In the Beginning

Inspired by Nicky's post I thought I'd tell you about my first encounter with quilts.

Back in 1994 I had 4 children ranging from 7 to 3 years old.     Early morning band practice meant getting all the kids ready for the day, hiking up the highway, depositing a son by 7am. and then treating the other children in tow.

Bribery was the order of the day and (I'm not proud to reveal)  the other children  became weekly breakfasters at the golden arches.  Close by was a quilt shop.  "The Quilting Bee" may sound like a cliche to you, but to me it was a revelation.  I stared through the windows every Wednesday morning, taking in the details of the beautiful quilts that I could see hanging.

Finally, in 1995, when the youngest spent 2 days at pre-school,  I returned during business hours and asked innocently "Given my circumstances, do you think I would have enough time to quilt?"  The owners, Pam and Noni, looked at each other and replied "Of course".

The world, for my family up until then was BQE - before the quilting era. 

Noni proved to be a marvellous teacher.  She took us through an 8 lesson course that included drafting patterns, quilting,

applique, curved piecing (sorry, I fail at that still)

and many more lessons and tips.   Noni moved to Melbourne (lucky them) but I recently bumped into her in Sydney.  It felt like running into my kindergarten teacher.  I was so excited.

Now we are in the QE - the quilting era.  Long may it last!  I'd love to hear how you came to patchwork and quilting.

The Mystery Deepens

Part III of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt "Orca Bay" was published Friday night Sydney time.  Too late to actually sew it; more of a bedtime gift.  I drifted off wondering how I was ever going to sew 350 HSTs before the next clue on Friday 9th December.

I shouldn't have worried.  It's Monday afternoon  and here are 350 2"squares ready to show:

After a slow start with my usual technique (cutting oversized squares, pressing sewing lines, cutting the diagonals and then trimming) I reluctantly decided there must be a better way.  I have never even contemplated sewing large amounts of HSTs before so I have never needed a stream-lined technique;  that's not the way I make quilts.

However, Bonnie gives clear instructions on how to use the Easy Angle ruler and I found I could make 50 HST at a time without raising a sweat.

I also tried adjusting my sewing machine on an angle with 2 small doorstops.  It  allowed me to see the sewing line much easier. And I used a guide for sewing.  With my fancy machine I am able to shift the needle over to the right to adjust to a perfect 1/4" seam.  There is a first time for everything. Right?

So I hope all my new adaptations  mean I won't struggle as much to achieve accuracy.  I should have tried these tricks years ago.  I am puzzled that I didn't, but I have an unexpected bonus from taking part in the "Orca Bay" mystery quilt.  Head over here to see more posts from others doing the same quilt.

I pulled out another UFO that has me scratching my head somewhat.  I started Lori's from Humble Quilts "Cheddar Cheese and Crackers" quilt before I began writing  my blog.  Not having much use for small quilts I chose to make mine bigger.  Big mistake.  It's not finished more than eighteen months  later and when I look at it,  I can't work out where all the pieces are supposed to fit.  Not as big a mystery as Bonnie's quilt, but still a mystery.

The Antidote

Since I got home from Houston I have spent the past few weeks hand quilting.  I am using the big stitch technique employing both perle 8 and perle 12 thread.  Without realising I seem to have amassed quite a collection of different coloured threads

Daily intense sessions mean I am almost done, but it has been very quiet sewing time.  I miss the whirr of my sewing machine.  A little bit of machine piecing would  provide the perfect antidote to satisfy my need for diversity,  so I started  Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay Mystery quilt.  Last year I almost joined the Roll, Roll Cotton Boll mystery.  I wish I had.  So when this came along I dived in to the Bay.

The first step was OK.  Just 224 QSTs.   Week 2 required only 72 string pieced 3 1/2" squares.

 Surprising to me was just how long this part took.  I have never constructed a quilt in this manner before.  I tend to make a block (stare at/admire it for a while) and then make another block.  It is a slow old process.  Making a massive number of units in one go is new to me.  Perhaps that is why I am usually so slow to finish.

A quilt started way back when, is almost finished.

I put the binding on and am just about to label it.  The story behind it is here.

Sculpture by the Sea

Every year Sydney's  "Sculpture by the Sea"  gets more and more popular.  It is located on a cliff side walk between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach.  Now in its 15th year the people's choice for 2011 was "Cosmic Elk"

 It is by South Korean artist Byeong Doo Moon.  I would love to be so creative...or at least as amusing as Juan Pablo Pinto and Clary Akron

or even as whimsical as Hannah Kidd

or as colourful as Deborah Halpern:

But what's a quilt blog without some pictures of fabric?  Lucy Barker made it look easy with this:

You can't tell from  my pictures but there are the huge crowds and  extreme heat.  At 5.30pm it was 37 degrees celcius (that's 100 degrees for the rest of you)! all making Lucy's exhibit very inviting.

Back at the homestead I've been busy beavering away on Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay mystery quilt.  Check it out and see if you could resist.

Yes, I know I already have too many UFO's to count, but I couldn't resist cutting and sewing 224 (you read right, 224) brown and cream  2.5" quarter square triangles.   Perhaps the heat got to me.

History Repeated

While I was at Houston, I did buy one or two things...this book just yelled out to me.

I was lucky enough to attend a talk given by the authors, Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle.  They gave a short show and tell of many of the quilts featured in their book.  Well, the show and tell wasn't short.  There were so many quilts to show that each only got a brief exposure.

But here is a favourite picture with Betsy talking about her quilt on the right and Janet Henderson's on the left.  Same block, different settings.

I came across the 19th-Century Patchwork Divas back in 2008 at Houston on my first visit.  This quilt totally stole my eye.

 If I remember correctly,  it subsequently made it onto the cover of a Quilters Newsletter Magazine.  Isn't it glorious?  It couldn't find it in there, but the book is jammed with pictures of other quilts made by a bunch of supremely talented craftswomen.  Wouldn't you love to be part of that group?

I've put "History Repeated" on my page for favourite books.  Did you notice I've tidied up my blog?  Check out just under the header.  Thanks to Karen from  Sew Many Ways  for the blogging tips.   You should visit her;  she is full of amazing tips and ideas.

The Biggest Show on Earth

Just like you can lose you quilt mojo, the blog raison d'etre can also go AWOL.  My apologies for disappearing without a trace.

It's been a long 2 weeks both in time and space.  I have just travelled halfway across the globe to visit Houston, land of the biggest quilt show on earth.  I don't know if that is actually true, but hey, it's in Texas, so it probably is.

Part of the 2011 Houston show included a  tour of the new Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange.  No photography was permitted inside the museum but I was able to take a photo from outside.

Naturally a book was published to coincide with Market/Festival and the museum opening, so you can see for yourself what those of us lucky to get there in person were privileged to see.  There were many iconic quilts displayed.

More of the collection was on show at the George R. Brown convention centre.  Just to give you an idea of the scale of the quilt show here is a picture during one of the quieter moments.  Photography was somewhat restricted here too.  In any case, there are plenty of photos circulating on the blogs now so I won't add to them.

I had a wonderful time;  attended many classes of well known quilters and a few lectures as well.  I learned so much and came home full of new ideas and inspiration.  By far the best part was meeting some of my blog mates.  And I was delighted to discover that they are just in nice in person as they are in the ether.

Modern Quilting

Recently I had 2 quilts machine quilted by Adri.  She did such a special job for me.  Adri follows my blog and read how much I liked my border fabric on the simple rectangular quilt.  She is a super computer whizz and somehow "digitized" the pattern from the fabric and transferred it to an all-over pattern for the quilt.

I hope Adri doesn't mind me telling you that when she starts speaking  technical computerese  I lose track  almost immediately.  But the  result speaks for itself.  The backing fabric I used here is also one of my favourites.  I will show off the whole quilt when the binding gets around to putting itself on.

 Nicky asked me  to show a close up of Adri's customized quilting for the second quilt.  Look at these blocks.  Aren't they amazing?

Last Saturday was the inaugural meeting of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild.  Women (where are Sydney's modern quilt men?) came from all over Sydney to meet for the first time.  There were the usual suspects as well as a whole new contingent of quilters, including 2 junior members, both under one year old.

Defining a "modern quilter" took a bit of time and in the end it was left open.  Is a modern quilter someone who embraces new techniques, technology etc or is it someone who makes liberated quilts; or does it refer to a particular style of simple, clean quilts?  If you know the answer, please leave a comment.

 A  few brave souls brought along some show and tell.

Looking at some of these lovely samples, I wondered if the definition of a modern quilter is reflected by this.

Apologies to the quiltmakers.  We were wearing labels, but I didn't write down the names of the ladies responsible for these two quilts.  I am looking forward to participating in our new guild.  I think it is a welcome addition for Sydney's quilters.