A photo at last.
June 10, 2008
I finally got a decent picture of this quilt. I did get one of it straight on but it didn’t show as well. So here it is lying down.
It is almost exactly 1m square (which I am finding stupidly satisfying). All the threads used are essentially purple. The lightest in the middle is a very soft lilac and the swirls at the outer edge are a dark purple. This quilt will be on display at the Festival of Quilts at Birmingham NEC in August.
Where I went for the weekend.
June 8, 2008
Also known as inspiration for abstract quilts. So this is the fine view I have this morning. Any guesses what you are looking at? Well the large grey (cleanish) bit is the new petrol tank that has been taking up so much of my time in good weather. We finally had good weather when we were at home to work on my car. I think I mentioned that her coolent leak has been fixed so this is all that is needed to get her back working. Yesterday I discovered that the muscles I've been building up with the quilting have a practical use, bench pressing petrol tanks. About 7pm yesterday we had the new tank in place and connected up. Great, just a trip to the petrol station and I'm ready to go. You've probably never taken the petrol tank off your car, so trust me when I say the fuel takes what seems like an eternity to reach the engine. We have, and we knew this, but boy this particular eternity was getting to be a long one. Then it dawned on me, I couldn't hear the fuel pump. They are pretty loud on the 2.8i Capris you do normally notice them. After double checking and comparing with the other car we realised that the pump wasn't pumping and it did have power. I know we should have checked it before fitting it, at least before putting the petrol back in the tank,- but we didn't. So now we have to swap th pumps over. So right there in the picture you see the non working pump. We have decided a new piece of hose is in order so I am sitting looking after the car and tools while the hose is fetched. Some much welcome downtime in which I can blog.I have also been doing a lot of sewing, and some designing. It seems ideas come more freely when I spend time under cars, which is great. Sadly I don't have time to make use of them right now, but I will get to them eventually. I currently have a long awaited quilt on the frame. It is for a customer I have come to know quite well over the months we tried to schedule this quilt. It started to seem that everytime we set a date some misfortune would strike. It really was getting rather disturbing. It's a great relief to have it on the frame. It's quite a tricky quilt to work on. Being both busy and plain at the same time. I had a few ideas but knew they weren't quite right, I asked a non quilter for a second opinion. The solution is very strange, but is working well. I look forward to being able to show you it soon.I've had a lot of questions about my latest black wholecloth. It will be at the NEC this year and is about 1m square. It is a pig to photograph, which is why I haven't posted one yet. I've got several shots that look like I left the lens cap on. I guess this isn't going to be a famous quilt. I really should consider how easy a quilt will be to photograph before I make it. My other entries for the NEC are largely ready. herd Mentality has a facing rather than a binding, it was the best of a lot of bad options. I am going to try it in the Houston competition too. I an hoping it will be less challenging and more striking than the work I've tried before. Yes I know the deadline is looming. Couriers are at times very handy. I guess my hose should be almost here so I will sign off and be ready to get back to the car.
What quilt teachers do after class.
May 31, 2008Well this one at least goes home and paints her petrol tank. Yup that’s what I said. I spent a very enjoyable if tiring day teaching machine quilting to a fun bunch of ladies then drove home to find my car had been making progress without me. Apparently very expensive silicone racing hoses fit and cure my water leak. So now all she need to be properly roadworthy is a petrol tank without a leak. I say properly as she is now fine provided she has less than half a tank of fuel. So I’ve been putting the last of the primer and the first of the topcoat onto the new old tank. It’s looking pretty smart now, and it should be more durable. I wish I had taken some before pictures to share.
The really great thing is I feel much happier for having had a balanced day, to say nothing of getting my car back to drivable condition. Now I guess time for some more quilting.
Bonnie MCaffery was right
May 30, 2008No, I am not surprised. Well perhaps I am, but by how right not just the fact she was right. It is a lot harder working on a portrait of someone you know well. You notice much more subtle issues that wouldn’t have even been issues to a stranger. However I am pleased with the progress I am making with that quilt. It wasn’t planned. Heck I can’t even say I am thrilled it needs making, it’s timing sucks, but we think (if I can pull it off) it should be a really good piece. It’s from a picture I took recently of an old friend. I’d got him to model for me for an entirely different quilt, then did some close ups for him. By the end of the shoot we had obviously both got into the swing of it and I got a really good photograph. The photograph then demanded that I immediately make it into a quilt. Of course I have a hundred and one things I should be doing, but this isn’t going to leave me alone until I do it. I’ve got the pattern drawn up and hopefully next week I can get the fabric cut. From past experience they shut up once I have the top made so I should be able to postpone quilting it until I have finished my NEC quilts.
I have made some progress on that front. My small traditional is pinned out working on being flat and square. I will get a picture up at some point, but I’ve been a bit busy recently.
Response to skinny envelope
May 29, 2008Well what do you do when you get a rejection letter? You enter more shows 
I’ve cut down my number of entries for the NEC this year. There are two reasons for this, the main reason is time. I spent so long preparing for my own show I haven’t had time to make as much as I would like for the NEC. Although I have just realised that you can send them work that has been seen before so it will open up my options next year. The other reason is the cost. The four I have entered this year have cost me 102 pounds to enter. I should say this is largely because I want to insure my work while it is at the show, but I do collect from the show so I save on return postage. I think last year attending the show, the dinner and entering quilts came to about 800 pounds, and I really want to keep the cost down this year.
Still I have four pieces going in, one each in traditional large and small. One in pictorial and one in Contemporary small. My innovative piece will have to wait until next year, as will my quilt creation. The one I am most upset at not having the time for is my quilt creation. I love working in three dimensions, but I am trying very hard not to over extend myself, especially as I do want to finish my book. The book is now down to it’s last few chapters. My students quilts look stunning and swapping has worked well. I am really looking forward to photographing all the finished quilt and their owners. We are hoping to have a show of the quilts from the book at Patchwork Corner, so watch this space for details.
Skinny Envelope
I think it is a sign you’ve entered too many shows when you can tell from the feel of the envelope what it says. When it obviously only has one sheet of paper, it’s thanks but no thanks. So my piecewon’t be hanging at the Summer Exhibition this year. Rest assured I will be trying again next year. Hopefully encouraging some more quilters to try as well. Quality is important, but I am sure that quantity will improve the chances of a quilt being hung too.
Hopefully this year I wil have a bit more thinking time Now what am I going to do with the second Nude with Rope? It’s on a rigid frame so it will be a pain to ship anywhere, but it is striking, and I would like to see it displayed somewhere. Of course that does assume it hasn’t got damaged during the judging process. I suppose I could cut it off the frame and bind it for quilt shows.
What’s on the frame?
May 28, 2008
After a string of customer quilts I finally have one of mine on the frame. Having had a delivery of five and a half Heinlein books and two and a half Spider Robinson books I have an urge to quilt. Anything intricate will do. I have no idea how long I've been working on this, maybe 15% of the book Friday, but probably too long. I ache, but I've enjoyed it and I think the quilt is looking pretty good. Now if I could only think of a name for it.
Malvern – Sunday
May 19, 2008
Sorry for the delay in getting the photographs up from yesterday. I’ve just been running around like a loony today. It was lovely to get the chance to catch up with so many people I didn’t expect to see for another month. If I seemed to ignore you or not recognize you I am very sorry. I am getting better at identifying people but I’ve still got a long way to go.
I was thrilled to discover that the quilt is awarded two rosettes, so one can go to the quilter and one to the piecer. It was amazing to get an award for someone else’s quilt, which I hadn’t even entered. Certainly one of those very special landmark moments. It was also very good to win Frans award. I had really hoped I would be able to get my name on it, she was a very important influence even though I didn’t know her long. Now I have to try for the Sandown one too. I also had an interesting revelation. I’ve won three awards for longarm quilting (I think ) and all the quilts have very similar quilting. Even more strangely, I don’t feel they are that special. The first was, at the time it was by far the best quilting I had done. This one the quilting is exactly what the quilt wanted, but it’s very hard to actually see. You may have noticed that none of the pictures really show the quilting. Maybe I just don’t understand how the judges look at things. Whilst I don’t entirely undrstand, I would be very pleased to think they choose the quilt with the most sympathetic or appropriate quilting, almost regardless of complexity.
For me there was one quilt that really stood out to me. It won the hand quilting award. I didn’t have the guide with me when I saw it so I just remembered it for later. The I was distracted by the awards and found out who’s quilt it was. Gwenfai Rees Griffiths. Ah! That explains a lot. Now at risk of causing offence (and I really don’t intend any) what I really loved was that at a distance I couldn’t tell it was hand sewn. The stitches are tiny with make a really strong quilting line, something I love about machine work. I am quite pleased I didn’t photograph it though, as I would like to design a machine pattern that has the feel I remember from it. I don’t know how successful I will be but I’ll be interested to see what I come up with.
Aliens
May 17, 2008
I’ve finally had some time to put together the other top I cut out a while ago. It’s a fun quilt that one day will end up on my bed. After it has finished working. You may notice it isn’t the normal aspect ratio for a quilt. I decided that I really need wider quilts with less length for our king size bed, so this one has been designed for that. It could easily be made a more traditional shape if needed.
I fell in love with this fabric as soon as I saw it but found it impossible to buy in the UK and hard in the US. So this is the result of a lot of searching, and I think I have enough left for a second quilt when I decide what else I would like to do with it. I don;t know if you will be able to see in the photograph but there are some fantastic space craft in the small print with a black background. I especially like the bus. The range is called Alien Invasion by Amy Bradley Designs, and was produced by Moda fabrics.
I guess it’s time to put the border on now. I think I have just enough of the sashing fabric left.
What I’ve got in the pipeline.
May 16, 2008
I thought it was time to show one of the projects that has been taking up a lot of my time recently. I am sure this doesn't look like a lot of work but there have been a lot of hours in the design and drawing stage. It is a bed size wholecloth, which will have trapunto and a lot of free hand quilting. It's going to be very strange working on something with this much marking. I would show you the whole pattern but the picture of it didn't come out well.