Nan

rummage
a stream of consciousness

Nanette
Canberra, Australia

About me...
I like to move things around my house in ever-diminishing circles. The Frenchman would be happier if he could find where the hell I've put stuff. I tell him life is full of adventure. Crafting is fun except when I have to make more than two or three of the same thing, then I feel like a sweatshop and have to go and eat some chocolate in the pantry to make myself feel better.

I have two blogs, Rummage, and Acacia et Coquelicot. I expect some time soon someone will read these, recognise my genius and offer me a seven figure book deal for my memoirs. Just quietly, I'd settle for a six-pack and a weekend away at a cheap b&b.

About my square...
The square came about through sheer panic. I was (un)characteristically late, (may I be struck down by a large bolt of lightning), and had the genius plan of writing whatever came into my head as I sat in front of the sewing machine. It's called free-motion quilting and may look techy but it isn't at all.

I loved the squares people have made, I think you are all frightfully clever.

Find me...
on my blog.

Sandra

miau mau
lover's kerchief

Sandra
London, England

About me...
Small cat like creature that hails from Portugal and since childhood has been knee deep in old fabrics and handmade toys. Discovered how to animate at 14 and followed a dream all the way to London.
Lost her ways for awhile, but was saved by a bear's love and a renewed obsession for softies.
Can be found working here, doing this kind of stuff or ranting away here.

About my square...
My square was based on a Lover's kerchief, which was a traditional present made by a girl to give to her boyfriend as a "forget-me-not". Part of their charm is their atrocious spelling and grammar mistakes, they also have a very particular look, that usually includes birds, keys, hearts and flowers. Nowadays, they are very rare and sell for a lot of money.
I didn't go as far as the spelling mistakes, but I did choose a traditional verse:
Se o Amor tivesse asas (If Love had wings)
Voava que nem um passarinho (It would fly like a little bird)
Entrava pela janela (It would come in through the window)
Para te dar um beijinho (to give you a kiss)
I blogged about it here.
If you want to make your own kerchief, feel free to use my pattern.

The red square

66 squares were posted out.

60 squares were returned.

For a number of the participants something got in the way of being part of the project. In some cases it was really good, inspiring, life changing stuff & in a couple of cases it was the not so good but very real life.

I wanted those original participants to be represented in the quilt. Their original support & enthusiasm for the project made a real difference to me personally & I wanted their part in the project to be acknowledged.

Thank you.

Melanie

emmstarr
a friend is someone who crafts with you

Melanie Starr
Melbourne, Australia

About me...
Fulltime working mother of three and general all round crafty person.

About my square...
'A friend is someone who crafts with you" is based on two loves from my childhood; craft/making things and a book by Joan Walsh Anglund "A friend is someone who likes you".

I have always had a love for craft ever since I was a young girl. I loved drawing, knitting, sewing, making paper dolls etc.. and this love for making things has never left me. I have tried to represent different crafts within my square; sewing, crochet, knitting, felt and then there's the fundamental applique and embroidery which make up the quilt image itself.

In regards to Anglund's book, "A friend is someone who likes you" is a book that always enchanted me when I was a child. Its sweet illustrations and the idea that you can make friends with a brook that 'talks to you with splashy gurgles' or the wind who 'makes leaves dance for you' has always appealed to my imagination and still does. I've tried to represent Anglund's influence in the piece through the whimsical nature of the scissored butterflies and sewing machine balloon and the figures themselves draw strong parallels with Anglund's style of illustration.

You can view the progress of my square here and here.

Find me...
on my blog

Lara

thornberry
crochet "pineapple"

Lara
Melbourne, Australia

About me...
I'm a mum of two young girls, a wife, a daughter, a friend, and I'm a little bit crafty. I work outside the home two days per week and spend the rest of the time doing home and family related stuff as well as sewing, quilting, crochet, blogging and reading. My mum taught me to sew on her machine when I was in primary school and I've been sewing ever since.

About my square...
I became addicted to crochet when I was pregnant with my second daughter (she's now two years old) and have constantly been challenging myself to try new things and develop my crochet skills. My square is five crocheted motifs, with a few embroidered lazy daisies and french knots thrown in for good measure. The motifs are crocheted in cotton thread.
The pattern for the central motif is the Petite Pineapple Doily and the four little motifs are from the Island Necklace by Robyn Chachula (published in /Interweave Crochet, Summer 2009/). The embroidery is done in three strands of embroidery floss.

The square is a little like me - mostly orderly and symmetrical with a teeny bit of wonkiness and improvisation thrown in.

Find me...
On my blog , on Twitter (thornberrylara), on Ravelry (thornberry) and on Flickr (thornberry).

Jeana Marie

unbecominglily
dancing dress

Jeana Marie Blackert
Geelong, Australia

About me…
I am a wife to one, mum of two lovely girls, student, textile artist, liver and lover of life. I am most inspired by the beauty and joy of God’s creation, motherhood and forgiveness. You can catch fragments of my art and life in words and photos at my blog

About my square...
she swirled from one corner and across the floor carefree, in and out of time with the music arms around the one she loved in a red, red dress. Later they were married and the dancing morphed into to the fine art of living one’s life day by day; children, routines, struggling to enjoy the moment, arms still round each other, deepening and moving fast as ever...
Such were my thoughts whilst creating my square “dancing dress.”
Hand and free machine embroidery over silk fabric (dupion and hand-dyed georgette), cotton thread. And I must confess to using just a touch of pink, not to be cheeky but for the benefit of a somewhat dull red thread.

You can see more about how I planned my design here.

Find me...
on etsy where I have a little shop.

Tania

myrtle & eunice
no place like home

Tania
Melbourne, Australia

About me…
I am a mum, a wife, a designer, a recovering perfectionist, an over-my-head-with-addiction craftster

I make stuff because it’s food for this soul. I blog about the crafty and the steep learning curves, along with the comedy of errors that punctuate our family life with startling frequency.

About my square…
Embroidered by hand using anything with sparkle-arkle, as well as embroidery floss and a swish of silk/satin.

From the outset I was drawn to Dorothy and her red shoes. My embroidered versions are referenced from the original shoes worn by Judy Garland. Even though it’s never not a whirlwind at my place, there really is no place like home.

You can see more about how the design was created here.

Find me…
Flickr
Twitter

Cam

curly pops
ferris wheel

Cam
Melbourne, Australia

About me…
I’m a crafty type who loves nothing more than a bit of stitching, painting, glueing, and cutting. If it’s crafty, then I’ll always give it a try.
I love op shopping, and recycling my thrifty finds into brand new creations.
I also spend far too much time on the internet!
I have a craft blog that you can find here: it’s mainly about my day to day craftiness, but I also include some of the happenings in my life.

About my square…
My square evolved from my current obsession with dismembering crochet tablecloths and doilies. I started by painting the crocheted circles red and then laid them onto the calico in a circle.
I immediately pictured a ferris wheel in my head….. and that’s how the design began.
Most of the materials that I used in my square were recycled or given to me. The red fabric paint was given to me when a friend moved interstate. I recycled the cord that was used to pack the original calico square. The embroidery floss came to me via Freecycle, and the sequins were given to me from a family member whose daughter used to participate in dancing lessons. The only new materials in my square were the sewing and embroidery cottons.
You can see more of my design in various stages here:
http://curlypops.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-creative-space_10.html
http://curlypops.blogspot.com/2009/09/obviously.html
http://curlypops.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-creative-spae.html
http://curlypops.blogspot.com/2009/09/where-for-art-thou-ferris-wheel.html

Find me...
You can also find me via my online shop…

or my photos on Flickr

Myf

long ago tales
code for boys

Myf
Melbourne, Australia

About me…
I like the way milk spirals when you add it to tea
pulling things apart & sticking them back together,
watching things grow, home science experiments & anonymous acts of kindness.

About my square…
The design for my square is based on a found note written by a child. Using an old craft book as a reference, I learned as I went. I hope this project inspires some people to try their hand at embroidery- it’s fun and not as hard as you might imagine.

Find me…
on my blog

Angelique

no life without wife
crochet & applique square

Angelique
New Caledonia

About me...
Hi I'm Angelique,
I'm a wife, a mum of twins and maybe a little immature for my age.
I am a permanent visitor to this tropical paradise, New Caledonia. I don't work here and spend a whole lot of time looking after my family and using any spare time crafting, reading and having coffee/lunches with my new found friends.

I have two blogs one about craft, family and general stuff-
no life without wife
and another about the greater beauty that is New Caledonia-
travelling in new caledonia

About my square...
When I started my square I only had one thing in mind and that was to put some crochet into it so that was where I started. I crocheted 1 big square and 4 smaller squares all of the same pattern. The rest evolved around these 5 pieces. There was no sketch or picture to follow, as I said it just evolved.

The things used were crochet cotton, embroidery thread and some new spotty fabric I had just received.

Find me...
on my blog OR
you can find me at flickr and I have recently opened myself up a wee shop.

Alison

frutejuce
self portrait

Alison Bancroft
Milton Keynes, UK

About me…
I have 3 Children and 3 Grandchildren. Nothing makes me more happy than having my family around me. I have been a crafter for many years after being brought up by my parents who would have a go at making something before buying. They were years ahead of their time with recycling and reusing. I love nothing more than to be crafting or fiddling around with something technological.

I found out about The Quilt Project through blogging, I am a relatively new blogger, but just love sharing my efforts at crafting and a few bits here and there about my family who I love. I enjoy the way people are prepared to share things that are so dear to them and they entrust us with this information. The friendships I have built in this short space of time have just bowled me over, I am into friends and connections in a big way and this is fulfilled by blogging.

About my square…
I took a long time to think about my square. I wanted it to say something about me, I wanted to find the essence of what I am about, I struggled with this as I have so many different sides to me I couldn’t settle on one thing! So in the end I ‘did’ me!
I took my blog avatar photograph and used that. You can see the process here.

I used my sewing machine to freehand embroider the result. I am quite new to this method but love how adaptable a method it is. I chose my red thread without any idea of an actual shade in mind. I meant to take the red thong along that was wrapped around the original parcel that arrived from kootoyou but of course forgot it. It would seem like an easy task to choose some red thread but once you get there and see all on offer it isn’t as easy as you would imagine. Every shade of red going!

I haven’t shared my pattern with anyone, not ‘cos I am a meanie, it’s just that if you were going to be sewing a portrait, lets face it, it wouldn’t be mine!

Find me...
You may also want to check me out in the following places as well.
blog
facebook
etsy
coriandr