Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

New Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting Logo

2010-02-10T22:08:00.001+11:00

It is my pleasure to launch the fresh new logo for my Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting website and blog.

Remember, I update my blog at www.serendipitypatchwork.com.au/blog (rather than here on the blogspot blog). You are welcome to subscribe to my current blog feed:

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I also publish an occasional e-newsletter with information on my latest quilt designs, teaching schedule, upcoming exhibitions, images of my contemporary quilts and other quilting news. My newsletter comes out this week. Sign up to the next issue of the Serendipity Studio Newsletter and go into a draw to win a copy of 500 Art Quilts.

Reminder - I have moved

2007-01-09T08:09:00.000+11:00

This is a reminder for all of you that are still subscribed to my blog in this blogspot domain. You are welcome to stay subscribed here but I am making all of my new posts in my new blogspace at:
www.serendipitypatchwork.com.au/blog

If you want to keep up with the latest happenings, you can subscribe to my blog in its new location by clicking on this button:

The Last Post?

2006-12-31T16:49:00.000+11:00

Following in the very fine footsteps of Red Shoe Ramblings and others, I have decided to bring my blog under my own domain at: www.serendipitypatchwork.com.au/blog

When I first started blogging at the beginning of this year, I decided to go with Blogger to see if I had the inspiration and stamina for regular blogging. 250+ posts later, it's evident that blogging is part of my life and I've decided to embrace my inner geek by moving from Blogger to the Wordpress platform. Whether the move is permanent remains to be seen.

In any event, I will keep this blog space in the public domain so that any links remain operational including my popular tutorial on how to create a personal blog banner in Blogger.

Do come and visit me in my new home!

A little exercise

2006-12-30T22:20:00.000+11:00

After the excesses of festive dining, a little exercise was in order. Off to the National Park where the angophoras grace the canopy:

And the flannel flowers bloom on the forest floor:

A Farewell Quilt

2006-12-29T19:45:00.000+11:00

I don't know about you, but I find the rhythms of quiltmaking to be wonderfully therapeutic; a sense of wellbeing envelopes me when I am at one with my sewing machine and there are few things more satisfying than knowing that your quilt is destined for an appreciative home.

When my quilting friend Monica announced at the end of November that she was returning to America to take up her dream job at a university in Michigan, I knew that she would need a real Aussie quilt (not a UFO) instilled with plenty of good vibes to keep her warm so far away. I also knew her other quilting friends would want to contribute but the logistics were challenging as the festive season was upon us. Yet, just look at what we accomplished! At the guild meeting in early December, I surreptitiously collected signed circles and others arrived in the post. A quick rustle through my stash yielded a rainbow of background squares onto which I fused and machine blanket stitched the circles:

I found a suitably cheery border and backing fabric on sale (please excuse the crooked photo):

And Erica attended to personal delivery to a very surprised and delighted Monica today:

The Continuing Migration

2006-12-28T20:54:00.000+11:00

Between swimming; hanging out with my family; eating leftovers and working on my new blog, there's not much to report from Copacabana. Certainly no quilting is happening but it's good to recharge from time to time.

I am making good progress with setting up my new blog despite the fact that Wordpress does not have a template preview function. You are welcome to have a sneak preview and let me know what you think. However, I recommend that you don't set your rss/Bloglines feed to the new site until further notice as I am still categorising my posts; manually transferring 30-odd recalcitrant posts; and manually inserting author links in my transferred comments. Constantly being notified of these updates could get a little tiresome!

We Just Dyed

2006-12-27T14:59:00.000+11:00

Here are the results of our dyeing day:

Can you tell that we are sisters?

And I am inching ever closer to my new blog as Liz kindly referred me to this Wordpress thread which in turn linked me to this clever solution which allowed me to transfer the majority of my posts, images and comments from new Blogger to Wordpress.

Puzzles

2006-12-26T18:39:00.000+11:00

The surf was too rough today for safe swimming so Delia and I did a spot of dyeing (photos tomorrow). The family is now working on jigsaw puzzles, concentrating on shapes and colours.

On the subject of puzzles, my new year's resolution to migrate my blogspot blog to Wordpress (tied to one of my websites) has suffered a slight setback. I have searched a number of support forums but it seems that no one has yet developed a tool for importing posts from new/beta Blogger into Wordpress. Of course, I only found this out after I had converted my blogspot blog from "old" to "new" blogger. Sigh.

Anyway, if anyone has a reasonably straightforward solution, please let me know as part of the reason for the proposed move is to keep control over my own content and I would like to get my blogging history (250+ posts) onto my own domain.

Christmas Festivities

2006-12-25T12:30:00.000+11:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. Delia brought her guitar,Rowan brought up a new adaptor for my digital piano and Mum brought over my repaired clarinet from high school band so we had our very own Christmas music. An unexpected power outage around 9.30pm fortunately did not interrupt our dinner but did defer our viewing of Holiday Inn. Some of Santa's elves were a little sleepy this morning:

Julian and Tracey love their wedding quilt - an autumn-toned version of my Synchronicity pattern:

And David made me a new sign for outside my studio:

A Kiwi Touch

2006-12-24T09:02:00.000+11:00

Those of you in New Zealand, or readers of Dale's blog, will be familiar with the distinctive red pohutukawa blooms that line the North Island coast at this time of year. It's something I miss in Australia so I ordered this platter from Morris & James pottery and Mum played courier:

The pottery is close to the town where I grew up in New Zealand but they do mail order. Judging by the packaging on this platter, there is little risk of goods breaking in transit.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice that this platter has a very similar palette to the tulip urn that we have to the right of the fireplace in our living area. One of my most favourite things!

A Christmas Wedding

2006-12-23T07:56:00.000+11:00

Christmas is a time for gathering of family and weddings also bring people together. Combine the two and you have the makings of a real celebration. Yesterday I went to the wedding of a friend from Auckland law school. We both reside in Australia these days and the wedding was held in the quintessentially Sydney setting of Jonah's overlooking Whale Beach. It was a very joyful occasion.

If you click to enlarge this map, you will see that our home at Copacabana is quite close to the Northern Beaches of Sydney. However, since my car is not amphibious and is not capable of traversing the Hawkesbury River, we took the long way around - a thankfully event-free journey despite holiday traffic.

My brother and sister in law arrived from Queensland yesterday and more family are due to arrive today. To everyone travelling at this busy time, keep safe.

Continuing Consumer Tales

2006-12-22T10:35:00.000+11:00

When my parcel didn't arrive yesterday, I called Kodak back; went through all the silly prompts; went through my plaintive "help, help, help,supervisor, help, help, help, service!, help, help help" spiel and eventually got to talk to a more helpful supervisor. Incidentally, on the Kodak phone system "customer service representative" are apparently the magic words to bypass the prompts and get through to a real person. Not that the representative that I spoke to on Wednesday could tell me that. What do they think we are, mind readers?!

Distribution is the downfall of many e-commerce enterprises and I understand things go astray but unresponsive telephone service channels just add insult to injury.

Anyway, Jonathan conceded that my parcel appeared to be lost and so I arranged for my order to be reprocessed which means David may get his Christmas present by New Year's, all going well:-( I've also received various refunds, vouchers and credits should I ever feel the urge to purchase Kodak products again...

On a brighter note, my Electric Quilt 6 upgrade arrived in the mail yesterday (posted from the US on 13 December so delivery within a week or so by regular air mail is certainly possible even at this time of the year). Installation and registration went through without any glitches so I'm ready to start designing a medallion quilt for my mother. I have also made some super lime shortbread using the recipe from rooruu's blog AND I have transferred this blog onto new Blogger (due to its size, it took an hour but that's OK).

Consumer Outrage

2006-12-21T07:27:00.000+11:00

I am not generally hostile to technology but, if there is one thing guaranteed to make my blood pressure rise, it is a non-responsive automated voice telephone system. I purchased a Christmas gift item from Kodak in America at the end of November. I received confirmation that the item was shipped on 30 November by first class air mail and, according to the Kodak website, it should reach me within 7-14 days. Needless to say, the package still hasn't arrived.

Yesterday, I double-checked the status of my order on the Kodak website to be informed that it was shipped on 30 November. I then endeavoured to contact Kodak to find out what was happening. First, I incurred the expense of an international call to their service centre. I selected the "questions about orders" voice prompt and then went through the ridiculous charade of punching in my order ID to have it report back to me that my order was shipped on 30 November. Grr...having delivered this information, the voice system either wanted me to investigate another order number or hang up. There was no prompt asking me to hold for a customer service representative.

I hung up and tried to contact Kodak by e-mail thinking that it might be a better avenue. Nope:

We wanted to let you know that we've just received your message. Due to a large volume of inquiries, you may experience a short delay while we investigate your concern. We assure you that a Customer Service representative will respond as quickly as possible.

So, thinking that perhaps I had misheard the initial options on the automated voice system, I then telephoned Kodak again. Still, no speak to a real person option. Still the same charade of punching in numbers to be told something I already know. So, with increasing desperation and volume, I said help! superviser!help! help! help! help! superviser! help! HELP!...

Miraculously the voice mail system then transferred me through to another line where I was informed that I would wait approximately 1 minute and 47 seconds. More like 5 minutes and 47 seconds. I then got a real person but no satisfaction.

I was informed that, from Kodak's point of view, the package would not technically be overdue until today (something to do with international time zones and business days) and to call back if I don't receive it. When I asked what procedure I should follow to get through to a customer service representative, the operator could only advise me to call the relevant number and follow the prompts!!! I have zero confidence that the package will arrive in time for Christmas but we'll see.

(To be fair, I understand that I will be credited with the A$20 shipping fee but, in effect, I can see my phone bill will cancel that out. Not a happy customer.)

Update to Blog Banner Tutorial

2006-12-20T19:28:00.000+11:00

I see that Blogger is no longer "in beta" and the "new" version of Blogger has been launched. All of us that got comfy with blogspot will have to transfer over sooner or later (or find a new home) so it is perhaps timely that I have updated my blog banner tutorial to outline how to insert a personal blog banner in new Blogger. Bon courage!

Christmas Preparations

2006-12-20T08:47:00.000+11:00

This year I get to celebrate Christmas in my own home. This is somewhat unusual - with David's family living in America and much of my family in New Zealand, we tend to travel at this time of year. However, this year my mother, two brothers and one of my three sisters will be joining us at Casa da Praia and preparations are in full swing. I'm so excited!

The decorations, such as they are, are up; the beds are made up with fresh linen (sorry Delia but you get to blow up your bed!); the fridge and pantry are bulging (I did general grocery shopping last night and had the store virtually to myself - gotta love 24 hour supermarkets); the fishmonger and butcher orders are in; vacuuming will begin when I declare that I have finished all hand sewing and promise not to drop any threads in the main house for a week; and so on.

I put in an order for fine weather but the forecast is for damp and windy. This is quite OK with my brother Julian as he is living in Caity country (I mean Toowoomba) and is craving the sound of rain on the roof. Here on the coast we get rain often enough - it just doesn't fall in the catchments so we are on Type 4 water restrictions.

By the way, I went ahead and transferred the guild blog over to Beta Blogger yesterday AND "upgraded" the template. Conversion is easy - it's the upgrade where you can lose your customised layout. It took me a little while to get oriented with the new tools and widgets but I have worked out a painfree way of inserting your own banner. I will be updating my tutorial accordingly. Watch this space.

A New Challenge

2006-12-19T10:20:00.000+11:00

I received my January issue of Down Under Quilts today and was interested to see that the theme for the 2008 Calendar Competition is my secret garden. Entries close on Friday 27 April 2007 so that gives me four clear months (ha!) to synthesise my design ideas and turn them into a quilt, or two. I find the 100cm x 100cm size requirement is a comfortable scale to work with, but this doesn't stop cquilt from having its own ideas. Both fishnet and hot cross blocks were started as possible entries into the 2007 DUQ calendar competition (theme - crossroads) so anything can happen!

fishnet ©2006

hot cross blocks ©2006
PS: See the DUQ blog for more information about the competition.

Bags Too

2006-12-17T19:47:00.000+11:00

Here's a photo of my two fruit bags finished:

My sewing machine is a Bernina 150QE. I deliberately chose this machine because it doesn't have a multitude of decorative stitches. However, I do find the wavy stitch (No 4) very useful for these kinds of projects - just make sure that you adjust the stitch length to "2" or thereabouts.

Bag of Fruit

2006-12-16T16:22:00.000+11:00

I have to say that all these Christmas surprises kind of cramp one's blogging style. However, I think it is safe to say that my grandmother doesn't read my blog, so here's a progress shot of the tote bag that I am making her:

My sister Delia gave me the fruit theme fabric a couple of years ago and I am sure that she will approve of its use in this way.

On a completely different subject, following the lead of others such as DebR of Red Shoe Ramblings and Kirsty of Two Lime Leaves, I am seriously contemplating setting up a Wordpress blog tied to one of my personal websites in the New Year. This is prompted by a desire to keep control over my own content rather than any particular dissatisfaction with Blogger which has served me well as I entered the blogosphere. I welcome comments from others who have gone down this path or have other suggestions.

Making Memories

2006-12-15T16:22:00.000+11:00

Last weekend I went to a friend's 50th birthday celebrations. It was a fun party but the best bit was when the birthday boy's daughters delivered a "Remember when..." tribute, chronicling some of their fondest memories of their dad. How nice to share this with the living rather than waiting for a funereal event. (Amongst other things, I now know that the birthday boy is very proficient at pulling hair into buns for ballet dancing!)

The festive season is a great time for making memories with family and friends - just make sure they are fun memories and not bah humbug ones.

Another day, another label

2006-12-14T21:28:00.000+11:00

I'm on a roll!

(I told you I had messy handwriting; why do I think it will be any better if I sew it?)

Feeling Festive

2006-12-13T21:15:00.000+11:00

Today we decorated to the strains of the Christmas carols. First we swapped out the display quilt with Christmas Carousel :

(See I told you every wall in this house gets some kind of sun. This photo was taken at 5.25pm and that gash of light is the late afternoon glare.)

Then we pulled out the Christmas decorations which haven't seen the light of day for two years since we were away last Christmas. It was like catching up with old friends. David set up the nativity, complete with nodding donkeys from his childhood:

No Christmas tree. Love the smell but they die instantly in this climate. One day, I plan on making a large quilted wall hanging tree that we can pin decorations to. In the meantime, we spread the decorations around the fireplace and bookshelves. Mum is bringing the stockings with her from New Zealand next week. I wonder if Santa will work out where to find us...

Signing Your Work

2006-12-12T21:35:00.000+11:00

Following yesterday's post on labels, I put this signature on my latest quilt:

The Problem with Labels

2006-12-11T20:01:00.000+11:00

If I had to nominate a step in the quiltmaking process that I enjoy least, it would be labels. This is kind of weird because I love doing bindings and associate bindings with the joy of completing a project. But not labels - go figure.

I can recite all the reasons why labelling your quilt and recording its story is a good idea. I also acknowledge the practical benefits of capturing quilt care details such as noting what kind of batting is used. Nevertheless, I confess that many of my quilts are currently sans labels. Part of the reason for this is that I've made quite a few baby quilts and I like to personalise the labels when I've identified the recipient which can be at a much later time. Other excuses for not labelling my quilts are that my needlework skills are not up to par to hand embroider labels. Perhaps I should practise...

Some of my labels are basic pigma pen specials but my handwriting is not so neat so I prefer to print my labels with my inkjet printer. This is very much a hit and miss exercise. Sometimes the printer picks up the fabric sheets and my label emerges crisp and clean like this label on my sister's Confetti Wedding Quilt:

Other times, the printer feeds crookedly. Or worse, it doesn't engage at all but proceeds to print anyway gunking everything up. I think I 've developed a label phobia as a result. I'd be interested to know how you go about labelling your quilts.

In praise of lists

2006-12-10T20:09:00.000+11:00

The plump guy in a red suit is not the only one making a list and checking it twice. I've just updated my massive "to do" list for the next few weeks including the following sublists:

gift shopping
festive food orders and shopping
housekeeping action items
quilting project deadlines
magazine publishing deadlines
teaching/workshop preparation
Guild Exhibition Secretary tasks
blog feeding ideas
website updates
bill payment dates
social calendar

I'd never remember it all without my list!

Almost Famous

2006-12-09T09:41:00.000+11:00

Helen Conway (fellow blogger, lawyer and quiltmaker) has written a great article about blogging. It appears in the latest issue of British Patchwork & Quilting and includes some images and references to my humble blog. Also, Francoise kindly translated my Quilters Guide to Blogging into French for inclusion in her Belgian Quilting Guild's newsletter. Thanks Helen and Francoise.

I love every aspect of the quiltmaking process and am keen for others to discover this creative outlet. Developing online resources through my websites and blogs is a wonderful way of sharing and I'm enjoying being part of the vibrant and diverse online quilting community.

By the way, through Sharon B's blog In A Minute Ago, I have found a comprehensive online dyeing resource at Fabric Dyeing 101. Here are the results of my first ever attempt at dyeing back in 2002:

My brother used this photo to make my Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting logo

and I've never looked back!

Eavesdropping

2006-12-08T14:15:00.000+11:00

I have just returned from an overnight trip to Sydney on guild business. As usual, I took the train. It is a picturesque trip as the train goes through national parks and hugs the banks of some remote inlets on the Hawkesbury River. As I sewed labels onto a couple of quilts, I couldn't help but overhear the lively conversation of a group of senior citizens behind me. However, the best overheard discussion of the day was while perusing the magazine section at a bookshop. A guy in his suit raced up to the quilting section, whips out his mobile phone and says:

"Hello darling - I'm just at Borders and see that they have the latest issue of Quilting Arts magazine. Do you want me to bring a copy home with me?"

Obviously very well trained...

Visitor 20,000

2006-12-07T00:42:00.000+11:00

Visitor 20,00o popped in briefly at 12.37am Sydney time after visiting Melody's site. She lives in Jacksonville Florida and has a Bellsouth is her internet service provider and seems to be a regular reader. Whoever you are, if you don't wish to leave a comment, you can e-mail me privately.

I will also send a small something to Jan who was Visitor 20002 and kindly left a message.

Off to bed now, it's been a long day!

Visitor Count Update

2006-12-06T21:59:00.000+11:00

Thank you for all your kind comments. As at 10pm Sydney time, my visitor count is 19,982 - only 18 new visitors until my sitemeter hits 20,000...

Checking In

2006-12-06T10:09:00.000+11:00

Before I dash off to catch the bus to the shopping mall for a farewell lunch for another quilting friend, I thought I would post this picture of The Sultan's Rings which I have finally quilted:

I especially enjoyed doing the bird's nest quilting:

And remember, I have a small treat for my 20,000th reader (my sitemeter is up to 19,920).

A matter of space

2006-12-05T13:19:00.000+11:00

Just because I don't have any new photos to display doesn't mean that I am not quilting. On the contrary, I have all sorts of Christmas surprise projects on the go. Fortunately, most of the sewing projects are gifts as I am running out of places to store my quilts - open any cupboard or look under any bed in this house and you will find a bundle of carefully folded quilts. (Incidentally, in a recent issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine, there is a super article showing how to fold your quilt on the bias so as to avoid ingrained creases.)

I love the functionality of bed quilts but storing on the guest bed is not an option as it the guest bedroom receives generous morning sun. Similarly, most walls in the house receive direct or indirect sun. My prize-winning "Making Waves" quilt resides on a prime wall in our main living area:

It's fading a little but I'm resigned to this. After all, I need to show that there is a quilter in the house!

My friend Monica is moving from Sydney to Allendale, Michigan (any readers in that part of the world?) and she is grappling with a different kind of quilting/space dilemma. She's reluctant to pack her quilts all together in one container lest some disaster occur in transit. She is squashing some in her suitcase; others will go into a container and she has left me her Sydney Quilt Show 2007 entry to be returned to her by post in due course.

How do you cope with storing but enjoying your quilts?

Studying the Statistics

2006-12-04T14:21:00.000+11:00

Like Shelina, I regularly review the statistics and other information collected by the sitemeter on my blog. While my readership fluctuates, I average a modest 120 visitors per day mostly from the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Many seem to pop in after spending time with Melody; others are referred by the comprehensive listing generously compiled and maintained by Maria Elkins; and others appear to be traced from comments I have left on other people's blogs where people have clicked on my blogger profile. I currently have 38 subscribers via Bloglines and many of those subscribers seem to click onto the actual blog rather than reading the Bloglines page. This is my preference too especially as images sometimes don't show up on the Bloglines page.

Some people pop in and out quickly - others linger. Some click to enlarge images - some don't.

The search strings make interesting reading too. Judging by the number of people looking for Marcia Hoipo, a member of the Facets textile group whose exhibition I viewed earlier in the year, she would be well served by getting a blog or website of her own. There are a lot of bloggers out there too that wish to personalise their blog banners - I hope they find my tutorial useful.

However, all the statistical analysis in the world is no substitute for reader feedback via comments either on or off-blog. I really prefer dialogue rather than blathering into the ether! And, in response to this post, I found out this week that some men actually read my blog on occasion.

As I write, my sitemeter reads 19,677 so I expect to clock up 20,000 readers this week. Probably on Wednesday (Tuesday US time). In the spirit of the season, I have a small gift for my 20,000th reader. Of course, if you leave a comment, it will be easier for me to track you down!

Official Launch of the Guild Blog

2006-12-02T07:10:00.000+11:00

Today is the final Guild general meeting of the year and, as a kind of Christmas present to Guild members, we will be officially launching the Guild's blog - Template Free. If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to visit from time to time. Amongst other things, you will find the code for the Sydney Quilt Show 2007 button:

A little festive cheer

2006-12-01T09:59:00.000+11:00

There is a festive ATC (artist trading card) swap at tomorrow's guild meeting. I don't tend to make ATCs or textile postcards as I prefer to work on a bigger scale and am not much into embellishment. That said, I whipped up this ATC before breakfast this morning and found it quite fun:

And here is the trio:

Through the Fog

2006-11-30T13:11:00.000+11:00

Do not adjust your computer monitor, dear reader, for this is the view from my studio yesterday morning:

Who would believe that there is a beach out there? Here's how it should look:

Better Late than Never

2006-11-29T15:33:00.000+11:00

When I rocked up to the Post Office at Baltimore, Ohio with some 15 kilos (32 pounds) of surplus fabrics from my Nancy Crow workshop back in July, I said something along the lines of "I don't care how long it takes, I want to ship this at the cheapest rate". Another case of, be careful what you wish for. Seventeen weeks later, the relcalcitrant parcel has finally materialised (in every sense of the words). Now to find somewhere to store it!

I posted off my guild calendar challenge quilt today - very much in the spirit of participation rather than competition. Here is an image of Le Printemps (it looks better if you squint):

And here is the inspiration - some wildflowers from the French Pyrenees:

Going dotty

2006-11-28T11:10:00.000+11:00

I finished piecing my calendar challenge quilt but, despite adding extra for seam allowances, it has shrunk below the required size. I auditioned some borders but did not like the overall effect so it is staying like this for now:

Up a Creek

2006-11-27T14:04:00.000+11:00

Be careful what you wish for. Here was I craving a return to piecing and then I remembered that I had promised to make a 12" Kayaks block for a friendship/farewell quilt:

As you can see, this block requires precision piecing and it's been a while since I have required sharp points. In the end, I decided to go the foundation piecing route so that I can withstand scrutiny from the quilt police.

Larch Shibori

2006-11-26T09:42:00.000+11:00

As promised, here are my last two shibori style pieces (emphasis on last):

This one has 25 circles and was loosely intended for my challenge quilt for the guild's 25th anniversary. Once again, this photo does not do justice to the rich curry colour:

I'm Over It

2006-11-25T20:45:00.000+11:00

I declare my brief but intense infatuation with shibori resist dyeing is over. I spent several hours this week carefully stitching two larch pieces (see Erica's blog for some directions) and left them batching in dye while I travelled to the city today for a guild committee strategy meeting. Upon my return, I was eager to see whether the larch/circle pattern had taken. To make a proper assessment, I needed to loosen and remove the stitching and rinse the fabric. It took an age and, as I tugged in vain at the stitching thread, I felt all enthusiasm dissipate. It didn't help that I nicked a small hole with my embroidery scissors as I tried to snip the threads :-(

Both pieces turned out OKish (photos tomorrow) but I am ready to return to my first passion - piecing all the way!

A little mountain air

2006-11-24T21:51:00.000+11:00

Today's destination was the re-fabricating difference textile exhibition at Springwood in the bushfire zone of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney and some 2+ hours from Copacabana. There we found 30 quilts on display including impressive contributions by Alison Muir , Antonia Valentine and Sue Dennis. No photography was permitted although I did purchase a CD catalogue for $10. Not all of the exhibits were of the highest calibre but the standouts make the trip worthwhile and a variety of techniques were employed.

Many of the quilts were for sale and I was struck by the very modest pricing. Personally, if I was to put a quilt up for sale (and it's not something I am particularly inclined to do), I would prefer to put a higher price/value on my work and not sell it rather than undersell myself.

I have a number of projects under way at present but many are gifts and cannot be shown on my blog for fear of spoiling the surprise. I made a belated start on my guild calendar challenge quilt this afternoon - entries are due at the end of November. So far it looks something like this but I suspect it will morph into something else along the way:

The long & the short of it

2006-11-23T14:13:00.000+11:00

Thankfully the temperatures are cooler today as I wrestle with quilting a queen size quilt on my Bernina 150QE - the machine I use for all of my quilts including bed quilts such as Synchronicity (pattern available here):

I am often asked how I manage with such big quilts and a domestic sewing machine with a smallish throat. My short answer goes something like this:

practice and build confidence with smaller quilts;
create a flat sewing area to support the quilt - in my case, I stack plastic fabric bins to the left of my SewEzi table;
make sure the quilt is securely basted. I usually spray or fuse baste. Lisa Call offers an instructive basting tutorial but personally I've never had much success with pin basting. The pins are not compatible with my basting surfaces (polished hardwood floors or the dining table David made) and, too often, the pins wrangle with my free motion foot because I get too carried away quilting and forget to stop and pull the pins out;
work from the centre of the quilt outwards;
don't roll the quilt - turning your quilt into a telegraph pole is not the answer! instead pile your quilt wherever you can so that you have a flat area around the needle. Women with larger boobs often find their chests make a useful resting area but I have to throw the quilt over my shoulder; and
stretch beforehand and take regular breaks.

I have friends with long arm machines but I've developed a good working relationship with my everyday machine. Find what works for you.

Where there's smoke...

2006-11-22T21:48:00.000+11:00

there is sometimes fire. And although the bush fires are a long way from here, it's been a hazy, smoky day with layers of ash gathering on every surface in my studio. Add 38+ C (95-100 F) temperatures and it's not exactly optimum quilting weather. At least the beach is only a short walk away and I can go swimming to cool down :-)

Basking in the Sun

2006-11-21T15:41:00.000+11:00

My Summer Meadow quilt has enjoyed more than 15 minutes of fame. First it was the cover quilt on Issue 94 of Down Under Quilts (which contains a profile of yours truly):

And now it features as a project in Issue 103 (December 2006) of Down Under Quilts :

And here's a detail shot:

Ouch!

2006-11-21T07:38:00.000+11:00

Quilting can be a dangerous past time. My sewing came to an abrupt end yesterday as I managed to munch my index finger whilst free motion quilting. No nail or bone was involved. Just the flesh beside the nail. Accordingly, I decree that this Christmas quilt is finished:

A Thanksgiving Feast

2006-11-19T12:32:00.000+11:00

To help set the mood, this is what greeted our guests at the front door. But no, we didn't make our guests dress up as pilgrims:

I enjoy entertaining as it is an opportunity to use these beautiful pottery plates that David bought from a vendor at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival back in the early 80s:

He purchased a setting for eight people but there have been a few breakages along the way which is why there are no plates laid out in advance at David's and my seats (note to self, must buy sympathetic supplementary plates before my family descends at Christmas):

Let the feasting begin:

Pumpkin pie and Texas Corn Bread recipes can be found on Our Family Favourites.

The Morning After Dyeing Day

2006-11-18T09:49:00.000+11:00

While we didn't dye great meterage, Erica and I had such fun mucking around with the colours. We bypassed the primaries and concentrated on saturated secondaries. Here are some of my oranges, greens and purples (and a black, another "bright" for good measure):

For some reason, we both did a lot of orange:

And, of course, a little green:

I did three shibori pieces but the most effective was this larch design (the colour is much richer than either of these images would suggest):

Thank you to everyone who referred me to online tutorials. However, in the end, the best resource proved to be British quiltmaker, Janice Gunner's excellent book Shibori for Textile Artists:

And this was the serendipitous result of the dregs of the dyepots:

Erica sees cosmos flowers and I can too:

Today is Thanksgiving at Copacabana. The pumpkin pies are made (photos later) and I'm off to make cornbread before David hogs the oven with the turkey. But first I have to decide what recipe(s) to use. Thank you to everyone who sent recipes, I'll post my review tomorrow after my tasters give me a verdict!

Play Day

2006-11-17T07:20:00.000+11:00

Today Erica is coming to my house to play. We have "booked" the wet area in David's workshop and plan on doing some shibori and other dyeing - who knows what havoc we can wreak. Here is the "before" shot:

And here are my pristine shibori-style pieces:

Insanity

2006-11-16T06:47:00.000+11:00

It is said that the definition of insanity is to keep on doing things the same way and expecting them to turn out differently. How many insane quiltmakers do you know?!

Currently my insanity is manifesting itself on the culinary front. Due to other [quilting] commitments later in the month, David and I are celebrating Thanksgiving early with friends coming over for dinner on Saturday night. Thanksgiving is a distinctly American affair but this household embraces it wholeheartedly partly because of our shared American heritage (my grandfather was American; I was an exchange student for a year to Washington State and I travel there regularly) and partly because who needs an excuse to eat good food.

Anyway, I like to make corn bread for Thanksgiving dinner. Each year I search around for a recipe driving myself crazy as I try to recall the one I used the previous year. This year I will try a more sane approach. If you have a favourite corn bread recipe that is not too sweet, please e-mail it to me. Just remember, this is Australia not America so I am using raw ingredients not any proprietary, packaged product.

American readers will probably be aghast to learn that Libby's pumpkin is not to be found in our supermarkets. Accordingly, I've boiled and mashed some butternut and Jap/Kent pumpkins:

Now you'll think I really am insane...

Thanksgiving Update: Here is my recipe for pumpkin pie from scratch.

SCQuilter Blog Listing

2006-11-15T18:11:00.000+11:00

I belong to the online quilting group Southern Cross Quilters, aka "SCQuilters". An increasing number of SCQuilters have taken up blogging and there has been a call for a SCQuilter blog listing to be created. Pending any more elegant or integrated solution (and NO, I am not volunteering to set up a webring!), I have rustled up this preliminary listing with a live links. Let me know if you are a SCQuilter and would like your blog to be added to the list.

Group Blogging

2006-11-14T12:01:00.000+11:00

Have you seen the new Art & Perception blog? Quite apart from the interesting core subject matter, I have been intrigued by the robust dialogue between the contributors regarding the administration and the look and feel of the blog. When we set up our own personal blogs, we consciously or subconsciously make all sorts of editorial decisions about formatting and content. When a group of contributors is involved, a different dynamic is at work.

I have a heightened awareness of the dynamics of group blogging as I have been closely involved with the establishment of a new blog for the Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc and setting up style and content guidelines for contributors. I am very excited about this initiative. The goal is not only to positively augment communication between the guild and its members but to promote the activities of the guild generally. The blog address is www.quiltersguildnsw.blogspot.com - check it out and let me know what you think. I'd also be interested to hear from other administrators of group blogs and issues that have arisen along the way.

Tossing and Turning

2006-11-13T10:28:00.000+11:00

No time for blogging yesterday as I rustled up a bunch of blocks for a quilt gift (hence no photos on the blog). When I turned out the light in my studio last night, I surveyed the layout on my design wall and felt well-satisfied with my productivity.

I spent the night tossing and turning. For no apparent reason, I've been pondering about returning to legal or policy work of some description and this has had an unsettling effect. Anyway, when I returned to my studio this morning, I found that my blocks had been engaging in a little acrobatics of their own. I had left the windows open and the southerly buster had churned up overlight leaving my blocks in a mess all over the floor. Fortunately I had taken a photo for reference purposes so I am about to go and pick up the pieces...

By the way, I've posted my classic masala curry recipe on Our Family Favourites.

Smells Like Christmas

2006-11-11T19:36:00.000+11:00

Today I have been baking up a storm and the smell of fruit cakes has permeated the house. I haven't always been a devotee of the old-fashioned Christmas cake. However, when the house is full of people wandering backwards and forwards to the beach, it makes the perfect satisfying between-meal snack. This year, a number of my family are joining us for Christmas so one or two extra Christmas cakes will not go astray (the square one is for a friend):

And here is the one that I made last month, aging beautifully:

And I promise that I won't give up my day job to become a food stylist. (Whoops, I forgot I don't have a day job anymore...)

The Season Has Begun..

2006-11-10T14:44:00.000+11:00

My mother-in-law put in an order for a Christmas quilt so my Single Star Wreath design seemed the way to go:

I am "back to front" quilting using the backing fabric as my quilting guide to create a poinsettia and holly motif. I'll post some images when I am a little further along and have sewn all my tails in. As I quilt, I am listening to the ABC call of today's big cricket game (Prime Minister's XI v England) on the radio. Summer cricket has begun - yippee!

PS: In the spirit of the season, if you purchase a Christmas Star Wreaths pattern or kit from my website, you will receive a bonus Single Star Wreath pattern at no extra charge.

Vale John Coburn

2006-11-09T13:21:00.000+11:00

One of my favourite Australian artists, John Coburn, died on Tuesday aged 81. Coburn was one of the country's most recognisable artists with a love of vivid colours and abstract shapes. His style lent itself to tapestries and I was fortunate to be able to often view some of his original works at close range as part of a corporate collection with one of my employers. You can see other images HERE.

A More Subdued Palette

2006-11-08T17:52:00.000+11:00

Today's damp and cool weather was not very conducive for dyeing. Instead I continued to do some office admin and then made a start on a new quilt. I've decided to try my Synchronicity pattern in a more subdued palette. I'm quite pleased with the way it is coming together:

I've only made 24 blocks so far. Obviously the finished quilt will have more variety. In a similar (but lighter) palette, see my sister Amy's latest painting - I think it is great!

Odds & Ends

2006-11-07T17:29:00.000+11:00

I'm still in tidy-up mode. Trying to get everything unpacked, put away and generally in order so that I can treat myself to a dyeing day with a clear conscience. While I was in Canberra, I purchased some more dyes from one of my students (Annie of Annie's Dye Pot) and I'm looking forward to having a play. Annie also generously gave me some fabrics which I am sure will make it into a quilt at some stage:

Today I also prepared an abridged version of my presentation to Canberra Quilters to be included in their next newsletter. The sentiments contained in my talk on serendipity and the art of the quilt will be familiar to those who know me or read my blog but here is a pdf version of the article if you are interested.

Paws for Effect

2006-11-06T17:24:00.000+11:00

As foreshadowed, my life has been a blog-free zone for the past few days as I traveled to the nation's capital to honour a teaching and speaking invitation kindly extended by Canberra Quilters.

I had a wonderful time meeting a series of delightful quilters at the Thursday meeting and in my three days of classes. I also had fun "after hours" making a field trip to Lark Hill Winery (home of the sublime "Exaltation" Pinot Noir) and admiring the stylish wood art, sculpture, craft and contemporary furniture on exhibition at the Woodworks in Bungendore. As it happened, I didn't make it to the National Gallery, opting instead to linger at Addicted to Fabric selecting fabrics for the wedding quilt for my brother who got married last year.

Excuse me as I catch up with e-mails, bills and other chores. I leave you with a photo of the kangaroo paws just coming into bloom in our garden:

Note also our water tank and compost bin.

Setting off

2006-11-02T08:44:00.000+11:00

I am about to hit the road for my adventure to Canberra. I do not expect to be able to post anything until my return on Sunday evening. By then I'll probably be suffering major blogging withdrawal symptoms. Fortunately, I have been able to check the results from Houston. Congratulations to the Aussie quilters including Helen Godden, Liuxin Newman and Margery Goodall. And congratulations also to the "other" Brenda Smith on her Houston success.

More Unplugged!

2006-11-01T13:11:00.000+11:00

These photos are not much better but they will have to do for now. Besides, as David helpfully pointed out, I still have to do some "quilting do-dads" in the purple centre of the light turquoise block so more photos will be required later:

For those of you who are new to my blog, this quilt was started in my July workshop with Nancy Crow. The hatch quilting is done using the darning foot but still with the feed dogs up:

Because of the quilt's irregular size and style, I opted for facing rather than binding and used a technique kindly sent to me by Kathy Loomis.

Worn Out

2006-10-31T22:14:00.000+11:00

Much of today was spent putting together more Colour Rhapsody fabric sets. It appears that I have done so much ironing that I have worn a hole in my ironing board cover. Time to order a new one from Interface Australia who have quality products and an admirable community spirit as the employ rural men and women with disabilities.

I have also just finished facing "Unplugged". Come back for better photos tomorrow:

Quilted Treasures

2006-10-30T12:00:00.000+11:00

At last I have finished quilting Seaside Treasures (well apart from a few sections of the spade). You will see that I have combined free motion quilting and hand quilting with perle thread:

Paua Bag Finished

2006-10-29T16:51:00.000+11:00

For those of you who admired my paua-inspired foundation piecing, here it it is made up into a tote bag. Side one:

And the other side:

Adhering to my resolution NOT to buy more fabric for these bags, I used some synthetic lilac fabric that was lurking in my stash (from my experimentation with fabric crayons that do not work on 100% cottons) for the lining. After sewing with cottons so long, working with the synthetic fabric was truly horrible. Never again.

On the subject of man-made fibres, Jacqueline's collection of acrylic knitted tea cosies brought a smile to my face. The owl is especially quirky.

New Zealand Quilting Symposium

2006-10-28T17:22:00.000+10:00

This week Alison Schwabe and I had an on and off- blog conversation about improvisational curved piecing. Although Alison lives in Uruguay, through her blog I feel like I know her. It helps too that I attended a slide presentation that she made at the Quilting Symposium in Christchurch, New Zealand 2003.

The symposium was very influential on on my quilting development. In addition to five consecutive days of workshops, I attended every lecture and exhibition that was available including inspirational talks by Alison, Rosalie Dace, Dottie Moore, Charlotte Yde and Judy Dales. There were also the obligatory trips to the marketplace. I still have these Melody Johnson classics:

I wasn't familiar with Mrs Mel or her blog but I know better now! The next National Quilt Symposium will be in Palmerston North in early 2007. I won't be able to make it but I'm sure everyone who attends will have a wonderful time.

Preparing for the Big Trip

2006-10-27T16:29:00.000+10:00

OK, I'm back in blog land. My online tax return has been duly completed, triple-checked and dispatched and new personal/business accounting systems have been set up to streamline the process for future years. All part of the transition from my corporate lawyering life.

Next week I am off to Canberra to give a presentation to Canberra Quilters and to do some teaching. Whereas previous trips to the national capital have been dominated by business meetings with lawyers, lobbyists and bureaucrats, this time my focus will be on galleries and quilt shops. I am looking forward to checking out The Crafted Object exhibition at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery generally.

Of course, first of all I have to get to Canberra. I'll be undertaking the 4+ hour drive by myself which means I get to choose the driving music. While Shelina chose loud Japanese music for her road trip to Fort Collins Colorado, I favour 80s pub rock. Just have to remember to keep my eye on the speedo...

But before I even get into the car, I have to make sure that I have all my quilts, my speaking notes and my teaching materials. A great deal of advance preparation is required for teaching. I can understand how this is offputting for some people but so far I am enjoying all aspects of teaching. If you are considering teaching, then you may be interested in Robin's recent musings - To Teach or Not to Teach - that is the question.

Designing with Electric Quilt

2006-10-26T19:15:00.000+10:00

Despite my best intentions, I didn't get far with finalising my tax return yesterday. Instead, I got distracted with miscellaneous guild business and resizing quilt images in Photoshop so that they have 300 dpi resolution suitable for publication in the next issue of the guild magazine, The Template. I enjoy getting to grips with technology but some applications are so powerful I know I am only scratching the surface. It is instructive to be confronted with a specific task that requires you to learn more about particular aspect of a product. Reading manuals is all very well but there is no substitute for hands-on practice.

I have pre-ordered the upgrade to Electric Quilt 6 and look forward to familiarising myself with its new features and functionality. Although I don't use EQ5 for every quilt I make, I do find it is a useful planning tool particularly when I am making a quilt for someone else and want to convey in advance what is whirling around in my mind. For example, when I sent out "confetti" circles for people to sign for my sister Amy's wedding quilt, I included this concept design for their information:

Having a concept design did not preclude the serendipity factor coming into play. Here is the resulting Confetti Wedding Quilt, the border being inspired by a text message sent by my brother who could not attend the wedding:

Similarly, when I decided to make an green and purple quilt for a new baby in the family, I started out with this concept design:

Along the way, I decided to go for a more scrappy look and Apple & Lilac came into being:

Back to playing with my receipts and dockets...

Another Groovy Bag

2006-10-25T08:34:00.000+10:00

This will be another lite post as I finalise my tax return. Not that it's difficult but I am trying to be scrupulous about distinguishing between my personal and business expenses - it's moments like these that I regret the shopping that accompanies my quilting habit, one receipt seems to look like any other.

In the meantime, check out this groovy bag and other bag designs from Envirosax:

Better than your average "green" bag.

Stack, Slash, Sew & Turn

2006-10-23T18:10:00.000+10:00

As I plod along with some boring but necessary bookkeeping (I must also do my tax return), I thought I would share this sequence of photos for the samples that I made for my demonstration at the guild meeting last Saturday.

Make a stack of four fabric squares (mine were 15 1/2") right side up and make 6 freeform cuts.
Swap the cut strips around to make a pleasing arrangement.
Sew to make four new fabric squares

Stack the new fabric squares on top of each other
Make six cuts through all layers
Peel off strips to make a pleasing arrangement

Sew seams to make four new fragmented fabric squares.
Play with possibilities and don't go cross-eyed

Ever feel like screaming?

2006-10-22T19:17:00.000+10:00

The winners of the Guild's Going to Pieces challenge both captured that "aaarrgghh" moment.
This is a detail shot of "Going to Pieces" by Tanya Coxsedge:

And this is "Screaming to Pieces" by Helen Godden:

Check out the guild's website for a gallery of all 41 challenge entries. The quilts each measure 50cm x 70cm or 70cm x 50cm.

Purple Haze

2006-10-21T22:04:00.000+10:00

Driving through Sydney today on my way to the guild annual general meeting, I could not help but notice all the jacaranda trees that have come into bloom.

I understand that for Australian students, the purple haze of jacaranda flowers is synonymous with exam time but (having grown up in New Zealand) I have no such unpleasant associations. I love the patches of purple throughout urban Australia at this time of year. Indeed, jacarandas are central to my first assessment piece I completed for my online City & Guilds course with Linda Kemshall. Here is Sydney Jacaranda Harbour:

And a close up shot of the jacaranda-inspired quilting motif:

Mini Marvels

2006-10-20T21:53:00.000+10:00

Belatedly, I have updated the guild's website to showcase the Mini Marvel challenge quilts from earlier this year. It's not a big selection but there is an interesting mix of styles and all quilts are 12 inches square or smaller including my earthwaterfire triptych:

If you enjoy working on this scale and you are a member of The Quilters Guild of NSW Inc, then I draw your attention to the calendar quilt challenge. To celebrate the guild's 25th anniversary in 2007, guild members are invited to make a small quilt, 12 inches square to be judged for
inclusion in a calendar for 2008. Any subject and any techniques will be welcome. Send your masterpiece to the Guild office by 30 November 2006. Quilts will be on display at the 25th Sydney Quilt Show in June 2007 and the calendars for 2008 will be on sale. The quilts may then
become another suitcase exhibition available to groups. Here is a copy of the calendar quilt entry form in pdf format.

Queensland Quilt Show

2006-10-20T07:36:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is the annual general meeting of The Quilters' Guild of NSW and yours truly will be in attendance. In addition to putting myself forward as the candidate for Exhibition Secretary for a third and final year, I am doing a demonstration before the meeting. It's not required, but I have been working on some samples to make my demonstration more interesting. I'll post photos later on but don't want to spoil the surprise for the handful of guild members that I know read my blog.

In the meantime, you may be interested to see the prize winners from the Queensland Quilt Show which is currently on exhibition.

Coming to the end

2006-10-19T07:27:00.000+10:00

I have almost finished quilting the new, as-yet unnamed, Christmas quilt. You will see that I opted for contour quilting about half an inch apart with a metallic gold thread. I quite like the effect although it is a little more "regular" than my usual quilting.

I am also using this quilt to experiment with a one of the facing techniques sent to me when I put out a query on how to finish a quilt without binding.

Actually, this is a variation of a technique sent to me by Kathy Loomis who has written an article for a forthcoming issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine. In Kathy's words:

Many times I think my quilts look better without a border or binding – just turned to the back with the quilting stitches running right off the edge and around the fold. You achieve this finish by stitching on a straight binding strip that folds over, encases the raw edge of the quilt and is sewed down by hand. Traditionally you bind the top and bottom first, then bind the sides, tucking in the ends of the vertical binding strips as neatly as possibly.

But I don’t like the lumpy corners that resulted from this method, even when I graded the edges carefully. And if the binding strip wasn’t the same color as the corner of the quilt, you could frequently see a bit of the binding on the corners because there was just too much fabric to bring it all invisibly to the back.
I thought there must be a better way - and developed a method that makes beautifully flat edges and corners, plus a neat looking back. The trick is to make a one-piece facing for the corners instead of binding each edge separately.

You can e-mail Kathy for a copy of her very clear instructions. (My variation is fold the side strips in half and to sew the corners in pairs and turn them inside out for a clean edge that doesn't need to be folded under.)

In a different light

2006-10-17T21:29:00.000+10:00

Today's assignment demonstrates that I have lots to learn about quilt photography and, in particular, lighting. Taking raw shots of my Autumn Splendour quilt as an example, you will see that I photographed each quilt under four conditions (clockwise): flash, no-flash, under lights and flash with lights. In virtually every case, the no-flash photo turned out best.

The "Going to Pieces" guild challenge quilts are a fantastic showcase of the talent within the guild and I look forward to sharing photos of the other forty quilts later in the week.

Lost & found update: I found my missing teaching aids. They were in the drawer where I thought I had placed them, only they had slipped down the back. Very sneaky.

A different kind of Christmas Quilt

2006-10-16T17:51:00.000+10:00

Like many of my recent quilting efforts, when I started this quilt I had something different in mind but the quilt seems to have a mind of its own. Who am I to argue?

Of course, it means that I have yet another quilt top that requires quilting. I think I have to schedule some dedicated quilting time. I almost finished quilting Seaside Treasures yesterday but ran out of turquoise thread at a critical moment. No prizes for guessing what has been added to my shopping list when I go into the city tomorrow. If you enjoy threads, check out Lisa Call's collection.

On Tidying Up

2006-10-15T20:20:00.000+10:00

It's moments like this that I vow that I am never going to tidy up my studio again. In my last cleaning frenzy, I obviously put some of my teaching aids in a "safe" place where they will not be crushed or buckled. Do you think I can find them? Nope. And that's despite turning the place upside down looking. Hmmph.

By the way, I have updated my blog banner tutorial to include some tips on resizing your image so that it fits your particular template. You may have noticed that I have also changed the fonts used on my blog so that they match my Serendipity website.

My New Quilting Buddies

2006-10-14T21:36:00.000+10:00

Today was unseasonably warm. Accordingly, after my morning swim and breakfast, I left David to his tan and headed for the air-conditioned comfort of the local mall. Apart from needing to restock the pantry, I was on a mission to replace my ailing iron and to buy a tripod for my digital camera. Here are my new quilting buddies:

An iron is an essential quilting tool yet, as noted on Lisa Call's blog, finding an iron that can withstand the rigours of quiltmaking can be a challenge. My trusty iron never quite recovered from being knocked onto the floor earlier in the week. Then, to add insult to injury, I had managed to encrust the super teflon surface with some gunk from the pellon that I am using for the bags that I am making. Fortunately one of the department stores is having a mid-season sale and I was able to get the same make and model which has served me well (apart from the pesky beeping noise that accompanies the auto-off function).

The tripod is something that has been on my Christmas list for a while but the purchase was accelerated due to an impending photography assignment. In the absence of any other volunteers coming forward, I have agreed to photograph the forty odd "Going to Pieces" guild challenge quilts on Tuesday. Not that I purport to be an expert photographer. I will be re-reading the photography guide for textile artists generously compiled by Holly Knott and Any Baird.

You will be able to give me a scorecard (be gentle!) as I plan on posting images of some or all of the quilts on the guild website for which I am defacto webmaster. There are some fabulous quilts so I will post the link in due course.

The Bag Lady

2006-10-13T20:56:00.000+10:00

I am slowly making my way through the spectrum of my batik scraps. Today's combination draws its inspiration from the paua (abalone) shell from New Zealand:

Paua is also the inspiration for a fabric range put out by New Zealand textile house Nutex.

As I mentioned to Helen foundation piecing in this way is NOT a speedy process. First you have to join all your scraps together. Then you make the strips. Then you audition them on your foundation; sew them; flip them and iron them before starting the process all over again. But I am having such fun with the colour play.

Which is more than I can say about my ongoing Blockbutler dramas. I regret to report that my 3 x 3 foot replacement blockbutler design wall (a kind of sticky, expensive pellon) simply will not stay up on the wall. My main design wall is a 6 x 6 foot blockbutler which has served me very well so the problems I have experienced with its smaller sibling are disappointing and tedious. At this rate, I can forsee that the replacement blockbutler will end up as wadding for some more bags or something similar.

One down...

2006-10-12T20:39:00.000+10:00

One Christmas present is completed. I'm very happy with how this bag turned out:

The finished (flat bottomed) bag is approximately 15 inches wide and 12 inches high. I want one for me now!

This bag will double as a teaching sample for my forthcoming Sweet Bagatelle half day workshops in Canberra on Saturday, 4 November 2007. I understand that there are some vacancies left in these classes so feel free to contact me if you are interested in signing up.

Music to Quilt By

2006-10-11T21:58:00.000+10:00

Thanks to my sister Amy, I have just found a great source of music to quilt by. Plug a favourite song or artist into Pandora and it will create a whole station of similar music for you.

It's in the Bag!

2006-10-11T18:18:00.000+10:00

New Zealanders of a certain age will recall the radio and TV game show "It's in the Bag!" featuring the avuncular Selwyn Toogood as the host as he toured school halls around the country. However, the title of this post refers to the proposed use of this foundation piecing:

I'm planning to make many of my Christmas gifts this year and this quilted piece is destined to be made into a bag for my mother-in-law's best friend Jeanne. As you will see from recent posts, I am enjoying the colour play that arises when you join scrap strips together. I have a vast collection of batik scraps and am pleased to see them being put to good use.

Incidentally, I haven't abandoned "Maverick" entirely but I have decided against trying to complete it for a forthcoming show as I don't think it is innovative or edgy enough for the particular exhibition and I have enough other projects on my plate without forcing completion by the relevant deadline. I'm minding my Ps and Qs - pacing, priorities, quilting and quilts. ..

The Wonder of Google

2006-10-10T08:08:00.000+10:00

In the past month I have re-established contact with two dear friends thanks to the search power of Google. Admittedly both friends have reasonably unusual names and interests but tracking them down was so easy. As Josh, an exchange student buddy from 1983 said:

There should be some sort of ad (though redundant) along the lines of "Google: Bringing the World back together" ...

Even better, the other friend from university days in New Zealand turns out to live just up the road at Newcastle so we plan to get together in person soon. That friend is due to become a father for the first time in mid-2007 so I can feel another baby quilt coming on. But today is the day for baking Christmas cakes so excuse me as I head off to the kitchen.

Getting in a festive mood

2006-10-09T17:26:00.000+10:00

It's starting to feel like Christmas here at Casa da Praia. Yes, I know 25 December is still many weeks away but we have been wrapping and posting gifts for surface mail to America. As I write, the mixed fruit is soaking in brandy for the Christmas cake and I have sorted out some fabrics for a Christmas quilt:

However, rest assured, there are no Christmas carols playing on my CD player.

Time to Take a Bow

2006-10-08T19:37:00.000+10:00

Between our time in the city and attending to some guild Exhibition Secretary business, I haven't done any sewing this weekend. However, while I was on the train travelling home, I had time to read the current issue of Quilters Companion:

This Collector's Edition showcases ten great Australian quilts and I especially enjoyed the three page profile of contemporary quiltmaker Sue Dennis whose quilts often have a geological theme. I was also delighted to read the editorial in which Clare Mooney remarked upon her experience at judging day at this year's Sydney Quilt Show:
“It was wonderful to see such a flurry of activity as quilts were laid out, sorted through, slowly eliminated, held up and finally, placings selected. The committee had the day extremely well organised with all quilts labelled and sorted before reaching the venue for judging. A schedule had then been made to ensure that the day ran smoothly and excessive time was not spent on one category at the expense of another.Being able to see the behind the scenes work involved in putting on a quilt show make you realise how fortunate we are as a quilting community to have so many volunteers to coordinate quilts shows for our viewing pleasure.It is only thanks to those hundreds of dedicated quilting volunteers at our major guilds…that shows, exhibitions and events continue to be held for the enjoyment of all quilters.”
It is gratifying to have the guild committee's hard work so publicly recognised so I think I will take a bow.

Maverick

2006-10-07T08:21:00.000+10:00

I don't what possessed me to embark upon an applique project. It's not a technique that I particularly enjoy and, more often than not, I find there is a gaping hole between my artistic conception and final execution. Last night I was ready to abandon "Maverick" for more fulfilling endeavours. This morning I am thinking it might have a reprieve although a reprieve means making many more red tulips:

Now is not the time for such decisions. Today David and I are off to the city to do some Christmas shopping (surface mail to the US closes on 13 October) and to meet some friends for dinner. Dining out is a rare treat these days (the Central Coast has many virtues but fine dining is not one of them) and I'm looking forward to sharing travel tales.

Behind the Scenes

2006-10-05T22:23:00.000+10:00

Today I was fortunate enough to participate in a behind-the-scenes tour at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney with a focus on some quilts from the textile collection. You can view images of many quilts on the museum's website but my favourite was this graphic red and white applique quilt.

It's a Miracle

2006-10-05T05:49:00.000+10:00

There are a few assertive consumer stories floating around on the Artful Quilters Web Ring at the moment. For example: read all about Diane's new car purchase or Kim's sad tale of the lost camera. My own example relates to my 3 x 3 foot Blockbutler design wall which, after I took it to a workshop in March, steadfastly refused to re-adhere to a wall where it had been happily living for 12 months or so. This was the source of some considerable frustration and disappointment especially in the light of the company's claims that "lightwieght, re-positionable, reusable, portable and hand washable, each Blockbutler will give you years of use."

To their credit, the company provided me with a replacement design wall (and did not insist that I send back the older one) which behaved itself for precisely 23 hours and thirty three minutes before embarking upon a pattern of more sporadic adhesion. Grrr. However, it seems to have turned the corner. My replacement design wall has managed to stay up for a whole 48 hours, albeit peeling at the corners. I'm off to the city today for a guild committee meeting and hope it is still hanging on my return...

Souvenirs

2006-10-04T12:38:00.000+10:00

This morning I was rummaging through my pantyhose drawer (a very rare occurrence) and look what I found tucked in the corner:

Immediately I was transported back to November 1997 Barcelona where I found these pieces of glass that had been smoothed by constant grinding with the pebble beach. I wasn't able to persuade any of my jewellery-making friends to make anything with these beauties but I live in hope! What souvenirs have you kept from your travels?

Into the blues

2006-10-03T16:23:00.000+10:00

I decided to make another background for my applique project. This one includes more green blues and is a little flatter:

Knowing when to stop

2006-10-02T08:44:00.000+10:00

Well my "background" is completed, pillowcased and escape hatched. It's all ready now for the applique. Except I'm not sure that I want to go that far.

Colour & Chaos

2006-10-01T11:52:00.000+10:00

Here in Australia it is Labour Weekend which means that surf patrols have started on beaches all over the country. Surf life saving clubs are integral to Australian beach culture and safety.

At our beach, we have the Copacabana SLSC at the northern end and the MacMasters SLSC at the southern end. Flags and lifesavers caps (not to mention lashings of lycra) make for a riot of colour particularly when clubs get together for surf carnivals. Consequently, this early quilt of mine is called Copacabana Carnivale:

Unfortunately, I started quilting this quilt at a time when I was less confident with free motion quilting. Instead, I secured the layers with some diagonal stitching and selected an arc motif using the walking foot. Even though I decided that only the outside two rows would have the arcs - that is still fifty blocks. I ran out of steam at block No 8 and the quilt has languished in the cupboard ever since. I can't bear to unpick what I have done but nor do I want to continue in this mode.

My current thoughts are to combine the quilting that I have done with something more freeform...

By way of background

2006-09-30T19:30:00.000+10:00

This afternoon I went through the painstaking process of foundation piecing this background for a not-to-be-disclosed applique (gasp!) project:

It seemed to take ages and I haven't finished yet. Maybe it was because I was distracted by a great SBS documentary on New Zealand artist Colin McCahon, closely followed by a riveting final quarter of the Aussie Rules grand final. The Sydney Swans lost by a mere point - oh no, Erica will be inconsolable!

Fun at School

2006-09-29T18:12:00.000+10:00

Earlier this week I attended a local high school to give a quilt presentation to some textile and design students (13-14 year olds). Of course, I can talk about quilts all day but I thought it would be more fun for the students if I incorporated a design activity. Here is the resulting quilt top which I will quilt up and donate to the Starlight Foundation as my charity quilt for quilt camp next year:

Autumn Splendour

2006-09-28T08:31:00.000+10:00

Welcome to Autumn Splendour: When Nature Goes to Pieces - my 2006 guild challenge quilt. I completed it last night (apart from the label) but waited for daylight for better photography conditions to share it with you:

I can proudly declare that the top is made entirely from scraps. The 8-piece unit used is a variation of Tommy's "Falling Down" block which features in the Artful Quilters Tutorials See Tommy's 1 April post and 5 April post for other quilts incorporating this block.

Now I had better do that label and get this quilt into the post...

Watching Brief

2006-09-27T06:04:00.000+10:00

This is the status of my challenge quilt as at 6am...fortunately it only has to be 50 x 70 cm (20 x 27 inches or so). Check back later for progress as I try to get it completed, quilted, bound and a hanging sleeve and in the mail by 4pm...

Lunchtime Update: I have a reprieve. According to the challenge entry form, the deadline IS 29 September. I'm still trying to get as much done today as I can and here is a progress shot:

Going to Pieces

2006-09-26T22:01:00.000+10:00

No, I am not referring to ring-Mom Diane's blog. "Going to Pieces is the theme of this year's challenge of The Quilters' Guild of NSW. It is also a reflection of the my current state of organisation. Here was I thinking that the challenge deadline was 30 September. Then I checked the guild website and I see that the deadline was 23 September. Oh well. I may miss the closing date for judging purposes but I am sure it will still be accepted for the suitcase exhibition so I'm sewing madly...

Happy Birthday Chantel!

2006-09-25T18:24:00.000+10:00

On this 25th day of September, I would like to wish the family snow boarding bunny Chantel a very happy 30th birthday. Tomorrow I am off to a local high school to make a presentation to some textile and design students so I will have more to report then. In the meantime, here is the start of my guild challenge quilt which is due in a couple of days...

Happiness is..

2006-09-24T19:44:00.000+10:00

Happiness is knowing that one of your baby quilts is getting a good workout. My sister Amy snapped this photo of Finn and his quilt in Ireland this weekend:

Finn is getting to know his new Buzzy Bee toy all the way from New Zealand.

A Satisfying Saturday

2006-09-23T16:35:00.000+10:00

It's been good to get back to the sewing machine. This is a teaching sample for my forthcoming workshop Serendipity Circles to be held at Terrigal Rotary Hall on Friday, 2 February 2007 (which isn't as far away as it sounds!):

It's All About Me

2006-09-22T07:43:00.001+10:00

My first blog anniversary is coming up at the end of the month and so far I have eschewed memes. However, it has been such fun to read Kirsty and Nic's lists that it seems churlish not to join in. So here goes:

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Usherette - my parents ran the local picture theatre so I saw lots of films and patrolled the aisles with my three cell torch. For some reason, no one ever asked me on a movie date...
2. Bistro cook and waitress - the summer job combo from hell as I cooked at one establishment in town at lunchtimes and waitressed in another at nights. Some customers saw me at both places and got very confused.
3. Mail clerk (envelope stuffer) - my friend and I job-shared this position in a sharebroking house while studying at university in the heady, pre-crash late-80s (think Gordon Gekko). The job involved taking the contracts notes off the dot matrix printer; perforating them; putting them in envelopes; stamping the envelopes and posting them off. Diana is now a freelance journalist specialising in personal finance issues so I guess something rubbed off.
4. Commercial & regulatory lawyer - for 15+ years I had a corporate lawyer gig with a focus on infrastructure and public policy. I loved learning about different industry sectors - telecoms, electricity, gas, water, aviation, rail, buses, taxis and so on - and had some great clients. But I don't miss the killer hours, timesheets or other occupational hazards.

Current: Quiltmaker, designer, teacher, blogger, web designer, Guild Exhibition Secretary, public speaker - welcome to "retirement"

B) Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Moonstruck - because it reminds of the crazy American-Italian family that I have married into and because it has great skyline images of the World Trade Center before you know what.
2. Miracle on 34th Street & Holiday Inn - compulsory holiday viewing in David's family.
3. -
4. -
After years of watching movies over and over (see A1 above), I've drawn a blank. These days I only see movies on planes which never shows them to their best advantage.

C) Four places you have lived:
1. Warkworth (pre wineries), New Zealand - classic small town upbringing, surrounded by farms, close to multiple beaches and close enough to the big smoke to enjoy the services and cultural attractions of the city.
2. Sunnyside, Washington State, United States of America as a Rotary exchange student in 1983;
3. Auckland - Point Chevalier, Kingsland, Grey Lynn and Orakei. Same great university flatmates over several years; different locations and always with my very first quilt.
4. Balmain, Sydney - charming inner-city, harbourside living - I lived there for a very big chunk of my life but Casa da Praia at Copacabana called.

D) Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy - the Seattle backdrop reminds me of my friends in that great rainy city.
2. Doctor Who - a late convert but, like Nic, I love this latest reincarnation.
3. Sunday Arts on ABC.
4. The BBC series of Pride & Prejudice - I could watch this over and over.

E) Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Noumea, New Caledonia - my first overseas trip in 1981 for a French class exchange. Twenty five years later and my billet, Fabienne, and I are still firm friends.
2. Axat in the French Pyrenees and Airton in the Yorkshire Dales in spring 2006 - two very agreeable home exchanges - see my May/June posts. Also, check out this new, free home exchange listing service:

3. All over New Zealand - any questions, just ask me, I think I was a travel agent in another life.
4. South America - Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay in 1993. Would love to return but in a season other than winter.
5. New Orleans for a deferred honeymoon in September 2001 immediately following 9/11 (and pre-Katrina), we had this wonderful city to ourselves - great food, architecture, music and memories.

F) Websites you visit daily
1. My collection of favourite blogs via bloglines.
2. My sitemeter and other stats collection sites for my blogs and website.
3. Southern Cross Quilters
4. Quiltart

G) Four of my favourite foods
1. Any fresh fruit, in-season from a New Zealand roadside stand.
2. Bread and cheese - especially when in Europe.
3. Oysters and Veuve Clicquot
4. Chocolate.

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
Frankly, after such a busy year of travelling, I am totally content to be in my studio at Copacabana

I) Four friends I think will respond:
Don't know - do tell!

Congratulations to the FMMQ Queen, Helen!

2006-09-21T07:18:00.000+10:00

I have previously referred to the wondrous free motion machine quilting of Helen Godden. As you will see from Helen's blog, she has had an incrediblly exciting week learning that she has been awarded three prestigious quilting awards: a 2nd prize in the Husqvarna Viking International Masterpiece Exhibition; a top 7 award in the IQA 'World of Beauty" 2006; and another prize in the painted surface art category. What a talent! and an Australian too. Congratulations Helen.

PS: Don't miss Helen's very generous guide - The Secrets of FMMQ