A little Christmas quilt

I'm going to donate this little Christmas quilt at our guild meeting tomorrow. Each year our guild members make a special donation of Christmas sewing to our local hospital - Hutt Hospital.  

The hospital staff like to make Christmas Day special for the children stuck in hospital for Christmas. Our members donate more than 50 stockings each year. 

One of our guild members passed away quite suddenly this year, and her friends have been working through her stash trying to ensure it all gets used.  A couple of months ago they gave each of us a brown paper bag with 4 pieces of Christmas fabric in it. Their simple request was to sew something for Hutt Hospital.   

In my paper bag were the rabbits, the kiwis, and red, white and gold piece and the blue stripes.  I added some of my own fabrics to make a big enough quilt. 

I decided to make a baby quilt using the Trip Around the world pattern that can be used on the cot or on the floor as a play mat.  It can even be used as a table mat in years to come.  

I had it quilted at Busy Bee Quilt Shop because I was already going there to get my nephew's baby quilt quilted.  

2025 Baby Quilt

My nephew and his wife have just had a baby girl so I decided to make a quilt for their new baby.  

I chose the Charlotte Quilt pattern by Erica Jackman of Kitchen Table Quilting because I had seen a few quilts made from it at the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in Christchurch and I was keen to try it myself.

The pattern can be made in a random fashion, or a carefully planned out version and of course I chose the more complication version.  I managed to get the strips weaving correctly on this baby sized quilt, but I wouldn't try that method on anything bigger.  I had to keep checking back to ensure I had the blocks up the right way and the strips were placed correctly.  

I'm really pleased with the finished quilt.  Hopefully the baby will still be happy to use it when she is 3 or 4 years old.