Festival of Quilts 2018 Warm -Up Challenge

I've been a bad , bad blogger , so involved with the process of drawing, doing a lot of thinking , using Facebook and Instagram   to post photos. But I do enjoy the reflective nature of writing and I 'mine' my own blog with search function tool to remind myself what I've done  over the years. So to ease myself back into  a more regular practice I'm returning to the many 'drafts' I'd started . This one was almost  straight compilation of Instagram posts last year. 

#foqwarmupchallenge

 In July 2018   the Quilters Guild of the British Isles   had a  warm up challenge for the Festival of Quilts on Instagram  with a prompt each day. It was great fun to join in and compare our love of  fabric and stitch   

#myfirstquilt

This is 'Parsons Prism' made in 1982  when I was at home unemployed after leaving university. With access to my mum's stash  of jumble sale finds and samples and offcuts from the Tootals shirt factory, I constructed this log cabin hanging inspired by  stained  glass. No rotary cutters in those days - the strips were  laboriously marked and measured then cut with scissors. Sewn on an ancient turned Singer and hand  quilted.

#fabricstash

One side of the  studio - there's more  out of sight, not to mention all the art supplies.  Some boxes of yardage  ( lots of indigo and African  fabrics )  but mainly  old quilts and recycled textiles  to repurpose and lots of scraps in trolley and African baskets 

#WIP

"Train stitching  2 " - scraps of  indigo and kola sewn to Japanese semi translucent kasuri kimono. 'Train Stitching 1 ( 'Wind Me in the Sea')   was accepted for 7th European Quilt Triennial exhibited first in Heidelberg  and  soon in Haslech, Austria .  Note the  travel kit - thread reels  are on elastic  to wear as bracelets,  I use a  Clover thread cutter and my thimble is also on elastic as got fed up of chasing it down the train carriage when I dropped it.   

#quiltcrush 

 This piece is 'bowl by Dorothy Caldwell which was just one of her wonderful works shown at FoQ 2008. The subtle diversity of fabric , wax-resist marks and stitch, masterly composition and sense of place I found mesmersising and I revisted the gallery several times . I was lucky enough to go on a workshop with her in Puglia in 2013 and she was an inspirational and generous teacher.  I  was thrilled to meet up with her again   at Open Studios  of Pauline Burbidge and Charlie Poulsen and buy a small piece of her work! 

#proudestproject 

I suppose the obvious #proudestproject  would be winning Fine Art Quilt Masters in 2017!! But the quilt that means most to me and wouldn't part with is  'Medieval Tiles' which took 7 years to make. Made from my own batik  based on  tiles in the British Museum and recycled fabrics from my mum's stash ( she was an early Quilters Guild Member) , I started it in 1987, the year she died. Hand quilted with around 50 different tile patterns. Also the largest quilt I've ever made!

QGBI AGM in Llandudno

A week ago(!) I was in Llandudno  for the Quilters Guild of the British Isles AGM and conference.  A lovely venue and the Cwilt Cymru Connections quilts were beautifully displayed - I couldn't resist taking pictures of mine with the sea behind !  This was the final showing for these - they've recently been on tour with the Grosvenor Quilt shows. By coincidence, 7 other quilts of mine for 'International Threads'  were also on show - at Quilt Expo in Beaujolais.

It was a very good conference,  with interesting talks and workshops on offer   and most importantly lots of catching up with friends.

Sue and I were sharing a 'Premier Sea view'  room ' at the St George's Hotel  ( it was on a corner with view both ways) . There was a   very posh  dinner on in one of the function rooms the first night and we were entertained while having dinner in the terrace restaurant  watching the people arrive on the red carpet.

We walked along the pier, intrigued by an old metal structure behind the booths and kiosks.
A coach trip to Trefriw woollen mills was even more interesting than expected. Besides the fascinating tour of the processes involved, there was so much inspiration in the form of machinery and peeling corrugated iron. I took so many photos!!

 Mostly though I took lots of photos of the sea - I don't think I've stayed in a hotel so close to the sea since a Ramblers trip to Rovies on Evia  more than 20 years ago.  The windows  of the bedroom only opened a few inches ( probably to stop seagulls coming in - we  had a large one strutting on the windowsill outside) . So you have to imagine the contortions  we got into on Saturday morning after a storm overnight,  lining up our cameras  to avoid the rain drops on the window, while still in our nighties . Worth it for the spectacular sunrise though.
I also made a collection of sticks and stones  brought home in a basket from the African Fabric Shop.
Magie was kind enough to mention my 'Tunisian Door'  quilt in her moving talk and  of course I had to buy some more fabrics ( indigo from Guinea - the piece that's featured here)

 Definitely a place to come back to - straight forward journey by train   with the station within walking distance of front.

SAQA Benefit Auction and other news

The SAQA Benefit auction of my 12 inch quilt 'Indigo Waves' is  now open for bidding ( page 2b).  Just sold for $350!!!
 Another indigo piece 'Rules the Waves' is  featured on the Contemporary Quilt Website  - it was in the Guild challenge ('What Britain means to you' ) at the FoQ.
The TVCT exhibition 'Whatever Floats Your Boat' which includes my 'Taplow Vase' currently has another outing at the National Needlework Archive.

On Monday I gave a talk (Powerpoint and lots of quilts) at  Dulwich Quilters meeting (thanks Khurshid for inviting me). I had a lovely time, they were so hospitable and asked so many interesting questions.  I hope to get to their exhibition in November. Many of them said their favourite quilt was 'City Girls Dream of the Sea' - it's  mine too and lives on our landing.  Most people won't be aware of it as it was completed in 2000. It won 3rd place  at Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate   and make it on the cover of Popular Patchwork but  hasn't been on show since.  I've made so many seascape quilts now, it would be wonderful to have the opportunity to put them all on display somewhere, including the older pieces like this one.

I've just booked for the Quilters Guild of the British isles 2013 AGM and Conference at the University of Nottingham. My first AGM was in Paignton in 1987 and for quite a while I went every year as it was the only large quilt gathering going on and a great way of making new friends and meeting up with old ones. It then turned into every other year and then more infrequently as there were more and more quilt events which seemed more relevant to me and competed for my limited time and funds.

While I enjoy the lectures and activities at the AGM conference, it is having top quality workshops which is what now attracts me (or not).
My last AGM was in 2008 in Cambridge when the draw was an excellent workshop with Charlotte Yde - I continue to use the curved piecing methods she taught.
So I'm very much looking forward to coming to Nottingham for a workshop with Uta Lenk. There's been a lot of grumbling about the price of the weekend  but compared to the costs of workshops at say FoQ it is excellent value and I get all the benefits of the conference too! ( apart from anything else Nottingham  is where I spent 3 years doing research for a PhD)

Meanwhile, the bathroom is getting there- a few setbacks but the tiling is mostly done and towel rail installed. We're getting a little tired of  going downstairs to the loo and the bath is at an increasingly jaunty angle  but it will be worth it!