'Jump into June' fabric clearance: Quiltsmith

Melinda has announced a 25% off fabric sale for June, at Quiltsmith in Annandale (in store only) - details here.

Save the date: Hunters Hill Quilt Show

2014 Hunters Hill Quilt Show Hunters Hill Town Hall
Alexandra Street, Hunters Hill

Opening night, Thursday 7th, August 2014: 7.30pm to 9.30pm - $20 entry ticket

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th, August 2014: 10am to 4.30pm - $6 entry fee

• Full details, including photos of the two raffle quilts are available here.

This week at Fairholme ... progress notes

After our show in April, there are lots of new quilts in the making. Here are some progress shots:

Elizabeth is working on applique blocks with some tiny pieces

Elaine is progressing an applique quilt started some time ago,
in a class with Karen Cunningham, and is now working on borders

Lyn is renowned for her applique skills

Several Fairholmers are currently taking a monthly class with
Sue Ross at Kim Bradley Creations.  These are Pat's blocks -
 aren't those sashings fabulous?

Robyn is putting together her friendship quilt with 

Studio Quilters.  She specified the owl pattern 

(from Quiltmania), and everyone made one for her

Sue is progressing her wrapped hexagons from our
workshop with Anne Sommerlad. She is auditioning
background fabrics, and planned to take it to this
weekend's workshop with Margaret Sampson George
for advice on borders.

Miriam is making progress on the corners of her Anne Levens
quilt from our workshop with Margaret Sampson George

Lots of lovely quilts online at the Bloggers Quilt Festival, Spring 2014

Amy's Creative Side runs the Bloggers Quilt Festival each spring and autumn - lots of  quilts to see online, some new blogs to discover, from all over the world.  The current festival has started, with entries open to bloggers now.

Thumbnails of each quilt are posted on the main site.  The thumbnails link back to the blogger's own post - often with details of how and why the quilt was made, fabrics and techniques, and links to a pattern and/or tutorial if they are available. So this online 'event' is a rich source of links for later use.

Voting for favourites begins from 23rd May (US time) - for those of us who just want to look, it is open now.

Quick links to this festival's categories:

Mini 

Small 

Large  

Applique  

Art 

Hand Quilted 

Home Machine Quilted 

Modern 

Original Design  

ROYGBIV 

Scrappy

Community quilt finishes for May

We sewed and sewed, and cut and cut, and pinned and pinned yesterday.  There might have been a little talking as well ... These are the quilt finishes for this month. Each of these quilts has been the work of several hands.  

Elizabeth pieced the top of this child's quilt, from fabrics
donated via the Quilters Guild of NSW.  It was then quilted
 and bound by Susan

Dawn and Lynette  made this lap quilt for the dialysis unit.

The third of our 'Missing U' colour-slab quilts (from
Amanda Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison's Sunday Morning Quilts)
- the blue/grey blocks from our Christmas block challenge.
We have another one the go, with blocks made from mostly
 oriental-style fabrics.

Craft in America: Joe Cunningham on Gees Bend quilts

Have you been intrigued about the now famous Gees Bend quilters and their quilts?  Perhaps you've seen some of them in an exhibition, seen photos?  

The first segment of this episode (XII) of Craft in America is presented by Joe Cunningham (Joe the Quilter) - he talks about the influence of Gees Bends quilts on his own work, and meets some of the quilters in Alabama.

The segment is about 16 minutes, and is followed by others on boat building, a textile crafting community in North Carolina, and an artisan jewellery maker in New York selling via Etsy ... if your interest in crafts extends beyond quilting, you might will need to set aside the whole hour.  Scroll down below the video frame, and you will find links to other episodes of this excellent PBS series on the hand made - there is at least one more quilter in there.

(Thanks to Brenda Gael Smith for passing on the link via Facebook).

Fairholme Quilt Show 2014: Hexagons

Click on an image for an enlarged view

STEPPING STONES - Elaine Walton
This is a much simplified version of the Anna Levens quilt by
Margaret Sampson George, from her workshop in June
2013. Much time as spent trying to be “modern” and
“bold” with colour, and I am now satisfied with the result.

Another angle on Janice Freelander's
'The Wedding Quilt'
that was runner up viewer's choice ...

... and a close up of just some of the hexagons.

CHASING BUTTERFLIES - Helen Battelino
This cot quilt, or play mat, was inspired by the arrival
of my twin granddaughters last November. I used 
fabrics from my considerable stash of cat fabrics 
also inspired by my two other “furry babies”. (I also 
used them to piece the back, but still only made a 
small dint in the stash.) I hope that the cats and the girls
 are going to enjoy playing on this quilt together. It was 
based on a design in the book “Collection of Quilts 
for Modern Baby” (The Patchwork Place). 
Thank you to Christy Wang of Quilting Treasures 
at Pymble for the beautiful butterfly quilting.

LITTLE ANNA B - Robyn Tayler
A mini version of the centre of the Anna Brereton quilt.
The hexagons used in the centre are 3/8" and the border
hexagons are 5/8".

HEXIE  - Helen Bracher
This quilt started as a cushion cover, but I really
enjoyed the hand work assembling the hexagons
and just kept adding more. The design evolved
as I progressed and is different to many
hexagon quilts that I had seen. The backing
was found in a shop in Perth. The hand quilting
took a long time but was a real joy.

Other quilts from the Fairholme Quilters 2014 Quilt Show are posted here.

Tension headaches?

We have probably all struggled with thread tension at times. This 'quilting tips' page from C and T Publishing has excellent graphics  showing what might need to be adjusted, and how - and it might be clearer than your machine's manual.

Kathy Doughty: new book and a fabric collection

It's been a busy few months for Kathy Doughty:

Her new book has been released - Adding layers - Colour, Design and Imagination, Kathy Doughty, Stash Books, 2014. It is
reviewed here.

And a few weeks ago, Kathy's first collection of fabric designs, A Wandering Mind was released by Leutenegger, and is available in shops (including Material Obsession, of course!).

Cute touches from our Quilt Show

We know quilters are ingenious and crafty ...

Miriam made these quilt-block-decorated biscuits well
in advance - they took three days to prepare!

Robin L was in charge of table decorations for the
cafe area - she came up with these ingenious felt
hearts-on-sticks to add a touch of colour
to the mini plant pots.

Now you know ...

Why threading a needle can be so hard
Anna Salleh, ABC Science, 30th April 2014

Scientists are shedding light on why threading a needle can be such a challenge, even if you do have good eyesight and a steady hand. 

It's got to do with the message your hands send to your brain, says Dr Stephanie Goodhew of the Australian National University's Research School of Psychology ... read on here