May events

 

The Unicorn Girls' Correspondence
By Elin Howe
Exhibition dates: 30 April - 26 May 2026

Gallery 76

76 Queen Street, Concord West 2138

Open 9 - 4 Monday - Friday; 10 - 2 Saturday and Sunday

Closed public holidays

Inspired by 'The Lady and the Unicorn' tapestries which came 
on loan to the Art Gallery of NSW in 2018, 'The Unicorn 
Girls' Correspondence' is a fictional set of letters between 
characters from the two famous suites of unicorn tapestries -
 'The Lady and the Unicorn' held at the Cluny Museum, Paris; 
and 'The Hunt for the Unicorn' held at the Cloisters, New York.

‘A map of memories + imagination’

Our quilt won first prize in the Group/Collaborative Quilt category at the 2025 Sydney Quilt Show yesterday!

‘A Map of Memories + Imagination’ is the work of fourteen members of Fairholme Quilters. Thirteen quilters pieced and/appliqued one block each of the on point quilt centre. Each represents a map of an urban area (from village to city streets) from the makers’ memories or imaginations, making a new imaginary improv map of a rural/ coastal town and its surrounds. It was long-arm machine quilted by Laura Ujhazy, another Fairholme member. The majority of the work is machine pieced. 

The project was initiated and coordinated by Jill O’Connor who did that her proposed map quilt would be more interesting if it included memories and imagination from sr real people rather than just her own. Jill put the blocks together and made the setting triangles, in consultation with the whole group. The other twelve contributing quilters were Roslyn Pullen, Jo-Ann Phillips, Elaine Gregory, Elaine Bright, Margaret Weir, Patricia Nerlich, Noelle Sona, Susan Kelly, Hilary Flynn, Susan Mackintosh, Val Nadin and Nerida Williams

The design was inspired by the many map quilts of real and imaginary locations made by quilters all over the world, that have been shared on social media, and our own memories and imaginations.

Our thanks to Quilt NSW for presenting and hosting the Sydney Quilt Show, and to the generous sponsors of our award, Down Patchwork Lane in Penrith.

The Sydney Quilt Show 2025 is at Rosehill Race Course 18 - 20 September 2025.

Roslyn accepted the award at yesterday’s presentation,
on behalf of us all.

A little hand embellishment was added after this
photograph was taken for the quilt entry.

The quilting design represents clouds above the bird’s eye view, the 
curves a gentle contrast to the angles and straight lines of the blocks.

Australia Wide Nine - art quilts

‘Ozquilt Network Inc is a national organisation for art quilters and those interested in art quilts. Our purpose is to raise the profile and status of art quilters, art quilts and art quilt making in Australia. Our membership includes quilters who have achieved national and international success as well as promising emerging artists.’

Australia Wide Nine

‘The Australia Wide exhibition program is a biennial series of exhibitions showcasing work by Ozquilt Network members. Australia Wide Nine premieres at Fabrik Arts and Heritage Art Gallery, Lobethal, South Australia until 8 December 2024 and will tour throughout Australia and internationally until September 2026. View the Australia Wide Nine Gallery.’

Exhibition dates are being published here as they are confirmed.

Quilts online

Some quilt viewing for a wintery long weekend …

The New Quilt 2024 

Online gallery and award winners of The New Quilt Exhibition, currently at the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor NSW until 23 June 2024. Exhibition details are on this link to the QuiltNSW website.

The Rajah Quilt Up Close

Free online talk focussed on The Radar Quilt, 1841 … made by a group of women prisoners on board the HMS Rajah convict ship, The Rajah quilt is both a work of great historically significance and an extraordinary work of art produced by the hands of many women. Recorded by the National Gallery of Australia, 29 May 2024

The Rajah Quilt is currently on display as part of ‘A Century of Quilts’ at the National Gallery of Australia until 25 August 2024

Canberra Quilters Exhibition 2024

Award winners.

American Quilters Society - Quilt Week 2024, Paducah

Congratulations to all the award winners in this prestigious exhibition. Two Australian quilters were among them:

Bernina of America Best Stationary Machine Workmanship Award:
‘Floral Synphony No 2’ -  Mariya Waters, Victoria, Australia

Miniature Quilts:
3rd - ‘In Plain Sight’, Robyn Cuthbertson, Victoria, Australia

New Yorker cover - Faith Ringgold

‘Sonny’s Bridge’, a quilt by Faith Ringgold (1930 - 2024) is the cover photo on the 6 May 2024 issue of New Yorker magazine.

Viewers Choice awards - 40th Anniversary Quilt Exhibition

Our 40 Anniversary Quilt Exhibition was held at the weekend 18 -19 May 2024. The exhibition is not juried or judged, and three awards were voted for viewers throughout the two days: 

• Viewers’ Choice - quilts
• Viewers’ Choice - members’  block challenge
• Viewers’ Choice - Ruby Pin Cushion challenge

Our grateful thanks to all who contributed to its success: 

• our members who entered quilts and made craft items, and decorations
• family members and friends who helped us set-up the exhibition 
• the exhibition sub-committee led by Helen Battellino
• Hornsby and District Branch of CWA NSW who catered  the cafe
• our three vendors: Sew Can I, 60 Stitches and Fortunes and Fairies
• and all who came to see the displays, bought raffle tickets and shopped

Photos of the quilts and their makers are being drafted for a number of posts. You can also see them on Our Instagram and Facebook accounts - just search for ‘Fairholme Quilters’.

Viewers’ Choice - Quilts

Jeni Simmons had no idea when she posed for a photo with
her exquisite quilt, ‘Flowering Gum’ was about to be voted the
Viewers’ Choice at our 40th Anniversary
Quilt Exhibition.
Congratulations Jeni!
The prize of an Oliso iron was generously
donated by 60 Stitches.

Viewers’ Choice - members’ block challenge

The members’ block challenge, ‘The Enchanted Garden’, was set by 

Roslyn Pullen, who has a plan for the blocks, to be revealed!

A full gallery of the blocks entered will be posted separately.

Susan Macintosh’s stunning block ‘Beetle Garden’ was
voted the Viewer’s Choice.Susan fussy cut the challenge
fabric and hand appliqued her original design.

Congratulations on your award Susan, and many thanks 

for your vital contribution to the show as our Treasurer and 

electronic payments expert, teacher and manager.

‘The Enchanted Garden’

Block Challenge

The challenge:

To make a 12 1/2” x 12/12” block (unfinished)
Interpret the challenge title using your own method to create a block masterpiece.

Use at least half of the fabric square provided.

The challenge fabric is ‘Coleus’ designed by Philip Jacobs 

for the Kaffe Fassett Collective.

 

Viewers’ Choice - Ruby Pin Cushion

The Ruby pin cushion challenge was a way to mark our 

40th anniversary as a quilting group, with a personal 

memento we can use as we stitch. 

The challenge was broad - to make a pincushion using mostly red fabric.

A gallery of all the entries will be posted separately.

Janice Freelander’s ‘Ravishing Ruby’, a richly embroidered
wool felt pear was voted Viewer’s Choice.
Congratulation Janice, it is a beauty.

Two challenges to start the quilting year

Looking for a stimulating quilting challenge for the new year? Here are some newly announced local opportunities to stretch your wings. See our ‘Calls for entries’ page for others.

QUILT NSW

2024 SUITCASE CHALLENGE - BLACK and WHITE

The 2024 Suitcase Challenge theme is 'Black & White'. 

It's time to get creative and start planning your entry now!

You can use solid colours or prints but they must read as black and white 

(no grey, cream or other colours are permitted). 

 As always, your quilt must be 40cm x 40cm and made of three layers.

Entries will close on Friday 11 October 2024. 

 The quilts will be judged, and winners announced at the 

Annual General Meeting in November.

More information and the conditions of entry are on the QuiltNSW website.

TEXTILE FEST 

ONE RED THREAD ART PRIZE 2024:

‘I SEE RED’

The competition/exhibition

• is open to fibre, thread and textile artists  
• is a non-acquisitive competition and exhibition
• accepts entries representing any use of fibre, threads and textiles andencourages the artist to explore traditional and non-traditional practices
• the focus of this textile art prize and exhibition is Colour, Composition, Creativity and Craftsmanship
• textiles encompasses fibre, thread, stitching, quilting, embroidery and includes fabric, fibre, felt, wool, wire, paper, even metal
•  works to be received no later than 14 June 2024
•  judging and prizes will be awarded at the Sydney Quilt and Craft Fair 2024

More details, conditions of entry and online registration are on the Textile Fest website 

Best of Show, Sydney Quilt Show 2023

 Congratulation to Sue De Vanny for winning Best of Show with her quilt ‘She Matters’.

Quilt NSW 2023 Exhibition is at Rosehill Gardens this weekend, 15 - 17 September.

Reading, viewing, listening …

Some serious treats in these links:

Art Quilt Australia 2023: award winners and online gallery

Art Quilt Australia 2023 seeks to promote excellence and originality in contemporary art quilts in Australia with an added emphasis on quilts made of wool. Works were selected on the basis of originality, composition, content and execution by a jury of acknowledged experts: Dr Anne Farren, Beth Miller and Dr Moira G. Simpson. OzQuilt Network, 11 August 2023

Festival of Quilts, Birmingham UK 3 - 6 August 2023

This link will take you to the 2023 Competition Gallery. Explore the website for other 202# galleries.

The Festival of Quilts was launched in 2003 in partnership with The Quilters’ Guild as a hub for people from all over the world to come together and share their passion for quilting.

20 years on and it is now the biggest quilting show in Europe with over 22,000 quilting fanatics expected to attend this year. It is also home to the largest open quilt competition in the world, has the largest programme of workshops and talks offered anywhere in Europe and hosts some of the leading quilt artists from around the globe

Victorian Quilters Showcase 2023

Award winners gallery.

9 Fascinating Needlework Tapestries like the Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry has fascinated needleworkers and historians alike for centuries. Unlike most tapestries, which are woven, the Bayeux Tapestry was embroidered in stem stitch and couching, or Bayeux Stitch. Over the years, EGA has offered educational opportunities exploring the Bayeux Tapestry, such as our recent virtual lecture with Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer (learn more here). The history of the making and preservation of the Bayeux Tapestry, as well as the history it captures in its threads, tell a fascinating story about crafting as a means of storytelling and record keeping.

But the Bayeux Tapestry isn’t the only artifact of its kind. In fact, the Bayeux Tapestry has inspired a number of other similar needlework tapestries, all with the express purpose of capturing the history of various cultures around the world. Let’s uncover some of the tapestries created as a response to the Bayeux Tapestry … Embroiderers Guild of America, 19 July 2023

Embroidery and the 2023 Archibald Prize Win

The 2023 winning artwork for the prestigious Archibald Prize included the use of textiles, collage and embroidery, a first for this highly esteemed prize - and that’s proving to be tricky for some art critics.

Why?  Because it’s challenging the norms of art - but does it really?

Listen to the latest Stitch Safari Podcast episode here: Embroidery and the 2023 Archibald Prize Win. Cathy Jack Coupland, Stitch Safari Podcast, June 2023

New stitches added to Royal School of Needlework Stitch Bank

25 brand new stitches have been added to RSN Stitch Bank, bringing the total up to 350 stitches. Each stitch entry contains information about its history, use and structure as well as a step-by-step method with photographs, illustrations and video. Royal School of Needlework, 21 June 2023

A Teacher in 1876 Handcrafted This Quilt to Help Teach Astronomy to Her Class

Ellen Harding Baker, an American astronomer from the 19th century … is famous for one particularly crafty education method. She is rumored to have spent 7 years embroidering the entire solar system onto a quilt, which she then used as a visual aid during her lectures … Emma Taggart, My Modern Met, 27 November 2018

‘Wonder of Eyes: Eyes of Wonder’ online

From the exhibition curator, Brenda Gael Smith:

Check out the new online gallery for the 73 20x20cm textile artworks entered into the Wonder of Eyes: Eyes of Wonder exhibition at www.wonderofeyes.com

Voting is now open for the Viewers’ Choice Award. The maker of the winning work will receive A$200 sponsored by the curator. All voters go into a draw for a copy of the Vision 2020 Textiles catalogue and, if the winner of the draw is from Australia, they will also receive a double pass to the Australasian Quilt Convention 2021 thanks to IntoCraft.

 

Patchwork bridge art in Wales

A patchwork art installation in Wales is making news. It is truly joyous. Check out photos and a video of the hanging at these links:

Giant patchwork bridge to launch Llangollen Eisteddfod in Wales

A new commission by international artist Luke Jerram has seen Wales' famous Llangollen Bridge transformed into a giant patchwork to mark the launch of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod … Sallie Ellen, Daily Post UK, 10 July 2021

Bridges, not Walls

This new temporary installation artwork has been commissioned by the Eisteddfod in Llangollen, for presentation 9th July- 4th August 2021. With support from the Welsh Government, this was Luke’s first major commission for the country … Luke Jerram, Artist.

A gallery of detailed photos and video of the hanging of the artwork, and comments from the makers are included in this post.

From Japan ...

An excellent read, with beautiful photographs, and an amazing video to engage your interest in textiles, quilting arts and the wonders of Japan (thank you Miriam for both links), as we spend more time indoors as the days draw in ...

 

Zumo Museum of Quilt Art

An Okan Arts blog post by guest blogger Alice Gordenkerabout. Izumi Museum of Quilt Art, including beautiful photos. 

  

My work takes me to wonderful off-the-beaten-path locations in Japan, which is how I first came to visit Japan’s only museum dedicated to quilting ...’

How was it made? Japanese hikihaku obi

A video from the V & A archives (what treasures are there!), on the ancient and disappearing weaving art of making heirloom obi (kimono sashes) with gold, silver, mother of pearl and lapis threads. 

  

Nishijin-ori textiles are known for their exquisite detail, and have been made in the Nishijin area of Kyoto, Japan for over 1,200 years. Follow the intricate process involved in creating obi (the sash worn with traditional Japanese clothing), using a specialised technique called hikihaku – weaving with precious metallic thread. 

From the making of the thread itself, to the weaving on the loom, watch as three obi are made in the workshops of Kondaya Genbei – one from silver foil, one from mother of pearl, and one from the semi-precious stone, lapis lazuli ...

Art Quilts in Focus: Quilt NSW exhibition, Concord

From the Quilt NSW July news update:
We are delighted to announce that QuiltNSW will have an exhibition Art Quilts in Focus at the Embroiderer's Guild Gallery 76 during the month of August. The exhibition comprises a selection of works from the Sydney Quilt Show 2019 showcasing the art of the quilt in a gallery setting. The Embroiderers' Guild has generously provided this space and we are showcasing art quilts as a reminder of next year's The New Quilt.

We invite all members to the Exhibition opening to be held at 2.30 pm, Saturday 3 August. RSVP online by 12 noon Wednesday 31 July.

Artwork by: Sheila Beer, Donna Booth, Anna Brown, Sue Dennis,
 Dianne Firth, Jane Gibson, Carolynne Gordon, Barbara Gower, 
Kay Haerland, Judy Hooworth, Cathy Jack Coupland, Linden Lancaster, 
Deborah Layt, Yvonne Line, Judi Nikoleski, Denise Sargo, 
Caroline Sharkey, Carolyn Sullivan, Di Tramontana, 
Lisa Walton, Jessica Wheelahan

February exhibitions - art quilts

Materialise - Contemporary Craft from Our Region 

includes work by Carolyn Sullivan
Until 12 February 2017
Sturt Gallery
Mittagong

The Rolina Project - Art Quilts Inspired by Abstract Artist, Rolina van Vliet

28 magnificent works from Sydney's accomplished art quilters - 20 quilts by members of Quilts NSW
11 - 21 February 2017

Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre

Gymea (Sydney)

A Matter of Time
Gosford Regional Gallery

18 February - 23 March 2017

Opening at 6.30pm on Friday, 17 February 2017

Call for entries

A matter of time is new travelling textile exhibition to be curated by Brenda Gael Smith - the call for entries is now open and closes on 15th january 2016.

All details, the entry form and the timeline for entries and exhibitions are on the exhibition's website now.

Hollis Chatelain, art quilter

You might have seen art quilter Hollis Chatelain's work online, in print, or in international exhibitions - she has recently relaunched her website, with some new work and stunning galleries of past works. High quality images on the site include close detail shots.

Art quilts commissioned for Hornsby Kuringai Hospital redevelopment

Exciting news for local quilters and art lovers:

Award winning art quilter Lucy Carroll has been commissioned to make three large art quilts for the Hornsby Kuringai Hospital Redevelopment (one of our local public hospitals here in the northern suburbs of Sydney). You can read the full story here, on Lucy's blog.

Congratulations Lucy - we look forward to having your work in a public building in our area. We'll be on the lookout for the unveiling, and details about where the quilts will be located on the hospital campus.

• Previous posts on this blog mentioning Lucy Carroll's work.

Lucy Carroll's Anzac Quilts series

The centenerary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli in World One will be honoured throughout Australian life, including in quilts.

Award winning Australian quilter Lucy Carroll is currently making a series of quilts to commemorate the Anzac Centenary in 2015. She has been invited to exhibit them for the first time at the Australian Quilt Convention in Melbourne, in April 2015. While she is making the quilts, Lucy is generously sharing her process and consulting readers of her blog for their responses to her work.

You can follow along on her blog, Lucy Carroll Textiles. Previous posts on the ANZAC quilt series are here.

Lucy's quilt Soldier On won Viewer's Choice, First Prize and First Prize, Pictorial category - Sydney Quilt Show 2013.

15/08/2014 edit: 
Soldier On has been awarded an Honorable Mention in the Innovative category of the 2014 World Quilt Competition XVIII.

• Lucy Carroll member profile, Ozquilt Network
• Lucy Carroll Textiles on Facebook

30 quilts for 30 years: international art quilt exhibition

Image: National Quilt Museum press release -
Bradford Fantasy 1, Carol Bryer Fallet-Gentry

 So many lovely quilts to see ... and now is a good time to catch up with some beauties online, like Carol Bryer Fallet-Gentry's latest exhibtion of 30 quilts, made to celebrate 30 years of art quilting. A number of the quilts can be viewed online. If you are travelling in the USA or France in 2014, you might get to see them up close and personal.

The National Quilt Museum (located in Paducah, Kentucky) is pleased to host an exhibit of new work from internationally renowned fine art quilter Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry. 

“Thirty Quilts for Thirty Years: Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry” will be on display from December 6 through March 11, 2014 ... read more about the exhibition and see some of the quilts online here.

• The exhibition schedule into 2015 is available here

The National Quilt Museum also provides a substantial online archive from part exhibitions (including those from 2013).

Art quilt wins world's biggest art competition

Ann Loveless's large four-panel art quilt, "Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore" has won the $US200,000 open ArtPrize, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The innovative competition is on a grand scale - the total prize pool is $US560,000, and the event spans several venues. It is the first time that a textile work has won what is said to be the world's largest art prize. The major prize was voted for by the public.   Read about the ArtPrize process here.

This news article from MLive/Grand Rapids Press includes an interview with Ann Loveless, and close-up photos of Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore.