Quiltingboard Forums - Australia / New Zealand trip memory quilt

My husband and I were fortunate enough to fulfill our lifetime dream: a 7 week trip to AU/NZ. We had a fabulous time touring the gorgeous countrysides, coasts and beaches and couldn't have met nicer people along the way. I have had a pen pal in Australia for 53 years (yes, we have met several times in the USA as her daughter married a guy from Illinois) but we were finally able to see many of the places she has talked about, meet their son and his family, & get to know each other on a more personal level etc. We also had the opportunity to meet up with AussieKiwi Jen, a member on this board, who couldn't have been more generous with her time, expertise of the Cairns area, and a great ambassador for the country and quilting. I managed to pick up about a dozen small cuts of fabric (approx. 13" WOF) along the way and put together the following quilt as a memento of our trip. Since each fabric was so different, I decided to make a two sided lap robe (45" x 63") that would showcase the fabrics with the least amount of cutting. I found a free pattern called, Birthday Cake Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman (www.ohfransson.com) than I used for the Australian fabric side. Let me know what you think.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]451803[/ATTACH]
Australian fabric side

[ATTACH=CONFIG]451804[/ATTACH]

New Zealand fabric side

[ATTACH=CONFIG]451805[/ATTACH]

close up of larger NZ print that I didn't want to cut much smaller.