More Class Planning

The end of 2008 and is near and wow it's certainly a long time since I found some spare minutes to write a blogpost.

I have been busy sewing and writing patterns for my intro to using hand dyed fabric in a contemporary manner class at Yeppoon for QCWA in January 2009.

This is called Citrus Fizz and is all hand dyed fabric.

This is Zinnia Fizz using the same pattern using a commercial print with different hand dyed fabrics. This demonstrates the different effects of fabric and the use of the same block with different sizes.

I will be using my blog as a record to help me survuve this teaching stint. Oh to have sufficient time for organisation.

Class Planning

Wow , does anyone really know how much preparation time is involved in designing a workshop. Now I understand why some tutors like teaching the same thing MANY TIMES.

I have finished the Art Banners for Gin Gin. The participants did some really lovely work.

So now I have been playing with my hand dyed fabrics and this time because I do not want to provide kits as you can never please everybody, I have incorporated using bright prints as well.

The first view is of a small table runner using a simple block with a coordinating strip of hand dyed fabric. Pretty simple to begin with.

The next view is Jungle Jazz where I have mixed shades of green into the simple block.

The last view is all hand dyed fabric. These are the first in my class samples. I intend to cover 4 areas in 2 days. Simple straight insertions, foundation piecing, curved blocks and improvisational piecing. Table runners are the items we will be playing with.

Well, back to the sewing machine.

Another Blogging Break

Yes I know it has been nearly a month. Sometimes I would like to know how the days just speed by. A lot of the time I spend sleeping during the day. My work roster involves working at night and the lasting fatigue from those efforts requires a few days of rest and relaxation.


I have been planning our QCWA workshop for Jan 09 as well as working on a banner project for Gin Gin and District Fine Arts Society. I am conducting an applique workshop on October 23 and 24 to make a 2m x 90cm banner depicting something about Gin Gin.


I chose to make mine about the Kolan Swimming Club.

Our family has been involved in the club for approx 10 years. After studying the photo the letters for club could possibly have been a bit more to the right BUT they are stitched in place now. The concentric lines are actually blue with a black line up the middle. The swimmers are easily recognisable ( thank goodness) as swimmers. The bird is the club mascot and their colours are black and white. Not too bad for an amateur at this graphic work.

I will be back with the next projects for QCWA next time. I have to finish one thing at a time these days.

Life Rolls On ( or does it)

Well I'm back after a short break. The 21st quilt was well received at the party. She even admitted that she knew she was getting a quilt. Unfortunately the good photo I took of it before hand was deleted off the camera and I have not taken another photo yet.

This is the centre panel which I think I have shown before. I promise a photo of the whole quilt when it comes home again.

I have started planning the contemporary workshop for January 2009 for the QCWA ladies. At patchwork in Mt Perry last Friday one lady commented about making a quilted tablecloth for her outside table so the wind does not blow it around. So my table runner workshop will also involve tablecloths using hand dyed fabrics and changing traditional blocks to a more contemporary version. I love the new book Skinny Quilts and Table Runners as it has the work of several different quilters in it.

I have even started planning my applique banner for the street of Gin Gin and the hockey finals have been and gone for another 5 months so maybe some housework and sewing can be done.

I had a distressing weekend at work for 3 nights. 3 trauma cases in one evening ending up with the deaths of 2 young teenagers casts a shadow over a hospital. Plus there seems to be more medical emergencies than ever in Bundaberg. It has taken me 2 days to get over 2 15 hr stints and 1 normal late shift. I arrived home at 1 o'clock on Tuesday morning. Yesterday I managed to work on a small table runner of floral scraps for the Mt Perry Quilters girls night in on October 3rd. This is a fundraiser and information evening for cancer and we are raffling our log cabin quilt. I was amazed at how pieces seem to jump out of my stash and work together nicely.

So yes life is busy, but I think we should be thankful for that. It is distressing as a parent to know there are now 2 families doing it very tough as a result of an accident.

I'll leave you with a pic of another small outback quilt. It always lifts my spirits to see lots of colour.

Hello I'm Back

The large mystery quilt is finished , 10 days before the deadline. I have hand quilted it, bound it and machine washed it on a delicate cycle and it is currently blocking on the floor in front of the wood heater. One thing left is a label to show ownership for the new owner. I wont show a pic of the finished item until the new owner receives it on the 30 August.
Now I will be too busy organising the occasion for when I give it away.
As for any other patchwork, I have ordered a new book for my contemporary workshop for QCWA in January 2009. I have also invested in a roll of Floriani Stitch n Wash Fusible for an upcoming applique workshop in banner making for the streets of Gin Gin in October. Once the 30th August party is finished I must look ahead again.
Events just keep rolling on don't they ? I must admit it was very nice to have a hand quilting project to do for winter and the olympics. I must remember this for 4 years time.

Yep I've STILL BEEN SEWING!!!!!!

Hand quilting the must be finished by August 30 project. It is coming along slowly. I had to purchase more thread in case I ran out. That is my excuse anyway. Online shopping is great for remote people. Actually faster than me purchasing some threads in Australia.


Here are two photoes of the work so far. I decided to cross hatch the quilt by hand due to the large size of the applique shapes. If I did machine mctavishing it would pull the background to the back too much and make the large shapes stand out too much creating a very puffy shape.

This is a completed block. There are 12 of these plus a centre panel ( the size of 4 blocks)

This one is the second last block to be done. The needle is inserted above the bow. I hope to finish all the blocks by Friday night. I should be doing that now instead of this but what the heck. Next week I will start the borders. I cannot work on it while the receiver of this quilt is home and as she turns up every weekend it has posed problems in finishing it. I'm sure she thinks Mum has been doing no housework at all during the week and does odd things when she is home.

I just hope she likes it. She already has a pink cotton and organza doona cover on her bed for winter and I'm sure she can use this for summer.

Must go

Happy Quilting

Yes I Have Been Sewing

Yay!!

Progress on the large mystery quilt. I have the 12 blocks finished, plus the large centre panel. I have basted the quilt together and last night sat down and actually hand quilted around one applique shape on one block. I have machine ditch stitched the 16 blocks . I used a YLI 100 wt silk thread and will use this to hand quilt it. The nylon organza overlay over the blocks means machine quilting could be a problem and I feel it is easier to fudge the quilting by hand.

As this is a special quilt for somebody I dont want to wreck it.

There are 12 blocks this size with a larger centre panel with a scallopped border around the large centre panel and around the outside. Looks like I will be busy doing some quiet sitting and quilting. Glad it's winter here in Australia.

Again , Where have I been ?

Yes I know, a whole month between posts. Yes life certainly gets away when you are trying to keep up with things. Two quarterly BASes ( dont know if that is correct Aussie english but it'll do) , the usual work load of keeping up an income flow, the beginning of the hockey season for being a spectator and the usual no event sewing.

Am still currently working on the mystery quilt for August. Seems like an eternity to get this thing done. Mind you it would help if I could sit and sew for a while uninterrupted. There are some unusual problems in achieving it which can be explained later.
It's also the Bundaberg Quilters annual exhibition and I'm only going to have one or two small wall hangings to enter.
Our Mt Perry quilting group has been working on a fundraising quilt for our movie night for Cancer in October and I will have to machine quilt it also. Hope the girls don't finish it too soon.
Catch you later.

Patchwork Day Again

I went along to our patchwork day in the Mt Perry Hall last Friday. I have been working on the mystery quilt with a deadline of August 30 2008. I was expecting a visit from my daughters so had to take my decoy quilt along. Much more interesting to create than following a pattern.

Along came a friend who delights in rearranging my blocks so we had a play time .

After looking at this arrangement I'm planning on shifting a few orange centred blocks closer to the orange blocks. Then I have to think about a frame border. This is much more fun than following a purchased pattern.

More technological advances

Not much has been happening lately on the sewing front as other duties seem to always have priority. I have been reading Lisa Calls blog with much interest about her topics of staying on focus and negative people. http://blog.lisacall.com if you wish to visit. Some good advice to attempt to follow. I do not view myself as a quilt artist but more a quilter. Maybe I should.

Where have I Been?

A lousy question, nowhere except to work , home and patchwork once. Between all of that, creativity feels like a dead duck at this place. I have been struggling to keep awake, 9 days of full time work took a huge effort to stay focused on the tasks at hand. There has to be a better system of providing health care to people than expecting people to work flat out for up to 16hrs a day and still be able to work accurately and quickly. More time for resting in between shifts should be the way to go. I'm pleased I only work part time normally and do not have to show up every day for extended periods.
I have been working on my contemporary blocks to the stage where they are hanging on my poor design wall ( a sheet hanging on the bookshelf) and being looked at every now and then for possible changes. I have also gone back to revisit a shadow applique project for a very special reason. More later as the project grows.

More contemporary thoughts

I went along to patchwork today for a break from Microbiology at work. I took along my latest blocks I have been working on to do some more planning for our contemporary workshop. I asked our resident artist ( now quilter) about contemporary and modern definitions. She reckons that contemporary is more abstract and agreed that my latest blocks were in the contemporary area. I am still getting no responses as to how long is something modern for?

Now I have to keep making a few more to blend them all together. Looks like I still like my narrow strips of colour. I found the idea in an old block collection in a QNM . I narrowed the middle strip so that the 3 pieces were no longer the same size. I have even managed to make 1 mirror image block by accident when I did not think it was possible to do that with such a simple block. I really love the luminosity of my hand dyed fabrics. It was amazing that 3 of us currently share the same favourite block. ( The middle red one).

What is a Contemporary Quilt?

I have been asked to conduct a workshop on contemporary piecing in Jan 2009. I have been mulling over what exactly is their idea of a contemporary quilt. Contemporary the word itself to me means something that is modern and current in todays trends. When does contemporary become something of the past. For instance what was contemporary in 1990 may not be considered contemporary now in 2008. So what do we call the quilts made in 1990 now?

I have taught this group hand dyeing fabric and at present using these types of fabric in quilts gives a very different look to using prints. Bold colours also give a nice bright look to quilts. The free motion quilting style currently preferred by some long armers also gives a different look.

I still dont think that this style of quilting should be called contemporary.

I am thinking of teaching them how to use their traditional blocks in a different manner through their fabrics of course.

Improvisational piecing where they cut loose with their cutters and forget their rulers is also on the agenda. Watch out for the fingers. A slightly blunt blade is helpful.

There is so much scope to " contemporary piecing" where do you actually start?

This is a quilt made during the drought that some of the group wanted to make. To me is suffices their contemporary quilt concept in that it is of a simple design, the fabrics have been constructed by hand , is designed for a wall not a bed ( not really designed for washing too much) and is quilted by machine to have the quilting as a design feature not just to hold the layers together. Am I fulfilling their idea of a contemporary quilt?

More Rain for North Queensland

We have been fortunate to not receive the amounts of rain that other parts of Qld have received. My niece survived the floods at Emerald a few weeks ago. My brother and his family live in Mackay but were lucky to not be flooded in the DELUGE that happened over the weekend. The rain gauge would have been useless that night so luckily my sister in law left the wheelie bin out to be the real rain gauge. It was half full of water. They have never seen so much water fall out of the sky in such a short time. I don't think many Aussies have seen that type of rain before.
Mt Perry could do with some more rain but not quite now. We have 2 tractors still bogged in the pasture waiting for a dry spell so we can drive them out.
Today is tidying up the sewing table day and then maybe some new sewing might eventuate. I have been finishing off the binding on my queen sized log cabin quilt for the farmhouse at Proston.
I have been asked to teach "contemporary piecing" for Yeppoon CWA workshops next year. Is there really a definition of what is contemporary piecing ? I feel this needs a lot of research. Fusing, cutting random strips without a ruler, curved piecing, convergence quilts, using hand dyed fabrics is it contemporary enough. I have already taught them a workshop using my connector technique. I think I might go down the strips and curving them path with this one. Sounds like a challenge doesn't it? More reading and research to be done.

Rain and More Rain and Procrastination.

We have had to wait a bit longer than some other areas but Mt Perry is now receiving some rain at last. Makes the quilter want to stay indoors and make more quilts.

Like some other people I know procrastination seems to be rife amongst us. One colleague is blogging about it lately and it seems to be spreading to me. Seems to me like we always question ourselves as to where are we going with our quiltmaking. Do we want to be a well known quilter and receiving recognition for our work? What do we wish to do with our completed projects? I keep telling my children their pets of the future will have colourful blankets to cover with their fleas and hair? Are our quilts and projects destined to be heirlooms or do we want them to be loved and used and fall apart in a few years. I have been asking myself this lately, I enjoyed teaching my classes at Yeppoon and the students must have enjoyed themselves as well as I have been invited back next year. Do I wish to continue juggling between quilting activities and my work and home life? I think I can enjoy all 3 but how come the focus can be on all 3 activiites at once when sometimes you wish the quiet time in one area matches a busy time in another?

I also have to fund my activities through a part time job and have found out that this is changing to a 0.5FTE ( and increase of 0.3FTE) and will involve more late shifts and night shifts. My life is changing as a result so my social quilting will probably cease. I think I will rely more on the internet for learning and developing as a quilter.

I have tried a new technique yesterday and it is amazing how much you can learn from 1 nine inch block. Mind you I currently have about four unfinished items to work on.

Here is a photo of my first major finished item to show you I can beat the procrastination hurdle.

I made this quilt whilst pregnant with Belinda 16 years ago.

I completed it after she was born. It is machine shadow appliqued and all hand quilted. I still wonder at how I finished it for a show deadline with 3 children under 6 years. Lately it takes me 6 monthes to make a quilt top.

Has it Been That Long

Unfortunately it has been over a month since I last found some minutes to devote to this.
Wow what a busy time I have had. Christmas and New Year seems like months ago instead of weeks. I had the good fortune of teaching a hand dyeing fabric workshop and free motion quilting your dyed fabric workshop for the QCWA Piecemakers group. I originally attended a Piecemakers Teachers Workshop in 1999 and thoroughly enjoyed myself meeting ladies from far flung parts of Queensland. This worshop was held at Cool Waters Holiday Village Yepoon.
I honestly don't know what the owners thought of the multitude of colours in their waste water that day but the ladies who went home and washed their fabric thought it was all marvellous.
They all learnt a lot the next day about free motion quilting. I'm sure some of them have already purchased a teflon slider for their machine. One lady suggested using a teflon pressing mat but it does not have the stickiness underneath to hold it in place. She reckons there is a market there in Australia for an entrepreneur.
Either side of the workshop I had to fill in for a work colleague so he could have some much needed Rec Leave. I'm not used to full time work so it was a bit tiring.
Now school has started again , the routines are slowly returning and patchwork is on again this Friday for me. The only sewing I have done is made a school skirt . The eldest daughter has now officially left home ( 80ks up the road ) at her first teaching position so there have been some changes in the house. Mind you the time for housework still never seems to happen but that is the motto of Bundaberg Quilters. Sadly I am not volunteering for Publicity Officer for them again as my work roster is changing and meabns I will be unable to attend Sat meetings or Tuesday meetings. I still will enjoy my time spent in Mt Perry though when we go sewing in the Hall. Have you visited our Mt Perry Quilters blog lately?