Ocean of Dreams - Designed using EQ7 for the 2012 Ricky Tims Hand Dyed Challenge. This quilt was made to honor those who died aboard the Titanic 100 years ago. May we always remember the 1,517 people who lost their lives on the night of April 15th, 1912. Their hopes and dreams are forever lost at sea. Eternal rest, grant unto them O' Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Requiem Aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetuae luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. It was the winner of the challenge. The pattern is available for purchase at http://www.rickytims.com/online-store under "Patterns". There is also a fabric kit available on Ricky's web site.

Prairie Christmas table topper & miniature hanging - After teaching a workshop on the history and design of a pine burr quilt, I decided to try to make one with a holiday theme.... I think both the topper and the miniature wall hanging turned out so neat.

London DairyAyres - Over 20 years ago I was introduced to Liberty of London Fabric. I was unable to afford any at that time. Christmas time 2011 I found this wonderful store that sold Liberty Cotton Print Bundles... I purchased a bundle along with some yardage. No longer a garment sewer but now a quilter, my dream of using Liberty fabric came true. The backing is a black and white London Scene. Why the name? My last name is Ayres.

Alicia dream - Made for my first grandchild, each little apple core fits into the palm of my hand. All hand made and quilted.

Dominique's Quilt - Made as a gift for my daughter's wedding in Alberta, Canada this September. My first full size quilt since making baby blankets for my kids decades ago. The middle represents the wheat of Alberta where they met and married. Turned sideways it represents the waves of BC where my daughter was raised. The nine circles represent the letters in my daughter's name (DOMINIQUE), and she is from a family of 4, her husband a family of 5. It's also my lucky number. I wanted neutral colours so they can use it or hang it whatever their colour scheme. I presented it to them at their wedding reception of 200 people. There are single blocks circling the image and double blocks, representing that they are now a couple. The blocks are 5", I will make them bigger next time as it was fiddly. Friends, family and grandparents embroidered daisies on the quilt as it made its way to the wedding. In the future we believe the quilt will be covered with daisies from visitors. The gerber daisy was their wedding flower. There are more stories hidden in the quilt, just ask about the penny mystery and other details. When I visit my daughter in the future, I will always add to the quilt by embroidering something new, like a new daisy or hidden messages. I am sending them the left over fabric scraps, so if by chance it ever needs patching, it can be. I see this as a new family heirloom and they have already cuddled on the couch in it on the day after their wedding when opening wedding gifts. My son also cuddled on the couch with it. I see it as a wall hanging as well as an every day quilt and that''s why I made the back in a darker panelled fabric, as I want them to use it! Although it does make a lovely wall hanging as well. Please write to me or see my blog for more pictures! Please see my new blog about How to Quilt an Embedded Circle. http://charonobrien.blog.com MY DREAM: I am asking people to follow my blog instructions and send me a 6" block of their embedded circle, which I will then add to other's to make a quilt. http://charonobrien.blog.com I see making a quilt or few to use as a fundraiser for a charity event (TBA) Oprah, due to the circles, would be great to have endorse the future quilt. Please write to me, for my mailing address of where to send your CIRCLE of friends block, at charonobrien @ gmail.com. Thanks for this site as I am a passionate, happy first time quilter since quilting a pillow at high school. Happy Quilting! Charon

Secret Stars - I won some of the fabrics from "Faeries In My Garden" store at Shorncliffe, Brisbane. It ws the lucky door prize on the opening of their new shop. It became a bit of a challenge to me as the colours weren't on my choice of palette. Most of the fabrics are Japanese prints.

Fairy friends - This quilt is made for my 6 year old granddaughter, Anastasia. She loves fairies, so the quilt has a commercial Michael Miller "The Magical Flower Fairies" panel in the centre. There are Birds in the Air blocks around the panel. The applique design is a simple one of suffolk puff flowers. I hid 5 fairy buttons on the quilt.

Poppies - I purchased this pattern in 1995. Sometimes it pays to delay....I found the perfect batik fabric from Sew Batik for this quilt. I'm living' it.

What's on Tap - Portrait of a very cute Bernese Mountain Dog puppy drinking from the faucet. I designed this from photograph. each color is appliqued and then thread painted to give the look of a real fur coat.

Card Quilt

Challenge Met - Mini quilt created for a guild challenge. Later will be donated for mini- and small-quilt auction.

Beach Walk - This was a learning experience for me. Have never done this type of quilting and I learned a lot. Was happy to complete it. Entered it in my quilt show we had last week in Massachusetts.

Autumn Reflections - I finally got up the courage to cut into Barbara Sherrill's beautiful hand-painted fabrics. Really glad I did. This is going to be hung in a prominent place in our house. Love it.

Christmas Snow - Entered this quilt into my local quilt quild and won Best of Show, and Best Piecing!

Ruffled Roses in Red - Adapted colorway from Sue Garman's design for the Quilt Show BOM, using christmas colors. I have learned so much from Sue's excellent instructions.

Scott's Beach Quilt - Our family has always loved to go to the beach. I started out to make a sailboat quilt, but it evolved. The pieced fish blocks came from Quilter's Newsletter Magazine Apr 1987. The fish, birds and other applique ideas were sketched from my children's various coloring books.

Calico Garden - I used modern 30's fabrics to make this wonderful "old" quilt. I designed my own border and freemotion quilted it on my home machine.