2014 20th Anniversary Seminar of The Quilt Study Group of Australia Seminar on 6th and 7th July 2014

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Quilt Study Group of Australia, the next QSG of A seminar will be held from 9.30am to 5pm on Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th of July 2014 - the weekend before the 2014 Sydney Quilt Show opens.

Seven speakers will talk about their areas of quilting interest on Sunday the 6th July,  the first day of the seminar. Our keynote speaker is Di Ford (Vic), who has recently published with Quiltmania her book of 16 quilt patterns - 'Primarily Quilts'. Gail Chalker (Qld), Nonie Fisher (NSW/Vic), Jennifer Palmer (NSW/Qld), Chris Jones (Qld), Michelle Watters (NSW) and Jessica Wheelahan (NSW) are the speakers who have all agreed to talk to us on topics near to their hearts.

We will hold a twentieth anniversary celebration buffet dinner at the Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour hotel on Sunday night. This will be at extra cost to attendees and their friends ($59 a head, drinks at own cost). We are very pleased to announce that our special dinner speaker is Margaret Rolfe AM. Margaret was one of the founders of the Quilt Study Group of Australia and is known worldwide for her teaching, lectures, quiltmaking, and quilting books and patterns. At the dinner there will also be an auction to raise funds to support future seminars by the Quilt Study Group of Australia.

On Monday the 7th July, four prominent Australian quilters/quilt collectors, Trish Bloomfield, Melinda Smith, Carolyn Sullivan and Brigitte Giblin, have agreed to present to us their quilts of interest and talk about them in a Quilt Uncoverings day.

The fee to attend both days of the seminar is $175. The fee to attend just the Quilt Uncoverings day on the Monday is $40.

The venue for the seminar is the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour in Sydney. Registration will be when the Museum opens, at 9.30am on both days.

Tea and coffee will be available all day for all attendees, but lunch will not be provided at the seminar. Next door to the Maritime Museum there are more than 40 eateries at the Harbourside Shopping Centre to choose from or you can bring your own lunch. All day parking at a flat rate of $13 is is available at the Harbourside Car Park, located on Murray Street under the Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour Hotel.

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

Saturday 5th October 2013 – Karen Fail talk about Friendship Quilts to the QSG of NSW at The Powerhouse Museum

Friendship quilts provide a lasting memory of shared lives and are a link with quilt makers of the past. Karen Fail, author of Between Friends - Quilts to Share, will talk about the early history of friendship quilts and their role in the lives of quilt makers.

One of Karen's friendship quilts is ‘Charming Stars’. After Karen's term on the guild committee as President ended, she was presented with a wonderful friendship quilt, Charming Stars (172cm x 220cm) (see photo). 'Knowing my busy schedule', Karen explained, 'the committee had not only sewn the blocks together to make the quilt top, but had basted the quilt ready for quilting.'  The quilt is a constant reminder not only of the exciting time she had working for the guild, but of the people who shared her enthusiasm for quilting and became her friends. She will always treasure it.

You are invited to bring along your own friendship or group/collaborative quilts to show the Quilt Study Group of NSW members and friends. These could be made from birthday blocks, to commemorate a special event in your life or made as a Round Robin. Be prepared to tell the story of your special friendship quilt.

The talk will be held on Saturday the 5th October 2013 in The Target Theatre, The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney from 2pm to 4.30pm. Fees to come to the talk are: Guild members $5, non-Guild members $10. There is free entry to the Powerhouse Museum and afternoon tea is provided. 

Report on the QSG of NSW tour of the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection in June 2013

On the 5^th and 21^st of June 2013, we visited the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection at the Mint Building in Macquarie Street in the centre of Sydney. The collection was established in 1984 and is owned and managed by the Sydney Living Museums (formerly known as the Historic Houses Trust). It is funded by a legacy from Caroline Simpson, a daughter of Sir Warwick Fairfax. As their librarian Matt explained to us, they are interested in how things were used in the home, not just in decoration or design.

 The focus of the collection is on the history of houses, interiors and gardens in NSW since 1788 and it contains a wonderful selection of books, trade catalogues, design materials, photographs and textiles. We saw some of the materials from demolished buildings, e.g. a column top from ‘Subiaco’ in Rydalmere, and a light fitting from one of the GSDA houses built by Walter Burley Griffin in Castlecrag.

 Among the textiles we saw upstairs was a beautiful lace bedspread acquired in France in the 1920s, sample books of laces, curtain trims and blinds, a pillow cover made from velvet ribbons in a log cabin design, and a 19th century lady’s needlework box made from ivory.

 We all thought that the tile and wallpaper catalogues provided some great inspiration for our future quilts.

 Among the treasures we were shown in the storage area was a set of silk curtains that decorated both of Patrick White’s Sydney houses. We also saw curtains from the ‘Australian Artists Original’ range of fabrics that John Kaldor commissioned from John Coburn in 1962.

In the drawer storage, we were shown some 1880s blinds that came from ‘Camelot’ in Camden, and a set of 1860s bed hangings from Thomas Mort’s ‘Green Oaks’ in Darling Point.

It was fascinating to see the upholstery from a Rouse Hill Farm chair that showed the progression of time and taste between 1870 and 1930 via seven layers of fabric covering the seat.

 And the incomplete silk quilt top of simple four patches pieced over papers made at the end of the nineteenth century was just beautiful.

The collection is open for anyone to visit and use as a resource, but if you can not visit in person, they also have some online resources accessible on their website - http://www.hht.net.au/collections/library.

20th Anniversary Seminar of the Quilt Study Group of Australia in June 2014

In 1994 the Quilt Study Group of Australia was formed by Margaret Rolfe AM in Canberra. The original committee was based and run in the ACT and was subsequently handed over to Annette Gero FRSA, who formed a committee to run it from NSW. Currently Karen Fail (former Quilters Guild of NSW president) is the convenor.

Since it began, the Quilt Study Group of Australia has worked as an independent body to further its aims ('to promote interest and research into quilting in Australia') by publicising quilting events around the country. Originally this was done via a newsletter but now it is done via this blog. In addition the QSG of A funds the running of a seminar every 2-3 years in different states of Australia. See http://australianquiltstudygroups.blogspot.com.au/p/the-quilt-study-group-of-australia.html for the full history of the group and details on how to apply for this funding to run future seminars.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the group, the Quilt Study Group of Australia will hold the next Seminar in Sydney, New South Wales. The Seminar will be on the weekend before the Sydney Quilt Show. On Sunday 15th June 2014 the Seminar itself will run, and it will be followed by a Quilts Uncovering day on Monday 16th of June 2014 . An interesting program of speakers is currently being developed and will be publicised soon. At the Uncoverings, the owners of four quilt collections will bring along their quilts to talk about and show us. There will also be a dinner on Sunday night, the first night of the seminar. As details become available, they will be published on this blog.

If you are interested in attending and would like details sent to you as they become available, please send your contacts details (name, contact phone number, address and email) to Karen Fail – karenvfail @gmail. com (remove the space before emailing) or 17 Peter Close, Hornsby Heights, 2077, Australia.

Online Article about the upcoming V&A Quilts 1700 - 1945 exhibition in Brisbane

The latest Cultural Concept Circle Muse News - Society and Culture Special contains a very interesting article written by Caroline McDowall and  titled 'Quilts - Counterpanes of Comfort and Cultural Significance'. It provides some background information to accompany the 'Quilts 1700 - 1945' exhibition, which will be held in Brisbane starting 15th June 2013 at QAGOMA.

To view this article, go to http://www.thecultureconcept.com/circle/quilts-counterpanes-of-comfort-and-cultural-significance

Report on Jennifer Palmer's talk to the QSG of NSW on 4 May 2013

In a most interesting and comprehensive talk on Saturday 4^th May 2013, Jennifer Palmer spoke about how we can document our quilts and store them in the best condition. She began by explaining why we should all document our quilts, giving us examples of the theft of quilts here and overseas. Such documentation provides evidence for future owners of an item and its provenance, and also provides a snapshot of its condition.

She gave us each a Textile Documentation Worksheet, and using the example of a quilt in the National Trust collection, Jennifer worked through the different sections, explaining exactly what should be recorded and why. Apart from the obvious sections such as dimensions, image, complete physical description (so if lost or stolen, it could be verified), she told us how important it is to record the history of an item (including ownership, family stories and use information). As Dr Annette Gero showed us later with one of her quilts, research into the fabrics can prove or disprove oral history.

Full description of a quilt is needed (quilt label, pattern, shapes, colour, materials used, style, construction techniques and type of sewing), along with a unique identification number. We often forget to include and update exhibition history (prizes, publications, collaborators, time taken to make, unique fabrics used etc.). We all agreed that for our purchased quilts and quilt tops, the provenance and valuation data should always be captured. Jennifer also pointed out that when describing any research into an item, it is important to document all sources of information, especially online sources such as Trove, so they can revisited for updates.

Later discussions covered the always controversial area of quilt valuation (both initial and subsequent revaluations), along with the storage, care and conservation of our textiles. We picked up valuable tips from Jennifer in all these areas, thanks to her extensive experience with collections. We were also given a list of conservation products and suppliers, along with valuable information about the Australian environment and appropriate pest management techniques.

Sandra Lyons introduces Anne Seddon and her family's hexie quilt top

For show and tell, Sandra Lyons introduced us to Anne Seddon who showed us her wonderful family hexie quilt top (with intact papers), made in the late 1800s. Anne spoke about her family history and stories of the quilt.

Annette Gero also brought her example of a hexie quilt made about the same time by Mary Morehead. She spoke about how important it is to verify the family story of quilts by inspecting fabrics for clues, and by researching family history, such as birth/death/marriage data and newspapers online.

Karen Fail then showed us a more modern quilt made by her friend Larraine Scouler, which she purchased from the family after Larraine’s death. She spoke of the personal attachment she had to this quilt - it featured in her first book, “Quilting Back to Front” - and how this important detail could be lost if she had not documented it.

We finished the day by closely inspecting the quilt tops brought to the event. Here are 3 examples of hexie quilts, all made around the same date.

QSG of NSW tours of the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection in June 2013

10.30am on Wednesday 5^th June 2013 and Friday 21^st June 2013 – Tour of the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection.

The Quilt Study Group of NSW has arranged for two tours of the Historic Houses Trust’s Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection. It is located in the Mint Building on Macquarie Street and is open to the public from Tuesday to Friday. It contains many items of interest touching on the history of houses, garden design and interior furnishing in New South Wales. 

The librarian will show us paintings, prints, textiles, wallpapers and other large format collection items, and you can stay on to continue your research into your quilts by using their excellent specialist research facilities. See http://www.hht.net.au/collections/library for further details.

Numbers for each tour are strictly limited to 15 people but there are currently some places left on both dates. Please contact the Quilters' Guild of NSW Office (ph: 9283 3737) to secure your place on either of the tours.