No Quilting Here

2012/2013

I have omitted to put in a little about 2012, a busy year that slipped away without so much as a by your leave.  This was of course, the big “Year of Flooring” when the kitchen, lounge & garden shed floors (about 1/3 of our house space) were re-laid.  That meant significant upheaval, lots of dust and frequent blue language.  So, with no sewing room there was little quilting achieved and with no kitchen, we got used to BBQ’s, salads or sandwiches. 

To add to the misery, I had inadvertently left a window open (for 6 months) and my quilts had taken on that vague and somewhat unsavoury odour of a wet dog.  That meant a serious washing session, which turned out reasonably well with only two quilts shedding dye and another with ripped fabric.  The ripping was not a major issue and easily fixed.  Some black fabric I had purchased for an Amish style quilt was a little “cheap” and probably old, so it showed.  I simply re-appliqued a shape over the tear and no-one was the wiser.  As for the dyeing, the colour run stands testimony to care, selection & pre-washing of hand-dyed fabrics.  Always learning!

Once washed, it seemed silly to put my quilts away before photographing them.  This then, was the prime force in getting a move on with my blog.  So lots of washing, photographing and staring at a computer screen. 

Australia Day 2013

Then came the news that we were to celebrate Australia Day on the Island in 2013.  That meant finding time and a space to complete a few from the UFO box to put out for display. There was also the challenge of Aprons for the Cafe.  Somehow it all came together – after one too many late nights - and we managed to put up a lovely display for our many visitors.

Shaping Up 2011

First, start a blog....

So begins the epic kitchen reno...bring on that BBQ!

January 2011 marked the beginnings of this, my OTS blog…now a big 4 years… and my early efforts to shape an unruly quilt list into an on-line album!  It also heralded yet another Australia Day Exhibition (2011) so the midnight oil was burning to have MORE quilts to hang.  Well, we couldn’t hang too many of the same ones could we?  And the best result...more finished quilts.  Yahooee!!

Visitors came to help us celebrate Australia Day 2011

We had lots to look at and talk about!

We also celebrated that year with a couple of shopping trips; one in the metro area and one to the Blue Mountains.  Great days if not a tad long but a few little extras to add to the “cut-and-come-again” stash!  (Anyone who has read Norman Lindsay’s “The Magic Pudding” (1819), a famous Australian children's book will understand what I mean.)

Ribbons & Rainbows at Blackheath - now sadly closed

Finally time came to start something new – a chance to celebrate after being such a goodie two-shoes - so I began to make up a couple of “Travel Stories” with those bits & pieces I had collected during my travels.  I was in part inspired by an article I had read in Quilters Newsletter Magazine (June 2003, issue #353) some years ago by the esteemed Helen Kelley.  In the article, she describes the quilted postcards she had made to celebrate her travels.  “Hmmm, nice idea I thought” but picture quilts weren’t exactly my cup of tea, so I let the idea percolate for a while.  It wasn’t until later that I realised “Bush Picnic” with those lovely Aboriginal fabrics I’d been collecting was a kind of homage to my Perth, WA trip (2002).  Inspiration at last!  So began some serious work and I polished off two more small quilts fairly quickly and also started to play with something a bit flashy; a rather nice collection of purples & acid greens from The Purple Patch.  (This must have meant I visited the store before it closed down, but memory escapes me when that was exactly.)

A Material Matter

Australia Day Exhibition 2010

Honestly, these two years 2009/2010 just flew by.  Somehow in 2009 and despite the demands of being in my 5^th year of a serious house make-over, I managed to find the time to help make another cot quilt (always a great warm-up – in different ways - for both maker & recipient) and to get away to Kangaroo Valley for a “mini retreat”. 

Then, and only then did I have time to became completely absorbed with my UFO box and preparations for our first ever Australia Day Exhibition, January 2010.  It was a big event for us, given that our group is small but somehow quilts came out of the woodwork and we had a lovely showing.  Some of the ladies were kind enough to let us “air” out their quilts in the garden for the day.  We had some very nice comments, although many visitors could not understand why we weren’t selling them. 

It’s always hard to explain to non-sewers exactly why a handmade (or even hand stitched item) is either difficult to part with or so expensive.  On average it takes me two years to make a lap or single bed size quilt.  Anyway, I know I’m preaching to the converted but the lesson is for the maker to take the decision, keep or sell (or give away).  And if you sell, remember there’s more to a quilt than the sum of its material parts.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, here is a great summary from Katie’s Quilting Corner.  For a different perspective, try Caryl Bryer Fallert’s comments.  Three cheers for sensible answers!