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....

ATCs - September

A few more - haven't managed the one a day - school holidays kinda interrupted my run. One of the last group is a paper one. I started doing some ideas for 'New Zealand' but then diverted into just playing and collaging fabric. The last 2 are just playing with some Sydney stamps I bought at the papercraft stall at Paddy's Market. The pink ribbon one is for Denys.

Maps 3

Ok - another digital one. But it just doesn't work. I'm not sure why - any opinions. The blocks aren't quilted at all but still........ Looking at it now I wonder if it's because I used a regular pattern for the blocks. I wanted to try and make the paths line up and the easiest way I could think of was to make them regular. Of course because they are free cut they don't quite line up. And the dark dark block doesn't work the way I thought. Interesting as well that I didn't think the colours were that different from Maps 2 (apart from leaving out the crazy cerise) but they are quite different. Well well - you live and learn.

Mother's Day Quilt shop visit and other discoveries.

This is a while ago but I wanted to post this picture. Last mother's day Colin and Kathryn took me to Annadale to a quilt shop called Quilt Smith. More fabric than Thimbles in UH. A whole bay of indigo fabrics. More Japanese fabric than I've ever seen. All about A$24 pm. Not a lot of threads or books - didn't even notice many needles. There is another quilt shop in Leicheart not far away and another in Hunter's Hill I must discover. Anyway - I bought these fabrics. (see P - same fabric as you bought in Adelaide). Funny when you consider I am mostly using tone on tone but I just loved them.

Also last weekend Colin and Kathryn were away at Sea Scout camp at Newcastle so I headed into town on the ferry with my trusty map (I do love maps) and discovered a huge bead shop www.empirebeads.com.au in Surry Hills (not far from Central station). Great cafe opposite and lots of old terrace houses. Interesting area don't think I'd walk around there at night but fine on a Saturday morning. Moved on to discover the main Tessuti fabric shop www.tessuti.com.au. Just amazing - full of happy little sewers just when you think no one sews clothes in this town. Think it was mainly students sewing for their design courses but a nice shop. Lots of interested staff and big leather couches and long wooden tables with design books to look at. Felt a bit embarrassed just looking the Simplicity pattern book instead of whipping up something original but still did buy some eggplant coloured mesh to use in a fabric collage. Also a breathtaking button selection.

Weather is funny at the moment - 33 on Sunday, 23 on Monday. Meant to be building to 33 on Friday then 23 for the weekend.

ATCs 73-87

Another batch of ATCs. Some more pansy ones, followed by a few inspired by a visit to the Jenolan Caves (look for stalagmite type ones), then a series of composition ones (high horizon, parallel lines, strata, basic shapes etc).

Some absolute stinkers but I learn something from everyone. Also a great warm up exercise - a bit like stretching.

Maps#2

And then I made it bigger using what I had done as a repeat block. I just love that turquoise colour. When you look at the larger quilt the curved piecing and narrow inserts add interest. (Darn it! Will have to get faster at it!)

Maps

I've always loved maps. Here's a quilt I made inspired by the grids of city maps. This actually started out trying to be an 'inspired by Lisa Call' quilt but then the map thing started to happen. I started using curvey freeform piecing but that was taking ages so I made the last 2 block with straight lines - at the moment I don't think the curvey lines add anything. I'm going to made another one with more blocks and try and get the streets to line up. I like the way the eye follows the streets but gets a surprise when the colours change.

Eleanor McCain continues

Here are some variations I've made on the first 'inspired by Eleanor McCain' quilt I made.

ATCs 61-75 - pansies rule!

After trying to be arty and abstract my beloved pansies have reasserted themselves. Have been enjoying trying to stop them being so 'sweet' by painting and stamping backgrounds. It is true that when your subject is something you love you have no problems thinking of something to do. I love these but not sure how they translate to a larger quilt. They are lovely small because small is about detail and suits the small form of the pansy.

The Jeans ATC is made from a label on a pair of pants I've just bought. I'd love to do more with clothing labels. Aren't the 'features' that you now find on labels hilarious. I know intellectually that these new pants aren't going to make me look 5'6'' and willowly - but I still have that 5% hope.....

ATCs 46-60

Starting to get more abstract - I like them. And I like the cruciform ones. The blue blob is meant to be the Water Cube in Beijing - it is truly awful. The last 2 ATCs are an interesting experiment. For the first one just grabbed 2 fabrics and did some freeform curved piecing - I like it! The second one I wondered if I could achieve the same effect with less work by just putting the fabric on top and stitching it down - but you end up with quite different texture - so (sigh) curved piecing is worth the hassle.

Following Twyla Tharp's advice

Thanks to Philippa this is a quote from Twyla Tharp re copying - "It's no different from a young person sitting with a drawing pad in a museum copying a great artist. Skill gets imprinted through the action.

If there's a lesson here it's: get busy copying. That's not a popular notion today, not when we are all instructed to find our own way, admonished to be original and find our own voice at all costs! But it's sound advice. Travelling the paths of greatness, even in someone else's footprints, is a vital means to acquiring skill.

When I started out as a dancer in New York, I became obsessed with studying every great dancer who was working at the time and patterning myself after him or her. I would literally stand behind them in class, in copying mode, and fall right into their footsteps. Their technique, style and timing imprinted themselves on my muscles. That's one of the ways I learnt to dance."

So here I am busy copying - today I am pretending to be Eleanor McCain. Such a simple quilt - playing with colour and the cruciform symbol. Easy and effective and enjoyable to make but I'm not sure its me.... The first photo is the original - the second is my copy. I thought that with more positive negative cruciform blocks the quilt would be more effective. I've made another ATC version using patterned fabric that is interesting. Will post that one soon.

Daily ATCs (31-45)

More ATCs