Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The 7000 Kilometre Quilt

I can finally reveal the secret quilt I made! After travelling the breadth of Australia twice, it has arrived at its destination with Bec.

I made the extra doll quilt for the recent EB Doll Quilt Swap as a thank you for the swap organiser, Helen. She also received another one from one of the other girls. Helen asked if she could send the quilt I made over to Bec as a 'lucky door prize'.

Helen lives in Perth, so from Canberra to Perth my little quilt travelled 3905 kilometres (2426 mi). Then it went from Perth to Tumbarumba - a distance of around 3590 kilometres (2230 mi). That's a total of 7495 kilometres (4654 mi)!

Of course if it had gone direct from Canberra, it would have not been such a well-travelled little quilt, as that journey is only 260 kilometres (161 mi)!

If you were paying attention a couple of months back, I posted a little tease of the quilt, with a sneaky preview of one of the pinwheel blocks. Here is the finished product! (Click to enlarge, as always)

I am really happy with how this turned out. Again, I used Tonya's freehand fans hand-quilting technique, and while I am happy with the effect, I need a lot more practice before I'll be satisfied! Tonya recently recommended quilting the fan lines around 1/2" apart - the ones on the doll quilt are more like 5/8" or an inch.

(and yes, that's 'Mau' the original feline friend in our house - the one that didn't run away!)

Here's a back view:
I hope Bec likes it!

Meanwhile, I'm busy making Christmas gifts...the countdown is well and truly on!

10 comments:

Helen said...

Lily, I am touched that you made it as a thank you pressie for me, that was such a sweet thing to do. I'm glad that Bec recieved it safely and loves it just as much. It is a well travelled quilt, Aussie Post does get it right sometimes! Lovely work. Bring on the next swap hey? :)

dutchcomfort said...

Wow, did the quilt use a navigator? It looks wonderful! Christmas gifts here as well, running from computer to sewing-machine and backwards!

Joyce said...

Love the little quilt. THe back is as nice as the front.

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

It is well travelled....those dots just screamed pinwheels to me as well...well done!Tracey

Sandy's Quilter's Block said...

Oh Lily, I love this little gem. The front is so playful and the back is wonderful as well. That little square in the corner is just so fun! I love it!

Kylie said...

Lily - you have done a fantastic job on this - How do you find the time with work and doing everything that you manage to do. Well done!

Unknown said...

This such a beautiful little quilt and I am sure it will be loved after it's long journey.

Unknown said...

This is such a sweet little quilt - love the way you've used the spotty fabric as the binding too

Jenni said...

It looks great Lily. A very nice little quilt.

Tonya Ricucci said...

It's adorable - I love the back especially. The fans are perfect for this project. Yes, they'll get better as you practise, but they are great now!