Material Obsession

building thrills

Lately I have been thinking a lot about why we gather and make quilts.   One thing that is obvious in the shop is that gathering in the groups to learn and design feeds the soul.  Members of our classroom community grow to be loving friends that share the times of their lives, learn from each other and generally have fun.  We need this. 
This year we have loaded up the classroom with the best of the best learning experiences.  Most of our classes are now full but we have added a few new classes to supply for demand and that means there are a couple of good spots up for grabs like:

 

Wendy Williams:  This year we have a new class in response to our new friends Bernina!!! Wendy is a fabulous technician when it comes to making things with textiles.  She has class plans for all kinds of things we should know how to do like zippers and buttons on a variety of models from clothes to cushions.  Some of the things she has done in the past that people loved will come back as well for those that missed out.  Check it out or sign up here: Sewing With Wendy

 

Wendy is most famous now for her work with wool but I see her work every day and must say that the wool is just the tip of the iceberg!  Who doesn't want to know more about what their machine can do for them or how to achieve professional results when making homewares...One spot just went to me!  Oh and by the way, we have Berninas in the classroom for you to use so no machines necessary!!!

 

Deb Louie is another very popular teacher.    Get to know how to machine quilt your own work.  This is a guaranteed happy result.  I know, I did it myself and now have quilted several of my own quilts on the machine for the first time!!!!  First time with success that is...Here is the link :Deb Louie Workshop

 

Try the workshop and if you want more we also added another class with her on the first Thursday of the month.  We only provide what we love ourselves!!!

Also added due to popularity is the Chuck Nohara class with Lorena on the second Friday.
This class requires the book which we have in stock at a special price for class participants.

 

Further, I trust my instincts now after so many years of assessing what is on offer for classes.  My new secret weapon is Megan.  Her beginner class members have all moved on to the next level, Step Up, leaving a fabulous setting for new beginners!  The class is well organized for learning step by step but not only that, Megan is a prize winning quilter with a great sense of color and design so the first quilt doesn't look like a first quilt!

This year we have also added a new class with Megan called  Applique Skill Building.  If you are interested in learning more about applique we have set aside another day (the first one filled in a minute!) being the fourth Tuesday of the month.  In this class you can choose any existing applique pattern or design your own.  

As people shift around a rare event has happened and we have a couple spots open in Marg George's Friday class.  This doesn't happen often so if you are interested in Marg's work, and lets face it, who isn't, this is your chance!

We have evening classes for those with daytime commitments for beginners or the more experienced with Grace.  These classes are great for progressing your projects guided by the kind and experienced Grace. 

 

Any questions, pop in or ring up and we'll go through the options with you happily!  Get a move on!! k

 

Secret Reveal

Lately I have been pushing myself to finish up a number of projects before the demanding routine of the work year takes control of my life.  Routine is hard on a creative spirit.  The "I Have To"  takes over the "I Need to" and desire is put on hold. While making I enjoy hearing my thoughts and reflecting. During one of these reflective moments I found myself lost in a day long ago when I went to hear a lecture by an artist I had recently discovered.  I sat close to the stage eager to hear every word.  As I felt my heart beat in anticipation I marveled that my excitement was not for one of my beloved musicians or famous actors but rather for Kaffe Fassett...a designer of all things beautiful.  As one delightful, engaging slide after another passed over the screen I got more and more excited imagining the possibilities of color and design.  At the end, during question time I was literally on the edge of my seat with my hand in the air nearly calling out before my turn, "TIME!!! TALK ABOUT TIME...how do you manage to do so much?"  I finally got it out and he just laughed.  The answer involved Kaffe having hired people to work in his studio to help make samples but he said they spent so much time making decisions about every move so he let them go. The lesson I learned:  Feel the creative spirit as it makes decisions and advances.  Relax.  Hear yourself. Be confident.  Go forward. Follow your inner eye.  Dont waste time wondering.

That was many years ago and I have broght that moment with me as I have learned and grown in my quilting life.  I have to say that if I could have seen into the future and known that not only would I meet this marvelous man but also learn from him and compare visions, tell stories with him and then one day work on a project with him...well, I don't think I would have been able to believe it.  Even now our friendship is one of my most treasured simply for how he opens my eyes...for how he has teaches me to see...for how brave I feel when I show him my work and steady on for his critique.

So, about a year ago a magazine asked if I would design a block of the month for them.  Hmmm. The mind started ticking and I blurted out that only if I could use Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics.  They asked if he would participate so I asked the master and he said yes. (insert image of delighted dancing!!!)  Kaffe heard our little plan and before I knew it had whipped up a design using our suggested elements as well as his amazing flare for color balance, layout and impact.  He took the design to the perfect place...simple but effective.

With the layout and suggested fabrics in hand, I then turned to my beloved design team: Wendy Williams, Megan Manwaring, Cath Babidge and Carolyn Davis...all devotees of the KFC as well as fabulous artists themselves.  Many an hour was spent as we sat down and got busy.  We divided up the tasks to match our strengths and got busy, really busy bringing it to life. Looking back I am grateful for being surrounded by talented, reliable, fun people! The result is soft yet striking, pretty but exciting, challenging and achievable all in one go...beautiful!!!

Can I show you the quilt today? No.  Swathed in secrecy the quilt is locked away in a cupboard at publishing headquarters not to be seen until the cover is released...next week?  Who knows!  Its been a secret for so long that I almost forgot to mention it.  I will mention that we are about to receive a limited number of  kits which will be available on the website the day it drops...so, mystery, intrigue...all that and more... more...more I tell you!! Stay tuned for more and keep your eyes peeled...let me know when it is out there! k

 

Ends and Beginnings

Today has arrived.  Funny how that happens! We look forward with anticipation or dread and then suddenly, the day is upon us....the last day of summer holidays but not the last day of summer!  Where have the three weeks gone I wonder?  As always at this time I look forward to the new year that beckons with excitement.  So many good things planned.  I look forward happy to feel relaxed and rested.  In fact, today I slept until 9am which is a very late sleep in for me...the seeker of early morning peace and quiet.

As if to say, "Enough of summer!" it started raining last night bringing a coolness to the house and a nice drenching for the garden.  I stood here this morning with my coffee thinking that at least with the rain I won't be inclinded to stop and float around daydreaming under  a splattering of leaves against the sky of blue while listening to the sound of the tin roof creaking in the blazing heat.
I then had a quiet stroll around the verandah taking note of the summer changes.  My sister in law Sarah made beautiful wreaths with vines she discovered in the bush near her Bowral home and then added the cactus from her garden.

Imagine my delight when I admired a pair of these wreaths sitting under her tree on Christmas Day and she said, "I am glad you like them because one is for you!"  I have just moved it now to drink in some of the rain today and am hoping that I don't end up killing it!  I am known for not being able to keep mint alive which basically describes how not green my thumb is!

Nearby in my stroll I am reminded of one of the early projects this summer, a cover for our day bed mattress.  This is a favourite spot for Cheeky to sleep and to somehow to shred the mattress.  It was a good opportunity to use some stashed decorator weight fabric and to practice putting in zippers on the Bernina!  I am also reminded that I didn't take a minute to nap here which is one of my favourite activities in the summer.

Why no naps?  Well, I have just hung my quilt 8 finished quilt tops... !!!!

There is a sense of achievement and a sense of dread in this moment as I now need to baste and quilt them all!!!!  That might be a worry except that the quilting part, once decided is such a meditative process that I look forward to sharing my time with each and every top.  Writing the patterns is another story but we get there in the end.

There is one lonely project still to be completed using wool felt and some happy colors.  It will also require some hand work time so I might just go get a few dvd series and movies for the upcoming evenings.

The other thing that grew over the break was my crucifix collection.  Each one has been given to me by someone I love and soon I might need a bigger wall! 

Our home is a space defined by colorful things that capture my eye and attention.  After three weeks of LIVING in our home I feel full of the experiences and images of our family life.  It has been a restful time that has made space for refueling.  The familiarity of what we see every day adds the necessary creative stimulation that we need to function through the busy, less thoughtful times.

So, tomorrow we open the doors of Material Obsession and blow the dust off the counters.  What will the year bring?  As I worked through my projects I could feel my wonderful design team off in their corners of the ring doing exactly the same thing...making...resting...making...getting ready to charge!  Clap hands in anticipation!!!!  So as one thing ends...another begins!!! Enjoy! k

summer toys

Ah the bliss of summer holidays!  Slow starts to warm days filled with idle time balanced with an agenda to thoughtfully progress projects both around the house and in the studio.  All year I yearn for this time when the lure of the shop subsides and all the "someday" projects are attended to one at a time.  Filter in a few family gatherings, a few days on the lounge watching the cricket and summer is defined!

I have loved playing with a few toys over the last two weeks. 

My first big play job was to learn the ins and outs of this baby.  Now that we are Bernina dealers at Material Obsession it is important for me to know the machines...so, well, I had to sew with it didn't I?  I won't say I haven't grabbed the book to look up a few things or even watched a few videos but it didn't take long before I felt a pitter patter heart beat when machine quilting!

This project that has been sitting on my pile of things to do for a long time.  You know the one, started but so annoying in practice that it kept getting over looked.  I had decided that even in the ditch machine quilting was too hard.  Managing all that rolled up quilt pushed my patience to a bad place.  With only a small idea of what to do I started on the 750 and the large throat immediately eased my pain.  Before I knew it I had the radio up and was humming along...and then the quilt was done!  As I stitched I kept looking over my shoulder to see what else I could work on and suddenly, I just had to smile.  YEAH!  I'm one of them...one of those people that can do their own quilts!!!  Satisfaction - high!

Hit another one of my favourite summer time toys!

As a kid we were land locked in summer.  As a result, I appreciate our pool enormously and take any opportunity to jump in and cool off then have a bit of a float around for a minute contemplating the sky...which is blue and beautiful.

This has been the summer of toys that make curves.  Here I have my small rotary, turning mat and two circle templates that have been very busy.  Circles make a great effect softening the hard lines of a quilt and takiing our mind to a focus point like a portal to beauty just beyond our grasp.  I admit, they take way more concentration that a straight line but  BUT cut accurately, pinned carefully and sewn with a watchful eye circles make great patterns.

Especially when you have great fabrics like these from Kaffe.  I think the Regency Strips is my all time favourite...wait, have I said that before??  This stack is just behind me like a scary beast about to grab all of my attention!

It is interesting how one idea leads to another.  While on the subject of curves I finally made time to play with the Sew Wonderful Quick Curve Ruler.  This has been sitting on my cutting table for about six months and every time I see it I want to experiment.  So, time came and spent well. 

There are times when the quilting takes a back seat to other kinds of projects.  This is a needlework piece I bought from Rosalie Dace over a year ago and it has been buried in my stack all that time.  Time to get it out and get it ready to hang somewhere.

And this was another home project....moving this bookshelf from one room to another took ages and left me aching in the arm department but it was worth it to have it near my sewing studio and also to have a chance to review the books again.  So much temptation!  I could happily stay home forever just reading through my books with love.

Part of my new year plan is to spend some time sitting in this space enriching my mind!  But maybe after I clean up this mess!  This is all the paperwork I had piled around my sewing area.  It was a constant reminder of boring things to do so...well, I just picked it all up and dumped it here!  Good idea, Right!  Only trouble is all the pattern notes for my new quilts are somewhere in there so...ugh.  Time to get to it and sort it all out.

Fabric calling, stacks of paper calling, sunny day good for being outside...what is a quilting gal supposed to do but take advantage of it all....enjoy!