Material Obsession

quilting journeys

Welcome Sofie's to the journey of quilting!  This is her first quilt!  Her husband came in before Christmas and signed her up for a beginners class as a gift for Christmas that keeps on giving (did he know what he was in for, I have to ask???).   Sofie has bravely stepped into a world where she has never known before...and little does she know, there is no way back...back to the life before quilts.  The life where she could walk by fabric or a patchwork shop and not have a closer look, a life where she wasn't always thinking of the NEXT thing to make or where to store the stuff.
Welcome Sofie and all the new quilters to a world where we pet, fold and caress fabrics.  We stack them in colors, we make a mess with them and we dream, imagine and get carried away with them.  Yesterday in "Thinking Outside the Square" we began a journey of a the next step.  We examined the different shapes possible after we have studied the square. 
We started with the 60 degree triangle angled our way through winding paths of uses of the triangle, the half triangle, the diamond and the half diamond.  Then we got cutting and played with the design wall until we found a pattern we liked.  Into another new world, one with out a strict plan but one filled with wonder!!

Gillian brought this unfinished block in and we made a plan to use it as a central block and from here, who knows where we'll go  but it will be star-tacular!  Next lesson, borders and sashings with impact and interest. 

Shapes are great but we'd be nowhere if we didn't also talk about fabrics and how to use them and to share a bit of the exploration as part of the process.  Auditioning fabrics is always fun.

This zig zag quilt is by Robyn in another design class.  Here we studied using contrast with this  exciting result. 
More fun stuff to come but I am off to the AQC this weekend to do a bit of exploring of someone else's ideas this weekend.  Can't wait to sit back and listen, learn and experiment!  Enjoy! kathy

The Fabric of Society

The Fabric of Society, the long awaited historical perspective of Australian quilts has arrived!  Annette Gero, the well known quilt and specifically wagga historian, has compiled photos, stories and perspective of the interweaving of quilts and life in Australia.  It's a story of men and women, wealth and poverty, politics and family life...a reflection of the "fabric" of "society".  Included in the book are patterns by Kim McClean of some of the quilts in the book with pattern sheets and a cd.  We are lucky to have a few copies of this book in the shop at the moment.  It is my reading recommendation today...even if you just like to look at the pictures.
Also of  big note this week is the Australian Quilt Convention in Melbourne.  I am headed off there on Wednesday for the first time and am very much looking forward to four days of "Branching Out" with Rosalie Dace.  Trees have always been a part of my life and memories so I am excited to play with the memory ideas in my head.  We were instructed to take photos, draw images and I think being prepared to use our imaginations will be key.  Let me know if you'll be there so we can hook up...don't "leaf" it to late...sorry, dad joke there with the play on words...

The other day I had a phone conversation with Heather.  She admitted at that time that she had 29 projects on the go.  Guffaw!  That is more than me, the start project enthusiast I exclaimed!  Anyway, Heather then spent the weekend on a finishing bend and this is one of the projects.  She used the 18 degree wedge ruler and some jelly rolls and spun out of control.  It's delicious.
Sheena has also been on the finishing roll...
These blocks are framed craftily with Anna Maria's Good Folks range for a very ecclectic result.

Ok, if I am totally honest, coming home from work to find six teenage boys spawled all over the place and the ping pong table in the tv room and all the furniture in the hall was always a dream of mine.  I won't go on about the food and dishes in the kitchen...you can imagine.  As long as they are happy I am happy, except they ate our dinner for lunch! Hmm.   It's nice to have a place to vent and know I'll be understood. thanks for listening. kathy

Sweet moments...

Ah, precious, long awaited gorgeous George Phelps!  Heartfelt congratulations to Bridgitte and the rest of her family from all of us at Material Obsession.  Wishing you happy days always with this bundle of boy joy!
I don't think I have ever looked at a baby boy and not shed a tear connected to the first days of our first boy...or the other two for that matter.   There is no feeling that compares to the first days a new baby. I have cried for family and friends babies, I have cried for babies born on tv shows, movies and even commercials.  It can be an embarrassing fact.  However, many moons later, our tiny baby has grown into an international traveling man...which you might remember brought more tears as I realised time isn't the only thing that flies!  Here he is visiting with his cousins Katherine and Brad.  These visits with my half of the family don't happen enough.  This photo was taken when he was in the US "working" on the Jason Mraz tour for my friend Bill.   He was mostly in LA but got to go to Seattle, Miami,  NYC and then to Annapolis, MD where Rusty lives and Naples where my mom and dad live. 

We also have a creation of a different nature in the shop.  Kate B. got her grandad's chair done up in Drawing Room...
How good does that look!  I dread the day she takes it back home as I had several "quiet" but singular moments sitting on this chair in the last few days. 
Meegan's quilt has come back from being quilted.  This one was a journey of many phases.  Meegan took bits and pieces from a lot of places to get this quilt together.  Her personal interpretation really shows through.  What a special treat it must have been to see her daughter's face when it went on her bed!
Sweet things to enjoy as we progress.  Enjoy. kathy

It Is Happening!

The Sue Spargo workshop this April promises to be a fun event as all the available spots are filling up. We have just received the kits for the one day Altered Textures class from Sue and are trying to contact everyone on the list.  If you haven't heard from us and you have put your name down it would be great to hear from you so that we can arrange for you to get started on the kit.  It needs to be complete on the day so that the layers can be added...Hoping to see you soon.  The two day workshop requirements will be available soon but in the meanwhile, hunt down bits of wool from clothing, blankets, the stash...
Also happening this month is the first 2009 Dolly kit.  Some of these quilts have been done in classes and are turning out to be stunners.  This is the quilt...
And here are some of the works in progress... We splurged on fabric for this one using Kaffe for the colored lines and some of Brandon's hot new African inspired graphics for the border and did a couple of different combinations.  One tip we have learned is that since the individual units are cut and then sewn on the angle it is important to get the two pieces aligned properly when sewing together.  Be sure there is a tiny triangle at the top and the bottom of the side to be sewn so that when you open it up the edges are straight!  A mini design board made with cardboard and a bit of poly wadding helps to keep things ordered when doing blocks that require careful placement...Michele used labels as well to keep her blocks ordered. 
We also had a special visitor in the shop from England yesterday. Susie Atkinson came with husband and friends to soak up the shop experience in person before heading off to the Whitsunday's for a holiday.  It is always fun to meet visitors from afar and share the quilting experience.  It was wonderful to see photos of her work.
And at the same time in the other room this version of Heaven and Earth was coming along quite nicely.
The design wall is so useful for determining placement of the blocks or selecting borders.  The process of selecting fabrics is sometimes confusing.  Some people like to do this in private and some like to share the selection process.  Be it blocks, sashings, borders or backings it is all on in the shop.

For example, we pulled out several options for backing this lovely whimsical quilt.  In the end it was  Anna Maria Horner's Volumes that suddenly appeared as a FANTASTIC choice.  Like magic it was exactly the right look.  When something like this happens in the shop I just have to jump up and down with excitement!!!  Just can't use enough exclamation points to describe the feeling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then there is the quiet joy of a job well done.  Deidre carefully, oh so carefully sewed together all of these tiny orange and black strips to make this divine quilt.  When it is up on the wall I can't stop running my hands over the perfect ridges of the seams.  Oh, to have enough self restraint to stay focused on two colors and one pattern.

Francis spent hours over the summer making these Dresden Plates for Dotty for Dresden but decided that she wanted two quilts instead of one for her efforts so we have turned them on point and added a colorful Kaffe sashing and now it's dotty for something else entirely.

The year is starting to rev up as one exciting project after another gets started.  Dream it up, pick it out, cut it up, sew it together...We are just generally having a wonderful time making gorgeous things, sharing the experience and loving life!  What more could one ask for? kathy

Hooked On Rugs

It feels to me as if the world itself is telling us to go slow, be resourceful, slow down and enjoy the simple things in life.  What says simple more beautifully than a rag rug?  As if in celebration of this concept our first Cut Loose meeting was hosted by Cheryl Torpy.  She brought along the gorgeous braided rug as a sample and provided us with tools, methods and ideas for heaps more.  Before she could finish her instructions we were off ripping and laughing through a pile of scraps.
None of it is hard but all of it was fun be it crochet, knitted, or knotted.


Cheryl is a modest woman when it comes to her vast knowledge of this craft so don't go mobbing her for a lesson if you can help yourself!
Our first show and tell session in this group was a delight as well.  I know you all want to see what treasures have been coming into the shop this year in the classes because I have been told a lot lately that you are out there...watching...waiting for the next batch of colorific quilts to appear.  Sheena has been working with wedges and the now famous Mrs Schmenkman quilts ric rac method. 

Cath has nearly gotten her Gypsy Kisses (her second one by the way) to the borders so we put it up for a look.  Gypsy Kisses is a quilt of many techniqes...foundation piecing, applique and more.  No single step is too difficult but it is a labor of lovew with, as you can see, fabulous results.
Lyndsy never fails to impress us with her indefinable style...always true to her nature which is, as you can see here....

wild and wonderfully uninhibitied.  We should also congratulate Lyndsy's brother Bob Graham for all the award winning attention he is getting for his latest children's book...uh, what's the title? I'll get back to you but if you have little children, Bob Graham writes delightful books that are fun to read with kids...Sandy Beach and Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarden are two of my favorites.

So, it's a focus on the simple things in a life of special moments.  The basic pleasures are all around us if we can just stop and see them.  Times up, dashing off. k (ironic isn't it?)

psThere are lots of wonderful things being done in the quilt world to help the survivors of the bush fires.  On fun way to get involved is at this  link http://flickr.com/groups/bushfirequiltproject

do they know?

The bush fire victims are on all our minds.  Australians and the world watch as tears of sympathy are shed for the loss of life and homes...towns...property...animals and the sense of having any control over anything.  I can't help but wonder if they know we watch and yearn to help.  I wonder if they have any sense of how we love them and hope for their recovery from devastation.  I imagine them huddled in tents and halls with no computer or tv feeling alone when millions of people are thinking of them.  I wonder if they can relate at all to our sense of togetherness, as humans. 
We try to imagine the sheer terror in their stories, the shock of having to rely on survival instincts.  Could we do what they have done?  Could we, in the face of fire literally, find a wombat hole, a pipe, a bunker to crawl into or drive into burnt paddock or a damn?  Could we run into a burning home to save a child, a woman or an adult?  Could we turn our back on everything we have worked for our entire lives and run...run as fast as we can choking and blinded by smoke? 
Sitting in the kitchen it became obvious I have slipped into a safe life.  The frightening things in my life might include a speeding ticket, an argument with a friend, problems at work, waking up to make lunches and finding no bread or milk...but when we hear the stories of bravery and witness the disbelief at the destruction we face something new collectively.  Seeing people in the real and present danger of burning to death...that is when we learn to face real life.  Hard life. 
I find I want to hear every story of survival.  I want to know what they thought, what they did and applaud their efforts.  One woman said she was running in the black smoke and could hear a voice in her head saying, "just lie down and go to sleep."  She took a breath while telling her tale and said she was glad she ignored that voice or she'd be dead.  I want to hug her for facing her fear and living through it. 
We must not forget these people as the intensity of the story fades.  These people are in a new world now and without a doubt their sensational story is just beginning.  Where will they go? How do they rebuild?  How will their human spirit gain comfort from the thoughts and efforts of strangers. Can we bring new joy and renewed hope to these individuals?  We can send money (and congratulations to the donators of over $31 million so far!!!) and because we can we send quilts as well.  We can also vow to remember that their journey is just beginning and although one day it will not be the headline story, it will still be a story of human tragedy and hopefully, hope itself. k

let the fun begin!!!!

As quilters we can never stop learning as there are always new things to learn and do. Projects each have a personality of their own as we click into an idea that attracts our attention.  There seems to be an endless supply of new ways to look at fabric, work with color, examine graphics and create our own style of quilts.   We are lucky to live in an age of glorious templates shaped to fit into gorgeous blocks of many colors. 

Made of acrylic for easy cutting  and most useful for fussy cutting intricate built in designs if you should like.  Among their wonders is the ability to use up a seemingly endless supply of scraps...
and an easy way to relax while hanging out with friends or watching kids sport! 
Thesephotos are of some of the templates we use for Slow Burners, those projects that are not about rushing...not about cramming, not about just plain getting it done but rather about enjoying the simple pace of moments spent peacefully. 
Erica Spinks, former editor of DownUnder Quilts and current contributor of interesting info there and around the place invites you to join her class,  Slow Burners, this Saturday at 10:00am at Material Obsession.  There are still a few seats available for this series of three classes that will visit selecting fabrics that make these blocks come to life.  Erica will walk through the methods for neat construction of and demonstrate the tools that make it easy peasy. When your blocks are done there is the exciting task of figuring out how to set them all for maximum impact.
 If you have a few hours to spare or can sneak away let us know and we'll save you a seat!  Classes start this Saturday, 14th February and meet once a month.  For more info give us a call.  See you soon! kathy

Sue Spargo Comes to Town(s)!

Material Obsession is proud to present Sue Spargo!  Sue will be touring Australia and doing workshops this April featuring her brand new pattern, Magnolia.  We have long admired Sue's approach to folk art applique and the way she encourages everyone to interpret her designs in their own style. Her earthy color sense and quirky designs ring home for all of us no matter where we live!  Sue describes the new quilt that will be introduced in two day workshops in this manner:
"This Magnolia Quilt was inspired by home, garden and family and by the setting in which I experience those three things - the small towns of Ohio.  There is a town in Ohio called Magnolia.  It is a wonderful place which I drive through on my way to my friend Cathy’s home on one of Ohio’s lakes.  Magnolia has many old homes with lovely porches looking out onto colorful flower gardens.

In designing the quilt I challenged myself to use many of my collection of textural fabrics and embellishments, as well as hand-dyed wool and cotton prints.  I was able to incorporate hand-dyed velvet, corduroy, taffeta silk and Japanese fabric as well as velvet ribbons, rickrack, hand-dyed yarn and beads.

I would like each student to have lots of enjoyment with this project, adding many of their own touches so that their finished quilt will be one of a kind." said Sue of her new project.  In addition to Magnolia Sue will be teaching embellishing with this little project and explains the class as follows...
 
"Altered Texture Class - (one day workshop)
I have been dreaming about teaching this class for a long time and have taught it a couple of times in the US with wonderful success. I know what this has started a new direction for me. The idea of this class is that everyone starts with the same kit and pattern which is appliqué ahead of class and then we will be ready to spend a full day embellishing and creating a unique piece. It is amazing what each piece looks like at the end of the day. I will be bringing student samples to share."

These workshops will be available at Material Obsesion but if you don't live in Sydney you can do them at these great shops in their home towns: Addicted to Fabric, Quilters and Embroider's Store, Hatched and Patched and Amitie.  For details of the workshops, contact your local shop listed here.   Get in quick as I am sure the limited spots for this quilting opportunity will go fast!  Sue may be dreaming of teaching these classes but I am sure we are all dreaming of sharing that experience with her! 
Enjoy!

Wagon Wheels to Pop Art

Is there anything that screams pioneer days like a wagon wheel block?  I can see the covered wagons making their way across the plains every time I look at this delightful collection of wedges.   As if on the prowl for a new homestead, Kate, the maker of this quilt, often spots a new reproduction fabric the day it arrives. Her eyes pass over the new hot colors and designs as she searches through the bays in the shop ....scanning ....scanning ...scanning.. and then .HHELLLLLLOOOO she says as she zeros in on the reproduction look, and then she often buys most of the bolt with a glint in her eye that means another quilt plan to action.  This beauty came together despite the dreaded painful wrist surgery recovery over summer.  Slowed down but not stopped, a quilter to the bone!  Kate has finished hers wheels off with the now famous and much appreciated Mrs Schmenkman Quilts ric rac method we have quickly learned to love and use.  There is no better way to get a circle into a square as old meets new. 

On a completely different track, my gorgeous songbird niece, Haley Gowland, sent me this photo of her friend's quilt.  It is made entirely with candy wrappers.  I think they are going for a world record and really, they should get it.  I am looking forward to seeing it finished however, it looks a bit crunchy to actually sleep under.

Thing is, it takes the unbridled creativity of a young person to make such a piece of art.  It looks as though it should be hanging next to an Andy Warhol painting in the Museum of Contemporary Art...any city.  Old or new, repro or modern...it is possible to do anything you want to do!!!!

Make something, anything and enjoy it. kathy