Here in Western Australia, as nearly everywhere, quilt exhibitions and markets scheduled for 2020 were cancelled due to CODID 19. However, as restrictions eased, our local quilting guild was able to organise a smaller exhibition in our club rooms (The Adriatic Club – which is actually quite large). It was called Covid QuiltWest to differentiate it from the annual event QuiltWest. Thank you to the hard-working WAQA members who made this exhibition happen.

Lucky for me, I had a couple of quilts that I had not previously exhibited that I was able to enter.

Last year, some of my quilting buddies were experimenting with bias tape appliqué after taking a class with Joe Cunningham.

Appliqué is not really ‘my thing’ but I caught the bug listening to my friends being so excited about it.

I began with a crazy pieced background of fabrics I had used in a (as yet unfinished) larger quilt. (I’m aiming to get it completed in time for QuiltWest 21 – fingers crossed that it will go ahead.)

Making rough improv squares
Arranging the squares on point
Joining squares carefully so that there is not a complete seam across the quilt
Completed background placed over wadding/batting

I had made the bias tape. Now I needed to position each piece into a recognisable lily. A lot of pinning and ironing was required.

First flower starched and pinned
First flower machine basted and another flower pinned
Three flowers in position
Leaves and stems positioned and basted with quilt backing in place
Flowers and foliage machine appliquéd using hemming stitch and ‘invisible’ thread through all layers creating some of the quilting
Gold foil fused in position as the stamen

The background was machine quilted using FMQ with designs of lilies and leaves.

The quilt was not traditionally bound. It has a faced edge. The facing is the same fabric as the backing.

You can also see at the lower edge where I have stitched my name and the name of this blog on the facing using my sewing machine’s in-built feature. This is best done prior to attaching the facing to the quilt.

I entered this quilt into stitched and bound 2019, however it was not selected by the jury. These Calla lilies are a weed in Western Australia. My artist statement is:

Spreading via waterways throughout the SW, exotic Calla Lily is a declared pest and a threat to native flora and fauna. On the forest understory, the flowers glow like candles.

I was thrilled to receive an equal-third place ribbon in the small quilts section.