Open Studio - Aliquilts

Just a reminder for those of you in Brisbane that my friend Ali George is having an Open Studio this weekend(24 and 25 May).  Ali lives in the beautiful Scenic Rim about an hour from Brisbane - her address is Aliquilts Studio 169 Niebling Road, Tarome.  Visitors will be able to participate in mini workshops and a community quilt project.

cheers Rebecca

Dragon Fly - "Seaglass" Colour challenge

The last colour challenge the 8 by 8 Group did was based on the colour depicted by "Seaglass".  I took out my collection of sea glass from Day's Bay in Wellington and inspired made the journal quilt below.  The dragon fly wings were painted with semi transparent paint and I used machine outline and some neocolor 1 crayons for highlights.

cheers Rebecca

Fabric Dyeing

I read today where it is really good for your work amongst other things to blog.  It is a way to look differently at your work and to be more thoughtful.  You build up a relevant visual diary which is both a record and an inspiration.  So I am showing you a photo of what I have been busy doing in the past week - procion dyeing cotton fabric.  I am really doing improvisational dyeing because I think it is important to have some textural elements in the cloth.  I made sure I dyed some light colours too because it is intended that hand printing  be added to the fabric and this will give variety.

take care Rebecca

Rust

I forgot to post this journal quilt "Rust" made a couple of months ago.  It is made with my hand dyed and rusted fabrics and is 12 inches by 15inches.  It is part of the colour series that the eight of us are doing from Upper Hutt New Zealand (well I moved back to Australia later).

The design is based on the letter "H" but improvisationally cut out.  Today I finished "Sea Glass" and I have just posted to New Zealand for the reveal night on 22 April.  Will post a photograph after that night.

cheers Rebecca

Quilters and Patchworkers of New England (Armidale NSW) Exhibition

We travelled down to Armidale in New South Wales for the QPNE Quilt Exhibition.  My Mum and I have been members of the Group for a long time.  I had two quilts in the Exhibition this year.  My Blue and White Quilt adapted from a pattern by Kate Conklin and quilted by Sue B (Wellington).

 My second quilt was "Got Mail" inspired by a quilt made by Ayumi Takahashi of Japan.  It is paper pieced and machine quilted.

The President and Organising Committee did a great job and a large number of people came to view all the quilts over the two days of the Exhibition.  Mum is hand quilting her latest quilt and it will be ready for next year's Exhibition.

take care Rebecca

Stitches & Craft Show, Brisbane

Hi I went to the Stitches & Craft Show in Brisbane yesterday.  The Queensland Quilters Inc Modern Quilting group had a display and I was pleased to see my Colour Circles quilt was hanging at the entry.  It is such a bright quilt that I started in a class in New Zealand with Nancy Crow.  It is free hand(improvisation ally cut) and I had fun choosing the colours.  I also had fun sewing it together!!
I quilted it on my Bernina 440 with organic straight lines.  It is 80 inches by 80 inches.

Took the photo on my iPhone as forgot my camera!

cheers Rebecca

My Bird Journal Quilt

I think my favourite journal quilt I had in the "Pieces of Eight" Exhibition was my "Bird" themed.  It has natural dyed and rusted fabric used in the fabric collage and a machine outline in black of a drawing I did of a parrot in the backyard of my home.

cheers Rebecca