How to help Etsy sellers in the Ukraine

Canadian quilter Anita LaHay, who posts on Instagram and Facebook and blogs as Daydreams of Quilts, has quickly put together a practical suggestion to offer help to Ukrainians whose lives are currently being disrupted by the Russian invasion. She generously encourages her readers to share the ideas and images. You can find her blog post here, dated 26 February 2022. Or you could share Anita’s short YouTube video .

All of us around the world are devastated by this week’s horrific events in Ukraine. We are wondering what we can do to help. This is one idea.

New ‘Sewing Basket’ location

A new Sewing Basket store selling donated goods is about to open in Sydney’s southern suburbs, with ‘an extensive range of fabrics and patterns, patchwork, embroidery materials, knitting and crochet yarn, haberdashery, and more’.

The new store opens at 11-13 President Avenue, Caringbah is open from 9:00 am on 1 March.

The Sewing Basket shops are an initiative of Achieve Australia, providing employment for people with disability, a sustainable shopping experience and volunteering opportunities. All stock is donated by the community.

Summer quilts (2)

We are still holding our regular meetings on Zoom, so there is limited quilt sighting. Here is what some of our members are making …

A collection of English paper pieced flowers was lingering 

in Stephanie’s sewing room, so she took them on as part 

of her ‘finish all the unfinished projects’ summer, 

using fabric from her stash too.

Sue’s current community quilt project uses low
volume and medium-dark tones to great advantage.

A summer breeze is very welcome …

… and makes for fun photos.

Jill’s son asked if she could make him a ‘stars in the night’
quilt, with just black and white  … and zebras?

He had a very clear idea of how it should look, and
recommended that she start with the stars. So she did,
and he likes it. There will be zebras on the back as well.

 

Dana is making the most of not-so-summery weather
to make progress  hand quilting her Liberty Rigel
quilt, with a fluffy ‘helper’.

Some quilt history stories

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne is raising funds to purchase the quilt ‘Housetop Variations 1930s’ made by Gees Bend quilter Martha Pettway:.  

This quilt, from the 1930s, is by leading quilt-maker Martha Pettway, featuring the ‘Housetop’ pattern – a design of concentric squares – unique to Gee’s Bend. Pettway used vibrant domestic cotton fabrics on the face of the quilt, while the reverse features a backing comprised of rice, sugar and fertiliser bags. This use of readily available materials underscores the socio-historic context of quilt production of the time. 

With your support NGV has a rare opportunity to acquire this important hand-stitched quilt by Martha Pettway, one of the most important quilters of Gee’s Bend.  

(NGV on Facebook, 23 December 2021)

A short video presentation on the proposed acquisition (and how to donate towards it) is on the NGV website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/support-us/ngv-foundation/help-tell-a-new-story-in-the-ngv-collection/

An interesting article and excellent illustrations of Kantha quilting from the V and A, London:

Kantha - a South Asia quilting tradition

6Originally made from old, recycled fabrics, the traditional kantha cloth is an example of 'flat', or unwadded quilting, worked on multiple layers of fabric. Bangladeshi or Bengali kantha cloths were made by women for use in their own homes as bedcovers, mats and all-purpose wrappers. The stitching consists of embroidered patterns, ranging from simple floral motifs to elaborate scenes, combined with running-stitch quilting in a colour matching the background fabric. On older quilts, the quilting runs around the embroidered motifs, a technique known as echo quilting … Victoria and Albert Museum

Joe the Quilter

‘… The lives of the working poor were rarely recorded in Georgian Britain, we know so much about Joe the Quilter because he was made famous by his death. A plan of his house was made, and a list of its contents, as they were subsequently auctioned …’. Bowes Museum Blog, 18 September, 2015

The Bellamy Quilt, Norwich Castle Museum

Welcome to the wonderful Bellamy Quilt: a spectacular love story in textiles. The Bellamy Quilt was made by a couple, Charlotte Alice Springall and Herbert Bellamy, who worked on it together during their year-long engagement between 1890 and 1891. They were eventually married 129 years ago today, on the 24th November 1891, in the parish church of St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth. What a brilliant way to spend time really getting to know each other before taking those wedding vows! … Ruth Battersby Tooke, Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, 24 November 2020

Quilts for a Living: The Harness Family

Molanie Lowe Harness's husband Jerry was killed in a coal mining accident in Briceville, Tennessee in 1919 when she was pregnant with her 14th child. Daughter Anna Opal was about five and recalled the hard times of her childhood in the Appalachia of Anderson County for interviewer John Rice Irwin in the 1980s … Barbara Blackman, Women’s Work: Making a living making quilts, 4 June 2019

Summer quilts (1)

We are still holding our regular meetings on Zoom, so there is limited quilt sighting. Here is what some of our members have been up to over the summer, all made as gifts …

Pat took on a collection of printed Christmas themed blocks
 from her sister, sorted out the slightly off-square prints,
added pieced sashing. She gifted the finished quilt
back to her sister, who loves it.

Then she made a matching bag for the quilt!

This Sewmiriam Braidy Bunch quilt was made for a dear
friend to celebrate a special birthday. You can see a close up
of the hand quilting on Instagram @sewmiriam.

Louise used some quiet time to finish off this
little beauty for the baby next door.

Jill made a simple patchwork cushion for her daughter with
the very last pieces of her Maze and Vale hand screen
printed fabrics.

Newcastle exhibition

Should you be in Newcastle between 3 February and 13 March, you can visit Timeless Textiles for Judy Hooworth’s exhibition:

https://timelesstextiles.com.au/events/journeys-the-silk-road-and-beyond-judy-hooworth

Community quilt finishes

Sue has used the quiet days of summer to finish off some community quilts made last year, with their bindings and labels.

‘Play Ball’ made by Susan M

Made by Sue C

Also made by Sue C

SuperStars made by Dawn