Stars for Huon

A present! Let's unwrap it!



This quilt is for Huon, my nephew, who was born in early March this year. It is yet another quilt for a baby but I'm happy to say that unlike the others I make, I'll get to see this quilt become well-loved as its owner grows and flourishes in years to come. Huon is my son Rory's first 'first' cousin, and they are 2 years and a week apart in age.

Huon's quilt is, like most of my quilts, a simple 9-block pattern. The blocks are called 'Ohio Stars' and are framed with a stripey lime sashing (which can't be seen very well from the overall pic). The blocks themselves are one of my favourites to make and I believe the only other quilt I've made predominantly comprised of these is the one I made for my Nanna so it seems fitting that another loved family member gets another one. The colours I chose are bright blues and greens and subtle yellows, chosen for their boyish nature and because they'll tie in well with the colours his mother painted his room. The outside sashing has corners that tie in with the middle block, and the quilt is quilted in the ditch. The outside border is a pale lemon yellow, and there was fortunately enough of this material to use for the backing. Although the quilt has a thin cotton wadding, it still contains plenty of warmth. I tend to use cotton wadding in the baby quilts so the recipients don't have any allergic reactions.

Huon is my elder (and only) brother's first child and he will happily carry on the family surname, the first child of the 'next generation' to do so out of all of our cousins.




Each quilt I made is usually inscribed with a date, my name as its maker and usually who the quilt is for. These labels are fixed with the iron-on Vliesofix, and blanket-stitched by hand (albeit messily as I'm not the embroiderer in the family). I've incorporated a kind of inspirational or motivational sentiment in the last couple of quilts made - my good friend Catherine's daughter and now Huon's - so hopefully they'll be something nice to look at and think about in the years to come.

The inscription, by Mark Twain, seems fitting for Huon, given his heritage as his parents are the adventurous type. His father often chooses the more daredevil activities to give our mother cause for anxiety. I'm sure as both cousins grow up, this innate lust for adventure will lead them into all sorts of places (and hopefully not into too much trouble!).

'20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbour. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.'
Mark Twain

Luc's Quilt

As with most of the quilts I seem to make these days, this quilt was made to celebrate the impending birth of Dawn and Eric’s first baby. It has turned out to be a much loved quilt – a sentiment I’m very pleased to hear – and I hope that Luc (now 3) will share the quilt with his new baby brother Oscar, who was born in early April this year.

The quilt itself is a simple design – a 3 x 3 squares of ‘wonky star’ 9-square blocks, separated by approx inch-wide sashing. The fabric I used for the squares is a favourite – a thick yellow fabric with lavender coloured flowers. The outside border is a dark purple and the quilt itself is quilted in the ditch. Not terribly complicated itself but simple enough to make the quilt look good by the fabrics and colours selected. I was worried that the quilt was a bit ‘girly’, given the fabric colours I’d chosen (always hard when you don’t know what gender the baby will be) but Dawn assures me that it is well loved despite its appearance.

Most quilts these days, as I’ve said, are generally for babies, and this one was no exception. The friendship I share with Luc’s mother, despite existing these days by brief and sporadic emails, is enduring. It seems to be one of those friendships which don’t require a lot of work and no matter how long it’s been between communication, or meeting face-to-face, one feels that it can continue to flow easily and in good spirit.

I first met Dawn about 10 years ago. We are both fans of Crowded House and as such, are members of a fan mailing list known as Tongue In The Mail, or TITM as many know it. (The name itself refers to an obscure lyric in a Crowded House song). The mailing list was a lot more active in those days and Dawn had posted a message saying that she was on Melbourne’s shores, and did anyone want to meet up? I responded, and we met near Luna Park in St Kilda. We seemed to click from the get go and a friendship blossomed.

From then on, we would meet up and visit places, from Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill to spending Easter at my cousin’s place in Traralgon. We visited several Crowded House haunts and at one point attempted to find a house to move in together in inner Melbourne with another CH fan, which didn’t eventuate.

After several years of living in Melbourne and later New Zealand, Dawn returned to the UK. In 2003, I visited England for the first time and Dawn went out of her way to do some sightseeing with me, from walking around London, visiting Hampton Court Palace, going to a radio comedy show, organising a memorable weekend trip to Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury, Cheddar and Glastonbury. Seeing the Cerne Abbas Giant and walking right up to the Uffington Horse have stood out over the years.

At that time, Dawn introduced me to her Dutch boyfriend Eric, later husband, whom she’d met whilst living and travelling in New Zealand. They married and we later caught up in New Zealand in December 2005 – she on her honeymoon and I with my fiancé, on my own Kiwi adventure prior to my wedding. Despite the years between seeing each other, we easily slipped back into our friendship and enjoyed several days of doing touristy things in Rotorua like Zorbing and getting lost in a mediocre maze.

Dawn and Eric’s ‘European’ (first) son, Lucas, arrived in September 2006. Since then, Dawn and I have corresponded mostly by email. Mostly these have usually been about the big events in our lives – getting married, having children and so forth – but I’ve always found Dawn’s succinct descriptions of news and events quite supportive, amusing and informative. She often provides me with reassuring advice and even though the music of Crowded House may have led our paths to cross, it has featured very little in our conversations since. Despite the distance, I treasure her presence in my life greatly and I feel fortunate to think of her as one of my dearest friends.

I've yet to meet the recipient of this quilt, but I'm confident that our families will meet again sometime in the near future!