Heaven in Berrima

Last Friday we had a girls road trip to Berrima in the Southern Highlands (about 2 hours south of Sydney). Main purpose of the trip was to visit an antique shop called Peppergreens. OMG what a place. Jars and jars and tubs of button. Vases of old knitting needles. Heaps of old cake cooling racks. Vast plastic tubs of old trims. Old knives and forks. Two drawers full of french laces. Old photos. Antique quilts and menswear fabric samples. The owner told me a lot of stuff comes from dealers in the UK - bought at big markets. And they find their way to a little corner of Australia.

Here are some photos of the shop - sorry I was too overwhelmed to remember to photograph the very attractive exterior or the very pretty quilt shops we also visited - or the place we had lunch which had a wall at the back completely covered in very red virginia creeper. Another day I hope.

Julie selecting old menswear samples to make a wagga












Rows of antique quilts













Rows of old knitting needles - don't you just want to take them all home?












Drawers of old thimbles and old hand sewing needles












Old buttons still on the original cards










Philippa - as a professional now in textile conservations don't you feel you need to make a field trip to this place? Pictures don't do this place justice. What a treasure trove.

My treasures for the day! Mother of pearl buckles. Mother of pearl buttons. Antique cake rack. And some fabric that just jumped into my bag.

My only regret for the day - should have bought more at Peppergreens!

Familiar landscapes

A triptych inspired by beautiful Sydney. Submitted for The New Quilt 2010 but rejected. (sob)

Artist statement....
Sydney and its urban landscapes are my primary source of inspiration. In this work I’ve taken 3 different harbour views and added texture, stitch, simple lines, rhythmic colour and image transfers. I like to incorporate dyeing, photography, stitch and collage in my work and I like to experiment with new ways of adding texture and imagery.

Still got a sketchbook full of stuff but finding it hard to get started on something...

Engulfed - February 7 2009 Black Saturday

A very very belated update with a quilt that was accepted into Art Quilt Australia 09 - was surprised but thrilled to be accepted. Went to the opening in Canberra and felt a little embarrassed as mine was one of only 2 quilts that had any traditional piecing at all - rest were surface design based. Anyway - was pleased to complete something and produce a quilt that I managed to turn a sketch into a quilt that (for me) was a powerful reminder of a shocking time. All thanks to Katrina Te Punga who was visiting at the time who took Kathryn out for 2 days so I could finish it in time.

Artist's statement that accompanied this quilt....
"The Victorian bushfires were the worst bushfires in Australia's history - 173 people reported dead but the correct number is unknown. This work uses the colour imagery of that day and the symbol of the cross to commemorate the victims, the blackened land, the bravery of the fire fighters."

Pictures are some of the sketchbook pages used to develop the quilt plus the quilt.

ATCs 100-117

The latest batch.... Some hand painted backgrounds. Most of the image transfer stuff is in the next batch. Enjoying frayed bits but finding it hard to translate to a larger format!

Following Twyla Tharp's advice - again

This was made both to 'learn' from following Lisa Call and to make an 'inspired by' journal quilt for my online quilt group.









The second picture is what I made. I don't have huge amounts of hand dyes and also wanted to use some of my beautiful 'commercial' fabrics. This is the result. I really like it. It is quite small - about 40x60cm.





The third picture is my digital creation so see what it would look like bigger. Again I'm really pleased with it.

Kntting in 32 degrees - I must be mad

I was looking for something to do in the evenings that didn't require great eye sight - the lighting in our rented apartment isn't great (even with a halogen at my side) and my eyes are tired at night. I brought some of my lovely Noro wool with me and decided to start knitting the Lizard Ridge afghan that my friend Helen had sent me some time ago. This is like a sampler for me to remember my lovely wools. The first picture is Kureyon 147 followed by Kureyon 095.

The pattern is here http://knitty.com/issuefall06/PATTlizardridge.html.

The short rows give the blocks great texture. You are meant to press them to make them flat and show off the stripes better but I'm torn.... What do you think - to press or not to press - that is the question...

More on Maps

First picture is Maps 4 - physically replaced the dark dark block from Maps 3 with the blue block and also stopped trying to be so regular with the blocks. Seems to work better - I think because it is one of those bits of fabric with light and dark patches.

THEN I finally learned how to replace colours! THIS is seriously FUN. Of course I may never be able to find the right fabrics but now I understand how to liven up a quilt - good old Colour Theory 101. Red and green are complements so in Maps 5 (digital) lime and pink do the same job.


THEN I discovered how to convert to black and white - Maps 6. This is interesting - shows the major part colour plays in this quilt - composition is ok but not strong.

Also I think - too much thinking! A lot of what works is just instinctive. If it makes you excited then its working....