Invitation to Attend Quilt Study Group

Invitation

I would like to invite everyone interested in quilting to attend a talk I am giving to the NSW Quilt Study Group which is affiliated with the NSW Quilters' Guild.

The talk will take place on Saturday, 17 March, 2012 at 2.00pm at the Theatrette of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

All my students are invited to attend and bring the quilts you have made in my classes.  There is a $5.00 fee for members of the Guild and a $15.00 entry fee for non-members.

I am really looking forward to this talk and hope that you can come and join me!

For more information, refer to the blog of the Quilt Study Group at http://australianquiltstudygroups.blogspot.com.au/

Classes are Back!

"Spikey" Class

I had a lovely class at Country Pickins' at the Corner at Dural yesterday.  This was the first time I have taught my new "Spikes and Specks" quilt.  Still love the colours and the quilting Veronica Appleyard did on it is gorgeous!



The girls did well (especially those who had never done foundation piecing before!) and we nearly finished one block in class.

Here are a few examples to show you different colour scheme ideas.

This one belongs to Janine - she loves those gorgeous batiks!

The next one belongs to Jenny, very pretty: 

The next two photographs are of Jills completed rings laid over the top of two different colour choices for background and centre.  What a difference!  Which one will she choose?

It is such fun playing with colours and fabrics.  I cannot wait to see what other colour combos the girls come up with.

If you are interested in doing this class with me, I will be repeating the class at Dural on Saturdays 6 October, 3 November and 1 December, 2012.  Just phone the shop to book in on 02 9651 7201.

I also have spaces left in the class at Pioneer Patchwork at Narellan scheduled for Saturdays 18 August and 15 September, 2012.  The shop number is 02 4647 3555.

Happy stitching, 

Katrina

Longbourne Photos and Busy January

Holiday Sewing

I have had a very productive time this January!  Besides cleaning up the house and reorganising the sewing room, I have managed a lot of designing and sewing.

I have completed the fourth quilt in my Jane Austen series called "Rosings".  Named after Lady Catherine de Burgh's ancestral estate in the novel "Pride and Prejudice", it is heavily appliqued in rich hues of brown, red and gold.  I will keep photos of it under wraps until it is quilted by my dear friend Veronica Appleyard.  The quilt has to be finished to go on display in Melbourne with the other three in April at the Australasian Quilt Convention.

I can, however, share with you some photos I took of the girls quilts from my last Longbourne class.

This is Kerrie's soft and beautiful version.  Don't you just love the fussy cutting in those hexagons.  I could sew them forever!



This is Kris' dark and rich version - that fussy cutting again!  Do you think I have encouraged that?



Now for Leanne's version - love that pretty urn!





Now for the holiday sewing.  I have been commissioned to write a series of articles on the history of various quilting techniques and block designs in editions of the beautiful Australian magazine Quilters' Companion.  The articles should start to appear from the July issue.

With permission from my editor, Clare Mooney, I can show you the projects for the first three instalments.

This is a diary or art notebook cover with tiny blocks and prairie points decorating the cover.



Then there is a sewing folder with accessories: a pin cushion and a scissor keeper.  These demonstrate string piecing and the oak reel block on the cover.

Here is the inside of the folder:



Next, there is a cushion featuring a foundation pieced pineapple block, one of my favourite blocks!  Hand quilted as well!



Apart from this I have been typing instructions, getting printing ready and designing at least three new quilts in my head and on paper!

Classes start up next week.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and catching up with what everyone has been doing.

All the best and happy sewing,

Katrina

Houston Quilt Show

Houston Quilt Show

The quilts at the latest International Quilt Festival held in Houston at the beginning of November were just fantastic.  There was such a variety in style, colour and technique it was mind boggling.

Because I was there for Quilt Market I was able to view the quilts before it was open to the general public - a real bonus as it gets very crowded.  I have just learnt that there were more than 60,000 visitors to the Festival!

As this is a juried show, the quality of all the quilts was extremely high and even if a particular quilt was not in your favourite style they all had to be admired for their workmanship and the time taken to make every single one.

I particularly liked the way the quilts were displayed in their categories so that you could compare the quilts entered in each category.  This also meant that if a particular category is your favourite you could spend heaps of time gazing at all the beauties hanging together.  Mine of course was the hand applique section.

A lot of the applique was very Baltimore in style and the hand quilting on some was breath taking.  Here are a few photos.

The first quilt is called "Sam's Owl (A Mary Brown Album)" by Barbara Korengold of Chevy Chase, Maryland.  The quilt is based on a couple of antique quilts made by Mary Brown in the 1850's.  Loved it!

Of course I loved any quilt made from my favourite hexagons.  There was a modern looking quilt made of 12,256 half inch hexagons forming a magnificent colour washed star.  This quilt was called "Star Struck" by Cheryl See of Ashburn, Virginia.  It looked sensational from a distance and it was not until you got up close that you realised it was made of hexagons.  Imagine how many different fabrics were used! Cheryl also appliqued many circles on this quilt.   Here it is:

Another hexagon beauty was in very soft traditional Japanese taupes and was a real blockbuster for me.  The quilt is called "Bolero 21609" by Isako Wada of Japan.  The quilt won second place in the Handmade category.

Here are a couple of close ups:

Isn't it magnificent?

Another quilt called "Me and My Shadow" by Gail Stepanek and Ronda K Beyer of New Lenox, Illinois was a pieced beauty featuring feathered star blocks.  The ones in the centre were bolder colours and the outside ones were the "shadows".  Gorgeous.

 There were many more that I loved.  Will show you more later.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas!  Hope Santa is good to you.

Love from Katrina x

More News from Houston

Classes at the Houston International Quilt Festival

Thank you for the messages I have received from readers here and overseas.  As promised, here is more on my trip to Houston.

I was privileged to be able to attend several fabulous classes at the recent Houston Quilt Festival.

The venue is the huge and well set out George R Bush Convention Centre.  I believe that many massive conventions are held there at Houston every year.

Here is a look at the third floor where the labyrinth of class rooms branch out.

I spent a day in a workshop with Paula Nadelstern from New York.  She makes those fabulous kaleidoscope quilts which you think are printed on one piece of fabric until you realise that she has pieced them from hundreds of tiny pieces of fabric.  Each slice of the kaleidoscope is made from many different fabrics, each meticulously "fussy cut" to feature a particular motif. 

We worked on a quilt called "Needlestars" using her brand new fabric range called Patternista.  The main fabric from this range is called "dragon feathers" - totally wild with amazing colours.

I was in awe as to the amount of work Paula does to prepare the templates and cut out the pieces of fabric for this stunning quilts.

Ingrid and I also attended a one day workshop with Elly Sienkiewicz of Baltimore applique fame.  It was wonderful to meet the lady that has done so much research into this unique and fabulous part of American quilt history.  We were able to purchase her book "Beloved Baltimore Album Quilts" which she autographed for us.  A real treasure. 

 

We were delighted to use the ultra suede we had heard about and hope to get it into Pioneer Patchwork in the future.  It is a lovely suede-like fabric which you cut to shape and applique in place without having to turn the seam allowance under.  We bought some samples in beautiful colours.  I hope to have a further play with this soon.

 

I also attended a one day class with Caryl Bryer Fallert making a quilt she calls "Illusion".  Caryl is a very lovely and clever lady.  Her presentations were so professional and she designs amazing and colourful quilts from strip piecing and cross cutting in different ways.  Thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Caryl won first place in her category in the Quilt Show with her amazing quilt with gymnasts and figures doing yoga.

Here is a photo that I took of it.  Of course the photo does not do it justice.  The quilting was incredible with quilted figures in the spaces between the appliqued figures and all in Caryl's characteristic style of brilliant luminous colours:



Another class I attended was taught by Cindy Blackberg. Cindy's love is for reproduction fabrics and old fashioned block quilts and designs - just what I love!!!

We used her unique system of stamping templates onto the wrong side of fabrics with a rubber stamp and ink and then cutting out on the outside line and hand piecing.  We worked on the beautiful "Seven Sisters" block.  This class was a delight as Cindy is a gorgeous lady and it was lovely to be with others who love what I love the most.  Had a ball!

Next time I will tell you more about the quilt show itself.

Regards,

Katrina x 

Houston News

News from Houston

I have been home a week and am finally coming back to the real world!

My trip to Houston was FANTASTIC!  I loved every minute and would go again tomorrow if I could.  Everyone was so friendly, the quilt show was amazing and the shopping so tempting.

Ingrid Krapez from Pioneer Patchwork and I attended the Trade Market for three days.  On the first day we attended "Schoolhouse", a series of lectures especially for shop owners, teachers and others in the patchwork industry.

We had a choice of 22 different lectures and show and tells every 30 minutes.  It took us nearly an hour just to read through the day's program and make a time table of which events sounded the most helpful for the business.  Of course some we could not imagaine missing just because we wanted to meet the people giving the talk.

We met quilters Jinny Beyer, Eleanor Burns, Marti Michell. the girls behine Blackbird Designs, Debbie Caffrey, Cheryl Phillips and the Curator of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum to name a few.  It was a fascinating and inspiring day.  We laughed a lot and were delighted with the information we received, not to mention the freebies!

Over the next two days we spent eight hours a day walking up and down the aisles of the stalls at the Trade Market.  There were over 2000 stalls!  On the first day we only did a few aisles and realised we would need to pick up the pace on the second day!  We found lots of contacts for great tools and wonderful patterns to bring to the shop at Pioneer.  Again, everyone was very friendly and so generous with information.

Before we left on our trip I said if I found an antique 1880s quilt with hexagons I might be tempted.  And I found one!!!!  And I was tempted.  I purchased from Cindy's Antique Quilts of Clinton, Oklahoma, the most glorious hexagon quilt top.

The quilt consists of many hexagons hand pieced (not over papers) in vertical rows.  The fabrics are from the 1860s and 1870s.  It is like a charm quilt with many different fabrics in blues, browns, pinks, reds and shirtings.  The hand stitching on the back is beautifully small and even.  A lot of the patches are joined to make a piece of fabric large enough for the hexagon.

The lady who made it was a beautiful sewer and finished the edges of the quilt with the half hexagons very neatly.  The overall look of the quilt is quite masculine and dark, which is what I love about it.  It is in perfect condition.  I do not think it has been washed.  It looks like she finished the quilt top and put it away.  How wonderful to speculate on why she made the quilt and why she did not use it.  It is 140 years old.

I plan to have Veronica Appleyard custom quilt it for me and use it on my bed.  Gorgeous!

Here is a photo of one section of the quilt.

Here is a closeup of the stitching.  I hope you can see it.

I will tell you more about my trip another time.

Regards,

Katrina x



Back from Houston

Just arrived back from International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, Texas, USA.

Had a fabulous time but it is a very LONG way from home!

The travelling door to door was approximately 30 hours.  On the way there I had no sleep at all but on the way home I slept for a few hours on the plane from LA.

I attended lots of classes and met lots of lovely people.  I am filled with inspiration and incentive to keep learning and striving to make my sewing better and my teaching methods more enjoyable.

Will post lots more in the coming days and weeks when I get some more sleep.

Regards to all,

Katrina x