Material Obsession

Teaching Template

I guess this post starts with why do a patchwork class.  Why?  Firstly because patchwork is something that grows like wild flowers.  There is so MUCH to LEARN!  I am forever amazed to see the many layers of quilts coming together figuratively as well as literally.  We have so many things to consider as we contemplate and approach our projects.  I have grown to love teaching patchwork...grown from being absolutely terrified of the responsibility.  How we learn determines how we progress.  It is fun to have someone show us how to do things.  It is fun to sew in a group.  It is fun to share the joy of creating in a group of like minded individuals.

Judy had it in her all the while so my job is really only to open the door to her stash with a bit of Soul Searching.  Everyone has to make something different in this class because no two stashes are the same.  One of the things about it that I find amazing is Judy used to only work in reproduction fabrics and now has a wider range of colour experiences.
For me, I like my classes to release the inner beast in all that attend.  That means learning to use colour and to experiment.  It also means to try new techniques and tools.   It isn't so much about the specific technique (although the more we learn the more we can do quickly and accurately) as it is about learning to think about what we are doing and to make decisions along the way that we are confident about.  The best compliment I can ever get after a class is something like, "Geez, I learned so much making this quilt and I loved doing it!" 

Judy brought this quilt in for a border the other day.  We tried one...

Then a few others...

And in the end after many other options she decided to use both of these two options.  The floral blocks are Kaffe's  Field Bouquet which is quickly becoming one of our favorite fabrics.  I too am using this at home to make a quilt...very slowly between lecture writing and planning the Quilt and Craft show releases for Darling Harbour this year.

The other HOTTER than HOT fabric is the plaid by Brandon.  I am finding this to be a very functional fabric.  The wonky lines mean no need to worry about cutting straight adn the colours are great for linking the fabulous florals. 

Speaking of hot fabric!  These are my two favorites at the moment.  I just love that mule!  LOVE it!  If you are looking for that fabric in the shop you might not be able to find it without a good look around.  Certain employees who shall remain nameless here are known to put them where they don't belong so no one else can find them.  This fabric makes my imagination go WILD!  I already have two projects on the wall with it so look out.
A new palette is developing using softer colours which is nice to see as well.  It's nice to pull back from the brights a bit.

 

Sue Ross is in the shop today and this class is always full of exciting quilts from a group of gals that never stop pushing boundaries.  
It is a traditional wedding ring block made MAD with bright colours and then that up and coming border...Stephanie was picking borders last time so today this one should be done!

Grandma's Star is one of our favorite blocks.  You can fussy cut (custom cut if you choose that term!) to make dramatic patterns...all from the same template set.  Easy, repeatable patterns made with a variety of fabrics from your stash and one of these...   

There are great options for playing with fabric when using template shapes.  There is a lot of room for variety all linked by the pattern.  We get that scrappy look but with a bit of unity.  Lindy was picking backgrounds yesterday for the blocks.

One of my favorite tools is featured in Quitlers Companion this month. The quilt is Fairlawn...

This quilt has a great number of half square triangles which for some might seem like a lot of work.  However, Greative Grids have made a template that cuts a 9 sets of half square triangles in one go.  Neat, easy and repeatable that go together with perfect points!  Here's how:

Establish a straight edge with your long ruler.  The Creative Grid strip ruler has a measured 2 1/2" strip that cuts perfect strips.  Measure from the straight cut edge.  Move the ruler away and cut along the long ruler to reveal two strips.  Repeat with a contrast strip.

These two fabrics have great contrast.  Now place them right sides together.

Then use the ruler to cut the triangles.  First line up the straight line at the base of the triangles with the base of the two strips.

Then cut...preferably not really late at night while holding the camera in one hand and the rotary in the other!

Look MA!  One hand.  This is much easier done with two hands as you can hold the ruler in place securely as you cut.  The cut out circle shapes allow the rotary to cut the shapes along the strip.

If you have never used a half square ruler before you might wonder about the flat tip points.  This is FANTASTIC as it allows you to sew an exact 1/4" seam on the machine.  With the skinny points the needle often jams the points into the machine causing annoying delays in sewing as well as shredding the points of the fabric.  This blunt point give the racers something to move along and in most cases perfect points are achieved.  The other great thing is that no matter what size triangle you are looking for you can still cut strips as if for squares.  The math is taken out of designing which is a fact I LOVE.  Creative Grid make a 1/2 square ruler that makes blocks up to 8" finished.  Other companies make them as well but be sure they have the tips squared off.

This block...and many others coming to Material Obsession soon!  gotta dash...do I say that every time?  It is Saturday and you know that means when too much sport is never enough!!! k

Time Flies

Not sure what inspired this dress up session some odd 45 years ago but when I found this photo the other day I went straight back to the moment.  The tortoise shell shoes were my favorite...they were my granmothers as was the dress.  I can still remember wishing...dreaming of a day it would fit me.

Oh what I would do to still own this outfit today!  From what I can remember, my grandmother got the skirt and top in Jamaica!  I could think of nothing better than wearing it to a party when I grew up.  I did finally grow up (sort of!)  and went away to college.  One year I remembered the outfit and went searching for it but the dress up box had disappeared.  Perhaps that loss is singularly responsible for me being a...well...quite frankly...a bit of a clothes hoarder.  I just can't throw clothes away.  Under my bed in a box I still have some double zip up overalls from 1975!  I still have a very funky spotty mini skirt from New Year's Eve 1984 and a pair of army edition, peace sign screen printed wool undies!!! Did I mention they were mustard coloured and very itchy?  Why do I still have them?

Over the last decade or so the save it obsession has changed.  Now instead of clothes I save fabrics...WHAT! YOU DON'T!!! Of course you do. 

This past weekend (after a day of sport that lasted literally 10 hours) I settled into my sewing room with a new stack of fabric destined to be my next project.  I have been pulling out a few favorites as they come in the shop...of course...who wouldn't?! But one of my favourite activites is still to stand and stare at my stash.
Here is a portion of said stash.  It was once sorted very nicely by colour so it is handy to use but some rushed activities made it sort of messy.  There before my eyes I  saw a collection of bits that were just like fingers itching the creative corners of my mind.  I NEED a new project (like a hole in my head).  Having just finished quilting non stop since January I feel lost at night with nothing to quilt.  It feels oddly lonely. So as soon as I can clear up the chores and work issues of the day I head in to my space.

The other night I sat down and organised my ideas file.  Yep.  I stopped and planned.  Yikes, what a feeling.  Each page has the picture or idea with a few starting tips for the cutting.  That way when I arrived home Saturday evening completely exhausted from sideline anxiety I could literally pick up my fabrics and start cutting.  Before I knew it, I was completely absorbed in my new project, humming along...making choices...considering options...and just generally enjoying the MAKING of something.
This is my friend Kathy Ford. She and I have been sharing creative time on skype. (see me in the corner with my camera!)  Also a quilter, Kathy gets up and spends a few hours in the morning light sewing or quilting.  This time coincides nicely with my sewing time so after many years of a visual void in our creative spaces we now share heaps and I have to say I am loving the exchange. 

We met when my family moved in next door to hers in Rochester, NY.  I have many great stories about fun times we shared as kids.  Then my family moved away but we hooked up again in NYC in 1980 as young "adults".  Looking at this photo I see our friendship.  Its a friendship that has defied the odds and that has lasted the many tests of time.  Half a world away...me in Sydney Australia and Kathy in Amherst, MA we can now meet up again.  The distance is wiped away by the computer.  It has been great fun talking and quilting with my old friend.  We have shared concepts, ideas and frank, honest reviews of each other's work.  This July we are meeting up to go to Quilting by the Lake in NY to do Rosalie Dace's workshop together for one entire week!  Too good to be true.

 
  And speaking of too good to be true, check out Wendy hugging this fabric.  We couldn't even get the bolt out of the plastic before it was in her arms, deemed to be in a quilt by midnight.

We had a visit from our connection in Istanbul and got more scarves this week.
Then I got this photo showing the traditional way to wear the Oya style crochet.

Sweet...but really...how does one wear such decorative beauty on one's head and then have bullets around your neck? Ying and yang or what!!!

Anyway... 

Jen brought this quilt in looking for a border.  It's one of Wendy Williams quilts and done up in Jen's colours it looks very different...different but nice...different but individual which is what we like to see.

Here we have Baby Splat...Splat done in Anna Maria's flannels in a sideways world. 
Connie has been coming to Material Obsession since the very beginning.  In that time she has traveled to all corners of Australia and made a number of quilts that I can't even count up to.  This is one she has done recently in Wendy's class...pretty in purple.  It has been fun watching Connie learn more and more and more skills as she makes quilts for everyone she knows. 
Wendy has a very handy knack with technical issues.  She is forever coming in and showing us how to make things.  This pin cushion is a twist on Cathedral Windows. It is so fun and so easy to make up that we will be sharing the experience in craft workshops at the Quilt and Craft Show at Darling Harbour with this as the feature item.  Kits are available in Kaffe Fassett coordinating fabrics for $18 and the workshops will be held daily at the show.  You can get a kit and book in by calling the shop or visiting our stall at E28 at the show....That is one way to get a slice of the MO pie this year and the other is to join Reece Scannell and myself as we talk colour...colour and more COLOUR!! Reece will give you the technical terms and then we'll talk about fabric and exciting quilts.  Put it on your calendar...go on...do it!

By the way...if you are coming to the show we are releasing FIVE new quilt patterns and kits that we are very excited about.  We also have some hot new items in production right now that I am sure you will love.  Be sure to make a bee line to E 28 before the best gets got! 

That's it for now. Yikes, time flies when posting!

 

 

Imagination Playground

What do you think about when you make a quilt?  As I made this quilt I went back in time, a relatively short or long trip to my backyard swing set.  We had a huge oak tree in our yard and the best swing set.  We used to swing as hard as we could and then jump into the air to catch the branches of the tree.  When not swinging we could most often be found trolling the banks of local streams searching for salamanders while birds watched nearby.  All these childhood activities swirl around in my head to a Dr Seuss themed visual world of wonky trees and plants and stories with morals to live by today.

 
I FINALLY finished this quilt which I am now calling Imagination Playground.  It all started a long time ago in a workshop with Rosalie Dace entitled Trees.  When I arrived and started pulling my fabrics out of my "suitcase" for the workshop I thought I could see a few sideways glances from the other participants as they upacked their hand dyed fabrics, textured solids and a large assortment of solid fabrics.  At the end we did a critique and someone actually said, "I couldn't imagine where you were going with this."  Fair enough.  Neither did I.  Biggest difference in retrospect is my use of print and pattern where only solid colours once lived.  I didn't know what I was doing "wrong" but rather only did what I do all the time...follow my imagination.  Thing is, I had no idea what I was in for in the class with Rosalie.  She is a marvelous, gutsy woman that opened my mind's eye to really digging deep when I make a quilt.  I won't say this was an easy project.  It has had many stages of development, many restarts and many layers added to get it is where it is today...a picture of my imaginary playground when I was a kid.  It is a fun place to visit.

Your imagination, what you might think about when making a quilt is what makes it you.  These are Moira's black angels.  They might be imagination links to something else to someone else but to Moira, they say what she is thinking.

It is a formula of sorts.  Look.  See.  THINK. Do.  Moira's choices are obvious...obviously hers.  Using Cloth as a background sets this project apart from the start.  You can feel her thinking about this quilt, living it...taking it somewhere in time.

There are many points on which to land here and wonder...to get involved with Moira's mind...the part she is willing to share with all of us.  We are huge fans of Mrs. Hanneford at MO.  She was a quilter in Australia a long time ago with a penchant for using lots of bits of fabric appliqued in what looked almost haphazard.  It's a great look.  It is a fun link to tradition.

Quirky, "mad" images of imagination appear thorughout traditional quilts.  Little things that make us wonder..."WHAT was she thinking?"  Where did she live?  WHO WAS SHE?  ...fyi in this case it is Kelly and she is doing this quilt with Marg George.  It's the kind of quilt that looks like it should take a life time.  It does take time but maybe not as much as it would have 100 years ago!

I've read some of the debate over contemporary v tradition but I don't understand the v.  Aren't our best ideas derivitives of the foundations set before us?  The tradition of quilts is a beautiful, heart warming vision that speaks of how we spend our time...OUR TIME.  The most precious thing we have and most linked to our passionate drive to MAKE...to MAKE what we ourselves LOVE.

Take Carolyn for example.  No fuss.  No bother.  Just a bit of gorgeous Kaffe and some divine inspiration and we have a quilt top.  Make it small or make it large.  Use one colour or all six...coming soon to a stall at the Quilt & Craft show....

 

Every once in a while we see evidence of today.  Look to yesterday or today but consider tomorrow!  What will the quilting sisters that follow say about us today?  What will they think as our quilts come out of attic storage?  As the historians of tomorrow fondle and examine our quilts I hope they see our imagination. k

On the Starting blocks...

STARTER BLOCKS  are in position and ready to hit the mail room!!!  This month of May the Starting Block features Grandma's Garden!  Packs of Hexagons and floral prints are heading off all over the world this week to start gardens galore.  These blocks can be finished as they are designed or they can become a big quilt either with your stash of similar fabrics or, if you like, we can add fabrics in for you to whatever size you like!

Special gardening tools for a block like this include the papers for the hexagons, glue sticks for easy preparation and acrylic templates for viewing the fabric....holy peepers! The holy peepers come in all sizes to match the facing size of the hexagons.  They come in real handy when the objective is to fussy cut the pattern of the fabric to make a new pattern.

Mary is making a BIG grandma's garden with the recipe from Carolyn's Pansy Patch.

We have big peepers for cutting big hexagons.  When the size changes and we are dealing with big graphics the impact is different as well. 

READ:  Carolyn passes a crytical eye over Mary's work and allows her to continue on her path through the garden with her beautiful work so far!!!  All GOOD!

We have also got this special treat going out for the last month of round two....

No matter which way you look at it, this quilt is FUN!   It has a huge variety of techniques so once completed skills include inset seams, applique, hand piecing, machine piecing, strip piecing and working with templates.  NOT only that (but wait...there is more...)we introduce you to a brave new way to work with colour!  Any one of the blocks would spin off into starting another quilt and in the end...twisted tradition never looked so good!  We have a big and growing waiting list yet again so never fear, your opportunity to participate is approaching as  we WILL be starting this program AGAIN!

In the Monday design class, Jenny has been working the stripe concept with the Pop Stars Ruler.  She cut a variety of darkish striped fabrics from her stash and then we selected a variety of options for the background.  Using the template makes it easy to do an ODD shape and the cutting and sewing then falls in line accurately.  We were off and running with many options to choose from.
Which do you think she chose?

Jill has been working with the Soul Searching concept but she chose a different block.   Progress has certainly been made and we are loving these blocks.  Now, instead of choosing fabric we are working the layout of the blocks!

Which do you think she chose here?  We had stacks of options for filling gaps, borders and the rest... the possibilities never end.  I have to admit that I got so excited I forgot to take more photos of the class!

This just in from Cloth...Indigo Spotcheck!!!! I am going to use this with the words to make a quilt for my Noah..I am going to make it...I am going to make the time to make it and hopefully this weekend!  Just after I finish the final preparation for my trip to NEW ZEALAND for Handmade Wellington!!! If you are in the area, or maybe even not...please come and say hi.  There are several opportunities to meet.  I have a workshop on Soul Searching on Saturday and then not one but two lectures on Sunday. First one is a MASTER CLASS...yes, me the MASTER (really?) and then a Lecture I call Culture Blending...if you are interested pop me an email for details.

The shop has been buzzzz'n this week with glorious work. However, I am dashing off...plans for more reveals soon. k

Soul Searching!!!!

At some point in time we all start with a bit of a blank page.  We start accumulating fabrics for a variety or reasons.  Soon we have fabrics folded, stacked, jammed, shoved, drawered or shelved in baskets, boxes and bags.  Every precious piece has meaning and we continue to hunt down every elusive bit we can to make up the perfect stash.  Well...I say start using that stash!  If your's is like mine it has bits that are more active than others.  I sometimes star at my cupboard, my cubbies and my baskets of collected pieces and marvel at that promise of joy!
On Saturday I taught a workshop for the NSW Quilters Guild that does just that...activates your personal stash. 

First I'd like to show you this design board.  Very hand in deed to have a portable design board to take to workshops.

 

Steph made this handy design board with two bits of foam core and some iron on pellon.  The two bits are taped together so they open up like a book. 

We started by  talking  about colour in a technical sense for a while but then...then...Kaboom!  We got busy.

This table was sorted into meaningful stacks but by the end it was in a total state of colour chaos!

What did we do? Well, everyone brought in a diverse sample of strips and from THEIR STASH.  That way they were working with what they had to see what techniques can be acquired to make interesting, dynamic quilts.

 

There were a lot of heads down in complete concentration.  It is amazing how much focus we can generate when we work with colour. 

 

I could almost hear people thinking,...FOCUSING...on what we were doing. 

We all got a chance to talk about what we were realising as we worked,  Janet was working in her aqua fabrics adding variety to a pack of purchased strips while we were noting that she was wearing the colour she was working with! 

 

Deb also matched her strips.

Deb often works in deep reds as evidenced by her first block.  Even when we work with one colour there is a lot to learn about creating  movement, balance and contrast.

 

Francoise started out slow but got a lot of progress happening as the day progressed.  In fact that was how everyone seemed to progress.  Slow and steady to start and then after our lunch break the blocks started coming together at lightening speed.

Each stash had a particular direction.  I had taken a sampling of my own strips as an example but by the end of the day most of them were gone!  It made me realise what people might see when they come into my shop.  I can see that it might be overwhelming to understand where to begin adding contemporary fabrics into existing stashes. It might seem as though you have to start over but that is absolutely not the case! 

I think it was obvious by the end of the day that contemporary fabrics are not to be feared but to be seen as a liberating step to expressing your inner connection to colour!  Don't be afraid of big prints with lots of colours! Use them to activate the blenders, the quiet fabrics, the sweet and the pretty!  Use them to add zest, life and interest in your projects.  It doesn't mean you have to toss out your existing stash but rather to look for things that invigorate it!  ok. that is my speech for the day....go forth and colourfy the world!!!! kathy

window shopping

How much is that doggy in the window?

 

Meet LIlly!    She cracked me up when she arrived with Julie Anne yesterday.  She's like my dog Cheeky only a shrink wrapped pocket rocket version!  I had not been very aware of the Staffy breed and when we adopted Cheeky it was because of the Ridgeback in her.  The Staffy personality was a bonus gift.  These dogs are gifted with a smile, a trusting loyal nature and as Cheeky's name would imply...tons of attitude.  It is the kind of thing you have to experience to understand I guess.

Then there is this...have you ever seen a dog sit on her knees before?  Only problem with this photo is that you can't fully see her gorgeous white socks.  

If doggies are the theme then check this out...

Wendy is growing up a garden of stripes and text and featuring the colours of the day...orange and gray.

It's growing up and up and up....

 

into a big Growing Up pattern...

Wendy's workshops are on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as evening sessions if you are interested in getting in on the action.  They are full of fun techniques from foundation piecing to machine or hand applique.  Every session Wendy gives an informative demonstration of a block.  From upstairs we can here the oohs and ahhs of her classes which is very distracting.  There isn't anything this woman can't do and I have gotten in the habit of turning to her and asking for all kinds of things. Like bags... 

Next up on the bag schedule is yoga mat bag...and NOT just because I want one in some gorgeous home dec or Cloth fabric.  That would just be too selfish. But I do want it and I want it NOW.

Not only do have quilt and bag envy where Wendy is concerned but also with her hexagon patterns which are multiplying out of control.

 

 We had the pleasure of yet another finished quilt from the Kaffe Fassett workshops.  Lynn brought hers in yesterday and really, we all had to clap.  Lynn really jumped in the deep end on this one and the results are spectacular.

This week I got a photo of this version of Playground Days from MO2 all the way from the Netherlands.  It looks very different in cool blues and greys but it is a lovely and satisfying pattern to make up.  Great for scraps.

                            

These also come from the Netherlands....fields and fields of tulips.  What beautiful place this must be!  Are these stripes planned or random? 

  Stop and stare at that for a minute before starting the day. 

Just before I go...    I have hundreds of books that I pour over lovingly and they are very diverse in nature.  Many of them I purchased on a punt, many for the author and many because I picked them up, flipped through the pages and had to have it.  I admit, I am a picture person.  I want a quilting book that looks beautiful and takes my mind on a journey of imagination.   There are so many books out there now to choose from and they all look interesting on the cover but what is inside?    Thing is that as the bookstores disappear and our only option is becoming buying on line how do we decide what we want?  I am sad to see retail changing so much.  I miss headphones in a record store and I a good browse in a bookstore.  I visited a local bookstore that is closing on the weekend and nearly cried to see it all disappear. I am curious about this retail debate regarding shopping on line or in store.  Am I alone here?  Do we really only want to buy only on line?  Am I just old, old fashioned or what? k

 

Happiness...

Sometimes, on rare occassions, my boys and I share a passion.  It actually probably happens more often than rarely but given that they are male the opportunity (and more likely the admission) that we share anything is more rare than the occassion. When I found a bit of evidence of the existence of common interest I had to share.

The lyrics to this song have captured my imagination lately.  The chorus is "Happiness, a momentary lapse of reality..."  My Sam must like it too as I found this image in my camera of a piece he did this weekend.  I can't look at it without singing the song in my head and wondering...is happiness really a lapse from reality?

Is that a bad thing?  If we learn the art of slipping away from the discipline of life if only just for a moment is that bad?

Last week Suzanne brought in these blocks.  They are the result of a class with Sue Benner (gotta check her out... at http://suebenner.com) at AQC last year.  Suzanne had only finished a few but she put her nose to the grindstone and finished a pile of them for us to play with in class. They remind me of the 1960's when everything was psycho!

 

 

To fascilitate the play mode, she made colour copies of each block.  Since they are fused onto paper it isn't easy to design wall the concept. Making the photo copies meant Suzanne could arrange and rearrage to her heart's content until she found the layout for the blocks that most pleased her. 

OOPS, momentary lapse of concentration.  Someone, who shall remain nameless, wants to go for a walk!

Back to reality...or is it happiness?   Recently,I gave my mom a tour of my house on Skype with my laptop.  It was hillarious!!!  After all these years and our recent renovations it was possible to walk her through where we live!  Is this a dream?

We went into Sam's room and were we found more evidence of escape on the wall.

I will freely admit that I am a "pick you battles mom".  I don't let the little things get to me (that is after two decades of practice because really, it is the little things that add up to be the big things that make us really MAD!).  Anyway, when Sam asked if he could "decorate" his wall I said fine.  I think I might have been deep in thought...you know the situation...they sneak in, assess the conditions and if it seems possible, ask the question that in a properly considered situation might bring a negative response.  Well, he asked, I said yes and the result is a colourful wall of art in progress.  Anyway, I tell you this because her response upon seeing the walls of art was all good.

 

Isn't he clever she said as she ooh'd and ahh'd over the many images that cover every surface he can find.  I was happy in that moment.  We ended the call and later it all settled in my mind.  If I had taken a pen to my bedroom wall as a teenager...REALITY would have been much different!!!!

Ok.  So, a bit of a quilting story.  Over the last two weeks I have successfully bound FIVE quilts.  Yes! Five quilts. 

I have only one left to do...well two but who is counting.  My hand is like a claw and in fact, both hands are like claws but I am OH SO HAPPY because with binding off a quilt comes the endless possibilities...endless promises of joy!!!! I am nearly at the starting point of something NEW!

In the meanwhile I have to show you what the marvelous Carolyne has done with a new Kaffe fabric.  This is one of those fabrics that sits on the shelf until someone does something marvelous with it and here is the marelous piece...

 

The squares in this fabric are perfect for cutting and making borders.  I love the colour explosioin here and the concept is great.  It's so easy to fall in love and to have a little moment of happiness!

Off to take that afore mentioned pup for a run around the neighborhood.  I would just like to say that it is always a happy thrill to get your emails.  I love seeing the photos of your versions of things you see on the blog. I also enjoy knowing how many of you relate to what goes on at MO and in the Doughty house.  We can sit in our own spaces and be together in the escape that is actually a connection.  We share more than we think and I thank you all for letting me know.  However, it is Monday and reality is crashing hard at this minute as the rush of the start of a new week hits hard. gotta dash. k

 

quilt group circle of life

Is there anything better than a quilt group?  We have had a few big issues in our house these past ten days and I needed a break from life.  What to do?  Head straight to Hunters Hill quilt group and get swallowed up by humanity.  Yep.   They had to listen to me vent my fear and frustration.  I found myself immersed in life experiences that were most helpful in helping me process my feelings.  I don't mean to be cryptic but some things are not for blogs and by the end of the day it was all in perspective anyway.

The point is, there were women around the table that listened to what I was saying and then shared a variety of life experiences similar to my own.  This sharing, this unveiling of secrets and memories really helped me.  It always makes me miss the idea of working communities.  As we all sit at our computers, in our houses, on our streets of nameless neighbors I have to wonder is it worth loosing the community of sharing life with those that are older and wiser, younger and more naive and generally all in the human boat.  Aside from the breath of living experience there was all of this to see!!!!

Lets start with birth.  Carl, husband to our late and beloved founder Alysoun came in to collect the quilt we all made for his daughter Jay.  Jay and her husband had a baby girl last week.  To a room full of clucky mommy types, Carl stood up and reminded all of us of Alysoun and the verandah where our group started at their house nearly 30 years ago as he thanked us for the quilt for Jay.  A quiet moment of reflection full of the joy of birth!  I had to suggest that Jay get a bit of rest because in a short space of time she will be working on designs for my next Material Obsession book.  I love the circle of life that Alysoun started our group and now her daughter will work with me on my book.  Love it.

While we are on beginners, Grace who is one of our beginning quilt class teachers made this gorgeous thing as a sample for her class.  We have a beginner sampler that they all can do if they like but now Grace has made this as a supplement to the curriculum.  Easy, dynamic and fully MO!  Well these points might be ambitious but it has lots of possibilities for adjustment and personalisation....we like you to learn early how to make it your own.

Then there is this little beauty growing before our eyes!

There are some minds that fascinate me from afar.  Beryl, has made this using the Antique Rose template.  It is fascinating to see it because...in a few quiet moments I have wondered what else we could do with this tiny template and then from a quiet and very talented corner came this in construction.  It is most famous for the 72 piece block of Erica's Honesty but here, well it takes on a different look altogether.  Beryl not only pushed the envelope but opened it wide up with possibilities. 

What is under foot here?The show in NYC brought red and white to our minds eye via blogland tours of the photos.  Laurel has been working on this one for a while and it just looked fab on the floor as the blocks were coming together.  It made me feel like dancing...dancing...dancing the day away...(thank you Leo Sayer for making an appearance this morning!)

We are preparing our raffle quilt for the 2012 Hunters Hill Quilt Show which is just over a year away now.  the blocks are coming in now and here is one for your viewing pleasure!

It is tricky trying to work a quilt design that appeals to everyone, uses a variety of fabrics and comes together in a way that appeals to a wide audience as well.  We started with the tulip from Now and Then (also in Material Obsession book two) and eveyrone "made fabric" with their scraps.  We knew we would use the background and a basic layout.  Look forward to this one coming together soon(ish) and then line up for raffle tickets come January!!!

While in show mode, Iris, our current fearless leader has organised show and tell of our quilt show prize winners.  We will see Robyn a lot as she is a wonderful quilter.  This one fascinated me as she made it with Marg Sampson George and won the 1998 show for the effort.  As you all know, Marg teaches for us now and some of the elements of this quilt are still available to be done in class today!

Marg has a knack for finding the quirky elements and the right fabric suggestions to make these quilts just come to life for each person that makes them.  I was completely immersed in seeing this and thinking through the colour options available today. 

It just looks beautiful in a timeless treasure kind of way.

Then, as I made my way around the room checking on what eveyrone was doing I found Marie busy basting this quilt.

In a full circle of life, these are the scraps from the lovely Vi.  We lost Vi last year suddenly.  There is something wonderfully emotive to see these scraps sewn together from her stash.  It was deposited at the group shortly after she passed on and we all stood over it for a few minutes before taking scraps of her life to bring into ours.  Even now I am feeling her quiet and unassuming nature.  I hope she is watching and smiling as her legacy goes on.

And in the final wrap up for the day, I chanced by Alysoun's last quilting efforts here.

Alysoun made this incredible Hawain applique for Jay.  It wasn't anywhere near being finished when she died but it lives on.  It got passed around for applique and now quilting.  Each member can hold it and work with it and generally carry on a part of Alysoun well into the future.

Is that what keeps us quilting I wonder?  We share our lives, ideas, feelings and the days of our lives while creating a legacy that carries on well after we are gone.  It is a link to the past, present and future that anyone can experience while adding a many layered enrichment to our daily lives.  I love my quilt group, truly, maddly, deeply for rounding out life and reminding me all the time about what is important. love, k

ps If you are in Sydney this weekend and looking for a Mothers Day activity, the Arcadia Quilters are having their show at Swanes nursery.  It is a great opportunity to head west to open space, walk through the show and perhaps purchase a bit of gardn fodder on the way out.  It is a don't miss event!

 

 

Diversity

There are many keys to life but for me, one of the things I love is diversity.  I like a lot of very different things.  Some people have very clear, very directional style and they develop that over the years to something very nicely definable. No me...I like everything.  It might be my star sign but I just can't settle in one area for too long without a look to the right or left.   It happens with food...one day I like to make quessadilla and the next a curry.  It happens with clothes...one day I dress like a hippy and the next an accountant (well my version anyway!)  It happens in class one day I love the traditional work and the next the mad use of contemporary colour and design...so do the people in my class as you will see!  Check these gorgeous quilters out!

  Last year Deidre started this quilt after seeing the original in a book on black American quilters.  It is an interpretation that gets a gold star.  Not only was this quilt beautifully made but it has a real sense of authenticity about it.   It is a mezmerising display of movement and courage.  It dares to be the same and different at the same time.  The back is as interesting as the front and examining this quilt made us all feel as though we were taking a step back in time and meeting the original maker.

Next up in the class is Marina.  Her quilt is much more contempoary and of the disappearing nine patch variety.  Its a red white and blue quilt with nice variations in the blues as well as the reds, lots of lights and lots of darks as well as everything in between.  Quilt patterns like this one are great to have up your sleeve for that day (and we all have them!) when someone needs a quilt and they need it NOW! 

Suzanne was up next.  Suzanne participated in three of our block of the months last year.  Each month she would pick up her package and laugh a bit saying she hadn't made them.  I try to let quiters be and go at their flow but really, if you invest in a project you should try to finish it so I gave her a tongue lashing last time we met and now I am thrilled to say....CHECK THIS OUT!!

Suzanne finished her Lollipop Trees block fo the month,
designed a new border and finished it!!!
She used here extras to make the back which really, is a quilt in itself.  And she designed this very clever border instead of the original!  You go girl!
We all had to get in the picture and examine the work.  The floppy scallop border will look so sweet hanging over the side of a bed.  But as they say on those terrible commercials...but wait there is more...

Suzanne also finished the Twisted Tradition block of the month!  It is a real joy to see these quilts coming in finished.  Round two ends this month and we WILL DEFINATELY be activating the waiting lists for both these quilts so look for news soon.  If you want to sign up for either of them let us know by email.  Both quilts are challenging, informative and WOW what a great prize at the end of the experience!!!! I think I'll have to do Twisted Tradition next time.  My Lollipops is nearly finished

So now, please Lord give me strength, I only have the borders left to do...and that corner block and to clean the lense on my camera again!.

This is the wild and whackyback Suzanne made for her Lollipop Trees.  If the front wasn't so gasp worthy I would say turn it over often please!

I've known Jackie for a long time.  We used to do tuck shop together when the boys were all in primary school.  It was fun and so long ago that I can remember bringing blocks into the tuck shop to show Jackie and being very excited about the learning NEW process of making quilts.  In those days, I think it is safe to say that Jackie was very much a country  colours quilter but now, NOW...you can't say that any more!

These Tesselations blocks are so hot they keep the world turning round!  Set on our favourite spotty background they are a joy and a pleasure to behold...we had the fun task of making piles of more combinations before the day was out...

Repeat after me...fussy cutting is fun...Fun....FUN I TELL YOU!

When I say hexagons are the flavour of the month I mean it.  I think someone comes in every day at the moment to do one of Carolyn Davis's Pansy Patch quilts.  It is the kind of thing you can pick up and play with whenever you get a moment.  Michelle is adding the black and white spot to her quilt which, yes, we LOVE.  She got it up on the wall and numbered yesterday so now she can work in piece (PEACE...yes I know that I spelled that wrong but what a fluke!) knowing they will all go together balanced.  WHAT FUN!

 

Darn...there was more more more of course but I am sooooo out of time.  I'll finish up tomorrow!  Enjoy all the different things that pass you by! k

 

Ideas falling from the sky...

  As the leaves crunch under my feet during the morning walk I am energised as the ideas fall like leaves.  Ideas that must be activated soon!

Now sing along with me....Ring my bell....ring my bell, my bell, ring my bell!  Thank you Donna Summer and Hello Sue Spargo...its been a while but oh yeah, we are glad you are back.  Like a favourite old song, this book published by Quilt Mania and now in store is a MUST have folk art dream. It is filled with a variety of size and level projects I just had to have it.
Not that I am thinking grandchildren or anything but I do love the way Sue draws on the memories of childhood images to make her quilts come to life in such a grown up way.  The colour, the design...it is all so right. 
I am not particularly an embellishing kind of gal but the parred back version will suit me just fine...read...I have a few more book deadlines and then OH MY! I am onto some new projects.  I am literally bursting with ideas but BUT but I do have discipline in my blood and only two more bindings to complete before I can slip away into project heaven and maybe...just maybe open a book to a particular page and get started or even my design file for a minute...SLAP...wake UP!  Maybe in August.
Maybe just a gorgeous cusion!

JUST IN!!!! Polly Pratt dresses.   Now can you imagine anything more fun than picking your fabric and having a dress made up just for you?  Me either that is why I woke up with images of dresses from each bay in the shop in my head!  Move over sugar plum fairies...Christmas can come any day of the year.  These are the sample sizes.  Come in, try one on and pick a fabric and "Polly" will make up the dress for you!  I am thinking I must have a Cloth dress in the linen, yet another Kaffe, an Alexander Henry and I think Cath (my handy, dandy photo assistant...) will be having a spotty dress.  It is after all, nearly the cooler season so why not add a favorite cardigan and some tights and let the fab colour do the rest! 
We could make our own of course but really, putting binding on five quilts in one week is so much more fun!  NOT!  If you can't get in to try one on, think about your normal size and go up one, a bit big is just as nice as form fitting and then you can layer up or even belt it like Trinny and Suzanna say for this season!

(We just got them in so it will take a few days to get them up on the website but if you would like one email me and we'll sort you out!)

Speaking of colour, the boys at Reece Scannel have been busy.  They just came in and updated my stock of colours and it is now bursting with hot new colour!!! There was much hand clapping in the shop yesterday as we looked around.  Sometimes I really just want to shut and lock the door and play with all the goodies (sometimes I just do!).  Anyway, not to digress into planning stages yet again...the new hand dyes are a gorgeous way to add texture or even the colour of the bush or the day into your quilts.

If you love colour but are afraid to use it get ready for this.  Acclaimed colourist Reece Scannel and I are teaming up to do lectures and workshops.  He'll tell you what it is and I'll show you how to use it!!! Really, really fun stuff.  We had a meeting yesterday to lay out plans for the introduction this year at the Quilt and Craft show at Darling Harbour in June.  Put that show on your calendar and make a time to come and see us talking colour, colour....COLOUR I TELL YOU!  (maybe a bit too much coffee this am!)

 

Looking for a boys quilt this season?  Well Wendy Williams has been busy again and produced this Hot Chocolate pattern.  We had a few circle cutters lying around, she picked one up, went home for the weekend and came back with this quilt. The circle cutter is like a compas with a rotary blade.  Set if for a circle size and cut away.  That leaves a hole and makes a circe.  Adjust again and you have the size you need to sew the circles in on the MACHINE....Holy takes on a new meaning!

And remember this one, Splat now in minny, girly flannel!!  Ohhh touch me!

 

Ok.  That is entirely it for now.  Yoga awaits me and my new plan to go slow and steady...Obviously, not an action plan.  Hope you are as stimulated today as I am to get busy on new projects for the new season.