November events

 

Details of the indoor and outdoor exhibitions, 
of other associated events and of how to enter quilts:
Braidwood Quilters and Textiles

Bringing to life the joy and nostalgia of childhood sewing 
adventures, it features a whimsical collection of oversized 
buttons, drawing inspiration from the vibrant array of materials 
found in her beloved local haberdashery shop in the 1980s. 

Based on the NSW South Coast, fibre artist Samantha Tannous
appreciates the sculptural possibilities of felted wool 
and particularly loves using Australian-grown Merino wool.

Gallery 76
76 Queen Street. Concord West 2138
Weekdays from 9am - 4pm 
and on weekends from 10am to 2pm 
(public holidays excluded)

A solo textile exhibition which encourages us to 
take a closer look at our physiology and appreciate 
its natural beauty in abstract form. Helen MacRitchie 
is a textile artist based in Oxfordshire, UK, working 
both in the UK and Australia. With an academic 
background in pharmacy, scientific and medicinal 
subjects often feature as inspirational 
sources of her work. 

In Mind and Body, Helen uses felted wool, embroidery 
and mixed media to create works which challenge 
our perceptions of our internal workings.

Gallery 76
76 Queen Street. Concord West 2138
Weekdays from 9am - 4pm 
and on weekends from 10am to 2pm 
(public holidays excluded)

Slow stitching - a calm, enjoyable example

A couple of years ago Helen discovered the art of using cloth from old about-to-be-discarded book covers in vintage slow stitching. Her recently completed cloth book incorporates them with other vintage textiles and hand stitching. She found it a relaxing, meditative process, and the result is a beautiful, mellow one-of-a-kind piece, made over long time, with few rules and no time constraints.

Helen found numerous websites and social media sources of information on techniques for removing and re-using the cloth covers, and suggestions for vintage textiles to re-purpose, and found quite a few materials in fabric and notions already in her stash for use ‘one day’.

Click on individual photos to zoom in for a closer look.

 

‘Abundance’

Marilyn was captivated by a bundle of fabric designed
by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession, 
and chose Kathy’s pattern ‘Abundance’ to showcase it.
Her husband commented that some of the appliqué blocks
reminded him of giraffes, and now she can’t unsee them!
Vibrant colour and pattern makes a beautiful big quilt.
Expertly quilted by Cathie Calvert
of Lakeside Quilting @cathiequilts.

 

New Community Quilts

Our community quilts program progresses at its own pace, members participate when they can, sometimes quilts are donated fully finished, other times several people work on a quilt together or in sequence. Participation is entirely voluntary. It all comes together to provide a collection of quilts each year that are donated to a number of regular recipient organisations to distribute, or in response to individual requests or emergency events in local and other communities. Here are some recent contributions.

‘I Spy’ quilt made by Jenny    

Pieced backing of Jenny’s quilt.

Daphne’s raw-edged appliqué quilt.

Quilted by Janet.

Susan Mac’s ‘stack and slash’ quilt

Susan had the bias striped binding fabric languishing in her
stash, after she bought it for another project,
 but then decided not to use it. Perfect for this one.

One block left over to include in the backing.

‘Convicts and Soldiers - First Settlement’

Award winning quilt maker Val Nadin is a founding member and Life Member of Fairholme Quilters. She is still actively involved in the group and making beautiful quilts. We were delighted to see her timeless quilt ‘Convicts and Soldiers - First Settlement’ hanging in the special exhibition ‘Colours of Australia’ as part of the QuiltNSW 2024 Exhibition at Rosehill last week.

‘On display will be the QuiltNSW collection of quilts titled Colours of Australia. 2024 is the 30th anniversary of the first time the collection was exhibited.

The collection came to be when quiltmakers were invited by QuiltNSW to interpret the theme Colours of Australia using either traditional or contemporary techniques. A total of 170 quiltmakers from around Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom submitted quilts of which 40 were chosen for the collection. QuiltNSW

The resultant quilts are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago, a testament to the skill of their makers.’

 

Recent finishes

Susan Mac made a ‘cool colours version of this two-block
quilt a few months ago, and liked the result, so made a
warm palette version as well. The blocks are on point.

Machine quilted by Susan herself.

A beautiful Liberty and linen quilt made by Janice. Little English paper-pieced octagons, hand appliqué, hand quilting started early in the pandemic, Janice sees virus shapes in the octagons  (look at the middle cluster in the second row!). 

Choosing the fabrics and deciding on the layout must have been very enjoyable processes.

Julie shared an embroidery made some time ago.
She has lots of treasures we haven’t seen yet.

Miriam made a generously sized crocheted fabric bag
for a very appreciative friend.

Susan K made a zip pouch also for an appreciative friend
- the zip is both decorative and clever.

October events

Tamworth Regional Gallery
466 Peel Street, Tamworth NSW
Free
Until 3 November 2024

Rusten House Arts Centre
87 Collette Street QUEANBEYAN 2620
Wed - Sat 10am - 4pm

 

Boambee is just south of Coffs Harbour:
‘Coffs Harbour is a great location for a weekend away, with 
countless beaches, restaurants and tourist activities. 
Combine these with the Quilt Show and you can 
be guaranteed a great mini-holiday.’

This exhibition delves into the 
elegance of decay and explores 
the promise of renewal 
through textiles and fibers.

There might well be some quilting and other
craft books for excellent prices here.

The River, Our Mother (Baaka Ngamaka'Inana)
Artists: Badger Bates, Julie Paterson and Judith Burns
31 August - 21 October 2024

Gallery 76
76 Queen Street Concord West 2138

American Quilters Society
Virtual event, online
1 - 23 October 2024
www.americanquilter.com/quilt-parade

New community quilt finishes

Elaine has been an active community quilter for many years, making many quilts. She recently donated two quilts that have been made for some time, and need to be put to use.

Classic floral medallion.

Sixty degree pieced triangles in shades of blue and green,
 suggesting a mountain range perhaps?

Mostly batik fabrics.