Material Obsession

Blasts from the past...and present

Fiona, Elise and Amber all started classes at Material Obsession nearly five years ago.  I met them when they started by chance as they are all working full time and it was Sarah's evening  class which she was unable to make it so I was filling in. It was an exciting and  memorable night as we all gathered to learn to make quilts only to find that the shop (and that the entire suburb) was having a black out!  It was a nice summer night and trying to make the best of a bad situation we sat on the steps and chatted for a while in the dark...and then gave up and went home.  Anyway, the lights eventually came back on and these three quilters are here to prove it.

Elise, famous for starting to swim in the deepest end of the pool, started her version of Dorothy Grace with Anna Maria Horner's first line of fabric at the Material Obsession retreat over two years ago.  I think that sometimes we give the impression that these quilts just appear overnight, as if by magic, but this is not always the case.  Elise has since moved to sunny Brisbane so I was delighted to see this photo of the quilt finished.  The dappled sunlight adds a nice dimension allowing us to see that Elise has really quilted this quilt.  It doesn't matter that it took a long time, just that she finished it and it is gorgeous. 

Then yesterday Fiona brought in this beauty that she started (also at a Material Obsession retreat) an we all had a huge oooooohhhhhhhh, aaaaaaaahhhhhhh session.  It just shimmers like colorful exotic fish swimming just below the surface of the water It was a lucky coincidence that I got to see this quilt as Fiona works during the week and I am not usually there on a Saturday. 
Amber is another working gal that has persisted with her quilts.  She stole an afternoon off to come in and pick a border for this, her latest project.  It is a slashed quilt block using some of our favorite fabrics and topping it off with a spectacular border...and smile!  

It is heartwarming to see all these quilts and their makers continue to make quilts despite full time jobs and lives.  The creative urge is strong...which I am sure if you are reading this blog you know this truth to be self evident!
Another quilter that has been with Material Obsession a long time is Kellee.  Kelle did this tesselation quilt in Brigitte Giblin's class last term and brought it in finished recently.  This quilt is pieced over papers and has fantastic, you might even say Tesselating movement!  The border, again a favorite Anna Maria Horner fabric is finished off with a lovely fringe and...wait for it...this quilt is bagged, not quilted!  It is almost frightenign to finish off a quilt without quilting but in this climage a nice cover with no wadding is a wonderful thing to behold!

Some of you may have seen a Simply Quilts show recently that featured a bit of a slash style quilt.  Kellee immediately hopped into action and made this from what she learned on the show.
It looks like a fun quilt to make when you want to use a favorite color combination or if you need a quick but pleasing result.  So, some quilts take time and some don't!  Kelle also finished the two latest dolly quilts and brought them in for us to see.  What a graphic image!  I'd like to see both these quilts done big now! 
I am practicing self restraint (read dashing off to shower for year 8 family Mass at St Aloysius this morning) but just wanted to put a date on all your calendars.  The Eastwood Quilt show is coming up!

This show always promises to impress viewers with a staggering range of beautifully made quilts by the members of this well established group.  This year the show will be held the first weekend in May and is moving to a new but very historic venue, Brush Farm House.  Brush Farm on Lawson St. Eastwood has recently been refurbished and although I haven't been there yet myself I am looking forward to going...and setting up a shop on the verandah for the show.
Raffle tickets are available at the shop for their lovely raffle quilt. Pop in for more information anytime.  Dashing off...enjoy your results no matter how long they take....kathy

Vicarious Thrills

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  Yes, I heard that.  More detail please, you ask?  Anything for you.  This version of my For the Birds was done by Moira in our Monday class, she's a very good sport!  She saw the quilt and liked it just as Anna Maria's Good Folks fabric arrived and before we could whistle she bought heaps of her favorite bits of the line and the Creative Grid Duo ruler and made this whopper of a quilt. One thing I love to see is how secondary patterns just jump out of a quilt top. The sashing strips were cut just right to repeat the pattern in the perfect spot and to set off the cornerstones perfectly.
It works on so many levels. 
We had lots of excitement yesterday followed by more today.  If you come in the shop and find me lying on the floor, please, have a little understanding!  The fabric combinations and the patterns just keep working out in wonderful form and sometimes it is just too much for me!  Amanda is doing the snowball quilt which you might remember from two weeks ago.  However she now has the centre panel sewn in and is adding the little squares by applique!!!! Stroke of genious really as she can now take this top with her wherever she goes until it is finished.  They make an amazing difference to the total picture of this quilt.  It takes time which might explain the look on her face when I asked about a border??
I am blurry eyed with excitement most days and collapse in a heap at the end of the day, literally.  It shouldn't be allowed that anyone should get to live vicaiously through so much creative expression!
But wait, there is more...
Today we had Thinking Outside the Square.   This class is dedicated to exploring shapes. No patterns to speak of but rather working in units that once cut can fit together in lots of ways. Yvonne is working with the Kaleido Ruler and came back with all the above blocks done and wondered what to do next...Well, we turned them on point and picked a stripe sashing and some setting triangles in aqua and before we knew it...she had taken it down and I didn't get a photo.  Suffice to say it was looking marvelous!
Judy came in with her 60 degree triangles sewn into hexagons.  This class can be intimidating at first as we all look at and talk a lot about what is happening with the designs.  Judy had a couple ideas about what she wanted to do next but was unsure of how to proceed. We talked about a few options and then got the old stand by black and white dot out for an audition and VOILA!!! The quilt came together and looks a million dollars. 
Sometimes we start out with a specific idea in mind.  Kate was given the assignment of working out four color ways to do a spiderweb quilt with the Kaleido ruler as well.  She's a talented chic and easily set out on her mission with her Derwent pencils and a pad and most likely some rocking tunes.  Her designs looked great and her triangles were very exciting.  Homework: A+ (again)
Trouble is that in this class we are experimenting with shapes and in this case the best laid plans got put aside.  The graphic energy of these triangles in a star was too powerful.  So, even though Kate had done excellent drawings, colored them in and then drawn up her quilt pattern....well, a bit of a session later and the kaleido blocks ended up stars and this little green beauty was chosen for setting squares and triangles.  One thing can lead to another and although it is very scary at first, sometimes it is fun to veer off course and do something unexpected.  One might say the unexpected excites us...
Lindy had an unpleasant unexpected event and discovered that her sprained ankle was actually a broken leg!  Now, a few months later she is back to nearly normal and got to come to class.  All that time sitting around healing her bum leg meant she got some hand piecing done.  Although we looked at several setting options for these gorgeous antique star blocks, the end result was triangle/stars.  The butterfly fabric will make a nice border insert to make it all square up.  This is reproduction with a contemporary twist for sure.  By leaving those hexagons only half sewn up Lindy will be able to piece this quilt without inset seams which is always a huge bonus. 
I came home to find out I am not the only one over stimulated and exhausted these days...
Just how much rugby training can one bloke squeeze into his social life?  Wind them up and off they go...until they can't go anymore.  Some things run in the family.  I think I'll go have a snooze before my Tuesday evening class...in fact, I think I'll have that nap with a coffee! How EXCITE ME!  kathy

Themes of the week

I like a good story behind a quilt.  I want to look at it and feel something while capturing a bit of what the maker is saying.  Robyn is making a quilt  based on the life of Frida Kahlo, one of my favorite painters.  Frida had a rough life but fought hard to have a voice through her painting and her life choices.  This quilt has lots of bits, thoughtfully made up to bring Frida to life a la Freddy and Qwen's Collaborative Quilting method.  Each unit is made like building blocks and then the blocks are assembled the same way.  Make two units fit the next unit...Give me a closer look you say...here's an interpretation of one of Frida's still life paintings...
and there are bits of New York fabric between lots of images of Frida...
and her house. 

It isn't always about the study of detail but when it is the viewer is always drawn into the story.  When Robyn puts these pieces up on the wall we all get involved in the little things that take time and thought like the buttons and lace or the fussy cutting of fabric.

These stars are a work in progress.  Debra is moving into unchartered waters, auditioning and experimenting in unknown territory.  This is a brave move, particularly when hand piecing as it seems such a COMMITMENT when hand piecing blocks together.  However, when you start with such a lovely drafted block how can you go wrong?
Now really, this should have been 38 individual photos of the fabric combinations here that were truly engaging.   Vicki, who does quirky color combos standing on her head, started this with Brigitte last year and has been foundation piecing these butterflyesque shapes for a while.  At this stage it is time to pick the joining squares and background.  It is a thoughtful job, best done slowly until the impulse to act takes control.  It did happen so more later.
Now, while we are talking about commitment...here is the starting point for the conversation.  Debra brought this into class doubting the next step which is to insert the background fabric.  This is the point that always fascinates me and why I like a show and tell forum in each class.  We can at some point in a quilt become completely consumed by self doubt.  Should we forge ahead with our original fabric choice or reconsider another option???  At home alone or even with a small quilting group it is a time when the foundation of the original idea can crumble.  However, when an entire group gasps in awe at the choice it is hard to stick with doubt.  The background fabric is a beautiful stand alone fabric with lots of color and movement.  It sets off the intensity of the star points beautifully and adds an element of underwater galaxy to the quilt.  This is where the story cements itself, where the theme or voice comes alive.  I love this moment.

Another great story line is The End!  Last year we did a summer workshop with a group and this finished quilt was the result.  It's made entirely of stash fabric using the Kaleidoruler and It just looks fantastic!!!

You can see it's been a big and busy week as that was just one half of one day and there were other quilts, quilters and other classes....all equally fascinating and fun to talk about.  However, it is trials day so we are off to the college oval (in a torrential downpour I might add) for the first Saturday of rugby and soccer season!!! At least in my mad dash of life I have already organized the new sport shoes for the boys so that they don't fall over from cramped toes in outgrown boots.  I think I am most proud of having ticked that off the lists in time as nearly every year preceeding this one they have pulled old boots out of the cupboard on the day and suffered.  Hooray!  practice makes perfect.  Enjoy your quilt story. k 

She's BAAACK!!!

Brigitte Giblin is returning to teach soon! We will be starting up classes again in May.  The class is scheduled for one a month on the first Wednesday or Thursday from 10 - 2:30pm and it promises to be enchanting!  Some of you may have seen her retrospective in Melbourne or started a quilt with Brigitte at the AQC.  Left wanting more?  This is your chance to get her fabulous input and to make a quilt like you've never made before. How about a gorgeous Trip around the World?

Or a traditional sampler with a contemporary twist!

I have found her quilts over the  years to be massively inspiring as have the people that have taken her classes.  There is something for everyone in her bag of tricks.

It's possible to do a quick machine pieced hexagon quilt or maybe indulge in hours of fussy cutting...
Brigitte has been one of Sydney's favorite tutors for many years so there are almost too many wonderful, creative and interesting quilts to choose from in her bag. Here is Jackie's version of the Pickle Dish...

 Which I did as well but as is typical, I  changed the layout just a bit after getting so carried away making the blocks.  Without her insight I never would have started this quilt at all and I loved doing it and  I love it done.

The same with my Antebellum Bling which was inspired by her Black Family Album quilt.

 
And my first ever applique quilt was inspired by Brigitte's Couples Quilt...where is a photo of her's you might justifiably ask?  Well I have been searching through files of photos and could only find mine which wasn't even finished here.

When I look at this I have a giggle as I was doing needle turn applique without  even knowing it because it was so much fun!  Learn something you never thought you would this year. If you are interested in joinging one  of the classes email me or give us a call.  more later, kathy

Growing Community Gardens

Work has already begun for the 2010 Hunters Hill Quilt show.  These industrious ladies are all working together to produce one of  the Hunters Hill Quilters raffle quilts.  We've got an absolutely divine red work quilt already near completion but have decided to do a second option so that we have one lovely traditional quilt and one more contemporary style.  Something for everyone, so to speak.  So we have as a group embarked to make this Garden Party quilt and learn a trick while we are at it.
This quilt is a great group project.  The background was pieced in a day.  We cut strips and then sewed them together and then cross cut to make rows which were then sewed together in three groups.  There were lights, mediums and dark background groups. We hung them up on the wall to keep them balanced and then adjusted, adjusted and adjusted some more to get them right.

It's a brave woman that can stand there doing the adjustments as we all yell out our opinions!
The next session we made the flowers with the wedge ruler.  Everyone pitched in some fabrics and we got going cutting and sewing.
The fabrics for the flowers had to have more color so they would contrast with the background.  I think it's safe to say that everyone had fun this day cutting petals and sewing them together.
The variety is wonderful, just like a real garden!  Next session we'll get them all attached, add leaves and stems and get it together for quilting.  There have been lots of fun versions of this quilt over the last year like these...
I  like Sheena's made with bits of old table cloths as well as modern fabrics as it surely represents the memory lane garden.
And Cath's which is like the dusky time of day when the bright colors burst out of the low light shadows.  This background feels very Australian to me with lots of dry almost invisible but hugely varied color highlighted by shouts of dramatic, vibrant bits... ah the mind does wander a bit these days. However, take this shot which could be the starting image for appliqued flowers on a pieced background.
Or maybe one like this for a pieced background and shells on top...

Anyway, those images are for people with time to think and act but at the moment I can hardly get moving from trying to decide what to do first.  Walk the dog, email my mom, start the laundry, finish those cusions...blah blah blah...?  Concentrate on one thing at a time so...
 How cute is this?  Susan used some of her dolly quilts from last year to make a sewing machine cover.  Rather than lug this second machine around Susan has left it in the shop and everyone is just loving it!
We had a bit of show and tell of last months dollys last week which are really looking spectacular.

and this one...
which having covered the machine Susan used this one to make a cushion!  And that thought reminds me that I was making cushions all day yesterday (none are as exciting as this one)...hmmm...ufo cusion covers...gotta go! Walk the dog it is...or make the cusions...oh dear. Maybe I'll just stand up and spin around in a circle for a while !  k

Stars of the week

Lets start with Kate.  Kate has a cousin getting married on Friday 13th! and wanted to make him a quilt.  Compound the man factor with the fact that he is into gothic lifestyle stuff and what creative options does one have in a colorful fabric shop?
Kate used the Deja Vu pattern and one of Kaffe's Kashmir fabrics to make this spectacular solution to the tricky situation.  She has done a great job of sewing it together and all of her points are sharp!!!  I know we don't always worry about points being perfect but there are a few tricks to getting them right that when applied make results that are startacular!
Moira has also been busy with stars.  This one is the  "For the Birds" pattern and Moira has chosen lots of Anna Maria Horner's Guest of Honor range to make it shine.  Our focus lately has been on stars and getting stars right and everyone is getting the point! 

Soon all the stars will be twinklingand Moira will add on sashing strips.  It is always a good exercise to audition a few  options which is an activity I love.

There were lots of options but I think in the end this was Moira's winning choice.
Amanda is new to Material Obsession.  She recently did a workshop with Kaffe and Brandon in Kuaui and came to the shop directly after flying back to Sydney to finish up the quilt top.  Amanda has decided to do a centre piece with a border in this Snowball quilt so we were examing options while making sure all the squares were in the right places. No matter what she decides to do with all these gorgeous fabrics it will be a winner.

On Tuesday night we saw the same quilt pattern only by Rachael.  It's growing...growing...growing and all the snowballs are in a rows  now.  Rachael has mastered chain piecing to an expert degree.  These blocks are connected by the threads from sewing so there is no way to mess up her pattern...unless she puts it down for a few months and forgets where she is and that can happen with a few projects on the go.  Right?!
The Tuesday night girls are on a roll.  They brought in so many projects the other night I went home with a spinning head! Ann has been doing an applique quilt which is slow going so she went home and in one week surprised us all by making this beauty.

Kim had all of her 7 projects in a basket in varying stages of readiness.
This one is finished and ready to soon be given to a lucky bride.  Kim has chosen a lovely combination of soft fabrics from Art Gallery Quilts which is a line we are loving at the moment. The range has lots of interesting graphics and wonderful colors that are most useful.  Although I like a variety of shapes this is looking divine in squares of many sizes.

As you can imagine, my camera overflows with images at the moment.

This lovely masterpiece is the result of Susan's scrap pile and a love of tiny hexagons.  If you could only reach in and feel this. During the class I had to regularly stop and run my hands over the texture of these shapes which are inspiring, no doubt.

Up close they are captivating in detail of fabric scraps.
Michele is working on a fiddly project of a different nature.  We do a lot of work inspired by Collaborative Quilting by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran.  Michele is building a city one building at time.  Isn't it wonderful that trees will grow wherever you plant them! Now there are as many stars of the week as there are stars in the sky but I can only show you a few at a time.  It is great to live vicariosly through the work of others and dream of someday sewing again!  enjoy. k

Branching Out

This post has been sitting in the back of my head all week.  The Branching Out workshop that we did a the AQC lasted the full four days.  It was a huge time commitment to one concept but well worth it when I look back.  It's funny how we can walk by a tree and not see the leaves, the branches the bark or the myriad of living things that live, eat or just have fun in them.  In this workshop, Rosalie Dace, our creative leader, led us through the value of trees in a figurative and literal sense. 
We took the time to examine the literal sense and meaning of trees throughout literature and time but also in the line and shape of these wild, varied and ever so important living things.  I go on a bit about always being in a rush so to have four days to examine one concept was heaven.  Rosalie encouraged us to think before working (which everyone did but me) and to look at what we were seeing to find detail and focus. 

It was engaging to see the different ways we all worked and the huge variation of projects that developed over the workshop.  Here are some examples.  If you see anyone you know wave at them and know that I enjoyed their company in the workshop but am  terrible with names!
Just have a look and enjoy...

(A special thanks to Candy from South Australia for befriending me going into the dinner Saturday night...who would have thought hundreds of quilters could appear at the start to be so intimidating...and at the end of the night so hilariously fun!!!)

As you can see, the work was a varied as possible.  Themes of fire were on lots of minds.  We worked in stages to get ideas onto the walls and as the days progressed wonderful things started to appear. This is Sarah's vision of a tree's bark on her morning walk. The quilt below makes me feel as though I am waking up on a holiday in an exotic place and peacefully waking up in the morning.
I do know Jane and her quilt is what I imagined as I prepared for this workshop.  I talk a lot about my walks in the woods as a kid.  My time alone in the woods was important to me.  I used to walk into the ravine and imagine getting lost knowing full well  there were houses just over the ridge.  That sense of peaceful quiet, the repetitiveness of the trees lines, the cool shadow of the leaves...all that has stayed in my head and I fully imagined that my quilt would end up looking like Jane's.
Art does not always imitate life as this is how mine started, as you can see it looks exactly like Jan'es... 
There were a few funny comments about this one which were mainly about branching out with Dr Seuss (my all time favorite author)...I made a huge mess on the floor while hacking into fabric and trying to make a childhood memory come to a visual life.  In our sessions we talked about what trees meant to us and I had an image took over of shelter and whimsy under the tree branches of the many places where we lived.  In our first house on Wickfield Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, we had a great swing set that was cemented into the ground so it was possible to swing really high without pumping the set out of the ground (remember that???).  I can still experience watching my feet reaching for the leaves of the oak tree as I went as high as I could and that swishing feeling in my bones of flying.  We would get as high as we could and vary daringly jump into the air to grab a branch of the tree and swing to the ground.  The landing was always a THUMP with hands full of leaves.  The thump here will be trying to put it all together without making a further mess!  It's on my wall calling to me now...come play with me...come swing!!!

I'd like to thank Rosalie for such a truely inspiring workshop and for facilitating the release of so much creative spirit.  I have said many times this week I am enriched by having experienced Branching Out.  I would also thank all the lovely women that shared this experience.  It was wonderful getting to know them and their thoughts on quilting and to examine another area of the community of quilting.  We talked about lines, shapes, value and color but we also talked about our joys, our fears and our lives as we walked through the trees.  Call me naive but I didn't really get that I was going to an "Art Quilt" workshop.  This is an area of quilting that I have glanced over and appreciated in a short look.  I stand now forever changed, inspired and enhanced.  I may not ever achieve art quilter status but my work will surely reflect a new perspective.  Most importantly I think I learned to stop and consider what the artist was thinking about, what it meant to the creator and what it meant to me and did this have to be the same thing? kathy

Go Forth into the UNknown...

The AQC is behind us now for 2009.  It was a generous experience of creative outpouring. 

I'll start with the view of the Melbourne Exhibition Building which was the perfect environment for the show and the workshops.  This building, full of grace and charm, had us strolling from one end to the other for amenities.  At times it just took to long to get where we wanted to be but really, that time allowed us to enjoy the beautiful stenciled ceilings and murals, the gorgeous curing lines of the structure and the space itself.

There were many wonderful teachers on hand to exemplify the vast layering possible in the quilt world.  From machine quilters like Kim Bradley to art quilters like Beth Miller, Gloria Loughman and many more to designers like Jane Sassaman...there was much accomplished work to behold. After hearing her lecture and seeing her work it's time to start jumping up and down and stomping our feet to get more of her gorgeous fabrics and designs down under!  Jane mixes the beauty of nature with the dasterdly side in a fascinating manner and I am sure you will all love her work and fabrics.

Then there were the quilts...this is my favorite one by Kathie DePalo.  Structure, color, emotion...it has it all and so beautifully made.

I also liked this one...duh.  Just my style with applique on a pieced background and great choice of color and fabrics.

The quilts were all of such a high standard and there was so much to look at and absorb. I liked this one for the lines and movement...

The shopping was abundant as well with the focus was on quilting which was nice as well.  The booths were filled with gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous, quilts.  Way to go Victorian Quilters...

I had the lucky adventure of spending four days with Rosalie Dace.  Having heard she was wonderful I was booked in before I knew what to expect. Not being an "art quilter" I fell into a world that made my brain and fingers itch to get active...to delve into this "Branching Out" thing and to see what there was to see.  From the first moment it was a study of line, applied shape and negative shape, texture both literal and figurative...and so much more.  The work was as varied as the 20 women that gathered to learn and share our ideas about our love of this craft.  I'll share the photos of that when I have more time. 
As it is, reality is setting in and I am late for work having already ironed shirts, made lunches and breakfasts and walked the dog.  Four days a way filled with wonder and beauty...pay back is a you know what!  MORE LATER, I promise! kathy