A Braidwood Quilt Experience

Inspiration at Every Street Corner

I can’t leave 2000 without posting up a few photos of Braidwood.  Each year, since 1995, the town obligingly hosts a quilt extravaganza – an Airing of the Quilts.  Quilts are only aired on the Saturday but both days are packed with all kinds of interesting things to do and see.  Braidwood is a quaint village full of wonderfully restored cottages – quite historic in its own right (but only old in comparative terms). 

The “airing” is usually held annually in late November and made for a long day’s drive from Sydney.  This year though, quite likely our second visit, we had decided to drive on to Canberra and spend Sunday doing a textile tour of our Capital’s famous quilt shops.  Needless to say, we found lots to look at and quite a few enticing fabrics.  Why didn’t I buy a car with a bigger boot?

These little trips away are the perfect remedy for lack of inspiration, terrific for stash building (you know what I mean!!), and make a nice addition to our group’s annual program of activities.  Thankfully I took my camera, so, we do have a few reminders.

Quilting - Coming of Age

Quilt Show at Darling Harbour: 2000

Having been at quilting for some 15 years (in 2000) and watched our craft grow from strength to strength, I’ve particularly noticed how wonderfully encouraging it is for quilters to meet and show their work.  The huge show at Darling Harbour in Sydney’s CBD announced that quilting had come of age.  In these shows, we have always been treated to a fantastic exhibition of locally produced quilts that range from traditional to art quilts.  There is also a complementary exhibition of note – I still remember the fabulous work of a collection of Japanese quilts I saw one year.  Under this same roof are market stalls with all the latest gear a textile devotee could ever want, a series of workshops to help build skills, a collection of wearable art that made the heart palpitate and all the quilting fans you could ever hope to meet. 

I never fail to walk away overawed, inspired and somewhat bedraggled.  And usually with a few bags full of “interesting things” that I had never planned to buy but just had to have! 

(Photos to come eventually, once scanned...)

Egyptian Inspiration

Cairo Stars: 2002  (Started: 2000)

Cairo Stars - a quick fix & fun experiment

The colours for this quilt were inspired by a poster of Egyptian museum pieces – all ochres, turquoise and yellows.  It looked so exotic and I was up for something “completely different”.  I had also seen a star pattern I was interested in trying out, but in the end I was too lazy to draft it up so went with a less complicated design.  I chose two blocks – a simple 4 patch and a star from 1937 (in a Jinny Beyer book)  I hadn’t done much in the way of patchwork in 2000, so this was the perfect remedy.  Nice ‘n easy to piece and in only a few days I had a sunny, scrappy top. 

The top had a wide border area perfect for hand quilting and having been inspired by a course I had recently finished with Luixin Newman (Hand Quilting, 19/8/00),  I decided to continue my learning on this top.  As luck would have it, I found a rather nice pattern in a New Zealand Quilter Magazine (#38, 2001) and I was able to put Luixin’s expert tutelage to good use. Mind you, my stitches have a lot more “perfecting” to go before I’m capable of reproducing Luixin’s fine (really, really, tiny!) stitches.

I managed to cut and piece this quilt at Watsons Bay.  It was ready for quilting by 30/12/01 so despite a busy schedule I was able to progressively hand quilt it - cross-hatch the centre and a lovely fan for the border (a relaxing way to finish off a busy work day) at Kensington. 

The result isn't particularly "Egyptian", that was more about the inspiration for this design but it did make for a nice change of colours for me to tackle.  And there is always something so comforting & soft about a quilt that is hand quilted. 

A nice feather

Leftovers used in a quilt label

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 152 x 199cm
Block Sizes: 9.5”
Cut in: 2000
Pieced & Basted: Machine 2001
Quilted: Hand 2002
Quilt Type: Own Design
Quilt Finished: 2002
Exhibited: Dangar Island Australia Day 2010
Collection: Home# 039
Pattern Name: Indian Star1937 & a Simple Four Patch
Pattern Source: Jinny Beyer’s “The Quilters Album of Blocks & Borders” p46
Fabrics Purchased: A stash buster
Fabric Design: Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Mountain Mist Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
This was a nice simple quilt – a rainy day special. Whilst I quite like the result and it certainly provided a perfect vehicle for practicing hand quilting, I’m not sure that it challenged me.  I began to ask myself whether I really needed to make more quilts if this was all I was going to achieve.  So, rumble, rumble, the wheels of change were set in motion.

Luminary Assets

Rosy Autumn: 2010  (Started: 2000)

Our King Parrots felt right at home

We (four of our RLI group) had somehow lucked in with a place for a day’s workshop with colour master extraordinaire, Kaffe Fassett.  We assembled (nervously) at the Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre on 18^th June 2000, with great hopes that he could teach us his best colour secrets in only a few hours. 

Our homework had simply been to assemble a collection of blowsy prints in either autumn or spring colourways.  We had even been told not to be afraid to tea dye various selections to have them “fit” better and  warned off overly “matching” our selections too.  I chose a tawny rose selection - autumn colours that I probably wouldn’t have normally selected in a combo of bright reds, rusty oranges and eucalypt greens.

The pattern, Tawney Rosy, was in Kaffe’s book “Patchwork”.  It involved placing our fabric selections into a simple formula that allowed us to develop our eye for colour selections. (I’m not sure I was really convinced it would work at the start!)

• Fabric A: bold large scale florals
• Fabric B: smaller scale prints
• Fabric C: neutrals including stripes, plaids, tone prints or toiles

These fabrics were then chopped up into different sized blocks (see his book for the recipe!) to be ready on the day to play.  

An explosion of colour

And play we did!  If Kaffe thought you needed another fabric to “improve” your set, he would happily delve into a neighbour’s stockpile.  We learned how to share – and consider our selections – shaking up the usual suspects.  Both Kaffe and Brendon Mabley made the day very challenging yet most rewarding.  By the end of it we had a top pinned (to a flannel sheet) ready to machine. Go Rinny!

I finally had my quilt basted by Dec 2001 but it took me a couple of machine quilting classes (Lee Cleland & Kim Bradley) and lots of practice to give me the confidence to take on the quilting.  It was some 9 years later, (2010) before I felt that I had the right pattern & technique to finish!   Now I look back, I believe one thing that held me back was that no matter what I did to the quilt, I felt it was always going to be a KF quilt.  Eventually I chose a simple an autumn leaf design (that I made up myself) and even managed a decorative label to finish it off. 

King Parrots - two males, one a rare albino; 

This is my label.  I guess you knew that!

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 169 x 172cm
Block Sizes: 9”; 4.5”; 3”
Cut in: 2000
Pieced & Basted: Machine 2001
Quilted: Machine 1995
Quilt Type: Workshop
Quilt Finished: 2010
Exhibited: Dangar Island Australia Day 2011
Collection: Home# 038
Pattern Name: Kaffe’s Nine Patch, Rosy Autumn
Pattern Source: Kaffe Fassett’s “Patchwork” p68
Fabrics Purchased: Group Choice
Fabric Design: Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
I still can’t believe how fortunate we were to get places at a workshop on mastering simplicity, colour and style with this amazing textile artist and his clever assistant. You just couldn’t do it now!  It is always worth the effort to challenge your perceptions, understand your limitations and learn from master artists.  I can see the true value in experiencing shared learning.  An experience not to be forgotten!

Turning 2000

We started Y2K with a bang, and as luck would have it, I started a new job and had gone back to uni.  It was also the year we bought our house on the wonderful Hawkesbury River and I took on a stint of single-parenting teens.  This of course put an end to most of my “spare” time and took a bit of an edge off my patching/quilting progress.  Meanwhile, the pile of UFO's seemed to be multiplying in the deep, dark recesses of my sewing space.  However, I did have a textile trip planned - an escape to Japan no less, so it was certainly exciting times.

A magic ferry ride

I’m in the process of documenting my travel notes (slim pickings here) and photos (all pre-digital) of the Japan trip with Margaret Wright over on Textile Tourist, so I won’t re-invent that wheel here.  Needless to say, I had a great time and came back with just a tad more fabric (2 large boxes - cough! cough!).  This experience only served to re-affirm my belief that we (in Australia) were settling comfortably into “American style” crafting.  Japan’s textile heritage, fabric choices and sincere respect for craftsmanship just blew me away. 

Up in the cooler Japan Alps we found cherry blossom! 

Prior to our trip we also were invited to an exhibition "Common Threads" showcasing the work of Textile Artist Wendy Lugg and Sue Leighton-White’s Japanese textile collection.   

There were two big lessons from this; one that it really is ok to follow textiles in your own way – be it creator (in any style) collector or even admirer!  The second is that it’s ok to take inspiration from history and translate it in any direction you care to drive it.  But always respectfully of course!

Year 2000 was also the start of what I call my Japanese Discovery Period.  Somehow, something cropped up each year (until end 2003) that steered me towards learning about Japanese textiles, techniques and culture.  I was in blue & white heaven; imagine a culture that reveres its textile masters and cultivates its textile heritage!  This passion was of course driven by a wave of enthusiasm for something different – not only by me, but the textile community generally.

More Desert Island Reading

Books I can’t be Without continues:

101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts

Judy Hopkins & Nancy J. Martin, 1998, Martingale & Company, Bothell, Washington

I've just noticed that 101 seems to be my favourite number!  By the time I purchased this book I was well and truly obsessed with patchwork and quilting.  Whilst I still loved hand piecing and quilting, I realised that my machine (dear old Ernie Elna) was my best buddy and, along with the rotary cutter, my only way forward.  Of course, some quilts still demand “slow” making but there were times in my increasingly busy life when I needed a quick fix.  I was occasionally making clothes too, so it seemed only natural to do more than just machine borders and bindings on to my quilts.

Hopkins & Martin had written other books but I couldn’t wait to get my little fingers on this big bruiser.  It has become, and still is, my most favourite reference book of all.  If I want a basic pattern, it’s usually here.  The illustrations are terrific, the measurements always exact and I’ve never yet had a dud – and trust me, I’ve made quite a few from this book!  Yes, the patterns are classic but it only takes a moment to add, subtract and massage and before you know it, another new creation!  Mind you, I know I prefer to make quilts that are basically geometric designs, so that helps.

When I went to live in India in 2004, I took, aside from my machine, 2 suitcases.  One with clothes and one with quilting supplies (not fabric though, just a few UFO’s).  This book was the only one I took.  It was in the spirit of adventure – and proved a very valuable learning environment.

That Perfect Stitch: the Secrets of Fine Hand Quilting

Roxanne McElroy, 1998, The Quilt Digest Press, Chicago, Illinois USA

When it comes to hand quilting books, my choice was difficult but this one by Roxanne McElroy was a standout because it is almost a scientific evaluation of the hand quilting process.  If ever you want to improve your stitching, this is the place to come.  I particularly appreciated advice on batting choices for hand quilting and how better to position your hand to protect against repetitive strain.  I also made the decision not to buy a frame (I’d been wanting one for years) after reading this book, because I didn’t think it suited MY style of quilting.  This book is so worth the read, there is much to learn, and I refer to it time and time again.

I can’t leave the subject of hand quilting without mentioning Liuxin Newman (Perfect Hand Quilting without Pain, Thimblelady, Australia, 2003).  I did a hand quilting workshop with Liuxin a few years ago and it turned my quilting life around. I just love to use her thimbles; they are so perfect for the method she taught us.  Another plus was that I managed to use a hoop -finally! I’d always used one for embroidery but had found I had trouble quilting with one.  Now I wouldn’t quilt without one. 

So I guess the moral of the story is that it’s fine to know, understand & appreciate the theory, however well it’s presented, but it’s understanding your own needs and lots of  practice that makes the difference.     

Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts

Kaffe Fassett, 2010, Abrahams, New York

What can I say!  The title says it all - simple shapes highlighting fantastic fabrics that are all about COLOUR.  Kaffe is definitely the colour master.  I could have chosen any of his books for my “fab” favourites.  His quilts are, each and every one, a lesson in colour play and I sometimes think that in the race to make all those quilts that dance in our heads, we miss taking a slow approach.  Perhaps by making our designs less complex, taking (lots of) time to explore colour options, and considering construction options, we too can get the message. This doesn’t mean that I copy, copy, copy.  But I do see how shapes and colour can be grouped and use this as a springboard to help me find the next rung on my learning ladder.

Well, reviewing has been lots of fun; the thinking hard but at last a vague notion of better understanding - myself and my motivations.  Why?  Well in the words of Melody Crust, “my best quilt is my next one”.

Desert Island Reading

Books I can’t be Without:

Before I finish with 1999, I want to list my five favourite reference books.  Over the years, I’ve amassed a few but only a handful stand out above the rest.  So here you have my choice if I was to pack up and move to a desert island (or in reality, live for half a year on a sailboat!):

In the 80’s patchworking had taken off but we, in Australia (certainly country Victoria) didn’t have a lot of choice, particularly in books.  Generally they were imported, nearly always American, and somehow we became programmed to think in their systems, eg measurement, style, judging, choice of colours, etc.  I think we still do to some extent but that’s another discussion point for another day.

So here's the first two:

Patchwork Possibilities

Marjorie Puckett, 1981, Orange Patchwork Publishers, California

Anyway, I began my patchwork life in 1985 (after my Malaysian fumbling) more successfully by learning how to hand piece – the traditional way.  This book was recommended to me and I would certainly endorse it as a fantastic resource for beginners. 

Marjorie has provided very clear diagrams and instructions that are easy to read helping to understand exactly what the process is.  She provides tips that beginners need to know explaining clearly how NOT to go wrong at any step.  This is the book I would recommend to any beginner who wants to successfully hand piece as the diagrams and instructions are kept simple and a cinch to follow. 

101 Patchwork Patterns

Ruby McKim, 1962, Dover Publications, New York

 

After a while, beginner’s samplers began to pale, so Ruby McKim’s book provided me with a source of patterns for whole quilts.  What was so enchanting about this resource was not only its great selection of patterns for hand piecing (most fairly easy) but the snippets of interesting history about the craft.  You begin to get a sense of how life must have been for early Americans and begin to see where the names of many of the blocks originated.  (It wasn’t until many years later - 2009-2010 - as we toured some of Virginia’s historic battlefield sites and visited the Virginia Quilt Museum that even more bells began to ring in my brain!).  I really loved the vintage "cred" of this book. 

All of Ruby McKim’s patterns are beautifully drawn out (for hand piecing), so who could stop at one?  And the templates are always spot on measurement-wise. I particularly liked her suggestions for colours, especially those that had been traditionally used. This makes you reconsider your colour choices and to see different options.  A bit of a visual shake-up if you like of your “reference framework”!  I began to see how you could add a bit more zing to a quilt by marrying pattern to fabric to tell a story.