Russian Red 2008

Getting All Antsy Pantsy*: UFO  (Started:2008)

Hard at Work at the NSW Embroiders Guild, Concord

It seems hard to imagine that I started my Explorer Series 7 years ago.  Where did that time go?  In 2008, I signed up for an Art Quilt class at the NSW Embroiders Guild with Carolyn Sullivan in the vain hope that working in this genre would better suit me.  I wanted to work smaller, more creatively and in series (in effect - smarter).  (Does that sound a familiar refrain?)  It was also a great opportunity to learn how to better organise a journal (or two).  The classes ran over 8 sessions starting in Feb, so it was a full year commitment.  I was very happy that some of my Randwick quilters signed up with me – we often met out of class to inspire each other and thus managed to finish many of our set projects. 

  #1 The Research Station (33 x 33cm) 2008

#2. Coral Garden (32 x 38cm) 2008

Whilst my plan was grand indeed, I managed to miss a couple of sessions and so those pieces sit quietly in my UFO box waiting, waiting…  My journal though is quite a resource and if I live to 100, may get round to exploring some of the many ideas that came out of it.  It was a fun and thoughtful class, certainly guaranteed to shake out the cobwebs and lead you gently into the world of art.  Sometimes you just need that!

As I wanted to work in series, I set myself a theme of “exploring an exotic life”.  My inspiration was the life and work of a Russian Marine Scientist who lived and worked in Sydney (1878-1887).  Explorers, maps, travel, the ocean & its creatures and Russian red drove my design choices within our monthly sessions.

So began my Voyages of Discovery. My Explorer Series (Collection# 51) followed our monthly tasks:

1. Built Environment - Windows (The Research Station)
2. Natural Environment - Leaves (Coral Garden)
3. Natural Environment – Networks (Voyages of Discovery)
4. Women’s Work
5. Simplify the View (Immersion - yet to be finished)
6. Personal Icons & Symbolism
7. Movement (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
8. Just Script

#3. Voyages of Discovery (38 x 48cm) 2008

#7.  Rock, Paper, Scissors (46 x 47cm) 2008

*My family interpretation of this saying, antsy pantsy was "that you were getting a bit above yourself" or a little bit fancy.  Does that help?  No, probably not.....

And if you're wondering, the dragonfly is a symbol of regeneration & change.  I also added an inked stamp from a Chinese chop (seal or name stone) that I had made in Singapore.  The red threads were added for "luck & prosperity".  These "marks" were on all the pieces I made in this series.

#5.  Immersion (& a work in progress still!)

A Room with a View

The remainder of 2007 is covered with a few interesting activities; some solitary and others community.  It was a nice mix.  And it was oh. so. good. to be active (and on two legs) again….

Mother’s Cot Quilt for Sophie: 2007

This was a mercy dash project for my MIL who had purchased a quilt kit not knowing that she needed to sew anything!  So, to save the day I put together and quilted this baby quilt for the most recent addition to the family.  Finished and mailed off by mid year.  Ah yes, what a hero!

Alluvium IV Exhibition on Dangar Island: 2007

Just as well I didn’t linger over this cot quilt as locals were being asked to participate in what was the 4^th exhibition of local talent in our Community Hall.  It was billed as an exhibition of a “collection of fine articles celebrating our unique river culture” and took place over 14-15^th July 2007.  There was a special opening night on 13^th July and my work hung with a collection by other patchworkers.  At this stage, I had not investigated participating in a local group, although at the time there was quite an active one on the island and it was nice to know they were there.

Quilting Class with Kim Bradley:

I made the decision to commit to quilting my own UFO’s on the domestic (Bernie Bernina) and managed to catch a class with Kim Bradley at the Castle Hill Bernina office (25/7/07).  It was very good; I learned heaps and still use the pencil drawings for design planning in current projects.  Sadly we only did half a day quilting (and I began seriously lusting after the new-ish BSR) then spent the remainder dabbling in manipulating fabrics with crayons & pencils.  Not my “thing” but very vogue as any reader of Quilting Arts Magazine will attest.

Two other activities of interest occurred that year.  Firstly the Pasha Bulker washed up on Newcastle’s beach (30/6/07) and we, along with many others, just had to make a sightseeing trip.  The beach was off limits so we had to view this giant of the sea from a nearby cliff.  Not having been to Newcastle for many years, it was good to see well considered city redevelopment. This incident, of course, offered little of textile significance but much in the way of inspiration for artists of many disciplines. (I've been a bit glib and not mentioned ecological ramifications of this event.  It was quite a serious incident.)

Finally, we headed off on a tour of Vietnam & Malaysia in August.  Fond reminiscing if you will.  I’ve covered the trip at length in Textile Tourist – this was the start of my blogging life – so I won’t add more here other than to redirect to my Vietnam posts.  And yes, there is always something textile to consider or discover!

Song Lines

Bush Picnic: 2013  (Started: 2007)

Finished & photographed....at last!

For simply ages, I had wanted to put together a quilt using the Aboriginal fabrics I’d been gathering.  I was fairly particular and had only purchased fabrics by Aboriginal women artists and designers.  Needless to say, some of the fabrics are just stunning; making it oh, so hard to cut into!

I started collecting these fabrics after a visit to Freemantle in 2002.  In a souvenir shop, of all places, I found the most amazing (but tiny) collection of authentic fabrics.  I’ve mentioned previously that I’d found current selections a wee bit stuffy, so this was definitely a “willy-willy” (dust storm) moment.  My initial selections rested in the garden shed for quite some months before I inadvertently found a new (and closer!) supply, also in a souvenir shop, in Berry (NSW) that same year.  So, my stash grew steadily over the years! 

A close up of both hand & machine quilting

However, finding an appropriate design to feature these wonderful fabrics was not so easy and for me, became something of an issue…  I dallied & dithered; again for some years until finally in 2008, I discovered a “Stars over the Rockies” pattern designed by Judie Rothermel. (Quilters Newsletter Magazine, Mar 2007).  This pattern seemed to meet my need for a design with some larger pieces (so as not to destroy the continuity in those bold designs) yet was complex and interesting enough not to be “the same old thing again”.  Mind you, I had already started cutting out pieces for another pattern, until this change of heart.  Oh well!

Cutting out had started in March 2007 and continued on over the next few years until somehow I managed to get a wriggle on with piecing it together.  I suspect the deadline for the Australia Day Exhibition 2013 had something to do with it, but my quilt went public without being properly finished – a little hand quilting needed finishing.  So, one must compromise when deadlines loom! 

Not quite finished for the Australia Day Exhibition, 2013
Bush Picnic (Right) & Margaret's Hexies (Left)
(Textile Artwork on wall by Cath Phillips)

One point I had overlooked however was the provenance of my fabrics.  I had been busy collecting fabrics but missed noting the artists’ names and design names.  I also have a little information on the various symbols used in the patterns, so more is needed.  Just a little more work to do then…

(In case you are wondering, "The SongLines" is the title of the wonderful travel book written by Bruce Chatwin in 1987.  It, rather like "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes (1986) that I've only recently discovered, made me realise how limited my world view has been & perhaps continues to be only seen through the eyes of Australian history and settlement.  In a way, this viewpoint embodies the isolation of our country.  This cover, a Picador edition (1988), features "Red Landscape" by famous Australian painter Fred Williams. )

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 190 x 190cm
Block Sizes: 38cm
Cut in: 17 Mar 2007; adjusted 2008
Pieced & Basted: 2012
Quilted: Hand & Machine 2013
Quilt Type: Judie Rothermel Design
Quilt Finished: Jan 2013
Exhibited: Australia Day, 2013 (part-finished)
Collection: Home# 050
Pattern Name: Stars over the Rockies
Pattern Source: Quilters Newsletter Magazine, Mar 2007
Fabrics Purchased: Special Collection
Fabric Design: Aboriginal Women Designers
Fabric Style: Aboriginal Designs
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants

Celebrating

Birthday Fun: 2006

I wanted to make something for a friend's special (60th) birthday, so I put together scraps from most of the workshops and trips we had done over the years and made up a scrap commemorative wall quilt.  I asked all the Quilting girls to sign it after our November meeting – the last for that year.  Forgot to take a photo but I have something somewhere I hope!

The pattern I used is called Scot's Plaid from the ever faithful "101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts" by Hopkins & Martin.  I think I may have resized the block slightly to be more appropriate for a wall quilt.  It was a breeze to cut and machine up.  The result, whilst not a stunner by any stretch, makes a statement about our time (from the fabric styles) and shared experiences (quilting & workshop).  All floating on a background of Monet's water lilies...

(Found the photos!)

This piece was inspired by my exploration into the work of Edouard Villard (1868 – 1940), a French Post-Impressionist who painted mostly domestic interiors in his trademark highly decorative and sumptuous manner.  His mother was a seamstress and his world it seems, was influenced by the wonderful textiles she handled.  Typically Villard’s paintings are of compressed internal spaces, contain flat surfaces decorated with all-over patterns (eg wallpapers) and mimic the colourful textiles he saw daily.  I really love the way he paints flowers - bold & splashy!  His paintings are best explained as a rich tapestry of softly blurred colours. Doesn't that sound so seductive! 

"Vuillard12" by Édouard Vuillard - National Gallery of Art,
Washington, DC. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vuillard12.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Vuillard12.JPG/

 

The Great Unfinished

Incentive to "Get On With It": 2015

2015 hard at work with the new design "wall" unfurled 

This list is part of my effort to publicly name and shame myself; a challenge to motivate & to get this lot finished (or sent to File 13 - a Bermuda Triangle of quilting & file disasters.  Oh yes, it does exist!). 

1.  (1980) Stumbling Fans
2. (1988) Creative Landscapes
3. (1989) Christmas Fairies
4. (1989) Floral Wreath
5. (1999) Fairy Quilt #2
6. (2002) Thai Ethnic Embroideries
7. (2005) GM Exchange Blocks
8. (2005) Yet More GM Blocks
9. (2006) Antique Toys #3
10. (2008) Explorer Series Homework
11. (2011) Something Flashy
12. (2012) Windom Quilt
13. (2013) Horta Calling Cards
14. (2014) Circles of Fun

Aside from this list of things to do, I've also got to get out the camera again and take some photos of those quilts finished but not photographed.  Another list as long as your arm!  Oh, well....

Incentive comes in the form of a new camera, so once I manage to drag myself away from the computer, it will be tally ho! and on with big push.  Now my next search will be finding how to take better blog photos.  Always Learning.

(Some of the above quilt titles are based on pattern names - only for a temporary reminder of what I was planning or using.)

and this one (Creative Landscapes 1988) has since found the Quilting Bermuda Triangle....

Sydney Re-invented 2006

Antique Toys: 2020  (Started: 2006)

Antique Toys made yet another appearance in my life, this time as I nursed a seriously broken leg.  Confined to my sofa, applique was the easiest sewing solution and rather than start something outlandish, I decided on finally making this quilt for myself.  Needless to say, the blocks kept me amused through footie, cricket and other sports offerings on the telly.  I couldn’t argue (or reach the remote) and for my sins, also had to cope with “cooking by the Cap’n”.  Live through it we did, and I regret to say that I’m still (in early 2015) working on this nod to my early patchwork addiction.

Toy Duck, version 2, 1998.

If memory serves me correctly, I made the duck block in 1988, with the Swan Bay Quilters as a contribution to a group quilt.  I then tackled it again as part of a group raffle (Bondi Evening Group) for our NSW Embroiders Guild in 1998.  Again, these blocks are from Cindy Taylor Clark’s book “Antique Toys”, 1983 sourced by one of our Queenscliff (VIC) group members.  I designed my own borders in a kind of self-help, round-robin process.

Started: 2006