May 31, 2009 | Filed Under Quilters' Guild of NSW, Twelve by Twelve | 1 Comment
I am delighted to report that my Simple String Theory quilt was selected to feature in the month of August in the 2010 calendar of the Quilters’ Guild of NSW Inc. The calendars will go on sale at the Sydney Quilt Show.
I wrote about the
evolution of Simple String Theory in an earlier post. It started out as a possible contribution to the
mathematics theme of the
Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt Project. Our next 12×12 challenge quilts are due to start to appear online on 1 June US time. i’m so curious to see what everyone creates for the theme of “
identity“.
May 30, 2009 | Filed Under My Surroundings | Comments Off
Usually I have to travel to see a quilt show but today the quilt show came to Copacabana. The weather was miserable but the new surf life saving club makes for a light, airy venue for a quilt show. I had a splendid position next to the window looking out over the wild surf in one direction and back into the quilt show in the direction:
I’ve lived at Copacabana fulltime for over five years and I got to meet many local quiltmakers for the first time. The Precious Patches quilt group shared a wonderful array of quilts and this original applique design by Jacqueline especially caught my attention:
Despite the poor weather conditions, there was a steady stream of admiring visitors throughout the day. They were rewarded not only by the quilts but topnotch refreshments provided by surf club volunteers. Proceeds from the day were donated to the Cancer Council of New South Wales as part of their Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea fundraising program. One more step in becoming part of the community.
PS: While I was at the show, I managed to sew in a zillion of my quilting thread tails, only another three or four zillion to go…
May 29, 2009 | Filed Under Out & About, Twelve by Twelve | Comments Off
Remember how I chose “Illumination” as my theme for the Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt Project. Well now the city of Sydney is getting in on the act with Vivid Sydney - a festival of music, light and ideas which runs from 26 May to 14 June.
I look forward to taking in the Light Walk of 26 interactive light sculptures in the Rocks/Circular Quay precinct when I am in Sydney for the quilt show. I’ve tried to find some images online and the slideshow at the bottom of this page is the best that I have found so far. Let me know if you find other video or images to share.
Other things I am looking forward to are the quilt show at Copacabana tomorrow; the unveiling of the 12×12 “identity” quilts on 1 June (US time) and finishing off my quilt show projects.
May 28, 2009 | Filed Under My Surroundings | Comments Off
Where did May go?! It’s already time for the Copacabana Quilt Show:
Quilt & Craft Show for Cancer Council Research
8am-4pm:Saturday, 30 May 2009
Copacabana Surf Club
Entry Fee $5 includes light refreshments
I’ll be there to share some of my quilts. I will also be selling my Serendipity Quilt Patterns and copies of Issue #37 of Quilters Companion with my Four Fantastic Quilt Finishing Techniques instructional DVD. Come and say hello! I’ll be the one in the corner furiously trying to finish burying in all my quilt tails on my quilt show entry!
May 26, 2009 | Filed Under Contemporary Quilts, My Surroundings | Comments Off
If you are fortunate enough to be able to attend the Textile Art Festival in Brisbane later this week from 29-31 May, be sure to check out the MY PLACE exhibition. This display of 90 contemporary quilts from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa includes my quilt Tudibaring which depicts the waves crashing at the Copacabana headlands.
May 25, 2009 | Filed Under Published Projects, Technique:Finishing | 9 Comments
It’s been workout day on the Copacabana “stairmaster”. First I trudged up the hill carrying four quilts posted to me for the Sydney Quilt Show. The Laundry King followed behind with a small but surprisingly heavy box. Look what was inside:
Yes, I have received my copies of Quilters’ Companion Issue #37 which contains a five page article outlining four different quilt finishing techniques and is accompanied by an instructional DVD featuring yours truly. I’ve had a quick glimpse at the DVD (those are my nerves you can hear rattling) and am thrilled with the way that it turned out. Phew!
May 24, 2009 | Filed Under Technique:Finishing, Twelve by Twelve | 2 Comments
I making good progress on my quilting marathon but that’s only half the job. Because I am doing linear quilting and changing thread colour frequently, I have an unbelievable number of threads tails to sew in by hand. Here’s just a portion of the tails that I have clipped:
With concentrating on completing my quilt show entries, I’ve only made one piece for the next Twelve by Twelve challenge that is due to be revealed on 1 June. As a result, I haven’t explored my redheads idea in fabric but I have written about it over on the Twelve by Twelve blog.
*A title that may attract confused search engine traffic. Oh well.
May 23, 2009 | Filed Under Gadgets | 2 Comments
I’m on pins and needles wanting to share the quilts that I am working on but that will have to wait for the Sydney Quilt Show next month. Meanwhile, the marathon quilting sessions continue. I’m churning through sewing machine needles at regular intervals - there’s such a difference between a blunt needle and a new one. Blunt needles make clunky noises, skip stitches and can leave nasty holes in the quilt. New needles go through so cleanly.
The same goes for pins. I admit I don’t use a lot of pins in my work but, when I do, I love my glass head Clover pins - they are so sharp and they are sympatico with my iron. I store my pins in their little case but they spend transition time in this gorgeous pin cushion made by Erica - you could have one too, check out her blog giveaway.
And while I am on the subject, I welcome any hints on reducing needle tarnish. I buy good quality plated needles for hand-stitching but between the salt air here at Copacabana and the natural acids in my hands, they seem to deteriorate very quickly.
May 21, 2009 | Filed Under Gadgets | 3 Comments
I’ve been distracted from blogging in recent days as I concentrate on progressing my entries for the forthcoming Sydney Quilt Show. One piece has already absorbed 40 odd hours of quilting and there’s probably another 40 hours to go. The other was, up until last week, just a few strips hanging on the wall. Entries for the Canberra Quilters’ Exhibition are due next week and one of my entries is just a twinkle in my eye. Sigh. Then there are various other projects in progress that would be imprudent to reveal right now.
A former colleague of mine was reknown for referring to promising business opportunities as “irons in the fire”. Today my iron, which is less than a year old, expired and tripped the fuse for my studio. I hope this is not a bad omen. A quilter’s iron has a hard life and now I’m looking for a replacement. Any recommendations?
May 19, 2009 | Filed Under Products, Quilters' Guild of NSW, Teaching | Comments Off
The Patterns & Kits page of my website has been updated to include my latest quilt designs:
These patterns have an introductory price of A$10. I also offer a discount on bulk orders such as the bundle I recently put together for a group in a remote mining community that organised their own Autumn Leaf Flurry workshop.
Of course, I am happy to travel to almost anywhere to share my quilts and to teach my Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting workshops. Quilting groups in country New South Wales might like to apply for funding under the Country Workshop Support Program offered by The Quilters Guild of NSW Inc.
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