It’s been a while since I shared a ‘just because’ quilt finish – one I made solely for the sake of making. Probably most of the quilts I make have a purpose in mind (a show or exhibition), but sometimes I just need something to sew! I’m calling this quilt Shoalhaven, because it reminds me a little of a school of fish swimming this way and that.

I posted this design in February 2022 as Sunday sketch #295. I included a couple of variations and layouts in my blog post…

…but my favourite was the 6 × 6 layout of blocks in warm tones, all pointing in different directions.

Sometimes when I make a quilt from one of my sketches, I’ll change the colour palette or placement, or even tweak the design a little. Not this one! The end result is a pretty faithful copy of the original design.

I can’t remember when I started this quilt; I think it was a project for a retreat, so maybe 2022…? I grabbed fabrics from my stash, so I was happy that I could find colours that matched my design. The bright colours and background white are probably all Kona cotton solids; I think the dark blue is Devonstone.

The blocks are 12″ finished, which means the half-square triangles are all 2″ finished. There are almost 650 HSTs: 396 of the blue+white, and 42 each of the colour+white. (I used the 8-at-a-time construction method, and luckily I don’t mind chain piecing/cutting/pressing/trimming!) The sashing is 1″ finished, so the whole quilt measures around 79″ square.

Shoalhaven was quilted in 2023 by Valerie Cooper of Sweet Gum Quilting. Valerie used the Circle of Life edge-to-edge design by Patricia E. Ritter.

It took me awhile to bind this quilt, and even longer to get a decent photo (thanks to Tara Glastonbury for her studio floor and expert photo/image editing skills). And longer still to write this blog post! I’m trying to get better at recording my makes, but I’ve definitely let some quilts slip through the cracks. Better late than never?!

I don’t have any plans for this quilt; I don’t think it’s modern enough for QuiltCon, and I don’t tend to submit to other shows (mostly for cost/convenience reasons). I’ve added it to the Gallery page though, and will eventually include it in the price list of available works.