Bloggers Quilt Festival-Applique

Welcome to anyone visiting from the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side.
Although I have 'visited the festival' for a few years and have loved checking out so many wonderful creations this is the first time I have entered a quilt.
To those visiting for the first time my name is Marlene and I live in a small town about an hour south of Auckland, New Zealand. I work three days a week as a midwife in the busiest maternity unit in the country. Then it's quilting and golfing-not good but love it! I have a longarm machine and have just begun quilting for others on a small basis.

The quilt I am entering, in the Applique Section,  was made as a commission for a colleague at work who was welcoming her first grandchild. The pattern is Paisley Splash and can be found on the Wyndham Fabrics website. The request was for 'bright' and grandma chose the elephant fabric and scraps filled the rest of the quilt.

I used a buttonhole stitch on my Janome machine to do the applique and it is quilted freehand on my longarm in the background. It is backed with a red minkee and came out lovely and cuddly.

When I handed the quilt over to grandma, when we were at work, she had to fight back tears/. What better way to know that this will be a much loved quilt.

Thanks for visiting.