How are you doing with your #6 goal in the Chookshed Stitcher's Challenge?
I am nearly done with the hand embroidery and looking to cut out and quilt the pieces this weekend.
After a couple of linky requests, I dusted off my linky skills and got one rolling. I am thinking we'll do a mid-month check-in to show our progress and then a final linky at the end of the month.
Roughed in plan for my Australian/New Zealand Trip Quilt:
Because #5 in the Chookshed 2024 Challenge is kiwi birds and I wanted to do a memory quilt about my 2023 trip anyway, I figured I had better get a plan together before that number shows up. I hope to make a few blocks each month in hopes of getting it done by the end of the year. Obviously I don't know when the kiwis will come up, but I can work on the other blocks now.
This is really rough and doesn't look exactly like I have planned, but here is the idea.
It will be a row quilt, mostly. I tried to make the block sizes in proportion to their real sizes. These sort of ideas in my head often begin with a general plan and then evolve. The top right corner will have an oval shaped vineyard scene. We loved the vineyards in New Zealand! I plan to do a detailed out vineyard with mountains in the background done with curved piecing and lines of machine quilting to show the rows in the vineyards up the hillsides. I will design it myself.
We visited two lighthouses while in the country: Cape Palliser and Castle Point. I want to do them on either side of the row of seals which represent the seal colony near Cape Palliser Light House. Mine will be the actual colors of the ones we visited. I will design my own lighthouse blocks. I purchased the cute Seal pattern online.
The row of boat sheds was at Oriental Bay in Wellington. I LOVED them! I will design my own pattern for this row.
Ice Cream cones on the side borders represent the Hokey Pokey ice cream we enjoyed. The New Zealanders in Picton claimed it was a kiwi childhood favorite flavor. It is vanilla with bits of honeycomb toffee in it - delicious! I have a Buggy Barn ice cream cone pattern I plan to use.
For the Australian section, I purchased the following patterns online: the kangaroo, the tug boat, the campervan, and cockatiel birds. My friend, Jo, sent me home with her Storm at Sea and sail boat pattern. I found embroidery patterns online for the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House. I may convert the Opera House one to applique'. We shall see.
The campervan and Moda Love blocks represent Baradine. Jo gave me a tour of hers and I visited with Janice sewing outside her camper because she had Covid and didn't sew inside. I will remove the surf board from the pattern. Moda Love quilts were made by nearly everyone. My blocks will only be 8" square like the miniature one Maureen finished.
My sister and I loved the road signs with Australian animals on them. Someone please help me out by telling me the name of the animal in between the kangaroo signs. I plan to hand applique' the animals onto yellow road signs needle turn style.
As for the bottom border, I want to overlap hand applique' Australian flowers from the border up into the road sign row.
Trying to fit every memory into one quilt is impossible, but I am pleased with my starter plan. It will end up about queen sized. I wanted it smaller, but fitting it all in vertically makes it necessary to be that large. Who knows, anything could happen as I get into it.
I invited Tracy to join me, but I don't know if she can. We shall see. I am not making two although I love her a lot.
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