Material Obsession

Wedging around

This has certainly been the year of the wedge...from here to everywhere working wedges and color in shops and groups and guilds. I have thoroughly enjoyed it...seeing everyone get excited about mixing pattern and pattern, creating line and generally enjoying the process has been most rewarding. I have also enjoyed the people I have met and gathered as friends along the way.

This past weekend I was in Aukland, New Zealand working with Cheryl from All Things Patchwork. Her shop is full of glorious color and I don't mean just Kaffe...lots of exciting fabrics and quilt projects.

Even her house is furnished with Kaffe decorator fabrics and quilts making me feel right at home at every turn.

Outside of class time were donned rubber boots and hit the paddocks or the black sand beaches.

I also found some fun patterns to bring home designed by Linda of Sew Quilt Designs.

You always know when you are working with New Zealand Quilter's. There are always creative surprises like these projects:

 

Jody's was making a version of my Cloth Wagga and using wool for her background.

Hilary had a tree in her garden!

 

Melani was using a bit of the starch (vodka!!!) for an afternoon creativity injection!

 

Jo Dixey is a local there and came for a visit in her divinely altered suit coat...gotta do that I think.

There was so much more going on to talk about so I'll be back to share some more images. Going away two weekends in a row has but me a step or two behind so will be multi-tasking at full speed for the next few days to catch up.

 

I just want to say sincerely to all the groups and shops that have invited me to share my thoughts and techniques. It has been my pleasure to conduct these workshops over the year...next one is Out of Line this Saturday hosted by me in my shop!!!!

And, if you are local, join us on Friday for Cath's Collage class. If you are doing China Shop come along and do the Center Applique with Cath and learn all the tricks to perfection!

Read more hereWORKSHOPS 2015 - Material Obsession

See you soon...k

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I am a FreeSpirit!

The news is getting out so your I'd like to tell you myself....I am a FreeSpirit designer!

This doesn't happen over night. For over 12 years I have been buying fabric with great joy. It is my favourite part of the job of owning Material Obsession. ...It is also my favourite part of being a quilter. The rep walks in with his bag of treats and I start searching for the excitement... The ones that jump out and beg to be used...the fabrics that invite the others to play.

Quilting for me is about letting the fabric do the work. Why? Well I work full time and most weekends so tweaking out time to sew is important. BUT... More importantly I love finding the voice in a piece of fabric, the bit that says use me like this!

 

Like here, I got some samples of Denyse Schmidt's next range to play with so I got to thinking...I woke up with a vision one morning of stocks of flowers in a garden. Got the pile of fabrics...figured out how to make the leaf shapes growing up the stem and got busy.

My shop is like my stash...quilts waiting to happen. When I look through the ranges I am looking for bits and pieces to fill the spaces in my projects. I want dynamic color, dramatic graphics and useful things like borders, interesting sashing and not least of all, something to fussy cut.

So, no samples to show yet but I can say my inspiration has been growing a long time. For nearly 13 years I have been working with FreeSpirit designers. Because of them, I see fabric the way I do. Because of them I love colorful fabrics.

I hope with a sincere heart that my designs inspire you to MAKE. Cut...sew...quilt...enjoy. We will be showing lots of samples from the MO design team to get your imagination activated!

More to come so stay tuned...yeah...YEAH! Imagine a bit of jumping up and down.

 

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Stitched n Framed

Hey! Live anywhere near Port Macquarie? I am doing a trunk show at Stitched n Framed Tomorrow night from 5:30pm. Then this weekend it's Modern Wedge... Come along tomorrow night and say hi. Thrilled to be driving to a t ink show so I can fill the car with quilts!

 

 

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Learning Curves

 

I say all the time that one of my favourite things about patchwork is that I can keep on learning new things. It makes me feel young to keep my mind open either to a different way to do the same thing or something different all together.

 

Last week was a bumper week for new things. I found myself standing in front of this quilt made by Mrs Hannaford in about 1924. Ever since I have known my friend Cath Babidge she has referenced Mrs Hannaford and made me acutely aware of her individual style and voice. This ability to engage is the goal. To be able to leave a definitive style for the quilting sisters of the future. To stand there with my friends and regard the message was a special moment...and the message of the quilt was just that...savour every special moment for they all add up to life!

We had a tour by Bob Ja,Es that was informative and humorous which made the experience what it was. His tips and tales were full of color. There was also the NSW Quilters Guild side exhibit Evolution, Change, Challenge that had Megan Manwaring's quilt hanging as well as others...

By Jessica

The exhibit, Labours of Love at the Hazelhurst Gallery is well worth a visit. The space is beautiful, the exhibit is beautiful and the cafe is a real treat as well. Here's to more days out with friends!

 

Before that outing had a day with Deborah Louie doing a machine quilting class. Yep. I took the day off to improve my lack lustre machine quilting technique and it was soooo worth it.

To be honest, this is a class everyone should take. Machine quilting is my second choice for finishing a qu or but it has a purpose. Some things just need it. I have been known to say when attempting machine quilting that I'll try harder next time...and then "don't look at the quilting!" How embarrassing is it when we haven't done our best work? I am tired of that so ...the mission to improve this skill has begun.

Deb's points started to sink in as she gave me pointers. Then I had a look around the room to see what the others were doing. Helena was perfecting her feathers.

Lee was piecing hexagons with her machine for a small quilt.

Dee Dee was practicing basic stitches.

Lots of levels and lots of information to take on board.

 

I have now finished stabilising all the seams in the ditch and for the first time ever I wanted to show my work!!!! It was liberating. It isn't easy but after the first few humps or does get fun. If you haven't already learned the tricks of this skill I highly recommend it. I even did my homework on the weekend!

 

Of course I still love my hand work so I did some of that as well.

The laundry isn't done! K

 

 

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Using Big Prints

Do you use big prints? Or do they make you wonder? I am curious about what stops quilters from acquiring the big, bold, beautiful prints in lieu of small blender prints.

Ever since the early days, I have gravitated to the fabrics that appeal to my imagination. They get the story started and from there all kinds of ideas are born. This old circus print by Alexander Henry demanded that I make circus tent blocks to bring the concept of the circus to life. I was driving in the car thinking about it and the triangles came to mind. I couldn't wait to get busy making it.

 

This large floral print by Denyse Schmidt begged to be cut into circles to accentuate the roses and to use the light and dark fabrics for the points of th sunburst block.

 

Today we have lots of large prints that are great for dramatic borders. They bring whimsy and drama to the quilts. There is an excitement in large prints that says...Look at ME! I am here....I am confident, I like what I like!!!

Big prints like my birds from A Wandering Mind can be used as feature prints in big blocks and then accentuated with smaller shapes in the surrounding sashing strips. The sashing strips are a great place for the stashes of blenders and small prints were we only need color to make the statement. Having said that, large prints cut up scatter the color palette throughout the quilt begins us to connect the dots.

The sashing can be pieced or just strips of blenders that accent the detail colors of the prints.

When talking about fabric I have to mention plaids..of course. Look how this plaid like fabric picks up the colors in the bird print....yummy. That is what I love!

Here is another choice that is perfect. It is small but adds bits of light and air to the bird while still working the fabric.

Have a look at your stash. This year in my workshops the most consistent observation I made of fabric stashes was that they were full of tone on tone prints. It is a good idea to look for what you don't normally buy to make what you have already collected work for you. Let the fabric do the work and you will make great quilts!

So tell me, if you're reading this...do you want to activate your stash with some big prints a little bit more now? K

 

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Creativity

Where does creativity come from and why is it so important? Personally, I am addicted to creating. I realised on Saturday that I was humming in my studio, Noah was practicing for a gig and Sam was in his room drawing. The house was a buzz of creative energy...all happy in our spaces. It occurred to me that it is always this way when I am home. It must be a part of a day or I am left feeling hardly done by as I close my eyes to sleep. Acknowledging the importance of creativity is in itself important. The end result of my session at home was this Liberty cushion.

We got these triangle inserts made a while back and at last I had a chance to play with my new collected items....Liberty, shot cotton and an afternoon!

I am also loving our huge bolster cushions....you know...for when a square just isn't enough. Thing is there are too many choices here with lovely linens and Japanese prints acquired in my recent trip.

Last weekend I met a young mother taking one of my classes. As she shared her life story with me she explained that there had been twists along the way and it wasn't what she had expected but she was accepting it regardless. She said as long as she could do something, anything creative in a day she could cope. I lost track of what she was saying, mesmerised by her brave smile. Her strength gave me strength. I know her approach to life must come with nerves of steel and a big heart. Lucky her.

 

The workshop was a new one called Into the Woods. The pattern will be in my next book,Mixing Quilt Elements due out in April 2016. The workshop at Hettie's Patch was a gratifying experience as everyone dove in and worked hard on ththe or projects...each one different from the next.

 

There were varying degrees of progress throughout the room but everyone did a marvellous job of a personalising the concept. We made liberated young ladies and branches on the trees before mixing in some raw edge appliqué and machine quilting.

Lorraine has a great set up at Hettie's Patch. Everyone had their own design wall and table... A real luxury in a workshop. Not only that but they had the great selection of fabrics to choose from! It was in a word a fantastic weekend.

And now...back to work...

 

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