Completing the circle

I wasn’t going to mention anyone by name for fear of offending anyone I missed but I have to mention the two other bloggers I met up with, Penny and Caroline. It is really fun getting to look at even some of the quilts with other people as you always get different perspectives. Given that both of these bloggers have mentioned me on their blogs I had to make sure it went full circle.

If any of the readers of this blog have their own could you leave me a message so I can come and read what you have to say too please? I’d love to be able to follow what you guys are doing too.

Home again, home again.

I’m pooped, and the cats are happy. I’ve made it home with all my quilts, luggage and purchases. Although I have definitely bought less than in the past. Maybe I am learning restraint. I did pick up some interesting things though. I finally have the equipment to do screen printing. This is something I have loved in the past and have been desperate to do onto fabric. I found someone selling everything I needed to get started and I couldn’t resist, watch this space. When looking for discharge past I found metal paints. Not metallic, metal. It claims that the iron one will rust, this sounds really exciting and I am looking forward to playing. It is also very heavy, it really feels the right weight for metal.

I’ve taken less pictures than in the past too. I found less quilts that really grabbed me this year. I don’t know if that is a reflection on the entries or on me. I suspect the latter though. I am looking at thing differently now and thinking of very different projects. Last year I wouldn’t have come up with half the ideas I have this time. One of the stars of the show for me was a monochromatic dancer. It was made by a Russian artist Marina Mamonova, sadly the only information in the quilt list is it’s title, ‘The Lacework of Dreams’. A very simple, yet to me very beautiful quilt. The other star was a slate quilt. Yes as in the rock, yes it was stitched. OK it did only have two layers, but they were sown together, and I loved them. This may be something I will have to have a go at in the future.

The symposium was interesting, though not surprising. It might have been more so, had I not joined the quiltart list where a lot of the same issues have been being discussed recently. Simply put if quilters want to be seen as artists they need to be prepared to be judges exactly the same as any other artist, and the work must be able to hold it’s own in that arena. We must learn to be more critical of what we make, and gain an understanding of what is going on in the larger art world, in the past, the present and the future. It was also very interesting to hear from galleries and museums. They do like to show or sell quilts but they are harder to sell than other art forms. Apparently pieces that are framed tend to do better as people worry about keeping quilts clean. They don’t mind a sculpture getting dusty, or a painting that isn’t behind glass but they worry about textiles. I wonder if this is because we are so used to cleaning our clothes and soft furnishings that they see it as something all fabrics must need.

Nikki Tinkler has a new body of work, inspired by the Guggenheim. I found it very interesting and quite different to her other work. Having seen her quilts I would love to go and see the building in person. It is full of wonderful shapes and catches the light fantastically.

Over the weekend I have met so many people. I know I can’t remember them all but I would hate for anyone to feel I had forgotten them through any fault of theirs. I have a stunningly bad memory for people. Any of you reading this, it was great to meet you and I hope you get in touch. Especially all of those who spoke to me about this blog. It is nice to put some faces to the people I am talking to, for however short a time I remember them. I hope everyone got something out of the weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all again next year.

As you may have guessed by this point the quilts at this show were handled very well. The quilt angels were great, as were the people hanging the quilts, taking down the quilts and judging. At the end of the show I was a little concerned to see the way the quilts arrived at the collection point, in huge boxes on pallets. However they had been packed very carefully into those boxes and were absolutely fine. They had been folded with the right side out and with the first folds horizontal. They all have their judging sheets with them as well when you get them back, no waiting or having to send off for them. If I was to be really picky (and I do mean really picky) there were a few things that could have been done better.

1. I would have like to have had a table to repack my quilts on. Crawling on the floor was hard for me after being on my feet all day every day for 5 days, I hate to think how some of the others might have felt about it.
2. It would have been nice if the venue could have let as stay on the chairs and tables until all the quilts had been collected.
3. It would be nice if the collection point had been closer to the exit.

I believe it was intended to have packing tables, but they didn’t arrive, I suspect this will be resolved next year. I also understand that the organizers expected us to be able to stay at the tables and chairs until the quilts were returned as they mentioned being able to get a coffee and sit down to wait, and finally I think that the reason it was so far from the entrance was so that we could have a sit and a coffee. So like I said, you’ve got to be really picky to find any faults with this process. This is a show I will be entering again next year. I hope it will go from strength to strength. This year there were over 1500 quilts in the competitions, lets see how many we can take that up to next time

friday – what a ride

Well where to start. I guess at the begining and carry on until i get to the end. I didn’t post yesterday because i wanted a chance to think about what has been going on. Last night was the gala dinner, which is also the awards ceremony. Apparently this is the first year they made it an oscar type event. It kinda worked. The music was very invasive and not entirely appropriate, and rather than see some one struggling to get to the stage i would rather have had longer to look at the winning quilts. Still a nice idea and i think the nigh will probably be ironed out for next year.
There were a lot of familiar names winning and some very good quilts. Then there were three nudes on the screen. My nudes! There on the screen, but not my name, someone else who sadly couldn’t be there to collect the prize. At this point i stood up and shouted that it was my quilt. I went up and asked if it was the right. Second pictorial by the way.
“yes this is the right quilt so that must be your name.”
“no my name is ferret.”
“it’s not your quilt then.
Believe it or not i do know both my name and my quilt, and i was very lucky. There was someone right there who knew it was mind. I was told to leave my name and they would investigate and get back to me. So i sat down and waited. Nothing.
This morning (friday) i started trying to sort it out but no one knew who was responsible. Fortunately i an in the quilters guild and region 7. They weren’t going to leave me to struggle and stepped in to help. A while later i recieved a phone call telling me who could fix it. Shortly after i had another call to tell me everything was sorted and i should to the office to collect my prize and certificate. Thank you quilters guild.
While i was on the phone to the office they said they had a lady there who wanted to talk to me about buying one of my pieces! What a day. I am so thrilled. I had thought ‘tread lightly’ would be very hard to find a new home for but here it is with someone to love and care for it. What more could i ask for?
Actually there is something else i would like. I would like to be able to tell fran jones how much she helped me. I found out today that she lost her fight with cancer about a month ago. I had feared that was the case when i couldn’t get in touch with her, but i would have liked to have been proved wrong. However i also found out that she was at sandown, saw ‘miss baltimore’ and approved. The prize i won there was sponsored by her and i hope she realized that without her help it wouldn’t have happened. She was so generous with her time and knowledge when things must have been very difficult for her. She will be greatly missed.
Today was my first chance to look around the show. I didn’t have a lot of time but enough to an and see all our entries. I feel that ‘see sound’ was my most effective piece. I saw several men explaining it to women. I saw people playing with it. This exactly what i wanted. I also need to extend my thanks to the quilt angels. They are doing a great job and going above and beyond the call of duty. They have been turning off my quilt every night to save my batteries. I wouldn’t have dreamed of asking for this service, they have enough to do withou that but it is much appreciated. Thank you quilt angels.
Please excuse any typos and a lack of capitals, i am posting from my phone and will make corrections when i get home.

Don’t judge the judges

At least not until you have seen how they work. I was very lucky today, to be allowed to see them in action. I was invited to put some more air into the globe which is now at the festival of quilts at the nec but because of the poor signage it took me too long to get there and i had to wait for the judges to finish. They take a lot of time studying each piece. They try to see it from every angle and stand back to have an overall view. In the globes category there were three judges. They work totally independantly only speaking to each other when they couldn’t find an exhibit. They have a helper who collects and collate all the forms.
It appears that the forms are then studied and the winners selected. I got the impression that in the event of there not being a clear winner they then confer.
From what i say they were taking their role very seriously and considering every mark and comment. It is nerve wracking watching your work being marked. I know they see everything. I hope that one of them gave me some pointers. One seemed to be writing a lot.
I would offer advice on getting from the hotel to the hall but if you are here and in need of it i can’t imagine you will have net access to be reading this. I hope i am the only one who takes the very long route.

Blogger is great

O2 aren’t so bad either. I think I have found a way to update my blog,
while out and about. Possibly even for free. Blogger lets you email in
updates and my mobile phone lets me send emails. I know I shouldn’t be
so excited, but I am a geek what can I say.Oh and if you see this, then it is working.
Yay, it does work. Unfortunately I won’t have spell checking or formatting, but I will deal with than when I get back. At least I will be able to tell you what is going on at the show. Oh and no pictures either, still it is a lot better than nothing.

Frank Miller – Bridge Zero

This would have been ‘Bridge One’ but I don’t like the finish I have got on the edge of the black pieces, so I decided to use this as a test piece. I was worried that the quilting thread wouldn’t show up enough to give the effect of rain, but I think with the long stitches it is pretty close to what I was after. I think a slightly thicker thread would be better but not so much so that I will wait for one. I’ve worked out a better way for me to do this sort of work and ‘Bridge One’ is ready for quilting. I also have two and three drawn up ready to start on. One of the classes I am taking at the Festival of Quilts is a critiquing class and I am planning on taking these and ‘Skelehand’ to be critiqued. I might also take “Bicameral Pierrot’ as it is my worst quilt according to show judges and I would like to know why. I’ve come to really appreciate those judges that do give you suggestions on how to improve your work. Also if any of you have a hotline to the weather, can you order another heat wave starting Wednesday please? I know that ‘Tread Lightly’ got really hot in the car when I delivered it to the courier. Since then it has been quite chilly, so I am pretty sure it will be looking a bit limp. I am dreading seeing badly deflated and on show to so many people.

I am staying in a hotel for the Festival and I noticed that they said the room has internet access. I thought this would be good, I would be able to blog while I am at the show, so we called to get details about how it works. Yes the room has a net connection (rare in this country) but there is a charge, wait for it, 15GBP per day! I can’t believe it, that is less than most people pay per month. I know they want a profit but really. I would think that most people who do use the service only use it for an hour or two a day so it would be far cheaper to drive to the motorway services and use one of the terminals there. I am really shocked. I will check when I get there in case they have got it wrong, but if they are right the updates will have to wait until I get back.

Unlimited Possibilities

A while ago I submitted some pictures to Unlimited Possibilities for inclusion in their online gallery. I found out today that the pictures have been put up. I am very pleased, they are a long arm quilting magazine and it is pictures of ‘Tread Lightly’ they have put up. A bit of a departure from norm. I think it is great to have other ideas of what can be done with a longarm quilting machine. If you fancy having a look here is the link, Unlimited Possibilities. I’ve only had one copy of the magazine so far but it looks pretty good. I believe they have just got a new editor, who seems very keen so hopefully it will go from strength to strength.

I’ve finished the quilting on the skeletal hand. I was very pleased with it. Then I rinsed it in clod water to remove the vanishing thread and discovered that at least this part of my roll of alpaca blend isn’t exactly clean and leaves dirty marks on the surface of the quilt. I am guessing it will be OK with dark fabrics and in projects I don’t intend to wash. I am in two minds about this wadding now. Should I keep trying with it? Is this just a very dodgy bit? If anyone has any experience with any alpaca blend waddings I would really appreciate some more views on it. It feels great and should be very warm, but if it is going to leave dirty marks I don’t honestly think I can use it. I certainly can’t offer it to customers.

Happy feet – and hands

I’ve been finding that doing a lot of quilting on my longarm means I have very painful legs for a couple of days afterwards. Today I bought some anti-fatigue mats. They seem to do the trick. I’ve only done a few hours this evening but my legs and feet feel very different. For eight quid I think they are a great investment. Of course the real proof won’t come until tomorrow, but I think it will be fine. On the other hand concentrating too hard on making small repetitive movements is hard the shoulders, so I took a break to show you what I am working on.

I’ve been trying to work out how I can ‘sculpt’ images. I want to make nudes in 3D somehow. I’ve been playing with some faux trapunto, and stuffed applique but neither has given me the look I want. To try out this technique I wanted a simple distinctive image. The x-ray is perfect, for what I want. The flesh of the hand is faux trapunto, and the bones traditional trapunto. It has given a lot of depth to the image. To give even more definition to the hand I am using very dense quilting. It also allows me to ‘paint’ the background blue. After completing the trapunto I decided I wanted it to look more like an x-ray, and to me x-rays are blue.

Should I quit the day job?

Artist often seem to ask themselves if it is time to leave the rat race and try to make a living from their art. After listening to a lot of discussions on this subject I think I have a really simple test that will give you the answer.

I have just spent the morning sorting out my accounts. I got behind while I have been getting quilts ready for shows. I think I have another half days work to do, and then I have to file my tax forms. I’ve somehow managed to lose 2 critical pieces of paper so I am going to have to beg for duplicates. I thought I had been so careful. On the bright side I only seem to have lost one receipt in the whole year. Yay me.

Now I can’t tell you this has been fun, but would I swap it for a corporate job with a safe (and good sized) pay cheque. No way. Every time I felt frustrated I remembered what I am not doing, smiled and carried on. I think this is a sure sign you should quit the day job. If accounts, tax forms, and missing paperwork can’t convince you this is the wrong path, I can only assume it isn’t.

Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative

I’ve finally finished my first quilt for Ami Simm’s auction. I’ve had it underway for a couple of months but somehow it just wasn’t getting finished. Strangely it was the same problem I was having with the purple bubble quilt. I couldn’t see a binding on it. This one I solved with the other technique that had been discussed on the quiltart list. I used a satin stitch. It has the right feel for this quilt but I can’t see me using it again. This quilt is called ‘Unraveling’. I was given a stack of bobbins which still had some thread on and I needed to empty them. Given I didn’t know the composition of the thread I wasn’t keen on using them for quilting. So I started just winding the thread off onto my desk. It felt wrong, the thread didn’t want to just be thrown away, but what was it good for. You know how mindless tasks are, you start thinking about all sorts of things. Suddenly I had it the thread was so like people were describing Alzheimer’s. It had so much more left to give but somehow couldn’t quite get everything together, like the minds of sufferers it was unraveling. Hopefully it will go on to have a productive and appreciated life. I will post details of the auction when it is up. The next auction starts the 1st September, there have been some great quilts and all sales raise money for research. The auction can be found at Ami Simms web site.