Friday 26 June 2015

Home and Away is finished

My "Home and Away" quilt is finished!!!  And after two years work it it totally deserves all those exclamation marks.



I love this quilt - it's bright and whimsical - just what I like, and it's full of beautiful Kaffe Fassett fabrics too.





I loved making this quilt. I enjoyed choosing and cutting the beautiful wool felt, and appliqueing it onto the background with my bright Perle 8 threads.




I even enjoyed making all those Half Square Triangles, although I wish I'd had a Bloc Loc ruler to help me.



This pattern was designed by the very talented Wendy Williams of Flying Fish Kits, Australia (click here for her website). Wendy works at Material Obsession in Sydney, with Kathy Doughty.  Material Obsession offered this quilt as a Block of the Month back in 2013.  I enrolled in the program after seeing the original quilt when Wendy came to NZ to teach at Handmade. The program ran for 10 months and I loved opening my parcel each month.

Updated Aug 2016:  This pattern can now be purchased directly from Wendy William's website here .  Wendy also has a number of similar patterns on her website and in her book.



Wendy Williams, the designer, called her quilt "Your Place or Mine?", but I've chosen to call my version "Home and Away".  Some of you will know there's an Australian TV series called Home and Away, so it seemed an appropriate name, given that the quilt has Australian origins..  I've never watched Home and Away myself, so it's not because I'm a fan.  I chose the name because the quilt shows cities, farms and beaches, so it really does show both home and away.

It's ended up a big quilt at 88" x 88". Here it is on our queen sized spare bed.



I chose to use the border fabric on the back too. It's a Kaffe Fassett print called Paisley Jungle.


I asked Sue Burnett at Busy Bee Quilt Shop in Wellington to quilt this for me on her long arm machine. She did a fantastic job of stippling all around the felt, and the flowers and animals stands out even more now. I'm so pleased with what how Sue quilted it. She did a great job.





I chose a lighter blue Kaffe print for the binding, which you can just see in this photo.



I don't have a wall space large enough to hang this quilt, and I don't have little children to enjoy it right now, so it will be used with care, and maybe one day I'll have grandchildren who will enjoy it too. Until then I'll use it on our bed, and I'm sure I'll have sweet dreams under it.

This quilt was the third item on my Q2 Finish Along list.



44 comments:

magistra said...

Such an amazing work of art! I love all the fun discoveries in it :) Congratulations on finishing it! It is easy to see what a labor of love it has been. I can't imagine there being anything but the most beautiful sleep under it.

Elaine said...

It is incredible! Congratulations such a stunning finish! I love it :)

Julie said...

This is absolutely stunning, again the gorgeous bright colours you love and so many interesting things to look at on it. Well done - another family heirloom completed.

Oops-Lah said...

A real labour of love and it turned out stunning. Every time I look at photos of this quilt I see new detailsI haven't noticed before. I'm sure this is going to be treasured for a long time. Congratulations on a fantastic finish!

Ruth said...

It's fantastic, my favourite bit might be the boats but the dog is really cute too!

Her Indoors said...

It's absolutely glorious, Wendy

Barb said...

Wow, it is fantastic. I love the fabric choices and the appliqued wool scenes are wonderful. So much detail and heirloom for sure!

Stitchin At Home said...

What a beautiful quilt! A work of art.

cityquilter grace said...

absolutely love it.....a quilting masterpiece!

Gina said...

THis is such a beautiful quilt

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

Love it!! what a terrific job you did on this quilt, so many little felt pieces and so much work involved in it - the colors are beautiful and I really like it with the wall hanging above the bed too.

Designing Duo said...

It's a truly wonderful quilt, Wendy! Just so much to ooh and aahhh over. Congratulations on finishing it, too!

Wendy said...

Well done Wendy, it's a stunner! Such a beautiful quilt. it looks great on the bed and I'm sure you'll enjoy looking at it for many years to come. If not, feel free to send it to me! When I lived in Poland we had one British TV channel on cable so I used to watch it. Home and Away was shown each day and I became hooked! I watched it for two years but haven't seen it since. I remember watching it as a child too, I could still sing you the theme song!

Heidi said...

Gorgeous ! And I would have used more exclamation marks ;-)
So beautiful...

Monica said...

It looks fantastic! I did the same block of the month but don't have mine finished. You've inspired me to get my rear in gear and work on it again.

Lorraine said...

A masterpiece Wendy! It looks beautiful :)

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

Gorgeous quilt Wendy!

Judy@Quilt Paradigm said...

It is gorgeous!! Watching this come together has been so much fun and the finished quilt is just spectacular! The quilting is fabulous and really makes your hard work come to life. Do you just stand and stare at it? I totally would! ;)

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said...

Wendy, another beautiful quilt. I am so impressed with the handwork and the time it took to complete. You and your guests will enjoy this for many years.

Sandi said...

It is just lovely Wendy! How lucky you are to have this to enjoy for many years to come?

Katie said...

That is so amazing! Congratulations and I know your family will treasure it for a long time to come. :-)

Carol Q said...

such a stunning quilt Wendy. what a work of love and what a treasured heirloom it will be. you must be so proud of this.

Marie said...

yikes -- wow .... gorgeous.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Stunning... such a lovely finish! There's so much to look at, I just love all those houses.. and the cute flowers.. oh and that owl!

JanineMarie said...

I am amazed at all the beautiful, tiny details in this quilt. The child in each of us can certainly enjoy discovering each of them. I think the name fits it perfectly--such a lovely tribute to your homeland.

HeathersSewingRoom said...

This is certainly a quilt that you will enjoy for many years. It has so many interesting details in it that you can look at it for ages. All your colours have come together really well and I am not surprised that you are excited about the final result. Well done it was made to be enjoyed.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Congratulations on a fabulous finish! I have really enjoyed watching the progression of this quilt, and it looks so great on the guest bed with the wall hanging. :)

margaret said...

this is a real beauty, so much to see and admire wonderful you must be so thrilled with it

Karen S said...

Your quilt is amazing. What a wonderful finish. I admire your patience with all the pieces involved in this quilt. And definitely worth it!

Jenny said...

Such a beautiful quilt - you must be feeling so pleased with it. And it sounds like you have enjoyed making it, every step of the way! Congratulations.

RachelA said...

I have just come here from the Passacaglia FB page and subscribed. I love the bright happy colours of this quilt, beautiful. So too is the wall hanging. I'm going to spend a few happy hours going back over your old posts to see all your work I think!

Mrs Milkybar Kid said...

I can't put in to words how beautiful this quilt is and that is only from photographs - I can't imagine the joy that you must feel being able to hold it in your hands and see all its little details. Congratulations on a wonderful finish Wendy!

Gemini Jen NZ said...

Absolutely impressive - congratulations!

One Wee Bird said...

You've done a beautiful job Wendy! It must feel great to have it finished after such a marathon effort!!

Unknown said...

Was für ein schöner quilt er ist so Creativ und mit viel Liebe genäht .
Viele liebe Grüße aus Deutschland
Karo

Rachel @ Quiltineering said...

Wow!!! Yes, its definitely deserving of all of those exclamation marks!! Such a stunning quilt Wendy. Love the colors and all the details.

Dawn said...

What a beautiful project! You'll miss it now that it's finished...though I know you have other great projects in the works!

Granny Maud's Girl said...

It is such a cheery design that I cannot imagine how making it could do anything but lift spirits. Who could be gloomy looking at all that colour?

Mary Huey said...

So great to see this quilt finished!! It's fabulous!!

Linda H said...

Wow! Wow! WOW!! Wendy it is just awesome! I LOVE it!! You should be SO proud. I think you should treat yourself to that BlocLoc ruler as a reward!! :)

Helen L said...

I found you when I was looking for Wendy williams quilts: I just had to tell you that your quilt is amazing!!! What a work of Art!! Hugs, H in Healdsburg, Ca.

LovesDogs said...

Hello Wendy,
I am going to attempt to make this same quilt, and the quilt of the month program has us choose either felted wool option or wool felt option.
Yours looks like wool felt, am I correct? Can you wash this quilt? Did you have to test any of the wools for color fastness?
Thanks for any advice on this.
Allyson Smith
Mosier, Oregon

Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore said...

Hi Allyson. I used wool felt. It comes in brighter colours, and I believe it washes well, but I haven't tried myself. This blog post from Elizabeth might help https://occasionalpiece.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/oh-christmas-tree-quilt-a-long-a-giveaway/

LovesDogs said...

Thank you, Wendy, for your helpful reply. I'll check out that site, and see what I can learn.
Allyson