Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Saturday 7 March 2015 QSG of NSW talk by Judy Day on Miniature Quilts

Judy Day is an internationally acclaimed quilt maker who has made many reproduction and miniature quilts such 'Moxley', 'Autumn Leaves', 'Dancing Dollies', 'Auntie Green's Coverlet' and 'Shellbourne Wreath'.

Her quilts have won many prizes and her miniature quilt 'Dancing at Netherfield' is one of two of her quilts that are in the collection of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, USA (see http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=1C-3B-DC)

Judy will cover the history of miniature quilts, what constitutes a miniature quilt, tips on how she chooses patterns, fabric, piecing and/or quilting designs, and how she cuts and constructs them.

Come along to hear Judy speak about Miniature Quilts and see her wonderful collection at the Quilt Study Group of NSW talk. The talk will start at 2pm on Saturday 7th March 2015. The venue, The Meeting Room at The Glover Cottages, is at 124 Kent Street Sydney and is an easy 10 minute walk from Wynyard and Circular Quay train stations. Entry is $5 for Quilters' Guild members and $10 for others. Afternoon tea is included.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Report on 20th September 2014 QSG of NSW talk by Ros Moules on The Community Quilts Program



Ros Moules gave a wonderful talk about the history of the Community Quilts program of The Quilters’ Guild of NSW and showed a large selection of the quilts and quilt tops that the group is currently working on. She joined the Community Quilts program of The Quilters’ Guild of NSW in 1991 and took over as coordinator of the program when Ruth Carter died in 1999.  At that stage Ros estimated that the group had made and given away around 305 quilts.
Ros Moules with one of the group's completed quilts

The first Community Quilts coordinator was Nonie Fisher and we saw some wonderful photographs from that first quilting bee they held at Rivendell in Concord in 1983.  On that day the group completed seven quilts. By their second quilting bee they had finished 18 quilts and had 20 under way.
The Template Newsletter with a report in 1984 on the Community Quilts program

Ros took us through the progression of the group and there was much amusement when she described the components that they had to use in those days - sheeting as backing, thick poly batting, and what we would now call ‘unappealing’ fabric for making the lap sized only quilts. Now the group make 48x72 inch single bed size quilts, use a preprinted Guild label, and have a number of common and easy patterns they often use to design the quilt tops.  
Ros with Heather Davie showing a common quilt pattern

Another quilt using a pre-printed panel



Some long-arm quilters have also donated their time and energy. Since 2011 Bernina has made a yearly donation of $1,000 to the program, which is used to buy better quality fabric for tops and backings.  Last year Bernina also donated a new sewing machine to the Community Quilts program.

In terms of recipients of the quilts, Ros remarked that even though everyone wants a quilt, not everyone needs a quilt. The work is very rewarding and the recipient's reactions are memorable. They are very careful to find worthy recipients and try to match the style and fabrics to each person. By the time June Fleming died, 100 quilts had been made for Stuart House - all marine themed. Then they made children’s quilts specifically for foster children. Now their quilts fall into 3 categories - single bed quilts, utility quilts, and raffle quilts.

Community Quilts give quilts to the Royal Far West Children's home in Manly, make a raffle quilt annually for Stewart House at Harbord, make quilts for the Baptist Church’s inner city refuge and for the Stretch-A-Family DOCS program for homeless young people, and also for various nursing homes. They have also made specialty quilts. These included tactile quilts for blind children, weighted quilts for children with Asperger’s, and a reversible mortuary quilt for a hospital.

They do get some UFO quilt tops but if it will take too much effort to fix or if there is no matching fabric, they are reused by contacts who make drainage bags and head scarves for breast cancer patients. Very little given to the group is not used. Many people have made quilt tops at home using donated fabric, so on their sewing days the Community Quilts group just pins and quilts in the hall. They finish their sewing day with show and tell of their own and the Group’s work, and at Guild Meetings now they display their latest efforts so everyone can appreciate them. This wonderful group is a credit to the Quilters’ Guild of NSW.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Detour via the Silk Road… upcoming exhibition by Judy Hooworth…

Timeless Textiles Gallery

90 Hunter St Newcastle East
20th November – 12th December 2014
Opening November 20th 6-8pm

“My new work is influenced by travels in China and Central Asia in 2012 and 2013.
Inspired by embroidery and tile patterns from the region, I have connected with artisans from the past, recreating and reinterpreting their designs with silk screened mono prints and intensive stitching in my quilts and textile pieces.”


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Saturday 8th November 2014 QSG of NSW talk by Brenda Gael Smith

On Saturday the 8th of November, noted contemporary textile artist Brenda Gael Smith will give a talk for the Quilt Study Group of NSW about the useful tools, skills and resources she has discovered that have helped her in her quilting practice.


Brenda's talk will range from digital photography to setting up an online presence, time management and exhibition planning. Brenda's work with the international Twelve by Twelve group and her most recent work curating The Living Colour! Exhibition (which is currently touring Australia and New Zealand and will go to USA next year) has provided her with extensive experience and advice that we can all benefit from. Be prepared to share examples of how you have used your digital camera, computer, tablet, and/or smart phone to support your creativity or productivity when making quilts. 

Brenda's latest blog entry for this talk can be viewed at -
http://serendipitypatchwork.com.au/blog/2014/10/21/technology-creative-practice/

The talk will be given at the new QSG of NSW venue - The Glover Cottages at 124 Kent Street, Millers Point, Sydney. Quilters' Guild of NSW members pay $5.00 and non-Guild members $10.00 to attend visit. Afternoon tea is provided.

Please bring along any quilts you have made or are making that have involved the use of technical resources such as digital photography, quilting or graphical software and share them with us.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Saturday 20th September 2014 QSG of NSW talk about Community Quilting

On Saturday the 20th September Ros Moules, the Community Quilts Co-ordinator, will give a talk about the history of the Community Quilts program of the Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc. As the contributing members of other Guilds and quilting groups around the world have all found, making and donating quilts and quilt tops to worthy causes and recipients has brought joy - to both the maker and receiver.
Ros Moules with a happy recipient of a Community Quilt at the Sylvania Heights Nursing Home recently

Since 1983 the Community Quilts group belonging to the NSW Guild has been making and donating quilts on behalf of the Guild. It is a voluntary project where members meet to sew quilts for the community, and to date over 2000 quilts have been donated. On-going commitments are to Royal Far West Children’s Home in Manly and to foster children in NSW. Quilts are also donated to various nursing homes and for raffles to raise money for community organisations.
Bronwyn  Gosling and Maralyn Iwancauk  

Carolyn Rawson and Faye Young hard at work quilting

Denise Green and Ros Moules quilting

Margaret Lee and Heather Davie pinning a quilt top

The talk will be given at our new venue for 2014 - The Glover Cottages at 124 Kent Street, Millers Point, Sydney. Guild members pay $5.00 and non-guild members $10.00 to attend visit. Afternoon tea is provided.  Please bring along any quilts you have made or are making for any community quilting programme and share them with us.

Report on the 2014 20th Anniversary Quilt Study Group of Australia Seminar

The 20th Anniversary QSGA Seminar was held at the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour in Sydney, with glorious sunshine on both days. 
 
Seminar speakers (L-R) Michelle Watters, Jennifer Palmer, Jess Wheelahan, Nonie Fisher, Di Ford, Chris Jones, Margie Creek and Gail Chalker
The lecture theatre of the Museum was a most suitable venue for the seminar, easily accommodating more than 60 people who came from all over Australia and from abroad. Di Ford, the owner of the now closed Primarily Patchwork quilt shop in Victoria, provided a feast of quilts to illustrate her talk on Primarily Quilts – 19th Century Inspiration, her latest book published by QuiltMania










Gail Chalker introduced us to the inspiration found in the Greenmount Cemetery and sewn on Baltimore quilts. She asked the tantalising question: which came first - the headstones or the quilts? A visit to the cemetery and subsequent investigation have not given Gail a clear answer.



As Exhibition Secretary for The Quilters’ Guild of NSW’s first Quilt Show in the Lower Sydney Town Hall, Nonie Fisher had lots of history to share about the Guild's activities . She also spoke about her own quilting adventures, including using the first rotary cutter in Sydney. Many people recognised her very popular quilts, featuring applique and pieced work, that they had made in workshops at the Quilting Bee.


It was wonderful to have Jennifer Palmer present her talk on cataloguing and caring for quilts. Jennifer has vast experience in curating collections, including textiles, in many of Australia’s historic houses, museums and art galleries. She was keen to share her knowledge to ensure we could be confident our quilts were protected in the best possible ways.


Chris Jones and Margie Creek talked about the Miegunyah Quilt Project, and they even had one of the not yet researched quilts from the collection with them. This is such a worthwhile project and such an important collection of quilts that we felt privileged to have an update on progress.


SCQuilters (Southern Cross Quilters) is part and parcel of many Australian and NZ quilters on-line experience, so it was exciting to have a potted history of the group included in the programme. Michelle Watters, who has organised the annual retreat since the early days of the group, gave this talk.


Our final speaker was Jessica Wheelahan, who describes her quiltmaking as a collage of collected histories. She explained her design process from inspiration to final quilt, illustrating her talk with quilt after quilt – a most impressive accomplishment and a delightful way to end the first day of the seminar.


On Sunday night, we relaxed at dinner in the Novotel Sydney Darling Harbour. Margaret Rolfe was the after dinner speaker, and she delighted us with the history of the Quilt Study Group of Australia seminars, reminding many of us about previous seminars and the talks given by eminent researchers and quilters. No one present at one seminar in Canberra could forget the talk by Sheila Allen, who wrote The Diary of a Girl in Changi and made one of the blocks in the quilt. Not a dry eye in the house, as I recall.
 
Karen thanking Margaret Rolfe
Throughout the evening we enjoyed auctioning textiles and quilt-related items that had been donated to raise funds for the next seminar. For the first time, some of the more prized items were put up for silent auction, and the highest bid for any item was for a small but exquisitely embroidered Kantha made by Carolyn Sullivan. Many other items were highly prized, including a selection of French fabrics from Brigitte Giblin and some unique fabric designed by Jessica Wheelahan. Liz Bonner, Secretary of QSGA, added to the fun by re-offering fabric she had purchased at a previous Sydney seminar auction – a particularly ugly cheater fabric for making Christmas placemats. Bought as a bolt, she decided to add value to the fabric by offering it in bundles all pre-cut ready to sew. Daphne Massey bought 27 placemats and intends to make them up for the next church fete and Di Ford promised to bring her set of placemats back – value added - for the next seminar. Something about tea-dyeing them to death…
 
Auction in process with those Xmas placements on offer
Monday was another beautiful day by the harbour as we gathered for Uncoverings, where Trish Bloomfield, Melinda Smith, Carolyn Sullivan and Brigitte Giblin uncovered their collections of quilts and the stories behind them. What a wonderful visual feast it became for everyone, as quilt after quilt was uncovered with their owners delighting us all with stories of how and why they were collected or made. 
Trish Bloomfield showing her quilts


Melinda Smith introducing her quilt collection


 
Carolyn Sullivan and Karen Fail

 
Karen introducing Brigitte Gibson and her collection of French quilts


Monday, May 19, 2014

Registration form for the 2014 20th Anniversary QSGA Seminar


              *****  LAST DAYS TO REGISTER *****
For the seminar dinner, registration and payment of $59 a head is required by the 30th June.
For the Seminar and Uncoverings day, payment of $175 is accepted up to the day the seminar runs.
If you can only come to the Uncoverings day on Monday 7th July, pay your $40 on the day. 

Click here to download the detailed Seminar Programme.

20 years ago the Quilt Study Group of Australia was formed.  In that time there have been seven QSGA seminars run in Australia.
 
To celebrate the anniversary, the next Quilt Study Group of Australia seminar will be held from 9.30am to 5pm on Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th of July 2014 at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.

To download the 2014 QSGA Seminar registration form, seminar schedule and other important information, click here.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Jessica Wheelahan Modern Quilter talk at the 2014 QSGA Seminar




On Sunday 6th July at the 20th Anniversary Quilt Study Group of Australia seminar, Jessica Wheelahan will give a talk titled “Modern Quiltmaking – a Different Approach”.


Jessica went to her first quilting class in 2002 when she was finishing her Bachelor of Design degree at the University of NSW. Since then she has exhibited her quilts locally at the Hunters Hill Quilt Show and the Sydney Quilt Show. Her works have been seen in the 2012 ‘One Step Further’ travelling exhibition and last year were juried into the Australian Quilts in Public Places 2013 exhibition and the TMAG Art Quilt Exhibition ‘If These Walls Could Speak’. Last month she had three quilts hung in Australia’s first Modern Quilt Show in Berry, NSW.  
Last year her quilt ‘Bricolage’ was exhibited at ‘Pour l’Amour du Fil’ in Nantes, France and most recently she has contributed to Dijanne Cevaal’s touring Sentinelle project.

 
"For me, Modern Quiltmaking is at once an art form and a way of working with textiles. I will discuss how I interpret the traditional roots of quiltmaking into a contemporary aesthetic, using principles of art and design with modern processes and materials.
Using my own quilts as examples and works from the fields of fashion, contemporary art and design I will show how ideas and patterns from the past are brought to life in the modern context.
I will explain concept development in the design process of creating original works of textile art which are at once functional and meaningful".

You can view more of Jess's works at -
http://www.pinterest.com/birdiebeetle/beats-and-pieces-modern-quilting/

Click here to download the 2014 QSGA Seminar Registration form, the seminar schedule and other important information.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Nonie Fisher talk at the 2014 QSGA Seminar on 6th July

For many quilters in Sydney, Nonie Fisher played an important role in starting us on our quilting journey. She was one of the owners of "The Quilting Bee" in Gordon and via her classes introduced us to the various patchwork, applique and quilting techniques, as well as to the history of quilting.

As both a teacher and designer of quilt patterns with an historical emphasis, Nonie has been a leader in developing patchwork and quilting in Australia. Although she now lives in Victoria, Nonie has agreed to talk to us at the Seminar on 6 July 2014 at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.


Nonie's talk is titled "Retrospective Recollections - a Personal Journey". She will talk about: "my journey, and I will bring as many of my quilts (including some old ones relevant to my story) with me. It is a journey that includes my involvement in groups, The Quilters' Guild of NSW from its commencement, 'The Quilting Bee' and making quilts for my loved ones." 
 

Friday, May 9, 2014

The Meigunyah Quilt Project talk at the 2014 QSGA Seminar



The house, Meigunyah, has a rich history and is now owned by the Queensland Women’s Historical Association.  They own a number of antique quilts that have been kept in their Archive rooms and are rarely seen by the public.

Following the success of the 2008 Quilt Study Group of Australia Conference held in Brisbane, the Queensland Branch of the Quilt Study Group started the process of documenting this hidden treasure. 

Chris Jones and Margie Creek will talk to us about this important project and will be bringing one of Meigunyah's quilts to Sydney to show us.



Chris Jones lives in Brisbane and when describing her quilting journey, said
"Quilting in all its forms interests me – from antique quilts through to art quilts, traditional & modern quilts.   Most of my life has been influenced by textiles in some shape or form.  From ‘doing fancy-work’ as a child, experimenting with macramé, crochet, knitting, dressmaking, needlework and now I find myself in place where all these skills can come together if I wish it.  
I helped establish the Queensland branch of the Quilt Study Group when the States were being encouraged to form branches.

I am a long term member of Queensland Quilters and have been involved with subsidiary groups of QQ.   I have enjoyed participating in the workshops and meetings of Qld Quilters Art Quilt group and this has lead to my entering and being juried in to the State of The Art exhibitions. I am currently the curator of the State of the Art 2014 Exhibition.  This exhibition displays the works of Queensland Quilters Art Quilters and travels to regional Art Galleries throughout Queensland". 

Margie Creek lives in Toowoomba now but was educated in Maryland, USA.  Margie married into a quilting family and "was influenced by my mother-in-law. It was visits to her home that increased my interest in this form of textile use.   When I had a chance to learn the basics of patchwork and quilting, I learnt formally from a skilled teacher. In 1987 I worked with 2 others on Toowoomba's piece for the huge Bicentennial banner which travelled all around Australia in 1988. The historical background of quilting is a strong interest and my travels have influenced my collection of textiles and creative pieces."