring out the teal fabrics!

Every year for the past 7 years, we’ve made a collaborative quilt to be raffled/auctioned for the benefit of ovarian cancer patients and their families. The Rona put a stop to it for a year, but we’ve resumed as soon as safely possible, and now it’s that time again.

For the new readers, the way it works is that I come up with a concept which plays on the word ‘Teal’, the Ovarian Cancer colour. The team members each produce a block (or two, or several, up to you) on this theme, and mail them to me. I arrange them and assemble and quilt the piece. It’s then donated to the Trudy Crowley Foundation and the money raised from it goes towards the salary of the Ovarian Cancer Nurse the foundation funds, and to supporting patients and their families.

From past years, I already have a list of contributors who’ve asked to participate again, as shown below. If you’d like to join us, please say so in the Comments and if I don’t already have your email, I’ll request it, so that I can send out the brief and timeline. The brief will be going out in 2 weeks’ time, so you have time to consider if you are able to contribute. I need a minimum of 30 blocks, but any shortfall I make up myself, so that’s not an issue.

Kate Chiconi – Co-ordinator, design, quilting, assembly
Kjersten Mackie (Quimper Hitty)
Cathy Foot (Nana Cathy)
Margaret Creek (The Crafty Creek)
Lynda Swink (Life on the Farmlet)
Jean Swenson (Love Hugs)
Lynn Hutton (Tialys)
Sue Brown (From a Magpie’s Nest)
Robin Murphy
Gun Adrian (Rutigt)

Additionally, if you’re on this list and can no longer participate, let me know and I’ll take you off.

And just as a teaser, the name (click the link)?

This Teal’s on Fire! 

Can You Teal the Love: the final word…

One more bit of great news to pass on.

The Ovarian Cancer quilt Can You Teal the Love went into the fundraising event last month. They had 4 raffle items, and between them the 4 items raised AU$7,657. That means if you average the total across the 4 prizes, it raised nearly $2,000.

The entire event (including dinner tickets, etc) raised AU$43,657.00, a stunning result.

Well done, everyone. Well done. The work of our hands makes a difference. Quilts may never set the world on fire, but they help towards making hard, painful or tragic personal stories better. To those who participated, thank you a thousand times. To those who encouraged from the sidelines, the same. To those who contributed in other ways, you are all stars.

And we’ll do it all again next year, and the year after, and the year after that, until I get too old or decrepit to lift a needle or rotary cutter.

Let me know if you’d like to help next time by contributing a block or two, or providing the means to purchase fabric for these fundraising quilt. Leave a comment, or you can email me using the details on the Contact Me page.

I love a good news story!

Ovarian Cancer: CYTL complete

It’s done, and even a bit early.

Yesterday, I completed the assembly. It all got done painlessly and quickly, thanks to Aretha, my marvellous sewing machine. I have to say, all the bits of quilt-making I used to dislike most are much less intimidating these days, thanks to Her Stitchy Majesty.

Last night and this morning, I got the binding stitched down, and then the Husband did quilt-hanger duty in the back yard so I could get a photo or two. A beautiful still and sunny winter’s day made the process totally painless. Usually, I have to wait for gusts of wind to subside!

Even making and applying the label went without a hitch. Normally, I like to make two transfers in case the first goes wrong; it’s amazingly easy to try and take the backing off too quickly and peeling half the transfer off!

This time, however, I got it right, so the second transfer is a memento which can go into the project folder together with the original sketch, fabric calculations and swatches, receipts, quilt brief and colour references.

I’ve got a call out to the Trudy Crowley Foundation to work out a date to deliver both this quilt and Sue’s lovely Taking Flight contribution. It’s a bonus year for Ovarian Cancer fundraising quilts!

For anyone who’d like to contribute next time, be it one block or several, just leave a message in the Comments, or send me an email (address on the Contact Me page). All skill levels are welcome; all you need is fabric, a sewing machine and the will to help.

And that’s it for this year. On with the next thing!

Ovarian Cancer: CYTL ready to assemble

It’s quilted and trimmed out.

I’ve done my usual wavy lines, using a warm medium grey which recedes on both dark and light backgrounds.  All the blocks are trimmed out to exactly the same size, which is important to keep the assembly process as simple and pain-free as possible.

I’ve cut the sashing, with a dark blotched batik for the front in deep blue-green, and a brighter, more turquoise spotty pattern for the back, which will be fun against the pale grey, silver and white of the stork-print backing.

Tomorrow, I can start the assembly. I haven’t decided yet which fabric I’ll use to bind the finished quilt; it’s going to depend on how different it looks with the sashing.

Time to wind a whole load more bobbins!

Ovarian Cancer: CYTL Blocks 29 and 30

Finally, Australia Post has delivered!

Gun’s two beautiful Can You Teal the Love blocks arrived this morning, Nos. 29 and 30, and they’re perfect.

I had very little rearranging to do to complete the layout to my entire satisfaction, and now that I have, my eye isn’t catching on that lovely dove block, either. It all balances beautifully. I’ve decided I don’t need to make a teal ribbon block, since the whole quilt tells the teal story.

As always, I’m asking for feedback, in case any of you see anything your eye catches on that I’ve missed through looking at the layout too much, too long. I don’t promise to make the adjustment you propose, but I’ll certainly give it consideration.

But if no-one has anything they find awkward about this layout, I’ll be cracking on with cutting the backing and batting. Not my favouritest job, but it needs to be done.

I must tell all the contributors how pretty I’m finding all their blocks and how gorgeous this quilt is becoming. Thank you all so much for once again diving into your teal stash, giving up your pinks and contributing your time, you are all stars, and it would have taken me forever without you, not to mention how much less interesting this quilt would be. I’m delighted that it has all happened so quickly, and that I’ll have ample time to complete and deliver Can You Teal the Love without any dramas.

Next on the agenda: trimming out and lots of cutting. O joy…

Ovarian Cancer: Taking Flight 2

And Taking Flight has taken off…

Before I left for my visit to Melbourne, I ensured that Taking Flight was pressed, the backing was pieced, it was sandwiched and marked up for quilting. That way, on my return on Wednesday evening, there could be no possible excuse not to get straight on with completing this piece of loveliness.

And so it was. Despite numerous excuses, valid reasons, temptations and distractions, I completed the quilting on Thursday, stitched on the binding and made the label on Friday, and today, it was done and I could photograph it.

The quilting is a simple chevron across the quilt, breaking at the halfway point. I wanted it to echo the lovely Flying Geese blocks all the way around the outside. It also had the great virtue of being easy and fast to execute, and looks good, whilst adding a nice texture. Sorry it’s not perfectly straight in the photo; it was a windy day and I could not get a decent photo. But I’m sure you get the idea, and at least the colours are true to life.

This is the label I made. It’s different from the usual format, since Sue made the whole quilt top and the wording needed to reflect this. But I think it’s pretty self explanatory, and I’m sure that the quilt’s new owner will be delighted with it no matter what the label says! I’ll be holding it back so that I can deliver both Ovarian Cancer quilts at the same time.

There’s still a whole lot of teal ahead of me; I’m waiting for two final blocks from Gun for Can You Teal the Love, and then I can finalise the layout and start the whole sandwiching and quilting process.

In the meantime, I have one or two small projects in mind…