A combination of warm weather, new white quilters’ muslin and the knowledge that I have some dye powders that are well past their use-by date has me itching to do some fabric dyeing. But the urge to get back to some improvisational piecing is even greater. So I gave myself permission to use some fabrics that I had dyed previously to play around with some composition exercises from my workshop with Nancy Crow:
As I grappled with figure/ground concepts and trying to get interesting linear shapes, I found myself getting more tense and constrained so none of the designs became fully resolved. Instead I picked up some pieces from a previous exercise and this emerged:
Only one more sleep until the great chocolate art quilt reveal on the Twelve by Twelve blog.
Now that I am back from travelling, it is time to identify all of the exhibition opportunities for 2008 and beyond; analyse the selection criteria; and determine whether or not I propose to submit an entry.
As former Exhibition Secretary and keen advocate of member exhibitions, I will naturally enter a quilt or two into Sydney Quilt Show 2008. The deadline for entries is 29 February 2008 (Gulp!). You can download the relevant forms and read some background information about changes in categories in today’s post on the Guild blog.
I finished Sam’s quilt (click to enlarge). I’m glad that I followed my own advice and persevered despite my ambivalence. The quilting is unremarkable in itself but it help makes the hearts and stars pop out and overall I think it turned out pretty cute.
I hope Sam gets many hours of play on and under his quilt.
It’s less than a week until the Twelve by Twelve group reveals their chocolate-themed 12 inch quilt concoctions. For my own contributions, I have been experimenting with different kinds of finishes. I have a new photo tutorial of a facing technique that avoids excess bulkiness in the corners (multiple corner layers being one of the potential humbugs with the facing technique outlined in this earlier tutorial.)
Today is Australia Day, the 220th anniversary of the landing of Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, at Sydney Cove. Like many Australians, I hit the beach for a while:
Eagle-eyed readers may remark that the designers of our new surf life saving club building also seem to be attracted to a little chocolate and pistachio:
PS: The humour and allusions in Sam Keckovich’s Eat Lamb during “Australian Week ‘08″ advertising campaign may elude some readers/viewers but I do have some lamb to put on the barbecue tonight.
A friend’s surprise announcement that he is now the proud father of baby Sam has me scrambling. I usually have a stockpile of baby quilts on hand to use as gifts but I have run out “boy” quilts. Then as I was going through my stash, looking for something else, I came across this UFO:
It dates from July 2002 following attending a presentation by Mary Ellen Hopkins. My quilting style (and workmanship!) has changed considerably since then and I admit to some ambivalence about finishing it off. However, there’s only three or four rows left to be pieced and it shouldn’t take me long to put it together. Even if I decide to make something different for Sam, some little boy will enjoy this quilt.
It’s been one of those dull but necessary days of attending to bills, filing project notes and tidying my desk. (No Helen, this doesn’t mean I’m going to show you the results!)
For paperwork(s) of an entirely different and much more inspirational nature, I encourage you to check out these photo galleries by my artist friend Horst Kiechle.
Despite being an avid reader, I somehow made it into my mid-20s before getting into Jane Austen. This last month, I have been more than compensating for this literary deficiency. First of all, when I was in Pittsburgh, I went to a theatre production of Pride & Prejudice. Not surprisingly, the story suffered from being condensed. With characters crashing through doors on either side of the stage, they turned it into a kind of English farce. It was moderately entertaining but certainly not for a JA purist.
Accordingly, we decided to sit down to a marathon video sitting of the splendid BBC adaptation starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Aaah…much more satisfying!
Then on the way home, I noticed that the Jane Austen Book Club was available for inflight viewing. I approached it sceptically. I found the book of the same name very contrived and there are few movies that are improved by an airline video setting. I was pleasantly surprised. For an escapist chick flick, you could do worse.
I love that technology, including the internet, enables us to share our knowledge and passion in quiltmaking. Blogland (and, indeed, “Quiltland“) is full of valuable resources provided by generous artists. This was demonstrated to me anew today as I received this instructional DVD as a gift from Patsy Thompson:
Patsy is a regular reader of my blog (and vice versa!) and kindly credits me* and Robin Ferrier of quilt-antics as part of her inspiration in including a video demonstration of alternative quilt finishes. I’ve viewed the DVD and am impressed by the production qualities. Most of all, I am struck by the natural warmth of Patsy as she shares her knowledge and free motion machine quilting skills. You know, I might just attempt some vines and leaves in my next quilt!
January 21, 2008 | Filed Under Out & About | Comments Off
Despite the rain, the wedding on the weekend was huge fun. The bride and groom were in good spirits and it was an opportunity to catch up with some former work colleagues of David’s and their partners. I hadn’t seen Maryanne since before she left for Korea several years ago. These days she is a fully fledged artist and has an exhibition coming up:
Still Lives - Maryanne Wick
2-27 February 2008: Tues to Sat 11am to 6pm
Opening night Tuesday 5 February, 6-8pm
Robyn Gibson Gallery
278 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
Tel (61 2) 9331 6692
