Quilt retreat time, oh yeah!

It’s that time of the year when I start getting excited about the annual Quilters’ Gathering in Ulladulla organised by Marilyn’s Craft Corner.

I’ve received my paper work listing the class schedule and as usual it’s hard to make up my mind what to do. I had really hoped to be able to get away for 4 days this year and do two classes but unfortunately I have other commitments (again). But still, a weekend away with quilty friends with nothing to do but sew is a huge treat.

24 blocks so far: Little Apples Hexagons and Stars, Lorena Uriarte

Last year I did a great Hexagons and Stars class with Catherine Butterworth. That was the start of my Little Apples Hexagon and Stars quilt (above). I’ve been so focused on building a new house and finishing A Symbol Recomposed that I now really need to finish my Little Apples quilt to take for Show and Tell. That’s one of my favourite parts of the retreat, catching up with everyone and seeing the quilts finished.

Catherine Butterworth’s Jolly Stars image from Quiltsmith

This year Catherine is teaching a workshop using the Marti Michell Template Set D called Jolly Stars. Catherine is a fantastic teacher and I feel I’ve got the hang of these awesome templates now so I’ve decided to go for something else…

I’m really interested in doing Leesa Siegele’s Ring Cycles class. I’ve seen some beautiful examples of this quilt on the net and I reckon I could get rid of a few scraps making up my 42 9-patch blocks (3.5” big) to take along to class. It’s the kind of quilt I probably wouldn’t get around to make on my own so a workshop will give me a good solid start.

 

Leesa Siegele’ Ring Cycle images from http://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=664

Other fabulous workshops are on offer from the award winning Merelyn Pearce. Merelyn will teach needle-turn applique techniques. I look forward to checking out her class. Another great thing about the retreat is that you are all in a big function centre and can mingle with the other classes. See if there’s something you’d like to try next time.

Judy Hooworth is teaching a Collage and Colour class. I’ve done a workshop with Judy before, she is a very skilled teacher and the worthy recipient of the 2012 Rajah Award for her contribution to quilting in Australia. This is the class I’d do if I had extra time.

But there’s loads more, I’m sure by the end of the weekend I’ll be looking forward to next year for the chance to learn from Jennifer Cornish, Beth and Trevor Reid and Faye Packam too.

Do you like going to quilt retreats? Is it odd to want to run away from your gorgeous family, talk about new fabric releases and notions and sew like a banshee once a year?

It's a Blue Ribbon quilt!

Coming back down to earth after a few hectic months. And a dose of the flu!

This year not only did we demolish and rebuild our house, move twice, work hard and have our eldest start high school but I also managed to squeeze in some quilt making!
A very special quilt which I've been wanting to tackle since I first opened the pages of Chuck Nohara's 2001 New Patchwork Patterns.

During such a busy year there is no way I could have done this on my own. Fortunately, it was my turn to pick a project for our annual group entry for the NSW Quilters Guild Sydney Show. And fortunately my friends went along with me and made some amazing blocks for the quilt.

Each month we met and I distributed patterns and sometimes helped with fabric choices to keep the quirky vibe.

photo by Kerry Brack

As the blocks piled higher and higher it seemed like we might actually make it to the June deadline!

Originally nobody thought we could make a baby Symbol Quilt with the original sashing and border. But I had my heart set on those gorgeous little plus blocks and the wacky pineapple border.

Chuck Nohara’s Symbol Quilt is a massive 6 metres by 4 metres!

Just call me crazy and an optimist and surrounded by talented friends. I redesigned the border and sashings to simplify the piecing. The original border was way to big for our 121 5" blocks.

Reversing the dark/ light balance on the border better frames the smaller quilt (mind you it's still big at 230cm x 230cm). The original border is pale blue with white "pineapples" or crowns.

My fabric choices were a bit of a worry to the others. The fine teal pinstripe (Just Wing It) did prove a nightmare to cut and piece. But again I knew I had one of the most talented technicians on the job! Maree I couldn't have done it without you. Your precision and perseverance to paper piece all 44 border blocks and magic some corner blocks into existence whilst I crazily sewed over 600 crosses nudged this quilt over the line.
I think the teal border works because nearly half the crosses are blues. And the 144 corner stones are all orange. I think that pulls it all together.

When it looked like we might actually have a quilt to enter this year I started thinking about quilting. No way could I have gone this quilt justice. Even if I had another year to handquilt I would have struggled with the heavy and large top. So many seams, so much appliqué. Luckily Michele Turner of Pinetree Cottage Quilting agreed to machine quilt A Symbol Recomposed. I had seen her beautiful finish on various Dear Jane quilts, her treatment of miniature blocks respects the maker and the design.

Together we came up with quilting designs for the tricky sashings and borders. As a final nod to this special quilt Michele stitched the name of the quilt ( A Symbol Recomposed), the women who made the blocks ( Maree Blanchard, Kerry Brack, Lorena Uriarte and Loloma Wren) the quilter's name ( Michele Turner) and the woman who inspired this quilt ( Chuck Nohara) into the sashings. Barely visible but hopefully many years down the track a record of the women who were part of this gorgeous quilt.
And now the year is over, the quilt was hung, a blue ribbon was won. The quilt is safely home to be enjoyed by family and friends.
On to planning next year's entry. Our fifth one, Kerry's choice again. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!

Oh and I almost forgot to mention. This year my daughter entered her first quilt in the Show. And won 2nd place in the Under12 category. Well done Fia on your beautiful quilt! This is Fia’s blog if you want to see more on how she made her quilt.

Friends through stitching

I’m just running out the door to meet a friend, it’s her birthday today. I’ll be meeting up with three women who have become great friends through stitching. Together we have one common interest but also share the ups and downs of every day life. Nothing is off limits -we chat about children, jobs, great recipes or a new cafe, sometimes we even talk about sewing, ha!

Actually that’s not true mostly we drool over fabric and pass on sewing tips and tricks. I’ve learnt a lot from these fabulous women over the last 7 years and I feel lucky to have them as friends.

We’ve been entering a group quilt in the Sydney Show together for the past 4 years. This year it’s finally my turn to select the quilt and drive the project. I can’t wait to share that with you as it’s been a long term goal to make a version of this quilt. But there’s lots of work to be done before July so I need to get a wriggle on! It’ll be worth it.

Anyway, if you want to make your own fabric scrap box there’s a great tutorial at the Sometime Crafter blog: Fabric Scrap Basket. They are perfect to fill with birthday treats!

Fine fabric, friends and food = FUN!

This weekend I attended the Quilters Gathering at Ulladulla. I first went to one a few years ago and had such a wonderful time I was keen to go again. Life often gets in the way of doing what we really want to do and then there’s the guilt of starting yet another patchwork project.

But an important lesson I took way from this weekend (apart from all the fabulous construction techniques) was that I enjoy focusing on the journey not the destination! I love learning new ways of doing things, playing with new fabric and making new friends. If I have a finished quilt at the end it’s a bonus that my family appreciates.

My workshop was the Hexagon Stars with Catherine Butterworth, a Marti Michelle educator. Catherine is a great teacher and lots of fun. Her instructions are clear and she’s so generous with all her tips and hints. I feel that after 2 days I have all the knowledge necessary to explore and construct my own beautiful blocks using the template set. As an aside I had purchased the book (Six is for Hexagons by Marti Michelle) and templates last summer but was a little overwhelmed to try it, the workshop definitely helped but I’m sure you could work it out if you can read the instructions from cover to cover. That’s all I needed to do - RTFM!

Her teaching quilt was gorgeous, full of fussy cut treasures, interlocked and leading the eye over the quilt surface, like a tapestry.

This is just a quick snapshot I took showing the different fabrics she chose to fussy cut.

Whilst the heavy dark tones didn’t really do it for me I could see that this technique leads to wonderful results. And it’s all machine pieced!! No piecing over papers, stitches all neatly tucked away. It’s pretty cool.

 

Here are my blocks:

I kept my first block simple, a big hexagon and radiating triangles set in with diamonds.

I used the Little Apples Layer Cake by Moda. I picked it up because it was such a bargain but had no idea what to do with it… the fabrics are so stinking CUTE!

I followed instructions and the whole block came together beautifully.

 

This is the second one I did using the more complex construction technique of “inset Y seams”. Usually these would send chills down my spine and I’d revert to hand sewing but with accurate pieces and “engineered corners” it also went together beautifully.

Except for my picking up one Hula Hoop girl and stitching her in upside down, OOPS!

 

I was getting pretty confident by block number 3.

I played around with different points on the radiating triangles.

Loving the Little Apples fabric by now… not loving the fabric stash I picked to coordinate.

Did I mention there’s a quilt shop down the road? 30% discount for attendants? Handy!

 

Ok, this one was a bit of a stretch. Diamonds made from 4 pieces of fabric means I had to really look at the grain lines carefully. Lots of cutting, simple edge to edge sewing and carefully pressing.

I don’t want this quilt to be too cute so just used the Dotted Lines from the Little Apples fabric. I think it looks like stitching…

 

 

This isn’t saying table runner or wall quilt to me… I think it’s gotta be another bed quilt.

Looking forward to receiving a little bit of yardage to play some more.

 

 

Other workshops were being taught by Beth and Trevor Reid, Lessa Siegele, Jane MacDonald, Michele Hill, Jenny Bowker, Gail Simpson and Bernie Varkevisser. At show and tell after dinner on Friday we saw all the stunning teaching quilts and last year’s finished projects. Very inspiring.

If you’d like to go to the Gathering next year, put it in your diary for August 17/ 18! If you love patchwork and quilting you wont regret it. The venue was outstanding, they kept us well fed and watered. The company was entertaining and the workshops all looked amazing. Can’t wait to go back!