Wednesday, June 29, 2016

This week at Fairholme ...

It seems there were many Fairholme quilters at the Sydney Quilt Show for at least one day, some for more. Everyone enjoyed the show, and quite a bit of shopping might have been done, but no-one was showing off their purchases - we'll eventually see them in quilts.

Thanks for a good show QuiltNSW - see you next year back at Darling Harbour.

Diana has decided to knit a blanket for each of her three
grandchildren for their 18th birthdays. The oldest is
only 13, so she has made a good start with this one!

A happy little quilt from Sue H (we now have five
Sue's!). Community quilters, note the design -
not as complicated as the overall view suggests
at first. The background is a small red dot on white,
and the inner border is ric-rac braid, sewn carefully
between the centre and outer border so that only
the outer points can be seen.
 
This one is also Sue's - for a new baby in the family.
Sue was hoping to be on the road over the mountains to
Dubbo right after our meeting on the coldest day for
20 years! Hope you took the quilts to keep you warm Sue.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Making the Australian Quilt: 1800–1950 - Melbourne



Making the Australian Quilt: 1800–1950 is the first major exhibition of its kind to bring together the rich works that constitute Australia’s quilt heritage. Exclusive to Melbourne, the exhibition includes more than eighty works from around the country. 

Key works such as The Rajah Quilt and examples by renowned makers Mary Jane Hannaford, Marianne Gibson and Amelia Brown are shown alongside a number of recently discovered pieces not exhibited before. They include quilts, coverlets, garments and quilted, patched and pieced works made in Australia or with a significant Australian provenance. 

The exhibition also features key 19th century English quilts that were brought or sent to Australia, informing and influencing the early quilting practices of local makers.



Tickets are on sale now, from the National Gallery of Victoria

Monday, June 27, 2016

Sydney Quilt Show: Viewer's Choice awards

The two Viewers' Choice Awards from the Sydney Quilt Show have been announced, and photos are on the QuiltNSW blog, Template Free now.

Congratulations Narelle Birchall and Julie Adamson.

View all the prize winning quilts in the Sydney Quilt Show 2016 Online Gallery.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Fairholme quilters at Sydney Quilt Show (2)

We are delighted to see Rousillon, the raffle quilt from our
Quilt Show in April, hanging at the Sydney Quilt Show this week.
It will go to the raffle winner very soon.
 
Queensland quilter Rae Cashman entered two quilts into the Sydney Quilt Show that were quilted by Fairholme member Jo-Ann  Phillips. Rae kindly gave us permission to post photos of her quilts here. The captions are extracts from the quilt labels at the show:

Rae Cashman  ‘King George III’ 178 x 137 cm  
I loved this pattern from Somerset, based on the antique 
"King George Reviewing The Volunteers" quilt and loved making it. 
Quilt Design by Somerset Designs 
Machine quilted by Jo-Ann Phillips, Quiltwise 
Detail of Jo-Ann's quilting on King George III
Rae Cashman and Jo-Ann Phillips  ‘Found On Chris' Back Table’ 
190 x 154 cm 
I admired the design of an antique quilt always on the back table 
at Cottage Quiltworks, Warriewood. The owner Chris allowed 
me to photograph it so that I could make it. It allowed me to 
use my shirting fabrics, which I love.
Detail of Jo-Ann's quilting on 'Found on Chris' Back Table'

Friday, June 24, 2016

Fairholme quilters at Sydney Quilt Show (1)

Yes, this week is all about the 2016 Sydney Quilt Show. Some of our members have quilts hanging in the show, as is our 2016 raffle quilt, Rousillon which is having its last outing before being handed over to the raffle winner. Miriam kindly took photos for us, and she has posted a blog of her favourite quilts.


Julie White - Egyptian Memories (121) 169 x 149 cm
I designed this quilt around the Egyptian patterned
fabric of Gods and Hieroglyphs incorporating
complimentary patterns to highlight the design.
Machine quilted by Sue Olma, So She Quilts

(Photo: Miriam Jones)
Julie White - Tree of Life (127) 165 x 158 cm
The centre panel is from Michele Hill’s ‘Morning Glory’ quilt.
The borders I adapted from that panel adding other features,
the central top bird and the rabbits at the bottom. Quilt Design by
Michele Hill Machine quilted by Sue Olma, So She Quilts

(Photo: Miriam Jones)
Jill O'Connor - Cut Loose (138) 153 x 153 cm
Designed as a series of vague sketches, all pieces were free
cut with scissors or rotary cutter, without rulers . Essentially
design-as-you-go, in response to colour and shape. Improvisation
with intent, influenced by Gwen Marston's aesthetic.

(Photo: Miriam Jones)
Award winner Linda Steele has posted some of the 200 photos she took during her Wednesday visit to the Show, on her blog, here - well worth a look.

Sydney Exhibition centre at Glebe Island has posted an album of 37 photos from the Show on its Facebook page, here.

You can also follow Quilt NSW via Instagram: @quiltnsw and the #sydneyquiltshow2016 and on Facebook where you will find many photos.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Sydney Quilt Show 2016: award winners

Whizz Bang! BERNINA Best of Show goes to Rachaeldaisy
of the Blue Mountains. Quilt NSW has released this photo for sharing.
See all the prize winning quilts here.
If you would like to see more of Rachel's quilts, her blog is Blue Mountain Daisy.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Quilt Canada 2016

Need some lovely quilts to look at this damp weekend? Feast your eyes on the 2016 National Juried Show winners at Quilt Canada Toronto, 2016.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

News

Studio ARTES
Visitors to our show will recall that Studio ARTES, who we supported with our show raffle, and who were our guest exhibitors, are recovering from the losses suffered in a studio fire in April. They are doing well, having moved into temporary studio space, and getting  on with the various activities offered to people with disabilities. 

This week the performance group is presenting Fly: Destination Unknown on Friday 17th in Hornsby - tickets are still available here, or at the door.

Studio artists Thom and Angelmouse (Robert Smith and Harriet Body) are currently exhibited at Hazelhurst Gallery in Gymea, as part of Wonder, an innovative exhibition for children, families and the young at heart, until 7 August. This is the gallery where the quilt exhibition Labours of Love was held last September.

Aussie Hero Quilts
You might be aware that Jan Maree Ball, the founder of Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry Bags lost her home to a fire recently. An online fundraising campaign has been established to help keep the program going, and support Jan and her family.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Some recent show and tell ...

We didn't meet yesterday because of the long weekend, but that might have meant there was more sewing done. Here are some finishes and an experiment from last week:

Robyn L's large contemporary quilt is made from paired
free curve-cut blocks (she says it is easier than it looks),
and an excellent eye for colour and tone. The border is a
Jinny Beyer print, and Robyn hand quilted with big stitches.

Miriam spent some time with Victoria Findlay Wolfe's
book '15 Minutes of Play', experimented with some of the
ideas and came up with this very clever star (which is about
40" square). The star points are made entirely from a patchwork
of squares recut with a diamond template. Miriam is now thinking
about borders, and will blog about the process atSew Miriam
when it is all written down. The background fabric is
Alexander Henry 'Heath' in black - it's hard to find these days.
 
Our community quilts collection has done well from stash
reductions related to house moves lately. Janice donated
several lengths of this pretty panel print, in both pink
and blue. She thinks it was intended for cushions.
Dawn has made at least four lap quilts for the
Donald Coburn Centre, backed with community stash fabric.
Georgie donated all of these fabrics - cute owl prints and
coordinating blenders, and made up the quilt top just before her
recent move. Lynette (our best finisher) quilted and bound it.
 
We are also very grateful for donated tops that arrive
regularly from Lynette's friend Christine who has moved
out of Sydney, but makes quilts for us. She often includes
the made binding, we pin baste them at community
sewing days, and Lynette usually quilts and binds them.
A second team Christine-Lynette quilt - a vibrant quilt made
with 'a few scraps'.

Monday, June 13, 2016

North Shore Craft Group winter 2016 exhibition



59th North Shore Craft Group annual sale featuring unique handmade items :
  • ceramics
  • glass
  • jewellery 
  • leather
  • felting 
  • textiles 
  • wood, and more
Opening night - Thursday 7 July 6.30 - 9pm
Friday 8th and Saturday 9th 10am - 5pm 
Sunday 10th 10am - 4pm

Thornleigh Community Centre

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Quiltsmith sale during Sydney Quilt Show ... starts today (11 June)

Quiltsmith has announced its fabric sale to run from today (11 June) until 2 July - very convenient for Sydney Quilt Show visitors since 75 Nelson Street Annandale is just a few minutes drive from Glebe Island. The sale is in-store only.


Revisiting a popular technique ... and some new things

At a recent meeting, we revisited the disappearing nine patch - a clever way of making a quick quilt block that looks much more complicated than it actually is, after a few members mentioned that they wanted to make it, but had not seen it done (it hit the internet about 2008, with quite a flourish, although the technique is older, and Janet Wickell says the term was in use by 2002).

There are links to both disappearing nine patch and disappearing four patch tutorials on our Quick links to techniques and resources page, and to a double disappearing nine patch, that is just a bit fancier.

Julie brought in two quilts she made using the disappearing nine patch technique, but using different block layouts to achieve quite different overall designs from the 'standard' one. There are many other ways of placing the blocks to achieve different effects (just Google 'disappearing nine patch' images, and settle in for some net surfing). You can also see how using border fabrics of differing values changes the look of the quilts. Thank you for sharing your beautiful quilts, Julie.

Julie's red, black and white quilt is a sophisticated rendition,
achieved by both the block placement and the controlled
colour palette. She has aligned the red blocks so that
the somewhat similar vine-like prints run in the same direction.
It does take more concentration to ensure that the blocks
are aligned correctly, but the sewing remains straightforward,
and it is well worth the extra time.

The block layout in this version also requires some concentration,
but is really quite straightforward - you just need to look
carefully to see it (helpful diagram on close-up below). Julie's
use of a single fabric for the 'sashing blocks' in her nine-patch
tricks the eye in locating the four patches.

Val has recently returned from a trip to Japan. 
She says she doesn't need any new fabric, but nevertheless, 
some came home with her - a beautiful collection, ably 
guarded by her planned purchase of a Sarubobo.
'Sarubobo' literally translates from the Japanese
as "a baby monkey". "Saru" is the Japanese word
for monkey, and "bobo" is the word for baby in
the dialect of Takayama.' (Wikipedia)

Friday, June 10, 2016

New website for Quiltsmith

Quiltsmith, one of our favourite quilt shops (in Annandale), has launched its new, improved website, and it is fabulous.

Fabrics and other products available online are arranged into a series of online 'shops', with additional tabs for classes, events, newsletters and administrative functions. It is very attractive, and easy to navigate. The regular class lists are very clear and detailed. One-off workshops are listed under 'events'.

You can also follow Quiltsmith on Instagram @aussiequiltsmith

You might like to check it out over this long weekend.




Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Images from the Fairholme Quilt Show (7)

ANNA’S BOHO GARDEN
Nerida Williams
Inspiration for this quilt came from favourite fabrics by Anna
Maria Horner from Nashville, TN, teamed with Kathy Doughty’s
Retro Starburst pattern. The main print was too lovely to cut
any smaller! I really like the way this quilt adds a colourful
'boho‘ accent to an otherwise dull corner of my home.
It is machine pieced and hand quilted with Perle 8.
FUN WITH TURQUOISE
Robyn Leek
This quilt was the first in my 'turquoise' phase. Machine
pieced with large stitched hand applique.
Framed
Louise Church
After winning the raffle at our 'Biggest Morning Tea' and discovering
fabric designed by Camille Rosskelly, I decided to borrow her book
from our library. The layer cake pack I felt lent itself to the 'Framed'
design. A weekend workshop accomplished the large top being
machined pieced. As this is such a large quilt, I decided to have
it professionally quilted by Jo-Ann Phillips.
My niece and goddaughter was married the week before Christmas
and will be the lucky owner who will appreciate it very much.
TRIPPY
Miriam Jones
I began this quilt as part of a Brigitte Giblin Trip around the
World quilt along. The squares are 2 inches and a red spot fabric
had to be used. Fabrics used had to come from your own stash and
all seams had to be hand-stitched and eye balled. This means I did
not mark one seam, but used my eye judgement in making the quarter
inch seams. I surprised myself that I could actually do this, and create
a perfectly flat quilt! I really enjoyed 'making do' and making this quilt.
SPRINGTIME
Robin Williams
I made this quilt from a Kaffe Fassett jelly roll because I love
the way he uses colour. The quirky pattern appealed to me.
The pattern is by Obsession 2 Quilt, found in Quilters
Companion magazine. Machine quilted by Jo-Ann Phillips, Quiltwise.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

This week at Fairholme ...

Lyn's pieced portrait of her father is made with 3/4"
squares  - the like ness becomes more obvious the further
away you are, as you can see from the small image below.

Diane brought in her dragon quilts - this one is machine appliqued
Diana's second dragon quilt depicts a tea party in
a tree house, and the dragons are embellished
with gems, as you would expect!
Pat, who is not usually a hand sewer, is teaching
herself to do needle turn applique ...
...  and she chose some high-contrast fabrics from the
community stash to try out a disappearing nine-patch block.
Jill revisited our Serendipity Circles workshop with 
Brenda Gael Smith in 2013 and improv New York Beauty 
arcs for this quilt top, for a young man who likes blue 
and a bit of orange.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

great tip!

This short video demonstrates am very nifty method for burying thread ends, including quite short ones:

Burying Your Thread Ends...The Easy Way!
Cindy Needham, 19 March 2015



Aren't people clever?

Friday, June 3, 2016

Images from the Fairholme Quilt Show (6)


Miriam ran some bag-making workshops for members, and
is now teaching regularly through Cottage Quiltworks, and
as a guest teacher for other groups. This display  of bags
brightened the space behind our information table.
Susan McMahon made her 'Jolly Stars' quilt after a workshop
with Catherine Butterworth, using Marti Michel templates.
There are no curved seams in the blocks.

HANOVER BLUES
Pat Nerlich
This quilt came about as a result of an Anne Sommerlad
workshop I attended in early 2014. The quilt design was
reproduced by Anne Sommerlad from a photograph of an
original quilt from ‘Quilts in Virginia’. The quilt is believed
to have been made by unknown slaves circa 1800, possibly
on Beaver Dam plantation in Hanover County. I wanted
to make it because it was so classically beautiful and I thought
it would challenge my quilting skills, which it did!
I would like to hang it on my wall but most likely it
will be used on my bed. Hannover Blues was beautifully
 custom quilted by Jo-Ann Phillips of Quiltwise.
 
CATHERINE WHEELS
Lyn Lang
This is Anne Sommerlad’s design which I started
in a workshop using paper foundation piecing and
finished in March 2016. My daughter Kathryn has
claimed it for herself and I nearly went blind
machine quilting it with black thread.
HANOVER BLUES
Elaine Walton
Began February 2014 in a workshop with Anne Sommerlad.
As I wanted to make the quilt smaller than the original, I was
pleased to have suggestions regarding fabric choices and design
from Margaret Sampson George, and Margaret Cormack.
 Machine pieced and quilted.