Threadbare

The last time I looked, it happened to be 2019.  Somehow, 2018 slipped by with minimal progress on my quilting/textile front and NOW we're headlong into 2019.  Conscious of this time I’m never going to get back, I did, in January, cut out two new designs.  Simple shapes, fast on the machine, limited to stash fabrics only.  

These two piles of cut fabric bits, along with the regulars on my annual UFO list (I’m almost too embarrassed to say how many and for how many years they've been languishing), sit in quiet contemplation in my garden shed (a sewing room since 2007).  I can at least say that I managed to get Miss 4’s first quilt, made by Nanny, completed in time for her birthday in 2018.  

Of course, we've been babysitting too.  

From a non-textile perspective, we’ve not been idle.  Almost every appliance we own died between mid-2018 and now, the fridges, yes both, died last week.  I’ve also been concentrating on organising and storing my “mega gigs” of photos – no mean feat - and just because I've been bitten by the bug, leapt headlong into some family history research.  On the table now, to add to this mix, is planning for our “away from home” excursions.  I’ve decided to try to take some EPP (English Paper Piecing) away with me for any dull days, so I’m looking for patterns and templates.  It’s amazing how much time can slip by when researching quilting or textiles on the computer.  

Then caught up with the family in Queensland

Lately, I’ve been studying Missouri Star Quilt Company’s fab YouTube tutorials, spent time searching for Japanese bag patterns, and decided to seek some advice on how to pep up my rather staid quilt post photos.  Here are a few links to some great photography advice and resource material to help you pass that rainy day.  

She Can Quilt: 

We All Sew:

Holly Knot:

The Modern Quilt Guild:

 So tomorrow is earmarked for a day in my garden shed…whoo hooo!

Before finding time for stitching inspiration at the Art Gallery of  NSW, Sydney
Artwork by Judy Watson

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.

Beep! Beep! It’s New York City

East River Hot House: 2012  (Started: 2011)

On display, Australia Day 2013

I purchased some memento fabrics whilst on a shopping trip with Annette in NYC’s Textile District (30/9/10).  We hadn’t seen each other since our Delhi days and it was a fun catch up & craft trip in one.  Aside from rummaging through heaps of button & bead shops, we discovered two quilting fabric sources, City Quilter & Purl Soho. We were Shopping...in New....New York.  Yaaaaaay!

This quilt then is all about the fabrics.  I needed a design that showcased their lively character so, chopping them up into tiny bits seemed almost sacrilegious.  Those special NY themed fabrics!!   It was back to the books for a bit of inspiration, and who better than Kaffe Fassett.  I settled on squares from his Morning Garden Quilt.  (Kaffe Fassett “Kaleidoscope of Quilts” 2006 p60.) 

Back View

Built on a base of 3 squares, the largest being a big 9”; medium 6” and the smallest 3” (finished), this quilt cut up quickly and sewed even faster.  Perfect!  Then it was on to quilting.  I chose to design my own loose pattern of ginkgo leaves, a favourite street tree though out New York.  I imagined crusty brown leaves blowing in autumn winds through romantic Central Park .  Ah, dreaming again!  So after a regimen of 4 bobbins a day for 2 solid days quilting (and that was just a ¼ of the quilt), it was finally done and ready to hang.

(Please note, this is not an exact replica of Morning Garden Quilt, I simply used the pattern piece sizes to construct my own arrangement of squares.  Does that make it a copy?  Good question and one to consider in another post – on another day…)

Quilting Design

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 156 x 230cm
Block Sizes: 9, 6 & 3 inch
Cut in: 18/19Mar 2011
Pieced & Basted: 2011 & 12
Quilted: Machine Feb 2012
Quilt Type: Modern
Quilt Finished: 2012
Exhibited: Australia Day, 2013
Collection: Home# 053
Pattern Name: Morning Garden Quilt
Pattern Source: Kaffe Fassett “Kaleidoscope of Quilts” 2006 p60.
Fabrics Purchased: City Quilter & Purl Soho, New York
Fabric Design: City & USA designs
Fabric Style: Modern Memento
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants

If you’re looking for quilting supplies in NYC then

• City Quilter is located at 133 West 25^th Street; and
• Purl Soho can be found at 459 Broome Street.
• (City Quilter even had these lovely printed fabric postcards that I couldn't help but use as my quilt label.) 

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!

A Few Challenges

Gee's Bend Comes to Town

With four unfinished samples from my Art Quilt class, I began to realise the extent of my UFO collection and felt rather keen to do something about it.  Thankfully I’d started keeping a UFO List way back in January 1997.  Every year from them on (with only a few exceptions!), I had made a New Year’s UFO List.  Somehow 2008 became my year of retribution & shame given the large numbers of bits & pieces languishing in my stash.  However, the year got away from me before I could put salve on that distress; though not before stepping out to the Gee's Bend Quilt Exhibition (31 Oct- 2 Nov 08) – sorry no photos allowed – and participating in a group cot quilt for one of our friends.

I wasn't quite as excited about the Gee's Bend Quilts as I imagined I would be.  I think this was in part due to the venue not showing the quilts to their best advantage.  It was crowded and the lighting poor.  Having recently read Nancy Crow's account of her first experience with these quilts (in "Crossroads"), I can better understand the excitement they generated in the quilting community. (By the way, her Artist's Statement is worth reading too!)

Find this catalogue here

Out of interest, here's a couple of links to Pinterest sites so that you can enjoy the eye candy of:

• Nancy Crow's work, and
• Gee's Bend quilts

During our November meeting, we were Stash Challenged by one of the group (who shall remain nameless – and it wasn’t me) with some real uglies.  But I guess that’s what makes it challenging!  My “challenge” pieces sat for a while in the bottom of my garden shed but eventually another challenge for Australia Day 2013 saw them rise to the fore.  They thus became the basis for my “Apron Quilt”, a submission for the Café Exhibition in December 2012 and subsequent "silent auction" during our Quilt Show, Australia Day 2013.  It was a nice little earner for our cause and went to a good home off-island.  You see, all good things come to pass….

Front view

Quilting close-up

Back view

The idea behind this quilt is that even when "relaxing" with my sewing machine, family duties, especially feeding the masses, is not far from my thoughts.  So rather than quilt the apron in a traditional fashion, I wrote a menu of family favourites (with my trusty machine).  I finished it off with tape measure ties - a subtle reminder that there's a need to watch the kilos.  Too much eating, sewing and sitting can be dangerous.  This was really a rather fun exercise (if you'll excuse the pun!). 

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!

A Little Learning

December 2014

Before I delve into the great wonder that is India, I’d like to take a step back and perhaps explain a little of where my head was taking me at the time.  Up front, I consider myself to be a quiltmaker; pure & simple with no fancy aspirations.  I love what I do and like to explore opportunities, especially learning to help myself to “do this thing” better.  I’m a great exponent of lifelong learning.

Patched Japanese Jacket.  Wendy Lugg Exhibition, 2000

By 2000 I had been quilting for 15 years and had had a wonderful time learning all sorts of techniques, improving my technical skills and trying to add my own twist to things eg unusual colour choices, pieced backings.  Was I bored?  Well, I don’t think so, but what I did need was something to get the blood pumping again.

The 1998 Rapt in Colour exhibition of Choson Dynasty Textiles (Korean Wrapping Cloths) at the Powerhouse Museum was part of my reconditioning experience.  It came like a bolt of lightning!  Quilts CAN have depth, a personality and convey messages.  Similarly, the various exhibitions we attended before going to Japan (2000) had me off and running. My first “textile” travel experience was thereafter destined to become a quest of discovery.  In other words, a real foraging!

I had also by happenstance, come across an interview with Linda McCartney (I think the ABC, played in 2000) about her photography.  I found it incredibly interesting and inspiring.  The gist, in my own words, was that your “medium” is simply an expression of your reaction to things around you.  LMcC believed in modest materials and a minimalist approach eg one lens and black & white prints.  This allowed her to focus on her chosen subject and add a touch of surrealism.  She believed that we need to understand the history of our “medium” and how that influences our own style or way of seeing.  We need to grasp how old masters have used the elements and apply that learning to our own work too.  Copying is certainly out of the question, unless it is traditionally or culturally acceptable.  Finally, LMcC advised how important it was to add something of yourself (capturing your own style) and to just seize the moment.  

Rapt in Colour, Powerhouse, 1998

With these experiences in mind, I had a plan:

1. Take a sketch diary with me to Japan (Well, I did but used my camera instead.  Time to languish was not on our side!)

2. Think about a theme eg blue & white, manhole covers, flowers, seasons etc. Try a fresh approach if it's been done before. (It was so hard to focus in Kyoto...land of the unbelievably beautiful.)

3. Review my current works and make a note of what I’ve learned from that exploration.  (Had I sewn myself into a corner?  Where (or what or even who) was my superhero to help me on my way?)

4. Join a group of like-minded individuals to discuss work.  Learn from others.  (This is why I love attending classes.  Teachers can offer fair criticism.  My friends offer other constructive options to consider.  Fantastic – only a few blocks to unpick!) 

5. Travel and be inspired…could I record the experience?  (I am continually inspired, my photograph collection is approaching digital mega-tons and my mind is spinning with ideas.  From all this though, my love for blogging has bloomed.) 

6. Now of course, all there is to do is focus and get on with it. 

Oh, sure….

Wools & Waggas

Embroiders Guild Project: 2002 

Having mentioned the Embroiders Guild, I need to add in a quilt that I had almost forgotten about.  Alison had brought some wool samples to one of our regular meetings in 2002 and suggested that we could use them to make a quilt to donate to the Guild in 2003 for a raffle.

Group Christmas Party at Bondi

A basic block using foundation crazy piecing adding embroidered detail into the woollen fabrics was voted in as a interesting take on the woolen wagga format.  Waggas were the recent “big thing” as Australia was discovering its own quilting history thanks to the research of Annette Gero and Margaret Rolfe.  The Rajah Quilt had been “discovered” in 1987 and its connections to convicts aboard the Rajah in 1841 on their way to Australia made known.  We were ripe for discovering our own heritage and Depression era waggas, made initially by men, were a popular source of inspiration.  There’s quite a bit of info out there that relates to the wagga story so I’ve added a few interesting links that you might care to follow.

I think we rather enjoyed putting together this quilt, reminiscing about times of “making do” and learning about past lives.  It was finished at our October Meeting in 2002.  Luckily I found a stray photo or two to remind me of it.

I'm guessing this was my block
with its minimal embroidery..

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...)

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.

Isn't it Always a Journey?

Ugly Twisters: 2010  (Started: 1999)

Hanging at Dangar Island Australia Day Quilt Exhibition 2011
(Margaret's bright hexagon flowers are on the right) 

This is a quickie strippy I did with Judy Hooworth at Maroubra with the Eastern Suburbs Quilters 28^th August 1999.  I can’t remember the exact details but somehow recall we had to bring our uglies with the intention of slapping them into something likeable…..  

It really was fast to piece but needless to say I didn’t like the resulting top (can you really make uglies attractive?).  Mind you, others in our workshop were more successful in creating attractive tops – perhaps I was trying too hard…  Eventually I added an outrageous border to pull it all together.  This improved it very little!  It’s rather a shame because I put together a pieced backing that I thought was rather nice. 

Finally by the end of 2001, the top made it to my pile needing backing & basting!  This was the start of my roundup in 2003 in prep for

a. my much anticipated new Bernina (read life-saving machine quilting), and

b. as part of my “clean up” of the UFO pile, which regrettably, I am still working through!

But still this top lingered, unloved.  Needing finished quilts to display for our 2011 Australia Day exhibition, I made an effort to get this one completed and have to say that I am finally at rest with this project – it doesn’t look too bad now.  I stitched a cable pattern in the wholecloth strips (hand quilted with sashiko thread) and machine quilted various feather cables in the pieced strips.  It looked quite good hanging up.  Maybe those uglies are finally growing on me…

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 142x 142cm
Block Size: 5“
Cut in: 1999
Pieced & Basted: 2001
Quilted: Machine & hand 2010
Quilt Type: Workshop
Quilt Finished: 2010
Exhibited:  Australia Day 2011
Collection: Home# 033
Pattern Name: Simple 4 patch
Pattern Source: Judy Hooworth
Fabrics Purchased: Stash
Fabric Design: Mixed & Uglies
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
This was a nothing ventured, nothing gained workshop.  We all had fun and relaxed.  It is too easy to get caught up in “overthinking” projects wanting them to work out perfectly – every time and instantly…  This quilt slowly evolved, benefiting from a little time in the UFO box and improvement in my quilting skills.  Fresh eyes, either your own after being well rested, or those of a friend willing to say it like it is, can turn around an ugly.  Time spent in reflection is never wasted!

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same.  Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”  Don Williams Jr (poet & songwriter)