Tuesday 18 November 2014

Telopea

As a gift for our wonderful friends Haydn and Kylie, I couldn't imagine not making something that celebrates Australia's beautiful native plants and their unique colours and Emma Jean Jansen's terra australis range of fabrics have provided the perfect inspiration.

They can be purchased from plenty of fabric stores around Australia and internationally (find your nearest stockist here).



Haydn and Kylie love the Australian bush and environment and have a small, round dining table, so I've made them a set of four square placemats that will fit the table nicely and add some fresh, terra australis (aka, great 'south land') colour.



The waratah fabric from this line was easily my favourite from the range and I think this placemat, with it's fussy cut waratah (telopea) is my favourite (seen in this photo taken on a lichen encrusted bench seat at the Australian National Botanic Gardens).



I used my walking foot to quilt the majority of this placemat with the exception of a small amount of free-motion on the waratah flower (even after some practice, i'm still a stickler for my walking foot...i just can't seem to get the tidy finish i like with free-motion!!!....humph....more practice needed).

The inspiration for the design came from the Mondrian block designed by Jamie Moilanen (p. 116 of Modern Blocks compiled by Susanne Woods).


I also made one of my favourite blocks, based on strings and used my walking foot to quilt 1/4 inch lines that follow the strings. Of course after making the string block, i had some triangles made up of strings to also use, so these were used for the next placemat (RHS of photo below) to top and bottom my next favourite fabric from the terra australis line, the spinning gum print.


Again, i used my walking foot to quilt straight, 1/4 lines across the placemat.


For the fourth placemat in the set (RHS of photo above), i used a drunkards path template to put together a block that i've laid out to include some circles and some randomness based on Angela Pingel's layout of her Last Call block (p.100 of Modern Blocks compiled by Susanne Woods). Joined spirals are my go-to quilting for circles at the moment, which i drew onto the top before quilting using a water erasable marker pen. It does take a little messing about to get the spirals to join neatly, but i really do like the end result.


So, Haydn and Kylie, i do hope you'll like, enjoy and get plenty of use out of these placemats. It's been such a joy making something just for you! Thank you for being such great, faithful friends!

Linking up with:
- Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday
- Gemma for I Quilt Thursday at Pretty Bobbins and
- Lorna for Lets Bee Social




16 comments:

  1. Your placements are so beautiful-what a lovely reflection of the Aussie bush. Your displays are awesome-who would believe they are all from you backyard and local area.

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  2. These are brilliant - I love that they are all different and think you have put that lovely fabric to really good use. I bet your friends will be thrilled.

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  3. wow, these are so lovely! It's such a nice fabric line that you put on display in a wonderful way. Your quilting on the waratah is so perfect.

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  4. Your placemats look fantastic! I love how they are all different and special in their own way. On the table all together, they will add a point of interest and might even spark some great conversation :)

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  5. Just love these :-) What a great Aussie gift - and I can't get over your connecting spirals quilting - it is fantastic :-)

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  6. Beautiful and beautiful gift for your friend

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  7. These are beautiful placemats and such a thoughtful gift for your friends. ^^

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  8. Beautiful fabrics and it is neat all the different ways you made the placemats!!

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  9. Beautiful! And your quilting really enhances them. I love how each placemat is different but they're obviously a coordinated set. You can really see the thought that went into each one. Your friends will surely appreciate them!

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  10. Lovely colours and quilting. Your friends are very lucky!

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  11. Jen you do such beautiful work! Your walking foot quilting is the best! I especially love the joined spirals. Love the colors and the designs of all four! What a treat for your friends!

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  12. The placemats are beautiful. I love how they work together but are each unique.

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  13. Wow these are gorgeous and so is your quilting!

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  14. My favourite is definitely the waratah with the careful quilting highlighting the fabric design. We have been using the earlier release of this fabric range in a secret round robin, and it was heaps of fun. Sadly, no waratahs.

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  15. Amazing set of placemats! Although I do a lot of FMQ, I do like my walking foot, too!

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  16. These are gorgeous, you did an amazing job, love the quilting

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Wahoo.....I'm always stoked to receive comments so thanks so much for taking the time.

Wishing you many happy quilting hours!