Sydney Quilt Show 2015 - Best of Show!

I had the most incredibly exciting few days last week at the Sydney Quilt Show. Having received a phone call to say that my quilt Sanderson's Apprentice had been awarded a ribbon and that I "would want to be at the award ceremony", I flew up on Wednesday morning with my husband.

I was thrilled when my quilt won a First Prize Ribbon in the Traditional Professional Category, even more excited when it won Excellence in Longarm Machine Quilting and completely amazed when it was also awarded Best of Show!

Image courtesy of Expertise Events

I had only intended to spend one day at the Sydney Quilt Show. However, having been awarded Best of Show I flew back on Friday morning to spend a further two days with my quilt, talking to lots of very interested quilters - I had a great time.

I would like to thank the committee of the Quilters' Guild of NSW for organising a fabulous quilt show, the judges for their time and what must be a difficult job, the volunteers for making the quilt show possible and all exhibitors who entered a quilt.  I would also like to thank all the sponsors including Expertise Events and Bernina for their generous sponsorship.

My quilt has returned home with it's swag of pretty ribbons and a beautiful sash.

I will look forward to Sanderson's Apprentice being part of the Best of Australia competition at the Australian Quilt Convention in April 2016 and travelling around to the various state quilt shows during that year.

My Secret Garden Quilt

I recently purchased Johanna Basford's book Secret Garden.  Johanna is an illustrator who creates intricate, hand drawn illustrations predominantly, although not exclusively, in black and white.

Secret Garden is an interactive activity book which takes you on a ramble through a secret garden created in beautifully detailed pen-and-ink illustrations.  The illustrations in this Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book are just divine.  I was drawn to this book for the potential of some of these images to be quilted.

With Johanna's permission, I enlarged one or her illustrations and spent some fun time playing on my new quilting machine.  I was thrilled with the fine detail I was able to quilt in the piece.  My Secret Garden measures about 24 inches in diameter and was quilted on Oakshott Cotton fabric using Wonderfil Invisafil 100wt thread.  The quilt was marked with the design and quilted freehand.

My Secret Garden - Detail

Johanna's next book Enchanted Forest:  An Inky Quest and Colouring Book is due to be released soon - I wonder what inspiration awaits there!

Australia Quilts Exhibition

In September 2014, Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork / European Patchwork Meeting celebrates its 20th anniversary in Alsace, France.  Australia is the guest country of honour from outside of Europe.

Australia Quilts is an invitational exhibition curated by Brenda Gael Smith to showcase the diversity of Australian quiltmaking.  There are 34 featured artists and I was thrilled to have one of my quilts selected for this exhibition.

At present the quilts in the collection are making their way over to France including my quilt Purple Haze.

Detail - Purple Haze

Brenda has put together a beautiful website - Australia Quilts - Exceptional Quilts from the Great Southern Land to showcase the quilts that are part of the collection and to learn more about the featured artists.  I encourage you to take this opportunity to view this stunning collection of Australian quilts online.

If only I could accompany my quilt to France ...

Vic Quilters Showcase 2014 - Sanderson's Apprentice

I spent a wonderful day today at the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair with my sister, Red Pepper Quilts and our Mum. 

We had a great time shopping at the many booths, chatting to many familiar faces and viewing the wonderful quilts on display as part of the 2014 Vic Quilters Showcase.

The highlight of the day, however, was being awarded First Prize in the Longarm Category as well as the Matilda's Own Excellence in Longarm Quilting Award for my quilt Sanderson's Apprentice.

Sanderson's Apprentice is a Sanderson Star quilt which was inspired by our visit last year to the Brisbane Exhibition - Quilts 1700 - 1945 which was an exhibition of quilts from the V&A Museum in London.  I was particularly struck by a stunning Sanderon Star Quilt by an unknown maker in yellow and cream fabrics with incredible hand quilting.  Being a machine quilter, hand quilting a quilt like this was clearly out of the question. 

The Sanderson Star design is named after its creator - Elizabeth Sanderson.  Elizabeth was an apprentice to the quilt marker and draper George Gardiner of Allendale, and her iconic style and expert skills made her more famous then her tutor.  Her reputation spread, and she set up her own business, taking live in apprentice to learn the trade.  

My version of the Sanderson Star Quilt was made with Oakshot Cottons.  The quilting motifs are based on traditional quilting designs but I have re-drafted them for machine quilting.  The quilt incorporates shadow trapunto for all the quilting elements - a bright red layer of fabric has been placed between the quilt top and the wadding to create the pink and apricot glow.

Detail - Sanderson's Apprentice

Matilda's Own Excellence in Longarm Quilting Ribbon

I would like to thank Vic Quilters for organising a wonderful quilt exhibition, the judges for what must have been some very difficult decisions and the volunteers for making the quilt show possible.  Congratulations to all those who entered a quilt for what is a fantastic display.  I would also like to thank all the sponsors for their continued support.  I will be heading back to the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair on Saturday for another dose of quilts and shopping.

1930's Vintage Le Moyne Star Quilt

I have found myself collecting vintage quilt tops with the intention of quilting them.  I must have about eight quilt tops and to date had only quilted one of them.  As a result, I decided that I really needed to get one quilted to justify adding further quilt tops to my collection.

I quilted the following gorgeous 1930's Le Moyne Star quilt which I purchased in Houston in 2011 for  a mere $82USD.  The quilt measures about 68 inches square.  Here is a section of the quilt before quilting:-

I designed the quilting on my recently purchased Wacom Cintiq Tablet.  I love that you can preview quilting designs onto images of the quilt.  This was my quilting design - the final quilting only varies slightly from the original design.

I was thrilled with the final result - I love the secondary design which has been created by the quilting lines.

Some better close-ups of the quilting:-

And a single block:-

That is one quilt top down ... at least 7 to go.

MQX Quilt Festival Ribbon

I was thrilled to find out late last week that Double Cream has won an international ribbon.  I had entered Double Cream in the Wholecloth Large Category at MQX West in Portland and was very excited to find that it had won First Place in that category.  It was an honour to have my quilt exhibited amongst such incredible quilters but even more so for my quilt to be awarded a ribbon.

 

Double Cream with MQX Ribbon

 

I wish I had been able to be there but thanks to Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quilt Works who took some photos for me, I was able to feel a part of it.  I can't wait to see the photos of the other quilts in the exhibition.

 

I would like to thank the organisers Janet-Lee Greer Santeusanio and Mary Schilke for organising a fabulous quilt show as well as the sponsors, in particular Superior Threads who were the sponsors for the Wholecloth Large Category.

 

 

Double Cream - Centre

 

Vic Quilters Showcase 2013 - Double Cream with Ribbons

I spent a wonderful and exhausting day today at the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair looking at incredible quilts, shopping and catching up with family and friends. 

 

I am thrilled to say that it was also another ribbon winning day.  My quilt Double Cream not only won a First Prize Ribbon in the Longarm Category, it also won the Longarm Machine Quilting Award as well as Runner Up Best of Show!

 

 

Double Cream is my second Shadow Trapunto Quilt.  This time, rather than using a batiste, I have used a cotton sateen as the top layer.  The quilt has cut-away trapunto and has been layered with a bright yellow fabric to give the off-white on cream effect.

 

 

The central feather vase is my own design and is surrounded by my favourite fill - pebbles.

 

The border is a traditional inter-woven feather with each corner set with a feathered heart.  Rather than cross-hatching the back-ground, I have used a continuous curve design as a filler again blending into pebbles.

 

 

Here is Double Cream with its ribbons and the proud owner. 

 

 

I would like to thank Vic Quilters for organising a wonderful quilt exhibition, the judges for what must have been some incredibly difficult decisions and the volunteers for making the quilt show possible.   I would also like to thank all the sponsors for their continued support.  I will be heading back to the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair tomorrow for another dose of quilts.

Double Cream - a Sneak Peek

My current trapunto wholecloth quilt is on the machine - so far so good.

 

 

Australian Patchwork & Quilting - Showcase a Quilt

On our return from holidays recently, I was thrilled to have received my complimentary copy of the current issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting.  I always find it exciting to have one of my quilts published in a magazine and this was no exception.

APQ had prepared an article showcasing my quilt First Blush which last year won Best of Show at Vic Quilter's Showcase.  My name even appeared on the cover!

 

I am looking forward to seeing First Blush exhibited at the Australasian Quilt Convention in April this year together with the Best of Show winners from the other states and territories. 

Back from Holidays

I have been noticeably absent from my blog for the last month or so.  We have just returned from another wonderful beach holiday - I think the following photo sums up our holiday perfectly!

From a quilting perspective, I don't have much to show for the last month.  I usually take the month of January off from customer quilting, taking some time to work on my own projects.  I have started another pieced quilt - the Urban Nine Patch quilt by Jenny of Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I am a long timer admirer of Jenny's piecing and her incredible machine quilting.  My Urban Nine Patch is being made with solid fabrics only and I am hoping to eventually quilt it in a similar manner to Jenny's quilt.  Below are the first blocks I have made.

 

 

 

I have also started another trapunto quilt - here is a snippet - not sure how it will turn out - there is a long way to go yet.

 

 

With the end of January fast approaching, it is time to return to customer quilting - I am looking forward to seeing what quilts 2013 will bring.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and as always, happy quilting!

Flora's Sawtooth Stripe Quilt

I have finished my niece Flora's 18th Birthday quilt.  After the previous post, someone guessed correctly that the design was a Denyse Schmidt Quilt - it is indeed the Sawtooth Stripe Quilt from her book Modern Quilts Traditional Inspiration.

 

 

Flora's quilt has been quilted with the iconic Denyse Schmidt loops which lends the quilt a very modern look.

 

I have included some wonderful orange fabric in the backing of the quilt which was purchased from Surface Art Design - an Australian based fabric design company. Surface Art embraces colour, form and simplicity which usually results in bold, colourful prints.  A single sawtooth stripe has been included across the back of the quilt - here is a snippet of the front and back of the quilt.

 

 

I am thrilled with the lime green and orange colour combination.  I am sure the quilt will look great turned down on Flora's bed.

 

 

Having just finished year 12 in Queensland, Flora is coming down to Melbourne to study at University at the start of 2013.  While the weather in Queensland is such that a quilt is almost unneccesary, I am sure she will make good use her quilt in our much colder climate.

 

Happy 18th Birthday Flora.

Piecing

I don't often seem to get the change to piece any quilts - most of the quilts I make tend to focus on the machine quilting and they are usually wholecloth quilts.  This week, I decided that a quilt needed to be made for an upcoming birthday present and so, I have been enjoying piecing.

As the quilt is for an 18th Birthday, I decided it needed to have a modern look.  The quilt only has two solid colours - a white and green.  I thought I would quickly whip up this  quilt, howevever, there is no way of quickly piecing and trimming back 540, 2 inch half square triangles.

 

 

Slowly, the half-square triangles have come together

 

 

Having finished the half-square triangles, now the quilt is starting to come together more quickly.

 

 

Back to sewing - the birthday is soon!

 

 

 

 

 

Best of Show!

I have had the most incredibly exciting day today at the Melbourne Quilt & Craft Show.  The 2012 Victorian Quilters Inc Showcase is currently being held in conjunction with the Melbourne Quilt & Craft Fair.  My quilt, First Blush was entered in the Longarm Category.

First Blush is a wholecloth colour trapunto quilt which I recently made after making some sample pieces earlier in the year.  The quilt is made using techniques by Karen McTavish and involves cut-away trapunto.  The pink colour is created by placing a bright red fabric behind a sheer layer of basiste fabric.

I was thrilled to find that not only had First Blush won First Prize in the Longarm Category, the quilt also won Best of Show!  I have spent most of my day on cloud nine and am still buzzing!

Detail of the centre of First Blush - the background fill is pebbles, one of my favourites.

Corner section of First Blush with sweeping curved cross-hatching.

I will be going back to Quilt Showcase on Saturday to spend some more time with my quilt.  I would like to thank the committee of Vic Quilters for organising another fabulous quilt show, the judges for their time and what must be a difficult job and the volunteers for making the quilt show possible.  I would also like to thank all the sponsors and in particular Bernina for their generous sponsorship - I will look forward to receiving my prize, a Bernina 820 Quilter's Edition sewing machine.

Shadow Trapunto Samples

Inspired by the incredibly talented award winning Longarm Quilter,  Karen McTavish I have been trying my hand at some trapunto.  I have been studying the wonderful designs by Karen McTavish in her books including "The Secrets of Elemental Quilting" and "Custom Curves".

Trapunto is a technique where quilt motifs are marked onto a quilt top and then quilted onto a layer of wadding with soluble thread.  The wadding is then carefully trimmed away around the motifs, leaving an extra layer of wadding behind the motifs.  The quilt is then layered with wadding and backing as usual and quilted.  Once the quilting is finished, the quilt is dunked in water to remove the water soluble pen markings and water soluble trapunto thread.

Shadow trapunto is similar to basic trapunto but uses different components.  The top layer of the quilt needs to be a sheer fabric, such as a batiste.  A bright piece of fabric is then layered behind the batiste which gives the effect of dyed batting in the background.

I have been experimenting with different fabrics for the top layer and the bright layer of fabric as well as the wadding.  My first sample used a design element called Rapture from Karen McTavish's book "Custom Curves".

The quilting design has been surrounded by my favourite background quilting design - pebbles.  Whilst I was happy with the result, I decided that the top fabric was not sheer enough as the bright red fabric which is layered behind the top fabric barely shows through. 

I managed to find some batiste fabric wide enough to eventually make a wholecloth quilt.  My second sample has been made using this as the top fabric.  Lisa from Dyed and Gone to Heaven has dyed a bright red wide cotton sateen fabric for me which has been used as the second layer in the following sample.  The feather in the sample was inspired by the Victorian Feathers in Karen McTavish's book "The Secrets of Elemental Quilting".

I was quite pleased with the results of the second sample - I like the subtle pink background colour which has been achieved and the contrast of the white feather motifs. 

I think I am ready to transfer these elements onto a larger shadow trapunto quilt.  I have really enjoyed making these sample pieces - I even enjoyed the quiet rhythm of hours of snipping the wadding away and managed to do so without snipping the top fabric.  Hopefully my eventual wholecloth quilt will be made with the same results - wish me luck!

Purple Haze Quilt

My sister, Mum and I had a wonderful day on Thursday at the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair which is on until tomorrow, Sunday 31st July.   We had a great time viewing the many fabulous quilts on display, shopping, catching up with quilting friends and having lunch together.  The day became even more special when my quilt "Purple Haze" was been awarded a First Prize Ribbon in the Small Quilts Category - Professional of the 2011 VicQuilters Showcase.

Purple Haze is a quilt which I made as part of the Australian Machine Quilting Association's 2011 Challenge.  The challenge involved making an Amish style quilt with a pattern provided.  The instructions stipulated that the maker could use fabrics of their choice, provided that only the colours red, blue and purple were used.  Purple Haze was also awared a First Prize ribbon in this challenge.

I have quilted Purple Haze with a central floral design, surrounded by feathers in the purple border, flowers in the red setting triangles and hours and hours of pebbles in the background.

I found great inspiration for the quilting of Purple Haze in the quilting of Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts.

Thanks for visiting - have a wonderful weekend.  If you get a chance, do go and seen the fabulous display of quilts at the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair.