Wednesday, March 30, 2005
I'm writing this as I wend my way to LA. 14 hours encased in the body of a plane is enforced rest compared with the past few weeks. I must admit, I find it a little harder to relax going than coming home.
I spent Easter in the 'shed' doing what I like best. The days were long but the outcome satisfying. I competed the quilt I needed to make for a National Magazine... it was challenging indeed. I received a range of fabric and had to design a quilt around that genre. With just ¾ of a meter of each piece of fabric it was a challenge and stimulating. The result, a romantic Victorian quilt that shows the fabric to the best advantage. The pattern will be published and magazine readers can make the quilt in any form they choose. It's the ultimate pleasure to have someone mention that they made and enjoyed one of my designs.
Not only that I had to design a second quilt with the fabric and following the theme I chose a design I worked on at this time last year. (well a partial design at least) A visit to the art gallery in Edinburgh Scotland fired the creative juices when I was introduced to the work of the Glasgow girls. I purchased a book
The Glasgow Girls
I have poured over the book many times and designed several experimental quilts using the art deco designs that were so popular at that time. So this second quilt is inspired by the Glasgow Girls.. and I think it will feature in a series of projects over the next few months.
It occurred to me as I was looking through the book that one of our most famous card illustrators has taken her ideas from the same genre..!!!
My plane flight was interesting... I had booked an upgrade, however, it seems to have been lost in the system somehow and I found myself sitting next to a rather portly gal. I felt sorry for her, she was sort of poured into the seat... and part of mine. Her friend in the window seat wasn't much better...
I arrived in LA and was almost first off the plane, I whipped through immigration and with priority baggage, I was waiting for my shuttle just half an hour after landing.
I have a full day of traveling tomorrow so I opted to stay over in LA... I'm so pleased I did... after little or no sleep I walked into the room at the Marriott and I collapsed into the big feather bed... I don't think I moved for 5 hours.
2005/03/31
2005/03/27
Preparing, Preparing, panic and packing.
Just 3 days till I leave again. It's hard at times...But the rewards are many.
No, the family are not always happy, they would like me to be around more. Still this is my job and it takes me away from home.
Lets take the air travel. This trip will take 5 weeks. Winnipeg and Kenora in Canada, Chicago, Long Prairie MN, Nashville, Paducah Indiana and Kansas city... Then there's the tickets to Melbourne, Perth, Ballarat,Toowoomba and the next trip to the US.....!!!!One visits the travel Agent with computer in hand these days... The tickets go straight into the computer and stay there till I need them....
In the next 3 days I have to finish a lot of work and pack... and double check everything.
Spent the evening babysitting Kodi and writing patterns for a magazine with an urgent deadline...the time ran away from me... the evening flew and before I knew it, it was midnight.
The weather is just super at the moment, cold in the mornings and warm during the days... it seems impossible that I will be in snow next week and the garden will be dressed for winter when I get home...The same thing happened last year and it was quite strange. Leave in green and come back in brown. eek.
I have a quilt to finish today. It's a project for Homespun so you will have to buy the magazine to view it. So it's back to work
No, the family are not always happy, they would like me to be around more. Still this is my job and it takes me away from home.
Lets take the air travel. This trip will take 5 weeks. Winnipeg and Kenora in Canada, Chicago, Long Prairie MN, Nashville, Paducah Indiana and Kansas city... Then there's the tickets to Melbourne, Perth, Ballarat,Toowoomba and the next trip to the US.....!!!!One visits the travel Agent with computer in hand these days... The tickets go straight into the computer and stay there till I need them....
In the next 3 days I have to finish a lot of work and pack... and double check everything.
Spent the evening babysitting Kodi and writing patterns for a magazine with an urgent deadline...the time ran away from me... the evening flew and before I knew it, it was midnight.
The weather is just super at the moment, cold in the mornings and warm during the days... it seems impossible that I will be in snow next week and the garden will be dressed for winter when I get home...The same thing happened last year and it was quite strange. Leave in green and come back in brown. eek.
I have a quilt to finish today. It's a project for Homespun so you will have to buy the magazine to view it. So it's back to work
2005/03/17
Brisbane
Mums Moment a wonderful little quilt store was our destination yesterday... Visits with friends, a little shopping and lunch, what more could I ask. I purchased some wonderful fabric, 8 vintage doilies and a very old applique piece supposedly made in Egypt during the first world war. I love this piece... We believe it was made in the trenches and the Antique dealer calls it a called it a Trench Work. Jenny Bowker thinks it could be a piece made by men to be sold as a tourist item. I guess we will just have to investigate further... Whatever it is I love it... It's very old and applique... That just about does it for me.
I leave Brisbane today with fond memories of a great week.
I leave Brisbane today with fond memories of a great week.
2005/03/14
Memories
You know what I just love....Warm summer days, a cool breeze and sitting on the verandah watching the clouds slip by in a blue sky... For the next 3 days I am relaxing. What luxury.
Di and I visited the Quilters Store at Auchenflower today. It was a feast for the eyes. I almost got in a tizz, I just didn't know where to look first. You gals in Queensland should count yourselves very lucky with the stores you have available.
I love the Queenslander houses, the lattice, the lace and the doors on the verandahs. There are still a few jacarandas in bloom and the bouganvilla is stunning. I think every quilter should have a Queenslander house... It lends itself so much to the genre of quilting. I think I need one in the back yard as a studio....
How many of you have paid a visit to your Art Gallery? I first visited our gallery in Adelaide when I was about 10 years old, on a school trip. I was enthralled. I needed to know more so I found books on art our little local library and spent hours staring at the pages of beautiful prints. In retrospect, it's similar to a quilter admiring fabric really. With the innocence of a child I wrote to the Tate Gallery in London asking for information on artists like Titan and Reuben. Where did that interest come from I wonder... However a visit to the Brisbane Art Gallery today and the quilt shop... Were both the same... and made me aware of the palette I love. The softness and warmth of those 15th century artists and the colours that are now available in the fabrics presented to us. The Tate gallery must have been amused at a 10 year old writing to them... and sent me posters and prints for many years. I had forgotten those memories until today...
Wonderful.
I might add, that I'm a regular visitor to our gallery in Adelaide. It's just wonderful. Look at your Art gallery with the eyes of a quilter.
Di and I visited the Quilters Store at Auchenflower today. It was a feast for the eyes. I almost got in a tizz, I just didn't know where to look first. You gals in Queensland should count yourselves very lucky with the stores you have available.
I love the Queenslander houses, the lattice, the lace and the doors on the verandahs. There are still a few jacarandas in bloom and the bouganvilla is stunning. I think every quilter should have a Queenslander house... It lends itself so much to the genre of quilting. I think I need one in the back yard as a studio....
How many of you have paid a visit to your Art Gallery? I first visited our gallery in Adelaide when I was about 10 years old, on a school trip. I was enthralled. I needed to know more so I found books on art our little local library and spent hours staring at the pages of beautiful prints. In retrospect, it's similar to a quilter admiring fabric really. With the innocence of a child I wrote to the Tate Gallery in London asking for information on artists like Titan and Reuben. Where did that interest come from I wonder... However a visit to the Brisbane Art Gallery today and the quilt shop... Were both the same... and made me aware of the palette I love. The softness and warmth of those 15th century artists and the colours that are now available in the fabrics presented to us. The Tate gallery must have been amused at a 10 year old writing to them... and sent me posters and prints for many years. I had forgotten those memories until today...
Wonderful.
I might add, that I'm a regular visitor to our gallery in Adelaide. It's just wonderful. Look at your Art gallery with the eyes of a quilter.
2005/03/13
Blood, sweat and tears and realistic Applique
4 days of teaching in Toowoomba completed. The gals were outstanding students and the photos below show their talent. I couldn't put up all 36 projects... But we moved mountains in those two classes.
What is realistic Applique...? As you can see it is applique depicting a picture. The students bought a picture to class and reproduced it accurately with Drapplique. The portraits are harder to do... but in 12 hours of class some wonderful results evolved...
I travel with a digital projector, speakers etc... so we had music to work by, the inspiration of beautiful quilts exhibited in Houston beamed on the wall, a lot of laughs...and even some tears.
Often portraits evoke deep emotions... sometimes it is a loved one who has passed away... but almost always there is a story behind the picture bought to class.
Thanks so much to Pauline and her staff at the Country Fabrics and Quilters store.
http://www.cfaq.com.au/
What is realistic Applique...? As you can see it is applique depicting a picture. The students bought a picture to class and reproduced it accurately with Drapplique. The portraits are harder to do... but in 12 hours of class some wonderful results evolved...
I travel with a digital projector, speakers etc... so we had music to work by, the inspiration of beautiful quilts exhibited in Houston beamed on the wall, a lot of laughs...and even some tears.
Often portraits evoke deep emotions... sometimes it is a loved one who has passed away... but almost always there is a story behind the picture bought to class.
Thanks so much to Pauline and her staff at the Country Fabrics and Quilters store.
http://www.cfaq.com.au/
2005/03/11
Tall tales from Toowoomba.
I give up!!!... No more toilet tales on the bus. I got the enviable job of being the entertainment on the bus to Brisbane last night... And I reached into the memory and recounted the toilet tales of a traveling quilter.... OK so then I spent the rest of the night dreaming of being lost at a convention and not finding the rest room.....
As you can see I'm in Toowoomba, four days of classes, a lecture and lots of chats with friends and the adventure begins again.
Last night a bus load of us went down to Brisbane to visit with Robyn Pandolph. It was a super evening... 23 of us wended 0ur way down the hills in the little square bus driven by John the bus driver.... Why do bus drivers wear terylene shorts and long white sox..?... John wasn't going to comment on the stories... but his shoulders were shaking as he slumped over the steering wheel....
We dined on chicken wraps and lemonade with a little sustenance... Host Pauline, gave us a flask to sip on... it wasn't till we arrived home that we were informed that it actually was Brandy ad dry....Maybe it was lucky we thought it was coffee..
Robyn Pandolph was just super, she talked about her life, family and her adventure into quilt and fabric design..... we got to fondle her quilts and take lots of photos. Don't tell anyone but we found Di Mill down behind the plush red seats curled up in one of Robyn's quilts.... some folks really take liberties.... proof is in the photo enclosed...
On the road home... more stories and a stop at Mc Donalds for a latte so to say thanks I bought everyone an icecream....you should have seen the look on the gals face when we ordered 23 ice creams.. at 10.00 at night...
The chatter continued all the way home... John deposited us safe and well and another evening of Quilting related enjoyment completed...
As you can see I'm in Toowoomba, four days of classes, a lecture and lots of chats with friends and the adventure begins again.
Last night a bus load of us went down to Brisbane to visit with Robyn Pandolph. It was a super evening... 23 of us wended 0ur way down the hills in the little square bus driven by John the bus driver.... Why do bus drivers wear terylene shorts and long white sox..?... John wasn't going to comment on the stories... but his shoulders were shaking as he slumped over the steering wheel....
We dined on chicken wraps and lemonade with a little sustenance... Host Pauline, gave us a flask to sip on... it wasn't till we arrived home that we were informed that it actually was Brandy ad dry....Maybe it was lucky we thought it was coffee..
Robyn Pandolph was just super, she talked about her life, family and her adventure into quilt and fabric design..... we got to fondle her quilts and take lots of photos. Don't tell anyone but we found Di Mill down behind the plush red seats curled up in one of Robyn's quilts.... some folks really take liberties.... proof is in the photo enclosed...
On the road home... more stories and a stop at Mc Donalds for a latte so to say thanks I bought everyone an icecream....you should have seen the look on the gals face when we ordered 23 ice creams.. at 10.00 at night...
The chatter continued all the way home... John deposited us safe and well and another evening of Quilting related enjoyment completed...
2005/03/08
I think I broke the record.
Goodness me... It's a long time since I wrote.
The Tasmanian tour was wonderful, I visited with hundreds of gals made even more special by the company of friends. Joan from Minnesota and Pat from Launceston.
Joan and I caught the boat on the 21st of February, and I got her to the plane on time the morning of our arrival in Melbourne. My trusty man with the cultured English voice in the GPS guided me through the Melbourne traffic to the airport and then down to Geelong.
Next was melbourne.
The inaugural Australasian Quilt Convention was a huge success and I was excited to be involved as a Tutor. ( I think my students were handpicked... What a great bunch). I get to visit and compare most of the major conventions around the world and now Australia can be counted.... This event will grow and show.... Thanks a million to Greg and Judy for taking quilting seriously and putting us on the map.
No time to blog....I ran my little feet off... Up early to give a lecture, and 300 gals sharing breakfast with me was a buzz.... Class all day and then the evening functions.... Gals... I didn't have time to breathe. I got to chat with hundreds of folks, so thanks a million for visits and the laughs.
Book in early for next year folks You won't be disappointed. Trust me.
The drive home from Melbourne with my Ipod turned up loud completed an 8 week stint away from home. It was just lovely to put on my jamas and sit by the TV with a coffee... But it doesn't last for long... Preparations for my next trip took precedence.
One of the reasons for not keeping up the blog when I returned home was that I have had a problem with my telephone line.... It appears the line was hit by lightning and pretty much destroyed...This has been going on for over 5 months... Now I have broadband and just a few more glitches to sort out I will be back to normal... Just in time for me to go away again.
OK so how did I break the record. On Saturday I think I taught the largest quilting class in Australia. 185 students at once.
The South Australian Quilt Guild have a yearly Country Forum. This year it was held in the Ballroom at the Burnside Community centre. Excited car and bus loads of gals came from all over the State. The idea is to involve the country folk in the guild functions. Maxine Smith (el Presidente ) held the floor and Sandy Jones and her band of helpers, cooked, prepared goody bags and worked exceedingly hard to make this a day to be remembered.
We had great speakers, Michelle Hill sharing her knowledge about William Morris and a couple of male quilters spoke too... I gave a presentation on "An Australian in Houston"... then a Drapplique class to be remembered. We used Digital Technology to put the project up on screen and then I walked through the process of drapplique step by step. 186 gals completed two small projects. There were tables up stairs and down... and I worked from the stage running from one table to another in between. Manager Jeanette assisted as well and I think we did it gals...!!!!!!
What a buzz.
The weekend finished with a hard working retreat for the Retreating Angels at Aldinga and now I'm preparing for Toowoomba on Wednesday.... not much time to sit in the Jamas folks... but what a way to go.
Happiness is not a goal, - it's a by product. Eleanor Roosevelt
The Tasmanian tour was wonderful, I visited with hundreds of gals made even more special by the company of friends. Joan from Minnesota and Pat from Launceston.
Joan and I caught the boat on the 21st of February, and I got her to the plane on time the morning of our arrival in Melbourne. My trusty man with the cultured English voice in the GPS guided me through the Melbourne traffic to the airport and then down to Geelong.
Next was melbourne.
The inaugural Australasian Quilt Convention was a huge success and I was excited to be involved as a Tutor. ( I think my students were handpicked... What a great bunch). I get to visit and compare most of the major conventions around the world and now Australia can be counted.... This event will grow and show.... Thanks a million to Greg and Judy for taking quilting seriously and putting us on the map.
No time to blog....I ran my little feet off... Up early to give a lecture, and 300 gals sharing breakfast with me was a buzz.... Class all day and then the evening functions.... Gals... I didn't have time to breathe. I got to chat with hundreds of folks, so thanks a million for visits and the laughs.
Book in early for next year folks You won't be disappointed. Trust me.
The drive home from Melbourne with my Ipod turned up loud completed an 8 week stint away from home. It was just lovely to put on my jamas and sit by the TV with a coffee... But it doesn't last for long... Preparations for my next trip took precedence.
One of the reasons for not keeping up the blog when I returned home was that I have had a problem with my telephone line.... It appears the line was hit by lightning and pretty much destroyed...This has been going on for over 5 months... Now I have broadband and just a few more glitches to sort out I will be back to normal... Just in time for me to go away again.
OK so how did I break the record. On Saturday I think I taught the largest quilting class in Australia. 185 students at once.
The South Australian Quilt Guild have a yearly Country Forum. This year it was held in the Ballroom at the Burnside Community centre. Excited car and bus loads of gals came from all over the State. The idea is to involve the country folk in the guild functions. Maxine Smith (el Presidente ) held the floor and Sandy Jones and her band of helpers, cooked, prepared goody bags and worked exceedingly hard to make this a day to be remembered.
We had great speakers, Michelle Hill sharing her knowledge about William Morris and a couple of male quilters spoke too... I gave a presentation on "An Australian in Houston"... then a Drapplique class to be remembered. We used Digital Technology to put the project up on screen and then I walked through the process of drapplique step by step. 186 gals completed two small projects. There were tables up stairs and down... and I worked from the stage running from one table to another in between. Manager Jeanette assisted as well and I think we did it gals...!!!!!!
What a buzz.
The weekend finished with a hard working retreat for the Retreating Angels at Aldinga and now I'm preparing for Toowoomba on Wednesday.... not much time to sit in the Jamas folks... but what a way to go.
Happiness is not a goal, - it's a by product. Eleanor Roosevelt
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