Love Calms the Seas - A blog for Spring!

Please vote for Love Calms the Seas for Viewers Choice Thanks

Please vote for Love Calms the Seas for best Large Quilt Thanks

Thanks must go out to Amy's Creative Side for hosting the Spring Bloggers Quilt Festival.  What a wonderful opportunity of joining blogs together and gathering a lot of magical eye candy.  I like to thank all of the sponsors and also all of the bloggers who are linking to make this a wonderful interactive festival such fun.

Completed Love Calms the Seas

Love Calms the Seas Quilt was made for my youngest daughter as she completed her final year at Secondary College. I planned to finish this so she could have it with her on her new journey in life at University, to have a little bit of home and me with her.

starting of the piecing and placement of colours

I decided to piece this on the machine using the freezer paper foundation method.  This really helped as it was a very large quilt.  In fact this is the largest quilt I have ever made measuring 93" x 96".  Initially it was to only have one heart in the centre, but my daughter loved it so much we decided to put four more hearts in the quilt.  I am so glad we did for I feel it is very balanced now.

Quilting the waves

I love to hand quilt so with Aurifil 28 wt thread, in a blue, green and a purple and a turquoise. and my John James needles quilting began.  I was using the storm at sea quilt block but as the quilting  flowed I decided this quilt really needed to be called 'love calms the seas'.  I quilted waves into the quilt with blue going one way and the green areas going the opposite direction.

another shot of the waves being quilted

after the waves are quilted ready to quilt the hearts

When it came to the quilting of the hearts it called for something different.  I felt like the waves needed to be calm within them, as my desire for her life ahead to be full of more calmness than stress.  I was quilting my love into this quilt, so she can forever have a hug from her mama bear.

starting the quilting on the centre heart

another heart in the midst of quilting

Label just had to be a purple heart

At last the label screamed to me to be a heart.  This quilt took me 18 months to make and another few months of planning and gathering fabrics.  Whilst my daughter had completed her first year of University before I finished it, she now has her quilt and loves it very much.  I am so glad I took the time to quilt it the way I did.

here she is hiding in my back garden

Thanks for reading my post and for voting for my quilt, I also have another quilt entered in the hand quilting section - Hand quilting 'Time Warp' and I would appreciate your vote over here also. 

Please enjoy the eye candy and be inspired,

Keep on quilting and quilting,

Wendy :)

Whooping for finishes!

Happy Valentines Day!

I have had a wonderful day today.  So my first whoop is for this little top which I have finished.  It is called Samples of Summer, I have designed and made this quilt for beginner quilters in mind although I think most people will love it.  It came together easily and has lots of elements which will make it a great quilt to tutor with.  Classes will be held at Palm Beach Quilting in March, so give the girls a call and book a place for fun and frivolity in quilting

Samples of Summer

Because it is Valentines Day I thought I would share some hearts and quilty love with you all.

This is a quilt I made my eldest daughter when she went to university  

This is my latest finish and my youngest daughters quilt as she is at university now

Finally as I am gaining control over all of my projects and my ever changing life I feel like I can do a big whoop and link up with Confessions of a fabric addict for her Whoop Whoop 

Wow where have I been

Around the world blog hop!

Well awhile ago I was nominated byA Few of My. Favourite Things and had previously been asked to blog for the hop from my friend Kathi at Design Originals by KC

What am I working on?

The start of the Trifle Dish Quilt

Some inspiration from my garden, Papa Gontier Rose

Love calms the sea progress

I have also put fabrics aside to do Bonnie Hunters Grand Illusion mystery quilt, plus I have a few others in the think tank which will be done next year.

Why do I create?

I create to stay sane, I love making things and have been around creative people all my life.  My parents, grandparents and Aunts and Uncles also made things not only out of necessity but for a way of life.  I feel privileged to have been raised in such a way to learn many things.  My father taught me how to make wire chain, he made all of his own dog chains and boy was that necessary when we had so many.   My mum made our clothes etc, I learnt to knit and crochet before I went to school.  I used to sew on the treadle machine at home and one of the best things as a child was making paper stamps from magazines, it was a great way to practice to sew straight lines without wasting thread.

Nowadays I mainly quilt and I love to create my own patterns and I am trying to push my boundaries and create all different styles from modern and old techniques.  I really love to hand quilt but am exploring the new but old technique of big stitch or utility quilting.

How do I differ from others?

My style of quilting is always changing, one way I differ from my friends is that i just love my hand quilting and that I love exploring different colour combinations.  I also like mathematical problems so this helps me cover that aspect and expand my mind.

Where and how do you create?

I find inspiration everywhere, I love my garden which is full of birds and other wild life.  I will often find colours emerging from new leaves and the sunsets or sunrises very inspirational.  Other times it will be a floor when we are shopping or a wrought iron gate.  Fellow quilters and hand crafters also help me find new ideas and ways of creating things that I never thought would be possible and to those people for giving me encouragement and the energy to continue I thank you.

Once again I would like to thank Carla for passing the Baton to me to do this blog, it has been a little bit since I blogged as my life had become very hectic.  but I am back!  My Storm at Sea Quilt is now off the frame and the final quilting stitches are currently happening.  I look forward to showing you the full quilt fully quilted.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and I look forward to you following my blog in the new year.  I will leave you with a tiny bit of my newest quilt for you as a sneak peek! 

Start of my latest quilt as a sneak peek!

Until next post have a wonderful time!

Wendy