New quilt finishes

Lee’s large quilt is a variation on a bento box design.

Julie loves her William Morris fabric collection,
showcased here in a geometric design.

Quilted by Laura.

Cute and useful. One inch squares featuring a cat or two
(as does the lining), and a cross stitch dog and puppies
zipper pull - made by Hilary using Miriam’s pouch pattern.

Some more of Julie’s William Morty’s prints are in this quilt,
along with some complementary prints.

The dog faces in the feature print are precisely lined up.

Julie was thrilled to find this beautiful print for the
borders and backing.  Quilted by Sue Olma.

 

May events

Penrith Regional Gallery
80 River Road, Emu Plains NSW
Monday - Sunday 10am - 4pm

Timeless Textiles Gallery
90 Hunter Street Newcastle 2300
Gallery opening hours 10am - 4pm Wednesday - Sunday

That Which is Around Us presents a diverse array of Australian 

flora, organisms and coastal habitats that surround us but 

are often unvisited, unseen and unexplored. Layers of stitched 

thread and fabric are used to portray selected native bushland, 

arid flora, lichen, soft corals and seaweed. 
Irene Koroluk is a visual artist based in Taroona, Tasmania. 

Gallery76 by the Embroiderers' Guild NSW

76 Queen St, Concord West, NSW, 2138

Weekdays 9-4 / Weekends 10-2

Instagram: gallery76_queenst

Pinned is Vanessa Newton-Brown`s first solo exhibition, 

exploring the intersection of drawing, hand stitching, and 

construction. Inspired by the natural world, she reimagines 

beetles, presenting them like an entomologist`s collection … 

Based in Nipaluna/Hobart, Newtown-Brown is an emerging artist.

Gallery76 by the Embroiderers' Guild NSW

76 Queen St, Concord West, NSW, 2138

Weekdays 9-4 / Weekends 10-2

Instagram: gallery76_queenst

Artist Jo Dixey is constantly interested in how people connect 

with each other … All of these connections are important 

and build up to a full and interesting life.

Gallery76 by the Embroiderers' Guild NSW

76 Queen St, Concord West, NSW, 2138

Weekdays 9-4 / Weekends 10-2

Instagram: gallery76_queenst

A group exhibition of sustainable textile and fibre art. 

Curated by Catherine Gibson, the exhibition will showcase artworks 

that "thread lightly" on our planet, all of which will be made 

from at least 75% sustainable materials. Work will come from over 

25 artists, utilising diverse techniques including weaving, 

knitting, mixed media, embroidery and print.

Gallery76 by the Embroiderers' Guild NSW

76 Queen St, Concord West, NSW, 2138

Weekdays 9-4 / Weekends 10-2

Instagram: gallery76_queenst

Reading, listening, viewing

Reframing the British Quilt: Living Labour and Art Historical Memory

… Recent attention to the quilt as an object of art historical significance in North America has engaged with abstraction and pattern among other issues to raise important questions regarding religion, gender and race. Quilting traditions stretching back into the Middle Ages in the British Isles reveal a similarly rich yet much more neglected art history, subtly distinct from themes of the North American tradition. Across Britain, quilters’ histories have been shaped by class, domesticity, regionalism, gender and geography, and their work raises its own provocations for how art historical research reflects, challenges and informs an endangered living tradition still practiced in Britain today … Research Seminar – Deb McGuire, Jess Bailey, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 26 March 2025

Stitching in Prison: An Interview with Fine Cell Work

… Fine Cell Work is a charity and social enterprise committed to the rehabilitation of prisoners through providing them with purposeful activity.

The organization does this by teaching them soft work skills, by training and paying them to do exquisite needlework to create beautiful products for sale. There are currently over 80,000 people in the UK prison system. The majority of these people have experienced significant marginalization and trauma throughout their lives.

Many become trapped within a devastating cycle of reoffending and repeated imprisonment. One of the most effective ways of breaking this cycle and providing real rehabilitation is to support people in and leaving prison to access professional employment. And that's exactly what Fine Cell Work does … Sew What? Podcast, 27 September 2024

QuiltCon 2025

Award winners at QuiltCon 2025 in Phoenix Arizona in February.

The quilts that hold the heart of Hawaii

What happens when one of the most traditional museums in the world revolutionises the way it presents the story of the past?  The answer is not only a riot of craft and colour, but a reminder of the crucial role of textiles in framing our histories.

The Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford, in the UK, has just added 15 brand new, intensely colourful Hawaiian quilts to its collection of extraordinary artifacts … Haptic and Hue (Podcast) S7 E42 (42 minutes), 6 February 2025

A Stitch in Time

… Their large size—each one more than eight feet square—and bold patterning are a powerful expression of Mrs. Washington’s creative vision, and an important complement to the popular image of a diminutive, self-effacing, grandmotherly figure. In late 2019, Mount Vernon received the generous donation of a quilt top pieced by Martha Washington, the best documented of only three piecework quilts known to be made by her. Its addition to Mount Vernon’s collection coincides with a new initiative to document, research, conserve, and ultimately exhibit these works of art … Amanda Isaac, Mount Vernon Magazine

Why is embroidery popular

… why is embroidery enjoying a renaissance?  Hasn’t it been around for eons?

From what I can see, this is fascinating because traditional, contemporary, and innovative embroidery is flourishing across social media. Again, why?  What’s the value of embroidery in the 21st century? Cathy Jack Coupland, Stitch Safari Podcast, 17 February 2025

Pemmy’s Alphabet Book - On the Power of Creativity by Women in a Japanese Concentration Camp 1942-45

… Even though several examples of embroidered fabrics from Camp Brastagi have survived, none of them are as elaborate as this book. It shows the artistic power of those women, who in captivity jointly created a book, which may have allowed them to escape from their awful situation just for a moment. This book made from fabrics is a valuable historical artefact which not only shows the creativity and the resilience of the women in the camp, but is also a poignant reminder of a dark period in history.

Rijksmuseum Bulletin, Vol 71, No 3, 2023, Mattie Boom and Suzan Meier (Abstract)
Images of each page of the book are available as a downloadable .pdf from this web page.
(Sourced via @historicembroidery on Instagram, 23 February 2025)

AQC 2025 award winners and finalists

Photos and full lists of award winners and finalists at the Australasian Quilt Convention (held in Melbourne 10 - 13 April 2025) have been posted to the AQC website (links below):

2025 AQC Best of Show and runner up

Best of Show prize of $10,000 goes to Bronwyn Hill for her amazing quilt ‘Horatio’.

Runner up to Best in Show goes to Linda Steele and her fabulous improv quilt ‘Freedom’

2025 AQC Challenge Finalists and award winners

Winner: Helen Duncan with The Unofficial Mascot who wins $3500 

Runner Up: Alison Withers with Trek – Day 1, who wins $1,500.

AQC 2025 Viewers choice

Keep Me on the Map, by Lynn Keogh (NSW) was voted Viewers’ Choice at the Convention. It can be seen in the link to the Challenge Finalists.

Winners of the 2025 AQC Awards

The AQC awards recognise achievement in the quilting community, and are presented by Expertise Events. The criteria for each award and nomination procedures are given on the AQC website. The winners of the 2025 AQC Awards are:

The Hall of Fame award: Pauline Rogers

Shining Light: Nickel Lambie

Rajah Award: Brenda Gael Smith

Lut-da Award: Beverley Perel

 

New community quilts

Daphne sourced all the floral fabrics in her private fabric
store - but there are plenty left she says!

Quilted with flowers by Laura.

The pieced backing that became a quilt top - it slightly
miscalculated itself, so Susan K chose another backing
from the community stash and this one became a
second quilt. An excellent result.

The ten inch squares became a good background for
Janet’s quilted flowers.

Noelle is working her way beautifully through her large
collection of French General fabrics.

Quilted by Laura.

We are making a series of stash buster quilts from a
collaboratively made collection of half-square triangle
blocks. Jill chose bright feature fabrics and a simple layout. 

Pieced backing, loopy quilting by Laura.

A forgotten Jelly Roll surfaced from Jenny’s stash to
become a vibrant community quilt.

The turquoise border fabric from the community
stash is also its backing.

In progress …

 

‘Lucy of the Crosses’ is an English paper piecing marathon.

 Denise is nearing the finish of her classic version, and has 

already spoken to Laura about long-arm quilting.

Pat took her large Sashiko piece with her on a trip to
Japan - but sewed no stitches at all!
She will catch-up now that she is home,

Roslyn is hand piecing little Tessa lasting Kiminos.

Another  ‘Happy Saturday’ post from Miriam:

‘This week I found this Sewmiriam Tinman children’s 

quilt top in my cupboard of lost, lonely and forgotten 

items, so now it’s pinned and ready for quilting. 

Am I the only one who puts away and forgets things 

nearly completed?’

Pretty sure it’s not just you Miriam!

Elaine W is stitching her way through small mountains of
hexagons - she is not alone!

Denise’s brightly coloured version of the
Duck, Duck Goose quilt pattern by Meags and Me.

The ‘Play Ball’ series - recap

All three of the ‘Play Ball’ quilts are now finished, so here’s a look at them all together. All of the feature fabrics and two of the backings are part of a very generous donation to our community stash, and come from a coordinated fabric range. Many hands made the four-patch starter blocks, Sue sewed them into three quilt tops, Laura generously quilted all of them. Jeni, Susan K and Anne finished them off with binding and labels. 

The design is by Emily Bailey whose pattern can be purchased online as a .pdf download.