the Quilting Exhibition - or what to do when stuck in a sewing slump

I haven't really been doing much sewing lately. I have been working on some mending, but nothing noteworthy unless you want to hear about the home in my jumper that I haven't fixed yet and a coat  button that fell off in the most inopportune moment. I got started on the cape, but that deserves it very own blog post of when I highlight all my mistakes so far :-)

Anyway, the Queensland Art Gallery is having a quilting exhibition and my wonderful friend Anne suggested a visit. It was a great day out ... the sun was shining, the quilts were exquisite and my friend is great company. Only a year ago I wouldn't have truly understood the work and the concentration that went into these works of art. I am not going to regurgitate everything I saw, because pictures just don't do it justice, however there is one quilt that I feel needs mentioning.

I felt that the most outstanding piece was actually the Francis Brayley Military quilt. Soldiers were encouraged to take up sewing instead of drinking and gambling, so some time around 1870 this quilt was born in the British barracks in India (admittedly, he may have bought it, but that doesn't sound nearly as romantic now, does it) .

Each little wool hexagon is 1.5 cm across and the entire quilt measures 238.7cm x 238.7cm.

That's a lot of little hexies and some dedication :-)

last post about MMM

To finish the Me-Made-May with the difference I made myself (nothing earth-shattering I know) a cushion. It's cuddly and lovely, and stripey :-)

It made from the quilting cotton 'A Stitch in Color' by Moda. It is very vibrant and the collection has some really nice bold colour choices in it. It's designed by Malka Dubrawsky (Blog here ) and I really had to hold myself back and only buy enough for a pillow. A big 'thank you' to Lori of Girls in the Garden who found out the name of the collection for me.

It's the first time I attempted anything resembling patchwork and I am not sure I am suited for it. I don't think I am precise enough in the cutting and sewing process :-) The back illustrates it very well.

It was meant to be an envelope style, but I didn't have enough stripes cut for the back. Somehow the swirly fabric was shorter then the rest and the pillow I had was larger, so I inserted an invisible zipper instead. Of course the stripes then didn't match up, but I had to call off my inner perfectionist and tell myself 'It's a cushion, nobody will care about a mismatched stripe'

now it is definitely time for the pyjama pants :-)