Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

Seeking Travel Advice for South Australia

Brenda — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:56:11 +0000

Australia is a BIG place. When I look at a map and consider the places I have visited, it is only a narrow strip on the east coast from Townsville to Merimbula, a spot around Melbourne and another small strip from Perth down to the Margaret River area. I’ve never been to South Australia but the Laundry King and I have an opportunity to go exploring in July when I will be teaching at Quilt Encounter. We have the choice of some Mon-Friday dates or Friday-Tuesday dates. Normally we would avoid the hustle and bustle of wineries on the weekend but we’ve also been caught out before with visiting areas on weekdays to find many places closed. So here is the question. We have five or so days - where should we go and should we aim for the Mon-Fri or Fri-Tuesday? We like wine, local cuisine and new scenery. We’re thinking of Kangaroo Island + a more developed winery area but we’re open to suggestions!

Spiralling

Brenda — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:14:12 +0000

After some doodling, I decided to go with a spiral motif:

Pending Inspiration

Brenda — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:02:20 +0000

The strata quilt is assembled. Here’s a photo of it lying on the dining room floor before I basted it. I found a soft blue and pink print in my stash for the backing, one of my very first fabric purchases!, which is approximately the same width as the quilt. Now to work out how to quilt it quickly and effectively. I started out with a breezy daisy motif in a pale pink thread but I’m not sure about this…

Forthcoming 12×12 Presentations & Floortalks

Brenda — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:06:05 +0000

Following on from my presentation to ATASDA about the Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt Project, here is some advance notice of other presentations and floortalks:

9am, Thursday, 29 April 2010 - special Exhibition Floortalk for Australasian Quilt Convention delegates;
1pm, Saturday 1 May open floortalk at the Australasian Quilt Convention;
Monday evening, 10 May slideshow presentation at Be Creative by the Sea retreat; and
Saturday, 22 May - slideshow presentation to the Quilters Guild of NSW Inc. Visitors welcome! Indeed, you are invited to bring along your own 12×12in quilt to share in a mini-exhibition for the meeting. This can be a quilt already in your collection or you are welcome to follow along with the next Twelve by Twelve Colourplay challenge - Kilauea , a palette inspired by the volcanos of Hawaii.

In addition, there will be floortalks and demonstrations for other events on the Twelve by Twelve exhibition tour. I’ll post more details as they become available.

Strata Work in Progress

Brenda — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:59:55 +0000

One unit to go, and perhaps some extra insertions here and there, and this quilt is ready for assembly:

This will be another teaching sample for my Strata Various workshop.

Flat Out

Brenda — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:04:10 +0000

With my entries for the Sydney Quilt Show and the New Quilt 2010 completed, I am turning my attention to making some more teaching samples for my forthcoming workshops. I already have a significant collection of teaching quilts but many of them are very BIG and this is not so great when you are travelling by air. So my goal is to make some smaller samples AND use up some of my stash.

In particular, I have piles of flat solids (Kona Cottons) left over from my workshop with Nancy Crow back in 2006. Guess what colours do not normally make it into my creative palette:

Scrap Queen Odyssey @ Be Creative by the Sea

Brenda — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:48:51 +0000

Join me at the Be Creative by the Sea retreat at Coffs harbour for an adventurous 3 day journey designed to realise the potential of your quilting scrap bag no matter what shape or size your scraps are.

This Scrap Queen Odyssey workshop explores a variety of quiltmaking techniques including foundation piecing, fusible web applique, crazy patchwork, half square triangles and improvisational piecing. In addition, various quilt finishing techniques will be discussed and demonstrated. Each student will create a personal set of samples demonstrating each technique and also create one or two quilt tops using their preferred technique that suits the profile of their scrap stash. Students will also be aware of a range of quilt finishing techniques and know - how to select a finish that best complements their quilt top.

The workshop runs from 9-11 May 2010 and there are still some places left in the class. Check out the Be Creative by the Sea website for more information.

Finding Your Voice

Brenda — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:42:33 +0000

I’ve mentioned Art with a Needle, the relatively new blog by Kathy Loomis before but I feel compelled to mention it again. Kathy is writing a series of posts about the process of finding your artistic voice and, to me at least, many of her observations seem right on target.

Australia Wide Two: Call for Entries

Brenda — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:44:54 +0000

Following the success of Australia Wide, Ozquilt Network Inc is inviting members to submit quilts for consideration for Australia Wide Two, the second travelling exhibition organised by Ozquilt Network Inc. Australia Wide Two will be launched at an exhibition at the Fairfield City Museum & Gallery from 22 October to 5 December 2010 and as a virtual exhibition on the Ozquilt Network Inc. website. The quilts will then tour until 30 June 2012.

The exhibition is designed to
- Showcase the talents of Ozquilt Network members
- Introduce members’ quilts to a wider audience
- Demonstrate the scope and variety of art quiltmaking
- Publicise Ozquilt Network Inc.

Entry is only open to paid up members of Ozquilt Network Inc. The Ozquilt Network membership year runs from 1 April -31 March. Accordingly, NOW is a great time to join Ozquilt Network or to renew your membership. See the membership page to download an application form. The annual subscription is $30 and may be paid by cheque or EFT.

The New Quilt 2010 Closing Date 19 March

Brenda — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:03:51 +0000

Today I hope to finish off quilting my entry for The New Quilt 2010. Although I started the work only recently, I’m determined not to leave things until the last minute!

The New Quilt is a biennial juried exhibition of contemporary quilt textiles presented by the Quilters’ Guild of NSW in partnership with the Manly Art Gallery & Museum. The New Quilt 2010 will take place at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum from 18 June until 25 July 2010.

Entry is open to all quiltmakers regardless of whether or not they are Guild members. The closing date for entries is 19 March 2010. For further information download The New Quilt 2010 Entry Form (84KB).