Home again

My mini Anzac quilt 'Places of Anzac' is back home after tripping around Australia and New Zealand as part of the 'Lest We Forget' quilt challenge.

Places of Anzac

All the quilts can be seen in this slideshow along with the description for each quilt.

Showing in October

October is a busy month for some of my quilts, two small pieces are on display this weekend and other pieces have been shown during October.

Aotearoa Quilters Green 12x12 challenge is on show this weekend at Whangamata Patch and Quilt exhibition.

photo from Aotearoa Quilters FB page,
mine is middle solid green one (here it is below)

Also on this weekend is a display of postcards created by Oceania SAQA members at the Stitches and Craft show in Melbourne.  The postcards were shown earlier this year at SAQA's (Studio Art Quilt Associates) annual conference in Portland.

mine second to bottom row, third on the left

My quilt 'Knit One, Paint One' is part of SAQA's 'Redirecting the Ordinary' exhibition and has been showing in Europe.  It has just shown at Abilmente Mostra-Atelier Internazionale della Manualita Creativa, Fiera di Vincenza, Italy.  

During September it was at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork, Alsace, France.

'Knit One, Paint One' third from the left
'Redirecting the Ordinary' at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork
photo from SAQA's Europe/Middle East blog

My quilt 'Caveman txts' is in SAQA's exhibition 'Text Messages' and showed at 'Original Sewing & Quilt Expo' in Fredericksburg, VA, in early October. 

Just Green

The current Aotearoa Quilters' colour challenge is Green.  This time I've only created one 12x12" mini quilt.  The previous colour challenges were Red, Blue and Purple.

It is a wholecloth quilt with matchstick quilting in a variegated thread.  

I did stitch around the letters in a clear thread, each letter has an extra layer of batting.

 




The green quilts are on display at the Christchurch Quilters show 1-4 October. At the Whangamata Patchwork exhibition during Labour weekend and then at the Auckland Festival of Quilts 6-8 November.

All are for sale at $125 each.

SAQA Benefit Auction

SAQA's annual online Benefit Auction starts 2pm Friday 18th September EDT (early Saturday morning NZ time) and runs until 10th October.  

SAQA members donate 12" quilts to be auctioned.  The funds raised are used to support SAQA’s exhibitions, publications and education outreach.  The full details of how the auction works are here.

My quilt 'Just Tapa' appears in Section 3 where the bidding for that section opens 5th October and runs until 10th October EDT.

To view all entries have a look at this video:

 

Another Outing

My quilt 'Knit One, Paint One'  gets another outing next week.  See here and here for previous posts about this quilt.

It is part of SAQA's 'Redirecting the Ordinary' Exhibition that will be showing at 'Quilt! Knit! Stitch!' in Portland, OR, during August 13-15. 

I was sent a jpg to use ...

The next appearance will be in France at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork, Alsace, during September 16-19.  Now that would be a nice place to visit ...
 

SAQA Benefit Auction 2015

Every year SAQA holds a benefit auction where members can donate a 12x12" quilt.
While the auction starts in September, the quilts can be viewed on SAQA's website.  My 12x12" quilt 'Like Tapa' appears on page 5.

Like Tapa

For this years quilt I wanted to create the look of a tapa cloth using non-traditional materials.  

The first stage was to transfer my hand drawn design onto an Ezy carve printing block using Saral transfer paper. I've been using these blocks as I find them easier to carve into than the usual lino.  I haven't found them in NZ so whenever I go to Australia I buy a few more.  They come in a range of sizes, using the 12x12" size is perfect for this project.

design drawn on a piece of paper

 









 

initial cuts (red marks from transfer paper)

cutting more detail

cutting complete

adding another layer of colour

Creating the pattern by rubbing with Paintsicks.  






Pinning the fabric to the base helps prevent unwanted movement and ghosting of the image.

selecting thread for the handstitching

The flowers and the darker strip had an extra layer of batting to give a trapunto effect. The machine quilting was mostly done with co-ordinating thread around the shapes to emphasise the trapunto.







Videos have been made detailing the creating of some of the quilts, have a look here.

K1, P1, rpt

Earlier in the year Maureen at Mystic Quilter blogged about working in a series.  I thought this was a great idea and that I could work through either Jean Wells book 'Intuitive Color & Design' or Elizabeth Barton's book 'Inspired to Design; Seven Steps to Successful Quilts'.  

So instead I've been working on a commission for a second Knit One, Paint One quilt.  

Knit One, Paint One

Same pattern just a slightly different colour.  While I'd kept my original pattern I needed to recreate the freezer paper stencil - this took longer than I remembered with the original quilt!

Adding the colour was relatively fast.  To emphasise the white 'knitted stitches' I add a layer of batting and quilt around the shapes, then trim away the batting.

Stitching the first layer of batting

Freezer paper stencils

I'm currently about half way with the stitching and trimming.  The next stage is to add another layer of batting, the backing and finally quilt it.

Purples, Living Colour and more

As well as the Symposium exhibitions there were a number of other exhibitions at various Palmerston North venues.

Aotearoa Quilters had their silent auction at the Symposium venue. My quilt 'Out My Window II' was purchased by one of my quilting friends.

'Out my Window II

'

'Increasingly Modern'

Aotearoa Quilters also had their Purple 12x12 challenge at the Square Edge Gallery, as well as the 'Growth' Challenge.  Nice to see my quilt 'Increasingly Modern' again - its been touring New Zealand. 

selection of Purple 12x12s,
my three are on the bottom 2nd - 4th from the left

At Te Manawa was the 'Living Colour' Exhibition.  My two favourites, mainly because I enjoy the Monarch butterfly and Irises:

'Consider the Flowers of the Field',
Christine Dowell

'Yum Yum', Kay D Haerland

Also at Te Manawa was an exhibition of Canadian quilts by Fibre Art Network. 

'Tallheo Cannery', Terry Phillips

'Greens Point Lighthouse', Leslie Forbes

'Canadian Hats', Janet Bednarczyk

Taylor Jenson Fine Arts had a very vibrant and fun exhibition of 40 quilts by Caohagan Islanders.  To read about Caohagan quilts click here.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos.  A small selection of the quilts will be shown at Minerva Gallery, in Wellington, from Thursday 19th February.

Finally, I missed out on seeing Merrilyn George's exhibition 'Set Apart' on Suzanne Aubert - I just ran out of time.

Symposium Exhibition part 1

Symposium's 'Growing the Passion' Exhibition was held at the Palmerston North Convention Centre and featured about 300 quilts.  

The rules specified that the quilts could not have been shown before, although an extra category was added called 'Out and About' for those quilts that have previously been seen.

These are some of my favourite quilts, there are a few so there will be at least one more post.

'Lime and Mango', Sarah Ward
Amateur Merit in 'Out and About'
63cm x 105cm

'Opulent and Elegant' Valda Sutton
First in 'It's a Small World'
60cm x 60cm

'Korowai', Mary Culver
'Out and About' category 
70cm x 50cm

'My New Pillow', Sonya Prchal
award in 'Out and About in a Small World'  
76cm x 58cm

 





Overall Winner 'Best of Both Worlds' and 'Best of Show Excellence'
 

'Kisses for my Daughter', Donna Cumming

closeup showing the dupion silk

 




I first saw a picture of this quilt at the Symposium opening night.  The photo was very dark and it was hard to tell why it had won several awards.  Seeing the quilt for real, it was easy to see why!  Even this photo is a bit on the dark side, the dupion silk just glows.

No Sew HSTs
Amateur merit, 'Inspired Fibres'
55cm x 89cm

My quilt 'No Sew HSTs' won a merit in the Amateur section of  'Inspired Fibres' catagory.  This was a fun quilt to make, felted then quilted.  Definitely fits the title of no sew half square triangles.

One day I'll learn not to make black or white quilts - they mostly get hung on the same colour backgrounds!  








 

Bee Sunny, Mathea Daunheimer

Mathea is also a SAQA member and I'd seen progress photos of this quilt online, what I hadn't realised is how small this quilt is - 25cm x 29.5cm!  It was in the 'Out and About - Professional' category and selected for the 'New Zealand Quilter Suitcase Exhibition'








Category descriptions: 
* Best of Both Worlds - Combined effort.  Minimum of two people with no maximum of participants.

* Out and About - quilts that have previously been exhibited out and about or published.

* Inspired Fibres - without freedom, there is no creation in thread and fibre play.  Innovative use of fibres and threads but must bear some resemblance to a quilt.

* It's a Small World - miniature quilts upto 60cm x 60cm

Quilts on show

Quilt Symposium Manawatu is currently on in Palmerston North.  I can now show my four entries - the rules stated that quilts couldn't be shown before the event.

Aqua Panels

Now Sew HSTs

Harakeke

Market Fresh

As well as the Symposium exhibitions, Aotearoa Quilters' (AQ) also has exhibitions.  The 'Growth' Challenge makes an appearance as it tours the country, so I'll see 'Increasingly Modern' again.

Increasingly Modern

Out my Window II

AQ also have a Silent Auction, I've donated 'Out My Window II'.  This is a bigger version of 'Out My Window' that was part of the 'Beneath the Southern Sky' travelling exhibition.

The purpose of the silent auction is to raise funds for AQ, while showcasing quilts from well known (!) NZ quilters.  Not sure how I managed that, maybe because I know one of the organisers!!

 




and finally AQ's Purple 12x12 challenge.  The triangles are painted iwth textile paint and the ric rac is coloured with oil pastels using freezer paper stencils.  The scooters piece is commercial fabric, quilted and trapunto-ed.

my three entries

'The Backseat Band' - voting now open

This year Bernina NZ have been running a Music Challenge.  The size of each quilt had to fit within A2 (594 x 420mm). 

Completed entries were taken to the local Bernina dealer.  They then selected a winning quilt which will be part of an exhibition that will tour the country during 2014.  

Each dealer also ran a 'viewers choice' for the most humorous quilt, which then competes with all the other humorous quilts for the overall winner.

My entry 'The Backseat Band' won the viewers choice for Nancy's Embroidery Shop (my local Bernina dealer).  


Voting is now open on Facebook (click here ) until Tuesday 10th December 2013 (NZ time).  If my quilt makes you smile (or not) and you felt like voting then please do so. 

The Backseat Band

I was inspired by the stick figure stickers on the back windows of cars, the ones with Mum, Dad, the kids, the cat, the dog, etc. - which I refuse to have on my car!  The quilt pretty much represents our musical (!) family, including the fellow on the right who wants the noise music to stop.

The figures were stitched first with double lines and then coloured in with Tsukineko inks.  Before applying the ink I painted on Aloe Vera gel (a Judy Coates Perez technique).  This seems to make it easier to apply the inks onto the fabric while also stopping the ink bleeding out onto the fabric.  The quilting also fits the musical theme with the repeating five lines (staff) and the music notes flowing through.

Caveman Txts at Houston

Earlier in the year I entered my quilt 'Caveman Txts' into SAQA's Text Messages Exhibition and it was selected!   Click here to see the whole exhibition.

This exhibition is currently showing at Houston.  I wish I was there!

Caveman Txts

The fabric is rusted, even the blue.  The background images are lino printed and freezer paper stencils as are the words.

The idea was the comparison with caveman drawings and text messaging today.  Cave drawings have survived forever, text messages, once deleted, are gone forever (mostly!).

Txting

Earlier in the year my quilt "Caveman Txts" was selected for SAQA's "Text Messages" Exhibition.

This week I've been preparing to ship it off to the US.  The first showing is at International Quilt Festival in Houston from 31 October until 4 November.  I wish I could travel as much as my quilts do!


A wee glimpse ...
 










 
The fabric is rusted (using equal amounts of water and vinegar), the various images have been lino printed or painted.  Having a farmer FIL with an almost endless supply of rusty objects has been very useful.