Time to catch up on the past year (or so)! This space is where I record my creative work and the opportunity to tell the stories behind the quilts. Unfortunately, the past year slipped away and if you kind readers will indulge me, I’d like to go back in time and record my quilt finishes in a series of posts.

Two quilts were completed at the end of 2022 which had their beginnings during an online workshop with my friend, Tara Glastonbury, of Stitch and Yarn. She gave us some history of the wagga, a utilitarian quilt tradition unique to Australia. I found useful background information at the National Wool Museum from an exhibition there in 2021-2022. I have always been fascinated in quilts made across regions and cultures by people with limited resources.

Although my fabric resources are not limited, I looked through what I had available and challenged myself to use a wide variety of textiles. My first pull included flannel shirts, felted wool from garments, corduroy, vintage tablecloths and denim.

Picnic wagga

The box containing the vintage tablecloth had a lot of other vintage fabrics including some table linens and aprons from my grandmother. After editing my selections, my new fabric pull looked like this.

Using scissors and no rulers or measuring tools, I used improvisational piecing techniques to create the top. I tried to leave fabrics their original shape and size, just trimming off what was necessary to puzzle them together.

Several yards of a yellow reproduction fabric (purchased when a local quilt shop closed back in the ’90s) and some bits leftover from the top were pieced together for the backing.

I felt good to piece lots of small batting scraps together before thread basting. It was hand quilted and bound by turning the backing over and stitching it onto the front.

The whole project took less than a month to complete, which is super fast for me! It felt so good to use these fabrics in a new way and I think it will be a perfect picnic quilt. An outdoor photo session kept the horses and cows curious about my activities.

Quilt details:

Picnic Wagga

59″ x 81″

repurposed fabrics

machine pieced

hand quilted

Cozy wagga

I decided to make a second “modern wagga” with some of the flannels and wool fabrics from my original pull using a different approach.

First, I used a flannel top abandoned early in my quilting career to provide the main portion of the backing. I added some fabric to the edges to make it larger, and then basted it to a wool batting, with the edges turned to the front and stitched down. Each piece was added using a thick Sashiko thread to whip stitch through all the layers. Using this approach, the quilt is completely quilted and bound when the last piece is added.

I used three colors of Sashiko thread and mostly flannel, felted wool, corduroy and chambray from my collection of previously worn garments.

Placing the next piece or two by covering raw edges and whip stitching the turned edges, the quilt grew quickly. I used scissors to cut rectangular pieces many with pockets, buttons and buttonholes.

Even though the quilt was technically complete when the last piece was added, I decided to add additional stitching since most of the pieces were rather large. I also stitched pocket openings closed and stitched over buttonholes because this quilt will get lots of wear. (Besides, it was so warm and cozy sitting underneath it in December, I was thoroughly enjoying the stitching.) This quilt is completely stitched by hand and was also completed in less than a month!

A dry day in January, and a walk with a friend to the Dungeness River Nature Center, was a perfect photo opportunity.

Quilt details:

Cozy wagga

47″ x 67″

hand pieced

hand quilted

upcycled fabrics and wool batting

Many thanks for Tara for the workshop and sewalong inspiration! I thoroughly enjoyed using different materials and methods to create personal, utilitarian quilts.