Top of the range designs

What child doesn’t love dragons, fairies, wizards and dinosaurs…. kangaroos, koalas, and kookaburras… or puppies and kittens? From the top of the Blackall Range in South Eastern Queensland, Australia, designer Tracey Campbell has created an amazing range of artistic designs for applique. Her Top of the Range Designs include many really cute quilts for kids.

A Kangaroo's rest, 34 x 21", by Tracey Campbell, at Top of the Range Designs

This is exactly what a kangaroo looks like when it is resting ! "A Kangaroo's Rest" is a beautiful hand or machine applique design that includes full instructions for the applique, and optional embroidery embellishments. Fly stitch and French knots, or long stitch and beads, were added to simulate trees on the distant hills and wild grasses on the closer areas.

Koalas, 21 x 34", by Tracey Campbell, at Top of the Range Designs

We love the colors and design of this little quilt, with its blue sky, green gum tree leaves and pink flowers. Little seed beads, and french knots in various shades of pink, were used to embellish the gum-nut flowers. At Tracey's Australian animals page there are patterns for kookaburras, cockatoos and possums, and her Nature collection includes whales, dolphins, frogs, puppies and kittens.

Spell-Caster, 26 x 36", by Tracey Campbell, at Top of the Range Designs

The spectacular Spell-Caster, above,  is just one of the magical Fantasy patterns by Tracey Campbell. This wizard charms the stars from the heavens, much to the delight of his curious cats. An added sparkle embellishes the stars with the addition of sequins and seed beads, to make them appear to shimmer. 

Angel's Flight, 26 x 36", by Tracey Campbell, at Top of the Range Designs

This lovely Angel wall hanging was stitched with needleturn applique, but it would also look great using other forms of applique. A lot of extra sparkle was given to the angels gown, and her halo, with the addition of sequins and shiny beads. This wall hanging would be perfect as a gift for anyone who is a real-life angel, or as a symbol of an angel that watches over children to keep them safe.

Image credits and links: Images are provided with the generous permission of Tracey Campbell. At Top of the Range Designs you can find original and colorful applique patterns, creative stitchery kits and supplies, cross-stitch charts, beautiful beads, and free lessons.  For beginners who want to tackle these and other patterns, Tracey has written a tutorial called How to Applique.  Also check out her patterns for dinosaurs and fire-breathing dragons.