True Blue, the theme of the 2015 AQC Challenge, was announced months ago. If you are not familiar with this term, according to the Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University, it has its origins in the medieval period when the colour blue was the symbol of loyalty, constancy, faithfulness, and truth; does a detour through the British Tory party; developed working class associations in Australia; and morphed into a synonym for a dinky-di Australian or Aussie.
It’s a rich theme but it didn’t call to me. From time to time, I would ponder it but I didn’t see how the theme could be applied to my body of work. Then suddenly I awoke with an IDEA! In some recent studio work (not yet published online), I have been exploring shapes and echo lines. My concept was to represent the sunburnt country of popular imagination with the reality that most Australians live on the southeastern coastal fringe.
No matter that it was less than a week to the closing date and that I was in the middle of kitchen renovations and various other projects, I was excited to see if I could translate this abstract idea into cloth. A quick sketch on the iPad:
And then it was into the studio to pull out and audition fabrics. I tried some multi-hue combinations:
But decided on complementary orange and blue:
To give myself more flexibility with piecing, I dyed another length of blue:
Usually I freecut my work without rulers but this time more precision seemed in order. Maybe I was channelling some of the geometric vibe from QuiltCon. I tried to work out the best composition to fit the 90x90cm space and it’s the only time this set of strip piecing rulers has ever come in useful!
Slowly the composition appeared on the design wall and by Sunday evening I had completed the top:
I sandwiched the work; played with some fonts; and auditioned the positioning of the text:
I had some ideas about stitching motifs and was working on some samples when my machine made an unwelcome sound. Ouch:
Repairing the broken throatplate would involve a week-long visit to the technician. I do have a back up machine but it works best for piecing not competition quilting. It has a smaller harp space and I find the walking foot does not work very well for the kind of straight line quilting I prefer. Nevertheless, on Monday morning I pulled out the second machine and got started on the orange section:
I wasn’t thrilled with the text outline or my wobbly “straight” lines. Yet I decided to persevere. By Wednesday morning I hadn’t even made it half way.
No matter what needle/tension/foot pressure combo I used, the heavy-weight rayon thread would break every time I crossed a seam. I usually use cotton for stitching but it was too late to change thread. By this stage, I was deeply unhappy with the workmanship. It looks OK in overview photos but, believe, it does not stand to close up inspection. I aspire to high standards in my work and I realised that this piece did not make the grade and did not merit further investment. It was time to step back from the machine and stay true to my own values. Onward!
Best wishes to other contestants racing for the 27 February deadline. I look forward to seeing other interpretations of the theme.