Starting the New Year

Wow, what a wild and windy day I woke up to here in Lincolnshire and it seems to be even worse in Scotland and Wales, not a day to leave the house unless it was absolutely necessary.  The sky is a sort of grey/green tinge, really weird.
We made a good start to 2012 with a lovely walk at Gibraltar Point, it was windy then too but not cold or threatening.  Sam loved having the wind blow through his hair:

I went to visit GS Wills yesterday and he got a corn snake for Christmas.  He's called Speedy (I would have got a female and called her Maisie but that's a little corny, ouch).  He was quite lively and really beautifully patterned.  DH was happy to take a photo from a safe distance!

Today I can share the production line project that I teased you with before Christmas.  I must credit two people with the inspiration for this little shopping list holder.  Melanie Plummer taught a workshop on beach huts which I really enjoyed - it was when I used Angelina fibres for the first time.  Village Fabrics kindly allowed the pattern for an apron shaped list holder to be copied for the Dayspring Quilters' Day for International Quilt Day last year.  My little pieces have developed from these starting points.

Today I am looking at two exciting new projects.  The QGBI Region 9 BOM designed by Jacquie Harvey started on 1st January with the first block being emailed to members.  It's not to late to sign up, look at the QGBI website or Jacquie's own website. I have joined but I'm not going to start this project immediately, I have one or two (ha ha) other things to finish first!  Sharon B's TAST2012 project started on PinTangle yesterday, click on the button on the right to see what it's all about.  I'm hoping to build up a library of embroidery stitches to use in my quilting projects, this week's stitch is Fly Stitch and Sharon has lots of embroidered eye candy to inspire us.
Of course I also have a pile of works in progress....but let's be positive, I've tidied my sewing room so I can at least see what I'm doing and, drum roll, it's 2012 and this is the year I go to Japan with Nat and Bryan on the inaugural Japanese Textile Study Tour and I'm very excited about it.  What are your textile plans for 2012?

Temptations

From grubs to kimono | The Japan Times Online

Here's some temptation for a wet Saturday! Read the article above. Then have a look at Nat and Bryan's blog
I am hoping to join the trip next year...got to save the pennies and the yen but what a fantastic opportunity, priceless really.

Here's another opportunity of a very different kind...

Jacquie Harvey has designed a wonderful BOM which shares her wonderful handstitching techniques. It's open to everybody, worldwide, and starts in January 2012. The best way to join in is to be a Quilters' Guild member and join by email as it will only cost £10, that's in total, for the whole year's patterns and support from Jacquie. Non-members and those without email can also join but it will cost a little more. Application forms and more details are on Jacquie's website,  where you can also see more of her stunning work.  You can also contact Ros Peedle at QGBI Region 9 ros.peedle@live.co.uk
for more information.
That's enough temptation for one post.  My DH is on a jolly with his brother, it's raining and I've had to put the splint back on my knee after seeing the doctor yesterday - torn ligaments!  So, all things considered, I think it's a sewing day.  Have a great weekend.

Chilford Autumn Quilt Show 1

What shall I share first?  What I bought or the quilts I liked?  Decisions, decisions!  I've posted about some of the Japanese quilts I enjoyed here so I'll show you some of the other quilts that inspired me today and what I came home with tomorrow, deal?

I haven't attended the Chilford Show before but had heard good reports, "friendly show", "lovely venue" etc.  It took place at the Chilford Hall Vineyard where we found an assortment of buildings, architectural salvage (loved the stone lions on the road in) and lovely gardens.  On the negative side, I thought some of the quilts looked as if they'd been put up in rather a hurry and were hanging unevenly (or maybe the quilters hadn't attached a hanging sleeve) and the lighting wasn't brilliant (lots of shadows across quilts).  Overall it was a good show, manageable but plenty to enjoy.  I had approximately two hours looking at quilts and two hours shopping!  Good food too (but rather a long queue for the bistro).

To the quilts -

One of the exhibits I was keen to see was the "Glimpses of New Zealand" quilted hangings by Gail Lawther.
I have Gail's book of the same title and saw some of the quilts at Festival of Quilts this year but it was wonderful to see some again and to see the whole series together.  I think she has beautifully represented that wonderful country.  I would highly recommend her book to you, it is a series of mini-tutorials in the various techniques she used in these quilts (as well as being a pretty good promotional document for the New Zealand Tourism Board).

Some general views of various parts of the exhibition next then I'll show you some specific quilts I liked and some close ups:

I enjoyed looking very closely at the entries in the Batik Beauties Competition having been perforating my finger tips by handsewing batik fabric recently.  The theme this year was "A Batik Landscape" and if you're thinking about next year the theme will be "Rising Sun" and entry forms are available from Grosvenor or on 01775 712100.

View To Make The Heart Beat Faster

by Amanda Carter of Shrophire 

The view is of Goathland in Yorkshire, also known as "Heartbeat" Country as it was where that very successful television series was filmed.
What caught my eye was the wonderful silhouette of Whitby Abbey beyond the arched window.

Down By The River 

by Christine Dobson of Berkshire

The inspiration for this quilt came from a 19th century painting by Albert Bierstadt of Wind River Mountains in Wyoming, USA.
I think Christine was successful in her aim to convey the tranquillity of the scene.

Canal Bridge

by Jill Findlay of Berkshire

This quilt was inspired by Jill's memories of canal boat holidays.
I thought the way she interpreted the water in the canal was very effective.


Jacquie Harvey showed a collection of her work from the past fifteen years entitled, "A Little Love In Every Stitch" from the way her husband describes her work.  I was pleased to have the opportunity to look closely at her wearable work, all done by hand and developed from an intial interest in North Country quilting.

What else?  Oh yes, the beautifully executed quilt, "Rose Bush" by Clare Kingslake of  Lechlade, Goucestershire which was a delight of reverse applique:

Rose Bush

Cherilyn Martin's collection of work entitled "Exploring Stitch" was lovely to see close-up as it was possible to enjoy her quilting and embroidery, her quilts rightly described as 'encrusted surfaces' in the exhibition notes.

Something fascinated my beloved in the collection of Transatlantic Quilt Challenge 2010, "Going Green" quilts.

It was this work by Lesley Brankin of the UK entitled,  Growing Green  and he was examining the transfer-printed butterflies -

Also in the Going Green exhibition were two quilts that caught my eye and were similar.  It turns out that they were both by Californian quilters and inspired by a workshop with Sylvia Einstein.

Go Green 

by Carol McCoy 

Carol created a very lush jungle.

Branching Out 

by Gail Abeloe 

Gail was also inspired by a Sylvia Einstein class and by a photo in a Japanese quilt magazine.

Dot Carter exhibited a collection of quilts with three other textile artists from south west England, known together as Kindrid Spirits and their exhibition called "Skimming the Surface".  Here is a close-up of her lovely work inspired by the port of Falmouth and the Cornish coast.

The Contemporary Quilt Group of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles worked on a journal quilt project during 2009, each quilt measuring 6"x12".  For this exhibition members selected four journal quilts to assemble into one piece for display.  These were two of my favourites:

by Julie Mackinder of Grantham, Lincolnshire

 by Margaret Scholey-Hill of London

And finally, I have often thought I'd like to make a quilt based on Escher's tessellating designs and was delighted to see this:

  Busy Lizzie

by Anna Jenkins of UK

 

This was Anna's quilt for the Transatlantic Challenge, Going Green.  The green lizards developed from Escher's "Lizards".  Couched threads were used to give extra texture to the design with a limited palette of green, grey and black.  It made me smile.

That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed the quilts.

Jacquie Harvey Workshop

I attended a workshop at Dayspring Quilters on Friday with tutor Jacquie Harvey who has done some wonderful work and won lots of prizes.  It was a bit of a coup to get her as she isn't tutoring anymore (she's writing a book with an Australian publisher) but as she lives in Norfolk she was more than happy to come to us and she was a very generous tutor - the kind who gives out her phone number and says "contact me if you need help once you are doing this on your own".  She does wholecloth, handquilting, in colour and brought lots of examples with her including some amazing miniature quilts and a gorgeous quiltlet that she gave to the Norfolk Quilters' "Last Cuddle" quilt project (for stillborn babies).  She uses an embroidery needle rather than a quilting needle, does tiny running and backstitches and uses stranded embroidery threads, King Tut variegated thread and Mettler polysheen.  She uses wax crayons to add colour - ordinary ones, not the special fabric ones - she colours the fabric, covers it with greaseproof paper and irons it with a burst of steam!!  I didn't get my sample piece finished (so no photo) but did pick up some great tips for handquilting.  As Jacquie said, her workshop ought to come at the end of every other workshop, it's the bit usually covered in three little words, "quilt as desired".