Allira's Quilt

This is not a brilliant picture - my amateur photography skills just don't extend to large quilts. 

 I began this quilt for my now 9 year old when she was 18 months old. I had just begun to teach myself to sew and was amazed by all the quilts at the Stitches and Craft Show. I don't know if it's pride, creativity or stupidity, but I prefer to make things that I have designed rather than the designs of others. I wanted this quilt to reflect the interests and personality of my precious little girl, so went about designing little appliques to be interspersed with hearts and 4 patch blocks. Needless to say that this project has taken me over 7 years and I have not even finished the handwork on it. What you can't see in this picture is the embroidery on each square. I also have a couple more appliques to put on and the words of a song that her Daddy dedicated to her - this will be transfered onto the white boarders using an image transfer technique that I am experimenting with. And I need to put the quilt toghether, quilt it and bind it. And then I will be done. I am aiming to quilt it over winter (it will keep me warm), so I have to get working on it!