Recently Rita posted about her new Flea Market Fancy Quilt on Red Pepper Quilts which is absolutely divine. Her colour choices are always spot on and her talent is one many admire.

Something rang a bell when I saw her quilt top. Looking in little Laura’s room I found, inside her doll’s pram, the first quilt I ever made for her back in 2002. Paula Green from Green Mountain Quilts is where I learnt how to hand piece this beautiful quilt. If memory serves me right she was bequeathed it from an aunt. It was a just a bundle of the stars, or are they hummingbirds? The fabric was from all the way back when….

Tilt vertically or horizontally {whatever takes your fancy} rather than diagonally and you have a whole different look, with more negative space in centres. Mine is all hand pieced from 1930′s repro prints and hand quilted with lots of love and patience. I ended up reducing the size of my initial quilt as Laura’s birth was getting closer and I could see it not being finished in time. So ‘hummingbirds and starflowers’ is a small cot size. I would love to see how the paper pieced version works, as it would make the process a little quicker.

Thank you Paula, you are the teacher who started my passion and love of quilting. Nearly 12 years on it is even more a part of my life.

Thank you Rita for taking me back. Once again we are reminded of how many memories and how much love is put into our quilts. It’s why we do it…that and we love love love fabric!

The centres are all hand quilted with the starflower design.

Melissa, x