Sunday 29 September 2013

Quilts in the Barn

On Saturday I visited Quilts in the Barn at Wonga Park in Victoria - a long trip for me but worth every bit of it! It is nearly 8 hours drive away interstate but what a good excuse for a road trip - two nights each way and lovely countryside to view en route.
A wonderful entrance view
There are a few different bloggers' posts on this wonderful event - so you may have seen a lot of these pictures already (apologies). Of course, if you are anything like me, can't get enough of a good thing....

First some of the Dutch reproduction quilts ( I think they are ones made by Petra and An) - a lot of the patterns are in their book Promenade dans un jardin Hollandais:

"Sisters" on the left


Below is the "Simon" quilt - very exciting to see Petra and An's version (all the way from the Netherlands) now that I am making one too!
"Simon"

Love how the blue sings in this one - "The Elephant"- also from Petra and An's book

"When Stars meet Hexagons" - 7/8" hexagons, stars and triangles
Lots of other quilts with a chintz theme - and I think they are the work of the Sisters:
What a beautiful red to frame the chintz.


Below is a lovely medallion by Dorothy Ramage - and I had the pleasure to meet her at the ticket desk:


Gorgeous fabric and quilting on this one

By Karen Styles - lovely block looks wonderful framed

Look at that broderie perse - sigh.

Stunning border and background fabrics - super blocks.

Hexagons made from antique fabric scraps - such little gems.

Love the fabrics and the fussy cutting - oh, and the perfect points.
It was a thrill to finally see Di Ford's 'Morrell' quilt in real life - and here are two of the most stunning (and difficult!) blocks:
Inspired fabric choices here - gorgeous.
It was wonderful to meet up with Carole and her sister at the Barn. We have both made a version of this quilt using Di's pattern so had to pose in front. Check out Carole's lovely blog for all her photos of her Barn visits too (she went twice!).

Me on the left, and Carole from Wheels on the Warrandyte bus
 Well ...I am running out of superlatives for all there was to see ...but there is more...

The antique quilts and fabrics brought here by Mary Koval - for viewing and purchase. Here is just a small sample that we could photograph. Some was not to be photographed (by request of the owner) - they were fragile but beautiful.




Purchases were made: When I went to pick up a copy of Chintz quilts from the Poos collection it was lovely to see the friendly face of  Meredith and so appropriate that her blog is called "Pomegranate and chintz"! I have broken into my sealed copy of the book now and it is wonderful stuff.  There are lots of pictures from the book now on different blogs.  
 I also bought a piece of lovely new chintz to be treasured - one I have not seen before - doesn't have a sheen to it and is normal patchwork weight and feel. Am assuming it is from the Netherlands as it says "by Prins and Kooiman" on the selvedge. 


I was so impressed by QITB - lovely venue, great refreshments, beautiful displays, many friendly faces and so well organised - thanks so much and please do it again!

To finish off a  lovely day Carole was kind enough to show me her local quilt shop - "Needles and Pins" in Warrandyte. She is a lucky lady. Warrandyte, on the Yarra River, is  a beautiful place to live and this is a very nice little quilt shop ...with my sort of fabric. 
It was also just wonderful to find that Di Ford was busy helping out that morning - so nice to meet her and have a little chat too!

Here are my purchases from the shop (including super bargain finds):

Just in case you haven't seen enough quilts.. on the way home I spent some time exploring Beechworth  ( historic country town in Victoria). With quilting and chintz very much still in the mind I spotted these: 
  • In the local museum, along with a great display of gold mining and Ned Kelly memorabilia, was a  sweet child's "wagga" in a cot, and it looked to be made of chintz. 



  • In an antique shop - several "much-loved", vintage quilts for sale:
Beautiful hand quilting designs on these


Back to sewing with renewed energy - hope you find all these quilts inspiring too!

22 comments:

  1. Wow, what a great road trip - Quilts all the way! Lovely to see a photo of you and Carole.

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  2. you have posted photos that I had not seen on other Australian blogs (of which I follow quite a few) I was able to feel almost like I was there too. This would be so nice to see in person that I totally understand an eight hour road trip! I so admire the quilts that so many of you Australians make as here in the US it is going more and more towards "modern" and not many take time to make a really complex quilt anymore. I love Di Fords work - the fussy cutting is terrific. Thanks for sharing

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  3. an incredible day! so much inspiration...I love that elephant quilt, the column fabric use is perfect.
    oh you must be so inspired!
    thanks for sharing
    Kathie

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  4. meeting Di at the shop must have been fun too! I hope some day I am as lucky!

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  5. What a wonderful post. Thank you so much for sharing such lovely photos, I almost felt like I was there. That piece of chintz you purchased is the same chintz as I am using for the broderie perse in my LE and is actually the inspiration fabric for my quilt.

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  6. What a delightful trip and wonderful quilts in the barn!!

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  7. Oh, thank you for all the great pictures. What a wonderful show and trip! I am usually so overwhelmed at shows like this I forget to take pictures.

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  8. thank you for showing us!
    Elsbeth (from the shop from Petra and Nel in Amsterdam)

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  9. LOVELY pictures! Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience. Am loving all the pictures from this show I see! I bet your mind was literally spinning with ideas!

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  10. wow amazing collection of chintz quilts! What a fun day. Loved seeing your photo!
    thanks for sharing some of the quilts, what inspiration.

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  11. Great pictures and looks as though the journey was worth it. I can't believe how far you travelled to get to it.
    Still waiting for my chintz book to arrive.

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  12. Thank you for sharing these photos!! The exhibition looks amazing. I bet you have come home feeling very inspired.

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  13. Great post Hilda! So glad we were able to meet up :) I think I'm going to have to go back to Kaye's after seeing your fabric stash.

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  14. Great photos Hilda, I went on Friday and had a ball. Beechworth is only a stone's throw from me!

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  15. What a wonderful review of what was an excellent exhibition!

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  16. I loved your pictures! I especially liked the close shots of the chinz with red - such gorgeous color! Thanks for sharing your lovely outing.

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  17. What a trip of inspiration!! Almost overload!! So lucky you were able to attend the event.

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  18. So glad you enjoyed your trip - it was lovely to be able to meet you and have a chat......you are one amazing lady! Meredithe

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  19. Beautiful, thanks for sharing! Still drooling!

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  21. Enjoyed the quilt show, thanks for sharing!

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  22. Wonderful collection of pictures...

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