Kawandi quilting

During one of our last meetings before the current Lockdown here in Sydney, Val showed us her current work in progress, a small quilt she is making in the Kawandi manner.

‘ Kawandi quilting is a traditional craft in western India, brought to that region via African slaves. The African tradition is called Siddi quilting ...’ Jennifer Strauser,  Dizzy Quilter. More information is available in her well illustrated blog post.

Val’s quilt  stimulated considerable interest, and there are several examples on recent social media posts.  Small patches are sewn on to the assembled backing and batting, often by hand, resulting is a free-form, improv style, excellent for using scraps.

Sydney Quilt Show 2021 postponed until September

SYDNEY QUILT SHOW UPDATE

This afternoon QuiltNSW was notified that the dates for the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair 2021, presented by Expertise Events, have changed to 1-5 September 2021 at the Sydney Showgrounds. We are currently reviewing the flow-on consequences for the QuiltNSW Sydney Quilt Show and will let you know as soon as details are available. In the meantime, keep safe and celebrate creativity.  

Rhonda Langhorne, Exhibition Secretary QuiltNSW, 23 June 2021

Some lessons 2 (of 2)

Miriam brought a lovely big pile of quilts that we were delighted to see up close again, and talked us through her fabric choices. Most of them were her own design.

Like Nerida, Miriam collects small cuts of many different fabrics, and is not averse to quirky prints in some of her quilts. She also collects yardage for some backgrounds and borders. She has a very well honed eye for putting colour palettes together, and is conscious of achieving contrast through colour and tone. 

Miriam's most recently finished top features a vintage
linen as the centre background, an appliqued basket
border and a seminole-style outer border - a lot
of different fabrics working well together.

Some features of the basket border are constant, others are
more random. The vibrant background ties the quilt together.

This scrappy log cabin reads as a two colour quilt,
but on closer examination you can see there are flashes
of many colours adding depth. Note that the scrappy low
volume prints in the background are all white with red.

The low volume background here is a delicate pink print,
the feature fabrics are vibrant, but a controlled palette, and that
 border of squares is a serendipitous print.

Miriam designed this quilt as a class sample, with a controlled
palette on a contrasting fine cross hatch background ...

... and a second sample is in a completely different,
muted palette of blues, with small pieces of a honey
beige introducing warmth.

This 'Trip Around the World' was made in a hand pieced
Instagramsewalong with Brigitte Giblin. The red with white
spot fabricwas the feature fabric, required by the design.
Miriam recommends not choosing all the fabrics before
starting, as the look of the whole design can change
with each row, and dictate the next row.

Miriam included this bright quilt of simple shapes to remind
us how solid colours can add to the vibrancy of a quilt.

And this one to remind us that contrast is actually not
always necessary - similar tones and colours can provide calm
and softness, and look absolutely beautiful.

Some lessons 1 (of 2)

We booked ourselves a sewing day  at a local hall recently, and invited everyone to bring whatever projects they wanted to work on, community quilts or their own. 

We decided to tap into some of the expertise within our group of very experienced and skilled quilt quilters, asking Nerida and Miriam to spend a little time just talking (and showing) us through how they approach fabric selection for their quilts that are always admired, and have wide appeal.

Nerida brought in four of her recent quilts, and talked about how she shops for fabric (buying small amounts of a very wide range of fabrics across a broad colour spectrum), and about how she chooses 'low volume' or light toned prints rather than a single colour when she uses a light background. She achieves a harmonious scrappy look by choosing prints that relate to each other through colour, scale and style, or contrast as the design dictates. Recognising and becoming confident with tone and colour are key.

'Halo' designed by Jen Kingwell

'Bessie Creek Road' designed by Treehouse Textiles

An adaptation of  'Not the Levens Hall' quilt,
a Margaret Sampson George design.

'Crooked Court House Steps II', designed by Bonnie K Hunter

Nerida then produced a large collection of small scraps, sorted into colour groups and low volumes, and had us make our own Crooked Court House Steps blocks to practice the principles. Some of us were more comfortable with improv piecing and the 'crooked' results than others. We ended up with a good start to another group community quilt, as well as some valuable lessons.

Community quilts

Some recent additions to our collection of quilts for community causes and projects ...

Jo-Ann asked during a Zoom meeting if anyone would
like her Japanese print scraps. A short time later, Julie had
 made them into a quilt top, and Laura quilted it for
the community quilts collection!

A pretty pink quilt featuring giraffes and other animals,
made by Robin.

Lynette found some blue and white squares in the
community stash, paired them up with some soft
yellows to make a lattice ...

... and added a contrasting floral back.

Down's latest strip 'race quilt in pinks, greens and creams

Jills controlled improv red scrappy strips, with a
turquoise backing from the community stash ...

... and matching binding.

Colourful squares made by Lynette - a simple
patchwork is a beautiful thing.

Patchwork/quilted garments

Patchwork and quilted garments are not new by any means, but they are on trend, both with quilters and designers.  Stephanie who belongs to our Tuesday night group is multi-skilled, sewing much of her own clothing, so the conversion of a quilt to a warm jacket seemed like a plan, and it was!

'What’s the point of a glorious coat just sitting in the cupboard?' 

Stephanie is also wearing a scarf and socks she knitted, on a 

bitterly cold May day. Doesn't it look warm? And beautiful?

If you would like to see more examples, some made from patch-worked cloth of all kinds, some cut from pre-made quilted cloth, some made from recut finished quilts, here are some Instagrammers to check in on:

Jess Wheelahan

Jodie the Impatient Quilter

Lady Lancaster

and/or follow #quiltcoat

And here is a an article from Vogue, looking at patchwork clothing from their archives:

Thrilled to Pieces: A Survey of Patchwork on the Runways, by Laird Borrelli-Persson, 28 November 2020

Show and tell: some recent finishes.

Stephanie made her bag from things
were in her sewing cupboard.

And this bright little charity quilt is also from Stephanie's
stash, making good use of her solid fabrics.

Jill started her 'Catenary' quilt 18 months ago, and although
the hand quilting might be finished, and the binding done,
it might have some more hand quilting added while in use.
Pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.

All of the fabric, including the wideback is also designed
by Carolyn Friedlander. Hand appliqued, hand quilted
with Aurifil 12 wt thread.

Daphne's very clever folding needle case is much
larger than it it looks ...

... as it opens wide.
A free pattern and tutorial is available from
Diary of a Crafty Lady

Nerida made her very appealing simple patchwork baby
 quilt using a multi-coloured animal print, supported by light
and medium toned squares from her stash in
complimentary colours - a winning combination.