Songs From The Big Chair

Remember the Tears For Fears album from 1985, Songs From The Big Chair? Well, lately I'm feeling like I'm doing my own song from the big chair. When I had pulled out the Spring Garden top a while back I thought it would be a relatively quick finish. But then I started sewing the pinwheels by hand and that has slowed things considerably, so with my machine back home it prompted me to take another look at the chair where my projects are piled and I pulled out two batik tops that were close to being finished (the chair really isn't that big, the pile was just really high!).

Actually, when I looked closer I realized that one top was finished and the second just needed the borders, so that was incentive to get it done and move a little more off the list. I also thought that the quilts were the same size but that wasn't right either (there's that selective memory, again). I think when I started buying fabric for this one I got carried away and had bought so much that there was enough to make two, so I did. There are still leftovers so maybe I'll do the baby quilt version as well.







The pattern is from Time To Quilt by Anne Moscicki and is call The Neighbour's Fence because it is a modified Rail Fence, with one block of two strips and one of three. The book is designed around planning quilt retreats so the patterns can easily be made by a group or individually and it has the added bonus of having great recipes interspersed throughout.

I have to admit that I haven't yet tried any of the recipes but now that I see the book again I think that Auntie's Chocolate Cake with Mocha Walnut Frosting deserves a try.

You can see an alternative colour palette on the left page but I don't think that it was nearly as appealing as the bright batiks. The pattern also had stars randomly appliqued throughout but I opted to go without the stars.








The Neighbour's Fence

I've used the same border fabric for both quilts - a gorgeous deep green with just a hint of fuscia berries throughout - with orange corners on one and red corners on the larger one. Maybe I should have looked at the book again before I sewed on that last border because the red really appeals to me as well and I have enough red for a border. Oh well.










Don't you just love that black and white stripe in there with all of those rich colours? Unfortunately the green is coming up really flat, but it is really quite stunning.

Dreyfuss napping with quilt

Mom also made this quilt several years ago as a Christmas gift for Mike & Lili's dog, Dreyfuss, and he still loves it. Here he is in Helsinki in 2009 after an exhausting week at the cottage and you can see a hint of his quilt in the background. She used bright calicos rather than batiks and he really seemed to like it....M