Melbourne magic

Last week my daughter and I met up at Sydney airport and zoomed interstate for a few days to Melbourne. A highlight for me was to be a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria, to their exhibition  The Making of the Australian Quilt. It did not disappoint - exquisite antique quilts, beautifully displayed!

The Mary Tolman quilt 

And here's what I'm gazing at ...divine fabrics and tiny stitches!

No I don't know the lady - she looks mesmerised

Have a look at Miriam's post for her favourite quilt. I couldn't pick one I liked best - loved so many of them! There are also some great pics at The History Blog. If you click on their photos the detail is amazing. It was a great opportunity to get up close and examine the detail of the quilters' work. 

We had fun reading all the 'words of wisdom' on The Westbury quilt: 

Wonderful fussy cut paper piecing (above) in an unfinished hexagon quilt made by the wife of the Governor of NSW around 1846. Sadly she never completed it as she was killed in a carriage accident in 1847.

The old recycled printed papers still in unfinished work makes for a history study in itself - and there's me squinting to read them. 

Inspirational borders that caught my eye:

Quilt by Mary Jane Hannaford

 

It was very exciting for DD and I to see the original Auntie Green coverlet 

Such a variety of beautiful colours. Quite a masterpiece - especially considering the limitations of lighting at the time.

This was the version I made as a wedding gift for DD in her choice of neutral shades. It was made from the pattern by Irene Blanck (with some little variations).

I do love it and the colours she chose ...but now I am seriously tempted to make a more colourful version for myself. Add that to the 'To Do' list ...

Some momentos from the NGV - including a beautifully illustrated, heavy publication, a cloth tote bag, magnet, book mark and card.  

Sadly the Auntie Green does not feature in the book.  Good thing I took a lot of photos!

And what else did we do in Melbourne? We also enjoyed the exhibition of Australian Fashion through the Ages (also at the NGV) 

I was fascinated by the hand stitched detail in some of the older pieces - so many buttonholes stitched by hand! No sewing machines till 1850's. 

And then there were a lot of more colourful modern creations. Which would you rather be wearing, given a choice?! 

The pant suit looks comfortable and she must be a busy sewer - just look how many threads she's picked up!

I popped in to the Melbourne Quilt Show to see the Victorian Quilt Showcase. There were some lovely quilts - especially some expert broderie perse and hand quilting. Unfortunately no photo sharing allowed - sorry. If you click on the link there are pictures of a few of the quilts that won ribbons. One of them is a lovely machine quilted Caswell quilt (Threadbear pattern by Corliss Searcey) but there was also another Caswell that was beautifully hand appliqued and hand quilted - just gorgeous. 

We caught up with Melbourne friends, caught a musical (Mathilda), a movie (the new Ghostbusters), a few delicious meals at little eateries, and explored the shops - perfect!

Now back to quilting with renewed energy...

Indigo Circles - running late for the link up

“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” 
― Dr. Seuss

..and that applies perfectly to me and my Indigo Circles blocks! That's Audrey's Quilty 365 project. 

They were prepped but not stitched. So yesterday I needle turn appliqued 14 of them in one day - oops, that's not really how I aimed to pace myself, but better late than never. 

Here are all 28 that I've made so far:

I can see this project getting away from me and I really don't want that. The thing that takes some time is my choice to fussy cut the circles. It keeps it interesting for me but takes that extra bit of time. 

It will help to have a lot of squares cut way ahead - piles of 4.5 and 2.5 inch blocks. No excuses now!

I got to visit my gifted Auntie Green quilt this week. My daughter and son-in-law have hung it behind their bed. You can see why she selected low volume fabrics - suits their decor so nicely. The set of four quilt tiles on the wall was a birthday gift I made in 2012 (more details if you click on this earlier blog post) .

Happy New Year! Any quilting plans for 2016?  As for me - I have far too many a fair few projects on the go and might scare myself ( and bore you to tears) if I listed them. 

But one thing I would like to do, and really need to do - is to improve my piecing skills. I can get accuracy with EPP or foundation piecing, but I want to cut and hand piece blocks with confidence and accuracy too. Practice makes perfect they say, but I want to improve the easy way - with lots of instruction!

Sarah Fielke's BOM caught my eye (sketch image from her website).

It has a mixture of techniques, loads of instruction,  and she says there will be (quote from her blog) 

"Exclusive access to a private YouTube channel, where video instruction will be provided for each block or technique each month"

I'm in!  A private tutor -  that sounds just what I need. I've never met Sarah but have seen her excellent YouTube video on Big Stitch quilting and it has been a very useful reference. 

Something to look forward to :)

Auntie Green gifted and gone

I started this quilt in June 2014 - planning a gift for my daughter's wedding this year. She liked the pattern that I suggested (by Irene Blanck) and she selected a palette of neutral fabrics. I made small changes to the pattern ( such as drawing up a basket similar to the one on the original antique quilt) appliqued it and hand quilted it, finishing the quilt in about a year from start to finish. 

Well the wedding has been, the gift was given and the happy couple are off on honeymoon. They loved the quilt and, because the day was unseasonably cool, my daughter snuggled under it straight away and declared it was very warm too. Good thing I used wool wadding I think! I had also added a hanging sleeve (in case they choose to hang it) and an embroidered label. 

The quilting isn't perfect but there is a lot of it! If you look at the back it is really quite reversible. 

When they opened the gift we had a laugh looking at the quilt design - deciding it was perfect for a wedding gift - images of beauty, health, fertility and growth (healthy plants and abundance of flowers), love and unity (circling intertwined vines), and even a few tears around the edges ( just as must be in all long and happy marriages). Quite moving really. 

Thank you for all the kind wedding wishes - they were much appreciated. I think they all came true! 

It was a lovely day - unseasonably cool and even a bit of drizzly rain - but the venue was all the better for it - lush and green rolling hills around the old village hotel and gardens. After months of tender loving care (and much concern) the flowers from my garden worked out well - plenty to pick and arrange in jars, and a bouquet for the bride with flowers she selected herself. 

It's a bit early for getting photos together but I have a small number to share - blushing bride, gorgeous groom, delighted mob (my goodness, still can't believe that was me).

With all the busy-ness that has been happening in the wedding lead up I have been a bit remiss in blogging. Should be another update soon on other quilting projects, and hopefully lots more stitching done!