Community Revelations

Today I’ve been busily quilting and binding my community themed quilt for the Twelve by Twelve group ready for posting on 31 March (US time).

My unscheduled sojourn in Sydney* really knocked my timetable around so I’ve felt a little like this guy, losing a grip on things and teetering across the deadline. Or maybe dancing a jig that I actually made it!

You will see that, for this quilt, I selected a classic 1/4 inch continuous binding. I took some photos along the way so will show you how to avoid unsightly bulges in your joins. Come back tomorrow to see the tutorial. In the meantime, do check out all the new quilts coming onto the Twelve by Twelve blog.

*I have my car back now thanks and so far it has not turned into my own personal sauna. Phew.

Weekend Wonders

After many a false start and rainchecks, our friends from Balmain finally made it to Casa da Praia this weekend. We swam, made sand castles, played in the rain run-off stream meandering its way down to the ocean, collected star shells, picked dandelions, ate chocolate buttons, went to see the pelican feeding and generally exhausted ourselves.

We also made some placemats:
  

Teaching Aids

First of all, a reminder about two Power Stripping workshops that I have coming up in the next few weeks. First at Horsley Patch on Tuesday, 29 April and then at Terrigal on Friday, 9 May. Do contact me or Linda if you want to join in the fun. For information about other workshops that I offer, please see my Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting Workshops Brochure.

Second, I have recently joined AusQuilt Teach, an online forum for Australian quilting teachers to be used specifically for issues and development of teachers in Patchwork and Quilting. Last night I wrote a piece about computer programs that I find useful for both my websites and for developing workshop materials. Here’s a quick recap:

• dopdf.com is a free PDF converter for both personal and commercial use. Using this software, you can create PDF files by selecting the “Print” command from virtually any application. It’s only a 1.35MB download and there’s no nasty adware involved.
• Gadwin PrintScreen since first writing about this screen capture utility back in September, I have used it countless times and found it very versatile.
• Photoshop Elements is a scaled down but nevertheless powerful version of Photoshop. Initially I found the full functionality of this program difficult to access but a small investment of time and practice has converted me to its merits and it is now my primary photo editing software. There are also several online photo-editing programs available and you might find this review of Picnik, Fotoflexer and Photoshop Express of interest.

If you would like to join AusQuilt Teach, you can sign up on the groups home page. Alternatively, you can directly e-mail Lisa Walton from Dyed & Gone to Heaven for an invitation.

Business cards

Historically I have printed my business cards myself on a low volume, as-required basis. The results are reasonably professional with my laser printer and good quality products and it’s good not be stranded with 100s of cards with out of date details. Nevertheless, I would be interested to hear of any recommendations for business card printing in Australia. Has anyone used VistaPrint downunder?

And Terry, thanks for your tip on the quiltart list about mini business cards from Moo cards . They look ever so cute!

Kaffe Happiness

These days it is a rare occurrence for me to buy fabrics other than for dyeing. I still budget for threads, notions, batting, books, dyes and art supplies but, with my studio already bulging at the seams with fabrics and well-stocked quilt shops a very long way away, I gave up fabric buying a while ago. I do not miss it. I can usually find something suitable in my stash and many a quilt has been improved by the serendipity factor that arises from mixing fabrics from different designer collections.

Nevertheless, when there was almost parity in the US and A$ exchange rates earlier in the month, I did take a look at the Hancocks of Paducah website for old times sake. I do not regret that I indulged in this set of 51 fat quarters of Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the modest sum of US$99.98. The left hand photo shows how they were delivered. The right hand photo shows the results of some preliminary sorting and stroking:

 

Win an Abie Loy Kemarre Painting

I have previously mentioned the online gallery presented by the Central Art Aboriginal Art Store which features a variety of artists and styles and covers a wide range of price brackets. Now the Central Art Aboriginal Art Store is offering all its mailing list subscribers, as well as any new members that join the Central Art Mailing List, the chance to win a painting by Abie Loy Kemarre valued at A$3,000. See this link for more information:

I’d love to win this painting! (and no, putting up this post does NOT increase MY chances but does give you an opportunity to join in).

Plant dyes & Eco colour

I love the full spectrum of saturated colour that can be achieved with Procion dyes but I am also fascinated by the subtle nuances that arise from plant dyes. Accordingly, I am looking forward to purchasing Eco Colour, a “botanical alchemy of ecologically sustainable plant dyeing for textiles” by internationally renowned dyer, costumier and artist India Flint:

A short paragraph in the weekend paper about the Adelaide Festival and the watermarks exhibition (22 March - 13 April) first alerted me to the textile art of India Flint. Judging from this image gallery, I’m disappointed that I missed the exhibition when it was on in Sydney recently. I see the exhibition also opens at the Ecocity World Summit in San Francisco, USA, on 22 April.

Coasting

I’ve been wanting to make a coastal themed quilt for a while and a number of exhibition/challenge opportunities (including the Guild’s Coast & Country challenge) are extra impetus.

    

I’ve been playing with some fabric strips on the design wall (with some extra help from Photoshop). I don’t think I would ever make something as literal as this but the digital mock up assists me in working out what direction I would like to take.

Bounty

I may have returned home without my car but I made sure that I took my shopping with me. A selection of 1000m spools of polyester thread purchased from Win On Trading in Canley Vale (thanks to the tip off from Lisa) along with a 5000m spool of lime thread. (After all, you can never have too much lime thread.)

I found the 250ml and 500ml squeeze bottles at the Essential Ingredient at Crows Nest while I was killing time waiting for my car to be repaired. My last set of bottles leaked at the neck but these ones seem to be much more functional. I can’t wait to try them out on my next dyeing day.
    

Cooling down…

I eventually made it back home at 8pm this evening - 2 and a half days since I innocently departed for a field trip with Erica. Alas I have returned home without my car. Yesterday a new thermostat was installed and today the water pump was replaced but extensive testing suggests that the overheating problem is still not resolved. (I’m learning lots about how car cooling systems work!) None of us fancied me again finding out how they don’t work in the middle of heavy Easter holiday traffic on the F3 so I left my car in the workshop for the long weekend.

As David grimly found out when he first arrived in Australia, shops are closed for Good Friday and generally have restricted hours for the holiday weekend. Scratching four days of meals from our sparse pantry will be a challenge although I did have the presence of mind to stock up on everything I need to make Hot Cross Buns.

We had planned on having visitors for the weekend but this has been deferred. Perhaps this is just as well as a cool change is whipping up strong, inhospitable winds. Mind you, assuming the power stays on, the weather forecast sounds perfect for quilting!