Crystallisation with a Twist

 

Helen Conway in the UK - one of the famous 12 x 12 group did my class in the UK last year. Being the creative soul she is - she used the technique but made it her own.

You can read more about her inspiration on her blog where she also has brilliant detail shots of the stitching

New Zealand Quilt Symposium

 

I am very excited to be teaching at my first NZ Symposium in Queenstown next month. It will be a great opportunity to catch up with student from my first trip a few years ago as well as lots of new friends.

I have checked with the organisers and although my Breaking the Drought workshop is full (yay!) there are still places in Crystallisation (above) and Cutout Magic.

These are both really exciting and different workshops which have been very popular in Australia as well as the UK so I hope some of you might be interested in joining in the fun.

I have reposted some images of previous workshops and results to give you a better idea of what we get up to.

Crystallisation Quilt from England

Judy did my workshop at the Bramble Patch in the UK a few months ago and has sent me these great photos of her Crystallisation Quilt. Aren't the colours vibrant?
Above is the closeup of the centre and here is the full quilt.

She has told me that it is hanging in her newly decorated guest room and the colours are a perfect match.
I will be returning to the UK in 2012 and am already taking bookings so if your group is interested please let me know.

Also - bookings open TODAY for Be Creative by the Sea Retreat 2011 and I will be teaching my Luscious Landscapes and Beneath the Surface projects so contact Wendy ASAP to book your place at this wonderful venue.

Festival of Quilts

I am packing - yes again!
In just over a week I leave for the UK and the Festival of Quilts - I am so excited!
They have just released a few more places on their website for my Crystallisation Workshop on the 17th so if you are in the area and fancy having a fun few days playing with all sorts of fabrics and creating a striking geometric design why don't you sign up?

This is the quilt that inspired my award winning Bushfire Sunset and uses the same piecing technique. It is a very freeing and relaxing workshop that breaks lots of rules so if you are feeling like a break from tradition - this is the one for you.

ALSO - I only have 4 copies of Down Under Textiles (mentioned in my last blog post) left so you will need to be quick if you want one!

Great Workshop

I spent the weekend with the Stitching & Beyond Group in Kingston here in Tasmania. We did Crystallisation and the colours flying around the room were incredible. I had a great time and came away with even more ideas.

Sally obviously loves purple

but she also brought along her leaf quilt which featured some of my Fusibles. and some she had made with silk paper. Her inspiration for the design was my Beneath the Surface quilt.



The day before my class I returned to WAFU Works down the road in Kingston and stocked up with even more of the great embroidery threads. After showing them to my students there was a rush there at lunchtime for more threads and some beautiful Japanese fabrics which found their way into some of the quilts.

Crystallisation Workshop in Canberra

Last weekend I taught Crystallisation workshop in Canberra to a group of enthusiastic ladies. Here are some of the works in progress and I am looking forward to seeing the completed quilts.



This is also the workshop I am doing in Adelaide on the 9th October and there are still a few more spots available.

Adelaide Workshop

A dear friend has asked me to do a workshop in Adelaide after the show - Monday 9th November. It is in Goolwa which is a little bit out of Adelaide but those who live there will know where it is.

We are doing Crystallisation which is the quilt technique which inspired Bushfire Sunset and is a really fun workshop. We are doing the two day workshop as a one day version but it is suitable for all levels. You get to use up all your scraps too which is always a bonus.

If you are interested please contact me for more details. This is a small private workshop so numbers are limited.

Thanks also for all your nice comments wishing my plants well. Here are the results of our labours yesterday. So far so good - maybe this time some will survive our neglect.

Sydney Quilt Show

Great day yesterday at the Sydney Show. One of the best things about doing a show in my home city - apart from getting to sleep in my own bed - is seeing so many friends.
There is a steady stream of familiar friendly faces saying hello and it is wonderful to see so many.

I am doing a free demo/workshop everyday on Aurora and Midnight Sky Art Quilts as well.

My quilt Crystallisation won Third Prize in the Professional Anything Goes Category which is terrific and all the prizes winners can be seen on the NSW Guild Blog. I am teaching this quilt in Canberra later in the year if you are interested. If you would like me to teach it at your group or store just contact me.

I was most thrilled that my friend Pennie won first prize for her miniature called 'Because I can..'. We all thought she was mad when she started it - actually we still do but it just goes to show how clever she is. The ribbon is bigger than the quilt.

Home from Be Creative

Had a wonderful time at Coffs Harbour with my students and the other tutors.
Flying into Coffs you can see that they have had so much rain.

I taught Crystallisation for the first time and was so thrilled with the resulting quilts. I can't wait to see photos of the finished quilts.



Aurora quilts en masse always look spectacular

SAQA Exhibition in Brisbane

My quilt Crystallisation is being exhibited as part of the SAQA: Oceania Art Textiles exhibition in Brisbane at Gallery 159. It was opened by Janet deBoer, editor of Textile Fibre Forum magazine & Gallery 159 Director.



It has been away for a while now and I am looking forward to getting it home. Especially as I am teaching this design at Be Creative by the Sea Retreat in Coffs Harbour in April. There are still some places in the workshop if you are interested. It's a fun and freeing workshop using lots of scraps and easy easy piecing

I have been sewing

I have just finished a new quilt which I am quite pleased with. I can't show the completed picture yet but here are a few steps along the way.

Lots of fabric strips - I worked in five different colour families and used a combination of silks, hand dyes, linen, velvet hand painted and anything else I could find from my stash. I stabilized the slippery ones before cutting them into strips.
For each colour family I created a needle felted piece to add to the texture - also cut into random strips

Start of the layout - each block is either 2in square or 4x2in




I will show you the finished quilt as soon as I can.