Sydney

In August last year we heard that at the end of the year we would have to move from Brisbane to Sydney, where my husband had found a new job. Understandably, our sons (13, 11 and 9 years old at that time) weren't happy at the thought of having to leave their friends, schools and clubs behind. They had never been to Sydney (1000 km south of Brisbane), so in the September school holidays we took them there for a family vacation, while also checking out areas to live.
The boys loved Taronga Zoo, which is situated on the shores of Sydney Harbour, and this photo of the giraffes with their fabulous view over Sydney became our favourite of the holiday (I showed it here on the blog in October).



Last year SAQA put out a call for entry for an exhibition called Textile Posters. I love vintage travel posters - here is my Pinterest board full of them - and decided to make a Sydney poster based on the photo of the giraffes. Chances of getting into a SAQA exhibition are very small, so I wanted to make a quilt that I would love to have hanging on the wall anyway!



And indeed, I heard last week that my quilt wasn't selected. I was a little sad at first, but it's hanging over our dinner table now and we all love it. Here are a few detail photos - as always, I used Aurifil 40wt threads for piecing, appliqué, and quilting:



The font used for the letters is Broadway - love the art deco feel!



For the tails of the giraffes I used black yarn:



I bought the giraffe print fabric at my local quilt shop, but all other fabrics are from my stash. I've shown the back here already, it's a funky Ikea fabric:



Here is the quilt hanging in our dining room. It measures 32'' x 48'' (81 x 122 cm).