Could have been a contender

When Gerrie announced “window” as the next theme for the Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt Project, I immediately thought of the magnificent rose windows found in Europe. I contemplated dyeing some shibori-style mandela shapes following directions from Paula Burch but I was missing some vital dyes so I folded and painted instead:
  
I even started with some quilting and additional painting but then I turned in a different direction. Check out the Twelve by Twelve blog on 1 April (US time) to see my other ideas.

Tomorrow afternoon the Laundry King and I fly out to Auckland, New Zealand to catch up with some family and friends. I know this city very well but do let me know if there are some new shops, sights, galleries, brew pubs or other places we should check out.

Flying in Circles

At Quilt Camp this year, I did a machine piecing workshop with Lessa Siegele. I learned a whole new way (to me) of making flying geese units and, between much laughing and talking and a side trip to Rumplequiltskin, managed to make three blocks.

A Charming Frolic

Despite a tedious 2 and half hour prelude in horrendous Sydney peak hour traffic, I thoroughly enjoyed my screen printing workshop with Kath and Kirsten (and three other students) at Prints Charming. As you can see, their playful style was infectious and I ended up with a happy garden scene all of my own design. My plan is to put a striped border around the outside and to do some big stitch quilting with brightly coloured perle threads. I also plan on returning sometime to experiment with more abstract motifs along the lines of Sarah’s work which you can see in some of the photos. If you are interested in doing a similar workshop, keep an eye on the Prints Charming blog for their class schedule or organise your own group of four and book a private workshop.

Quilt Camp Bound

Quilt Camp is coming up this weekend so I have been busily finishing off my charity quilt for Ronald McDonald House including free motion quilting and continuous mitred binding without bulges (see tutorial). This is not the greatest photograph of Quilt Camp Kaleidoscope (it doesn’t ripple like this at the top, honest) but I am very happy at how my batik scraps have come together.

As you read this, I will be immersed in a screen printing workshop with Kirsten and Cath at Prints Charming. And then I head off to Quilt Camp. I had hoped to prepare some posts to appear in my absence but it hasn’t worked out that way. I will have lots of photos to share when I next post. In the meantime, I have enabled comment moderation.

Blurred

This past week has been a bit of a blur - literally. First of all, a painful sty in my eye and threatening eye infection necessitated a move from contact lenses to glasses - something that I always find disorienting, especially when I flounder around in the surf without visual aids and can barely make out landmarks. (With a script of -7.25 for one eye and -8.5 for the other, my myopia is in the high range.)

Then, when I went back to contacts, I managed to tear one of them leaving a raggy fragment floating around in my eye - big enough to cause severe irritation and a sleepless night but small enough to get caught under my eyelid where neither the Laundry King nor I could retrieve it. The fragment has been removed by a professional so my eye is more comfortable now but it’s remarkable what an impact such things can have on your outlook. I haven’t been able to focus on the things that I have wanted to but suddenly I have ANOTHER idea for the next Twelve by Twelve challenge - excuse me, I have some window dressing to attend to.

Ozquilt Networking

I am pleased to be a member and secretary of the Ozquilt Network, Australia’s organisation for art quilters. I also happen to be on the website subcommittee and have assisted with the establishment of a special new area for members. This area includes all sorts of resources including a very handy centralised listing of exhibition opportunities and entry information. Membership is a modest A$30 and fees are due on 31 March.

If you are interested in contemporary quiltmaking, I encourage you to complete and send in a membership form. Remember too that entries for the Art Quilt Australia exhibition close on 24 July 2009 - entry is open to members and Australian residents (Entry fee $25 member;$35 non-members).

Eunice and Alice

Their names may have an old-fashioned ring but their artwork is thoroughly modern. Visit the Eva Breuer gallery website to view the work of Eunice Napanangka Jack and Alice Nampitjinpa.

MY PLACE @ Textile Art Festival 29-31 May

After the disappointment of the quilts not arriving in time for the Australasian Quilt Convention, I am thrilled to report that the MY PLACE travelling exhibition of 90 contemporary art quilts from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia will be on display at the Textile Art Festival, Brisbane, 29-31 May 2009.

Window Gazing

The next set of Twelve by Twelve challenge quilts are due to be revealed on 1 April (US time) - the theme is window.

Since I will be in New Zealand by then and will be out of the studio most of next week, my goal is to complete my piece(s) this weekend. Time to stop staring out the window.

All Cut Up

Later this month, I will be attending Quilt Camp at Meroo where I will be taking a class with supremo teacher and all round nice person, Lessa Siegele. “Flying in Circles” is a straightforward piecing project and Lessa encourages students to precut their fabrics to optimise fun and productivity at the workshop itself. Here are some of my fabrics. Black and white for a background, combined with some Kaffe Fassett and batik scraps:

My choice of colours was inspired by Melanie, one of my students at the Australasian Quilt Convention. First of all, in Power Stripping, Melanie put together her version of Synchronicity with jewel-toned Kaffe Fassett fabrics. She was back the next day for Scrap Queen Odyssey. Melanie auditioned some black and white scraps on her design wall and then, ZING!, blended in some of her Kaffe Fassett leftovers. See, teaching really goes both ways!