This is the full shot of the bright quilt that was on Millhouse last week. It was made with scraps donated by Elaine from the patchwork shop in Jamestown; I made the blocks, and my friend Bev put them together and made the border. We're all pleased with how it turned out, and it will now be donated to the bushfire appeal. Our last lot of quilts will be sent off next week some time.

On my design wall is a Spinning Stars quilt, that just seemed to start itself. I made a few units for the scrap workshop, then the fabric just demanded to be cut, and the patches sewn, and now I'm well on the way to a finished top. While part of my mind was saying 'What have you started this for??" another part was trying to tell me it was the perfect quilt for Mereth's number 1 son, who really needs a nice quilt for his lounge. We spend many nights at his place in Adelaide, enjoying his hospitality, so this will be gifted to him when it's finished. Sometimes my subconcious knows what it's talking about; I should listen more, and not argue.

I was very shocked at how many grey and black fabrics I've collected over the years, all the while acknowledging that it's not even a colour I like. I just seemed to think that they were necessary for a balanced stash; which is poppycock, as most of them had never even been cut into. Some are 12 years old. And even now, I can't cut certain ones up because.... they are too good. I will never understand why I think the way I do about some fabric.
I love the Spinning Stars pattern, it's so effective, and just eats up the scraps. I worked out that each block takes a full 2.5"strip of fabric for the base, and a half strip for the triangle units. I'm making 56 blocks, so that is 2.3 yards just for the blocks. StashBusting! Hmmm. That doesn't sound like much after all; still, I've completely used some fabrics, and made a serious dent in others, and there are still borders and backing to make.

Having begun to ransack the grey fabrics, I think the process will get easier in future. I have a photo in an old magazine of a grey and pink quilt, which probably inspired all this collecting in the first place. I will track that down and put aside the prints that I want to use in it, and then work at using up the greys that are left. I have two drawers and a plastic crate full of them, and I want that amount halved at least.

And another top finished; this was a UFO from about 2000 I think, 3" hexagons cut from my vintage stash, and a lot from Mereth's. It's a charm quilt, no fabric used twice, and contains some truly hideous prints, but all authentic. They came from all sorts of places, leftovers from Mum's sewing, rescued from rubbish bins in secondhand shops, gifted from older friends, picked up in opshops. Some are from my clothing in the 70s, and one is from my daughter's baby outfit. Seeing as she's 22 now, that makes it vintage in my eyes. I might have grumbled a bit as I was making this, about how ugly it was going to be, but now that it's finished I feel a great fondness for it; all those fabrics, all those years since they were made, all the people who have owned them, all add to a history that is unique. It may not be pretty, but it's special.