patches quilt, who can??

I have a bag full of new pieces of fabric.
It is daffodils, roses and farm animals.
I have gathered material with pictures of my life in NZ.

My husband loved daffodils and there are heaps of them on the driveway.
I said that one day it will be a big quilt with daffodils.

He did buy daffos when cheap and he has put down hundreds and hundreds of dollars of for sale daffo bulbs on the driveway.
Sadly my husband got cancer,,and his favorite flower all years has been daffos!

While I nursed him at home all the way,,,
he told me what to do when he was gone.
Sell house,go home to be with your family,write the book ready, do the quilt, find a new man and get married again!
(he did say something about losing weight,,must have been imagination, ha ha ha)

I am trying, I am trying!
Book is ready, I have lost 12 kilo,,,I did squeeze last available dollars out of my mastercard last x-mas and did go and see my old dad since I cant sell the house and he is a bit old,,I have met someone that says he is waiting for me to sell house and come home,,but contract after contract falls over due to people not selling their house and no finances approved,,,I think it is 8 contracts now.

So,,the quilt,,,,,
I cant sew, never been able to, dont have a sewing machine.
Is there someone out there that can do a basic quilt with the fabric I have?
"just and only" do the bits and pieces and I can find somewhere to get it quilted?
I have fabric with: daffos, roses,sheep, chooks, cows,,,,size to either put it on a queen size bed or maybe hang on the wall.
Want nothing fancy,,it is to be a plain farm quilt with my nz life on it.

Someone that can do this?
and how much?

something like in link below,,

www.hosinger.se/wp-content/uploads/hawaii-minskad1.jpg

How big a hurry are you to get it finished? I am currently doing another quilt for grandson and will have that finished by next year, but have run out of some material that I need to finish it off, so waiting until I can get a match for that material, so could start on yours if you like., what size are you looking for?? eg, queen bed, or king bed etc. As you know suzanne I am in hamilton, so if you are at all likely to be over maybe you could drop the material off here, and i can start doing it for you!

Hi Rae,
Thanks for the offer,,but I never go anywhere,,my car,,,I am happy if it takes me to and from work,,doing my prayers just to get there,,

Can I start this and someone tells me what to do?
Can I do some basic start up and someone that I can wrap it up and send to?
Like cut the pieces and needle them together in long runs and then make a nzpost or courier delivery with it?
I am absoloutely not after anything fancy.
What sizes do I cut out the patches in?
I have an idea of all in same size except for one that is a fabric with running horses and a mountain and that patch has to be a long skinny patch not to ruin the mountain,,
it would be like maybe15cm x 60cm (80 cm).
I have taken a piece of paper and started to do a design just to see what it would look like roughly.
It would be a queen or king size and with one color fabric around the edgings.
I heard at local quilt shop that if I get all the patches done then they can send it somewhere and get the quiling done.
But I am totally useless with doing any kind of sewing and I would ruin just to sew that patches together. The quilt shop has classes but they are full and no new are taken in, it is a que to be in.
I am missing three types of fabric at the moment,,would like to find a fabric with an angel, just one or two patches. One patch with red hearts. One patch with a house.
(found a black and white fabric with old nz houses but it is in black and white and I dont know what it would look like)

I have found fabric with white dogs, but just small patches.
Thought about if patch in the midle with green behind it,,then cut out one house of the black and white house fabric and take the white dogs and make a patch on patch just for the center piece and the rest of the quilt should be plain one size patches.

Fabric I have so far is:
several daffodils
several roses
horses running under mountain
native bush
fantails
farm animals
chooks
dogs
heaps of sheep and cows,

It would be a not much color coordinated but more what I could see around me in NZ in my every day life. Bits and pieces of my life in NZ.
I would like to have it ready before I leave, but saying that house has been on the market for 1.5 years now and I have had 8-10 contracts that all have fallen! fallen because buyer has not been able to borrow money or their own house has not sold so it is catch 22,,I cant go anywhere. None of my kids talks with me anymore. They think I am lying about not being able to sell the house. Husband kiwi family that did not step up when he fell sick has not even checked me up since he died, 1,5 year! I have tried to sell stuff on TM to cover debts hubbie left behind but with no success,,I see that his daughter follows the auctions! I sent her a nice e-mail a couple of weeks ago but she ignores me. ( she is one person my hubbie had a det torwads and she claimed it instantly when he died even though it was not to be paid until house sold, she knows I had to pay her with my mastercard and she does not even check if I am ok after the year where I stood up and did everything for her dad! sorry me babbling,,

If you have the design drawn, and all the fabrics, I might have time next year sometime to put together just the top for you, but not this side of christmas as I am too busy at the moment to take on another project.

Play with placing all the material, it will tell you once you lay it out on the table or floor how it wants to be done!! The big thing is to take your time, and if possible get hold of a 1/4 inch foot for your sewing machine, as then all seams will be the right size that the quilt will work a lot better. go onto Google, and put in Quilts or quilt sewing, use the internet, even 1/4 inch foot and see what it says! that will help you a lot! That is how I sometimes work out how to do things. How big do you want it?? It will not matter if you have a lovely panel, use it lay it out first then sort out what looks best near it, the other material, can be squares, what ever size you want to do them? The finished blocks can be up to 12 1/2 inches, but they can be 5 1/2 inch or what ever, remember to add 1/2 inch for the 1/4 inch seams that you sew. So a 5 1/2 inch will end up being 5 inch in total. Some folks make 7 in squares, so that would be cut at 7 1/2 inches. You also need some material about 2 metres to put between the blocks, that you cut into stips, and that will also be used as a border, When lining up you squares before you sew them, make sure that you have ironed them, with the seam just going one way or the other, not opened seams. The trick is to iron each thing with a hot dry iron, even before you start cutting. If possible get hold of a cutting mat, and a good rotory cutter, and a good quilting ruler, the cost is a one off, and will be used all the time. As when you try cutting with sissors, its not so easy to get 100% straight lines. Is there anyone that goes to the classes, that can come around and help you start! Dont be worried about asking, most folks doing quilting will be only to pleased to help. Ask at the local material shop if they can put you in touch with someone. That could be a good idea, and will mean that you will have local help and guidence, so that you dont stuff up your lovely material. Have a go, and dont forget to contact any of us on here, if you need to work something out.
Dont worry the house will sell at some time, and maybe the time is just not right for your future to sell it just now. Things have a habit of working out in the end. We nearly brought a dairy farm up north years ago, and 1 week before takeover the finance fell through, we we were really upset, but later on ended up with a lovely farm out at Raglan, and we had a better life for that happening.

Dont even have a sewing machine,,
FRom the beginning I thought I would find someone thru the local quilt shop,,I have advertised and asked the owner,,but she says no one has time,,and she knows of no one to ask.

My thought is to cut out all the patches,,
put them on a bed and puzzle around with them,,
on a piece of paper try to plan,
then pin them together in long strips,,

and then find someone that can sew all those in to long ones and then attach the long ones side by side,,
Then the quilt shop says they have places where they send it away to get the quilting done,,

Have a go at cutting, or just tell us what size blocks you want, and the size of the finished quilt, eg, queen size, or double sized bed, and send the material to either Mich or myself, and we will construct the quilt for you. Dont feel that you are missing out on the building of it, as we will keep you fully aware of what is going on, and send you photos on the computer of each step of the way. once we get the material. We will need to buy the batting, (that is the inbetween slice) I priced at Spotlight the other day, some cotton batting for about $59 for a queen size one. Also will need to get some backing material for the back of the quilt, but maybe you have something in mind for that! The bag of material you have will do wonderful for the top, and will be fun to put together. We are here to help you as promised.

Hi Rae and Mich,,,and all others

I have done a excel spreadsheet and written in each square so I show what it is that I am thinking of,,
Then I have taken photos of the fabric and sent both to Mich e-mail.
When I placed out the faric and look at it it is going to be a "here is your 9 years in NZ quilt".
It is not going to be a color coordinated everything in different pink or different blue.
This is to be my memory quilt of NZ,,my life,,what I have done and what I have seen.
I am so thankful for all help you can give me since I am totally useless when it comes to sewing and dont even have a sewing machine,,but I dont know why but one day I just felt that I had a quilt wanting to come.
Just let me know what to do now,, wrap it up and send it to any of you?
Thanks
Suzanne (hestia)

Send a copy of the excel spreadsheet and photos with the squares on it to me as well, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and then I can give you my physical address, and we can work out the way for you to send it all to me, I will cut, Mich will sew at this stage, as she has a friend that can do the quilting, and its a big job, so thats all sorted then, We will probably be sending it back to you basically finished, except for some hand sewing to finish off the binding, so please we will need to get pins as well, then it will be pinned ready for your final touch, (that could take you about a week to hand sew depending on how quick you are.) Please let us know what size you want the blocks to be! eg. 7in, 4in., 5 in, 10in,. 12in, its up to you!! If the material is really lovely cutting it too small may make it look bitsy, With me cutting, it you will only need to send me the material, and tell me the size of blocks you want, and Mich will let you know what sewing cottons, (batting and backing she will have to get to put it together for the quilting process) plus she will get pins to finally piin the binding so its ready for you. Remember keep smiling, that is the only way to let the sun shine in to you.

I have sent you some mails with a work scribble in a excel sheet and some photos of the fabric,,knowing that you will see it better becasue of your experience of what can be done or not,,so thankful

Would you trust us to make the most beautiful quilt for you, as if you look at my last email, I sent to you today, we need to have a good look at the material, regarding sizes, etc. and then decide exactly how we will do it, but it will be simular to your wonderful plan as we can get!! Just not so big as you had planned!!

No slur intended on anyone here, but please make sure you send your fabric/quilt to a non smoking household. i remember my neighbour paid big dollars in aussie to have a quilt finished for her and it stunk when it came back.

RaeM;337609 wrote: Would you trust us to make the most beautiful quilt for you, as if you look at my last email, I sent to you today, we need to have a good look at the material, regarding sizes, etc. and then decide exactly how we will do it, but it will be simular to your wonderful plan as we can get!! Just not so big as you had planned!!

OOOh just sen what I have done!

I did a spreadsheet to show what I would like it to look like,,
Kind of how the "map" in my head has told me,,
house in the middle,,surrounded by roses and fruits and then chooks and sheep and cows,, and framed by all daffos,,,and at the bottom some shells,,
at the top a long patch with the running horses,,
patches with green wildlife, flightless birds and natives at the bottom,,
and around it a frame of pohutukawas,,

didnt think that when I sit and map it like that and if you think size of patches it becomes out of scale,,
me that works with maps did not even think like that
I think of it as of how in an artisitic way

you se I am totally uselles in doing a quilt,,laughs,,that is why I need help,,

Thankfull,,just looking for one final patch,,2-3 angels,,then I have all material when it comes to patches and can wrap it up and send off,,

thankful!

swaggie;337637 wrote: No slur intended on anyone here, but please make sure you send your fabric/quilt to a non smoking household. i remember my neighbour paid big dollars in aussie to have a quilt finished for her and it stunk when it came back.

It does not worry me,,
I am not a smoker more than a couple of times per year if a nice dinner.

Also found out that when you get something you want to take smoke out of,,hang it in the bathroom and have a couple of containers with vinegar,,
vinegar draws out smoke.

Once bought a car that had a previous owner that smoked cigar,,had vinegar sitting in the car,,

Completely understand where you're coming from Swaggie, but Hestia doesn't need to worry. No smokers in our house, or at the long-arm quilter I use.

Am looking forward to working with Rae on this project. Still have one really, really REALLY outstanding craft thing to do (Lesley, if you're reading this, you know what I'm talking about...) and then I'll be free to get started on this. Haven't had time for anything lately as I've been working 11-12 hour days at the office while my colleague is overseas, so this will be a nice way to ease myself back to my machine.
Cheers, Mich.