Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue#92 - 2018 i Quilters Companion

First up, thank you to everyone who has been so welcoming to me in my new role as editor of QC, including friends and acquaintances dating back decades and new friends I am making along the way. Your support and confidence will guide me in this exciting endeavour, I’m sure. I am having a ball sourcing new and interesting projects, people and articles from the world of quilting to share with you. In this issue we meet American modern quilter Christa Watson, and we take a peek inside Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s studio in New York City. Australian award-wining quilter Kat Jones shares the story behind the making of the quilt Bling, which won the Best of Show at QuiltCon 2017. For inspiration, you will find gorgeous quilts from South Australian…

Best in Show Going Up, 133cm x 162cm (52in x 64in), Stephanie Skardal, Clemmons NC Artist statement: Inspired to create unexpected shapes with negative space in traditional (but large) Log Cabin blocks, Going Up mixes the hardness of high contrast and graphic lines with the organic look of Essex linen and straight-line quilting. This original design was created in Photoshop and machine quilted on a domestic machine. Award of Quilting Excellence Ribbon Quilt, 267cm x 267cm (105in x 105in), Sarah Bond, Philadelphia PA Quilted by Carol Heisler Artist statement: Ribbon Quilt is a colour study and a challenge to myself. Like most quilters, I tend to gravitate towards the same colour groups over and over again. My challenge here was to use every colour in a solid fabric range. Despite…

A day in country Victoria The Colac Quilters, based in the Victorian city of Colac, 150km south-west of Melbourne, held their biennial exhibition earlier this year. It was a special occasion as the group was celebrating its 30th anniversary. The theme was ‘A Day in the Country’ and a number of vignettes featuring old vehicles and props set up as if for a country picnic were assembled to enhance the theme. Eighty quilts, ranging from cot to king size, were on display, showcasing a variety of quiltmaking techniques. Members also made two quilts and an embroidered tablecloth to raffle, with the proceeds donated to Blaze Aid, a group that assists in rebuilding fences on farms affected by bushfires, and to purchase fodder for the bushfire-affected farms in Cobden and Terang.…

Growing up on a farm in Minnesota, everyone in Victoria’s family sewed: her mother was a seamstress, her father had an upholstery business and her grandmother, Elda Wolfe, was a quilter. “My three-dimensional skills were pretty good from a young age. No one used patterns, so I would watch my parents and learn to make things as I went along,” she recalls. Victoria says she was always a maker: “I knew I’d be an artist when I grew up. I was always making all kinds of crazy things, and fabric was one thing that was always accessible to me.” Victoria started sewing when she was around four years old, making patchwork pillows and doll quilts by hand. “I finished my first quilt when I was 13; it’s pretty sad looking,…

July 13–15 Mildura, Vic CraftAlive show; Mildura Basketball Centre, 8th St, Mildura Vic. Bringing together talented exhibitors, focusing on creative hand-finished products, DIY products, craft supplies, demonstrations and workshops. Open 9.30am–4pm. More information: Visit www.craftalive.com.au CraftAlive July 20–22 Clarendon, NSW CraftAlive show; Hawkesbury Showground, Racecourse Rd, Clarendon NSW. Bringing together talented exhibitors, focusing on creative hand-finished products, DIY products, craft supplies, demonstrations and workshops. Open 9.30am–4pm. More information: Visit www.craftalive.com.au CraftAlive July 26–29 South Wharf, Vic Craft & Quilt Fair; Melbourne Exhibition Centre, South Wharf Vic. The Craft & Quilt Fair is coming to Melbourne with a fantastic display of crafts, hobbies, tools and specialist items for any crafty project. Be inspired by guest artists and learn new things in studio classes, Make & Takes, workshops and daily demonstrations. You…

1. Whangarei: The Country Yard Address: 229 Mangakahia Road, RD 9, Whangarei Phone: +64 9 434 6748 Email: kerryn@thecountryyard.co.nz Website: www.thecountryyard.co.nz You’ll be welcomed by: Kerryn, the shop owner, plus Raewyn or Bernice, our wonderful, friendly helpful staff. What’s great about Whangarei: Sunny beaches, bush walks, great coffee, historic Bay of Islands. What you’ll find in store: Nestled in picturesque cottage gardens, we stock a great variety of fabrics from country to contemporary, patterns, kit sets, embroidery threads, notions and much more. Plenty of inspirational samples and the kettle is always hot! Staff picks: There are just too many projects from which to pick one or two favourites! We love our stitcheries and in store you will find a large range of embroidery patterns, kits, threads and accessories. One of…

Tools Of The Trade Sewing Machine – Any machine can be used for quiltmaking. It is helpful to have a darning foot as an attachment for the machine for free machine quilting. Iron and ironing board – Make these readily available near your sewing machine so that all seams can be pressed to assist in accurate piecing. Needles – Most quilters favour a ‘between’ needle, size 8-12 for both hand-sewing and hand-quilting. Size 12, the smallest size, is usually used by very experienced quilters. Sewing Thread – Use any cotton or cotton-covered polyester thread. For machine quilting, use cotton, cotton-covered polyester, monofilament or decorative threads. Scissors – Have one pair with sharp points for cutting fabric and a second pair for paper. Marking Tools – Quilters use marking tools for…

A Little Patch of Country 63 Princes Highway, Trafalgar Vic 3824. Ph: (03) 5633 2311, email: sales@littlepatch.com.au, website: www.littlepatch.com.au Asia Discovery Tours Suite 1302, Level 13, 370 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Ph: (02) 9267 7699, fax: (02) 9267 7866, website: www.asiadiscoverytours.com.au BeBe Bold Contemporary Japanese Textiles 25 Elton Street, Lismore NSW 2480. Ph: (02) 6621 9188, email: bebebold@bigpond.com, website: www.bebebold.com Bernina Australia Unit 10, 15 Carrington Road, Castle Hill NSW 2154. (PO Box 268, Castle Hill NSW 1765.) Ph: 1800 237 646 or (02) 9899 1188, fax: (02) 9899 1469, email: bernina@bernina.com.au, website: www.bernina.com.au Braidwood Quilt Shop Shop 6 Albion Centre, Wallace Street, Braidwood NSW 2622. Ph: (02) 4842 2355, email: braidwoodquilts@bordernet.com.au Brother Australia Ph: 1300 880 297, email: brothermarketing@brother.com.au, website: www.brother.com.au Catharina’s Vintage Stitches 141 Allan Street, Kyabram…

254cm x 254cm (100in x 100in) How did you come up with the idea for the quilt, and what did you want to achieve? I entered the QuiltCon 2016 triangle challenge in 2015 and we were given a tiny triangle template that we had to use to make a quilt. After trying out a number of different ideas, I ended up reverting to my stash of grey solid scraps and created the quilt Facets, inspired by an emerald-cut diamond. While sewing all these tiny triangles of fabric together I kept thinking, this would be a lot easier to do if it was foundation paper piecing and wasn’t restricted to using this particular triangle shape. I decided then that for the following year I would make a large, foundation paper pieced…

Quilts for all Seasons Winter, spring, summer and fall — Betsy Chutchian shares five projects to represent each season. Betsy is an enthusiast of traditional quilts, which she affectionately reinterprets through 20 of her latest creations in this book. These everyday quilts are in the colours of the seasons she experiences in her Texas home. She uses a range of small quilts, lap quilts and larger bed quilts to bring warmth to her varied collections of baskets, dishes, bowls, folk art and more. A star designer for Moda Fabrics, her prints have the vintage charm of the reproduction fabrics that she loves to work with. The book features beautiful colour photography with full instructions and line drawings to support the creation of each project. Published by Quiltmania Table-Runner Roundup Amelia…

I started making patchwork quilts 27 years ago. Fabrics, quilt designs, tools and expectations have changed so much since I first picked up a rotary cutter. I now find that I teach beginner's techniques and quilts that I once thought of as advanced, as the tools available today make construction easier. American quilter Latifah Saafir has a new ruler designed for making curved blocks, in particular the Clamshell. The new ruler is known as ‘The Clammy™’. It comes in three different sizes — The Clammy™ 6in, 8in or 12in. While the sizes of the squares required to cut the shapes are different from one size to the next, possible shapes and cutting techniques remain the same. Each ruler is accompanied by printed instructions for cutting nine different shapes with the…

Kits and block of the month programs are popular choices for quilters for a number of reasons. How many times has a quilt caught your eye and you think “Wow I would love to make that exact same quilt with the same fabrics and colours”? When you buy a kit for a quilt you see you can do just that – make it exactly in the colours and fabrics you see. Kits also take the often difficult job of select fabrics and colours out of the equation. The hard part is done for you so you can just enjoy the sewing. It works the same way with block of the month programs. Shops will offer these programs in either one colourway or they might have several colourways for you to…

The projects in issue #93 will leave your head spinning for choice! They include gorgeous traditional hand piecing and hand quilting, glorious Outback Wife prints, bright solids, machine stitching, foundation piecing, English paper piecing and appliqué — what more could you want? Sharon Burgess shares another stunning quilt as our special DVD artisan. A gorgeous traditional blue and cream queen-size quilt entirely hand stitched by Lorraine Moran features a repeating hexagonal block called Oriental Splendor or The Smoothing Iron (Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns) (1). Susan Carr shares a project for the first time in a few years. Sundance Lanterns features 25 blocks; each can be different or you may repeat fabrics (2). An amazing quilt made with Outback Wife barkcloth prints set into sashings of black barkcloth…

The hashtag was originally a typewriter key that was used as a shortcut symbol for ‘number’. The symbol has since evolved, thanks to social technology expert Chris Messina using the #hashtag key on Twitter. He posted ‘whispering tweets’ in 2007 to connect inner circles or groups of like-minded people or targeted audiences for education, information, marketing, politics, statistics, industries, social events and various discussion groups on social media platforms. The contemporary nature, and the connecting purpose, of the hashtag symbol appealed to the SAlt group as the focus for their current and third art quilting exhibition. SAlt (South Australian living textiles) is a group of five South Australian artists: Judi Bushby, Julie Haddrick, Francie Mewett, Sarah Bell Smith and Wendy Thiele. The aim was to create a body of work…

One of the things I’m asked about most often is colour and how to put together colour schemes or fabrics for my quilts. So this month, let’s discuss colour! Most of the time when we talk about colour, we’re told to get a colour wheel and start looking at complementary, triadic or analogous colour schemes. Of course that is a fundamental of colour and a fantastic way to put them together, but personally I feel that quilts are much more personal. Quilting is a craft, an art form, and a successful quilt colour scheme is more about the ‘feel’ of the colours than about theory. So for now let’s forget about colour wheels and theory and let’s focus on what you like and what your quilt needs. Each quilt I…

The 1718 Silk Coverlet is the most treasured piece of patchwork in The Quilters’ Guild Collection. Since joining the collection in 2000, the historically significant piece has been extensively researched by the British Quilt Study Group, has undergone x-ray analysis to examine its construction as well as conservation to help ensure its stability and survival, and has been authentically replicated by members of The Quilters’ Guild. Constructed in mosaic style, the coverlet features the initials ‘E.H’ and the date ‘1718’ in a central block, surrounded by blocks containing geometric designs and nature motifs. Prior to the Guild’s purchase of the coverlet at auction in 2000, it was in the possession of the Brown family of Aldbourne, Wiltshire. The coverlet has profound importance and relevance not only to patchwork and quilting,…

Most obviously – what do you want the machine to do? If you are planning on basic sewing then an introductory machine may be the best option and these can retail up to about $1000. If you are looking for a machine that does a bit more than the basics but doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, then a middle of the road model may suit your needs and these retail from around $1000- $3000 dollars. If you are a super serious sewer and will use all the functions available on top machines then go for it! You’ll be looking to spend from $5000 to $10,000+. Remember you get what you pay for – cheap sewing machines are nasty sewing machines. Once you know what you are looking for…