Number 2: Making the same quilt again and again

I am sitting peacefully in the Morocco Room, my creative space in my home, the radio is on, it's hot, the sliding window is wide open to let in some breeze, an incense stick -a gift from our yoga teacher in Bali- is burning and I am sewing together hundreds of 2 inch blocks.
I am making a quilt for a dear friend who got married last year and will be leaving South Africa over the next couple of months.

Some of my Transition Quilts.

NUMBER TWO:

Making the same quilt again and again.

And again, and again, and again...

I have just checked my Quilter's Journal where I have kept a record of all the quilts I have made since 1990. And I love how I am completely stuck on sewing the same quilt pattern.  I call these quilts 'Transitions', and I am making number 9 at the moment, an interesting palette of ecru, mustard yellows, pink and inky purples!

It started when Nicky gifted me a quilt called 'Cut Flowers' made in 2006. She was part of our quilting group and now lives in Brisbane. As a group we enjoy the design of these lap quilts (52 sq. inches) and we have all made a few. The quilt has 36, 6x6 blocks, made up of 2 inch squares, and the color transitions from a dark corner to a light corner and it is a wonderful challenge to grapple with 36 different fabrics to create a smooth and interesting transition. 

Our quilting group has been sewing together for over 25 years! Nicky and her quilt in the background.
My sewing corner in the Morocco Room at home.

Nicky, who is now a professional quilter in Australia and has award winning quilts, has progressed in her craft and challenges herself to learn new techniques and styles of quilt making. She is just a little bemused by our love of making this same pattern!

I only work scrap quilts and for me the pleasure is trying to control different, zany and challenging fabrics, both old and new. There is nothing like going into my fabric stash - small by comparison with the rest of my quilting group- to start planning a quilt. My fabric collection is eclectic, fat quarters bought from all over the world as I travel, gifts from friends and I even have bits and pieces from my mothers stash. I dip into the group's stashes too, as we share fabrics rather than buy new pieces.

Detail of a quilt block.

My first transition quilt, called 'Hot Pink' was made in 2010 for my sister Doreen's 40th birthday.

Here is my list of transition quilts: 'Hot Pink', 'Light and Shade of Life', 'Summer Haze', 'Hidden Kiwi', 'Bahama Blues', 'Summer Ablaze', 'Blue Holes', 'The Shallows', all gifts, except for 'Hidden Kiwi' which I made for myself after a two month campervan holiday in New Zealand in the spring of 2011.

The title of quilt number 9 has not come to me yet, but it will. I will add to this post with a photo of the finished quilt and its title.

So, I am thinking I cannot finish on 9,  I will need to start yet another one this year, will number 10 be it?

Post Script:
The title for quilt number 9, made for Michele, is "Sunflowers and Aubergines", inspired by our quilt retreat to Ficksburg.
Her message after I gifted the quilt to her:
'My quilt is overwhelmingly gorgeous. I love it and I feel the sunflowers and aubergines sums up our life journeys throughout our 18 year friendship perfectly. We have danced fantastically light at times with joy and sunflowers in our hearts - and at others felt bruised and purple by what the world around us shaped. Always and always - I have found sunflowers with you...exposure to you is like turning your face into the sun and soaking up all the deliciousness you have to offer. So deeply grateful for our friendship.'