Home again...

Exhausted but happy after an exciting week at the Sydney Quilt Show. Yes, that is a ribbon (two actually) you see on the quilt. "The Eyes Have It" won third place in the commercially quilted category for my friend Lisa Walton and I. Lisa dyed the wonderful fabrics (you can find her at http://www.dyedheaven.com) and designed and pieced the quilt. Then she sent it to me for lots of quilting - I did get a bit carried away, but it worked. Lisa added beading after the quilting, a little bit of bling for a nice finishing touch.

Another quilt I did, a round robin, also won 4th place in the group quilts section. You can see it here http://www.quiltersguildnsw.com/quiltshow2006/wincat13.htm. So I am definitely a happy little vegimite. I also did some good networking, sold lots of fabric & kits for Lisa at her stand and had fun, fun, FUN!!

So, this week I feel happy and inspired with lots of new ideas running around in my head, a feeling of purpose and direction. Unfortunately, slow progress is being made with the gi-normous (technical term) floral applique quilt that is on the machine. It is nearly 90 square feet of detailed applique on white, demanding intensive quilting and much concentration. Wish me luck!!!

Eclipse I

This is the little piece that I framed and gave my friend Lisa for her birthday yesterday. It is a satin base fabric with painted Lutradur applique, plus lots of quilting with variegated thread. I think I'll be investigating this theme further, so I'm calling it the first in a new series.

Rob & I had a lovely weekend in Sydney, though it was raining and particularly cold yesterday. Checked out the Sydney Beinnale at the gallery yesterday morning, some very interesting contemporary art including some textile related works. Check it out at this site http://www.biennaleofsydney.com.au

One exhibit I was particularly inspired by was that of Kevin Connor's sketchbooks. It was amazing to see such a body of work, pen & ink drawing of anything and everything, obviously done daily and recording details of the artist's life and things that he saw. It inspired me - I must make myself draw more. I kill my drawing habit with unnecessary perfectionism - it need not be perfect, I just need to do it. Here's the link http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/whats_on?eventid=1952

I'm off again tomorrow to the Sydney quilt show - maybe we'll catch up there!

FINISHED!!!!

At last, my entry for the Sydney Quilt Show is done. After weeks (okay, maybe months) of procrastinating, it's done, quilted, embellished, sleeve & label attached even. Just in time for drop-off day on Sunday.

I've been working frantically all week to get as much done as possible before I head off for five days next week. I managed to finish several outstanding jobs, so I'm not feeling tooooo guilty about going away.

I even put a lasagne in the freezer for the troops while I'm gone. Rob & I are farming out the kids and running away for the weekend tomorrow. I have to be in Sydney very early Sunday morning to drop the quilts in for judging, then we have a friends birthday celebrations later in the day. We never do this, so I'm a bit excited - an evening in the city and a lovely hotel, woohoo!!!! 

No rest for the wicked...

and I must have been very, very bad. I've been flat out for what seems like forever, and wonder if I'm making any progress or going backwards. I'm sure there's a "Magic Pudding" type effect happening in my studio - no matter how much I do, there's always some more waiting.

Who remembers The Magic Pudding (by Norman Lindsay)? It was one of my very favourite childhood stories, and brings to mind cold evenings in flannelette pyjamas, and me & my brother cuddled up with Mum reading to us. It's a chilly night tonight, but I don't think my big kids will be in on a trip down memory lane with me.

Today's pic is a collage of some recent quilting that I really like. 

What I'm doing tomorrow...

This is my sample for the class I'm teaching tomorrow at Pretty Parcels in Berry. It is part 2 of an ongoing series of contemporary techniques classes. This month they'll learn some basic free-piecing as well as the wavy fused binding and some free-motion quilting.

The samples are A4 sized to fit in a display folder with the accompanying notes. My aim is to build up a toolbox of techniques for people ready to try something different.

I'm having lots of fun with the class prep and teaching.

5 things

I gotted tagged by Red Shoe Ramblings (one of my new fave blogs) so here're my lists.

5 things in my fridge:
1. Homemade lime butter made by my lovely Mum.
2. Ginger marmalade.
3. Asian sauces/ingredients for stir-fry.
4. Low-fat dairy products (for the ongoing battle of the bulge).
5. Chateaux le cardboard.

5 things in my wardrobe:
1. Too many clothes that don't fit me at the moment.
2. Several pairs of jeans.
3. Business suits I don't wear since I quit my old job.
4. Lots of bright/colourful/glitzy scarves.
5. Not enough underwear (since my new puppy has a thing for underwear and eats a few pairs each week).

5 things in my car:
1. Two umbrellas (just in case).
2. Sunglasses belonging to every member of my family.
3. A Springsteen CD in the player.
4. A Sydney streetmap.
5. A set of acrylic paints belonging to my daughter.

5 things in my handbag:
1. My diary and two journal/sketchbooks.
2. Three pens.
3. My digital camera.
4. Bag of "Snakes Alive" lollies.
5. A fq of lime green hand-dyed fabric.

5 things in my desk:
1. Several sketchbooks/visual diaries in a variety of sizes.
2. Paints/crayons/pencils/paintbrushes.
3. A small wooden puzzle box brought back from Japan by a friend years ago,
4. Collage ephemera/images that might come in handy "one day".
5. Frida Kahlo/Georgia O'Keefe books.

Not quite sure how this works, but if you're reading this Lisa, Maggie, Jenny, Kate, Caity - you're tagged.

Sorry to stay away...

but things have been a bit chaotic around here. Besides the general backlog of work that my poor clients are so patiently waiting for, deadlines have been adding to the pressure. The quilt I'm working on is just not happening to plan, so I've been struggling with it. Trouble with committing to quilt shows before the work is complete is that sometimes things stall, but I can't just stop and let it come in it's own time, and forcing it can make things worse.
Anyhow, this afternoon I've been painting some Lutradur. I had paint left over (too expensive to waste) so I painted a couple of bits of cotton as well to use it up.
After I'd finished, I really liked the look of the paper I was using underneath to mop up the excess - an unexpected side product that I'm sure will come in handy. 

A Capital Weekend

This past weekend was spent in Canberra at the annual SCQ Retreat. I taught a class there on Machine Trapunto techniques, and managed to fit in my fair share of fun times too. The venue was great, particularly the quadrangle which was populated by wild ducks who slept with their beaks tucked under their wings & their feet in the water. It was nice to see some autumn colour - we don't really have a proper change of seasons here in Wollongong. This week's plan is to get stuck in to all the work waiting in the studio! 

Precious snippets

Can anyone tell me what I can do with these precious offcuts? They are the extra inches I trimmed off the edges of my latest quilt to bring it down to the required size for the competition requirements. And they are just too delicious to consign to the bin.

Ideas, anybody????