Australian Patchwork & Quilting - Showcase a Quilt

On our return from holidays recently, I was thrilled to have received my complimentary copy of the current issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting.  I always find it exciting to have one of my quilts published in a magazine and this was no exception.

APQ had prepared an article showcasing my quilt First Blush which last year won Best of Show at Vic Quilter's Showcase.  My name even appeared on the cover!

 

I am looking forward to seeing First Blush exhibited at the Australasian Quilt Convention in April this year together with the Best of Show winners from the other states and territories. 

Quilt Mania Cover - Red Cross Quilt

I was thrilled to discover that the wonderful Red Cross Quilt I quilted for Linda from Quilts in the Barn is featured on the cover of the current issue of Quilt Mania.  Congratulations Linda, it looks fabulous and I am very excited to have been involved in the making of this quilt. 

 

 

For those who haven't seen this quilt before, please see my previous Red Cross Quilt post including close-ups of this gorgeous quilt.

 

I can't wait for this issue of Quilt Mania to drop into my letter box to discover other pictures of this quilt inside the magazine - it is going to make for some great quilt reading! 

 

Just think Linda, a quilt we have worked on featured on the cover of a magazine which will be on news stands in Paris!  Happy reading.

International Patchwork & Quilting Magazines

I have just returned from our annual summer holiday - we have had a lovely time of beaches, sunshine, relaxation, the company of family and friends and too much good food and wine.  It is great to be back and I am just starting to get back into quilting.  I hope everyone has enjoyed a great festive season and has had a wonderful start to 2011.

On my return from holidays I was thrilled to find a collection of quilting magazines amongst my mail.  I had ordered a number of back issues of the American magazine Machine Quilting Unlimited which, as the title suggests, is mainly concerned with machine quilting.  In addition, I received a German Patchwork magazine as a result of liaising with Brigitte Heitland of Farbstoff.

Some time ago, Brigitte had emailed me, asking permission to use a number of my photos in an article on the subject of machine quilting which she was writing for the German Patchwork Magazine.  The article has resulted in a fabulous look with a combination of photos by Brigitte and myself depicting the different styles of machine quilting possible.  Unfortunately, apart from the title, I will need someone to translate it for me!  Thank you again Brigitte for sending me a copy of this magazine - it was great to be involved.

I love reading the Machine Quilting Unlimited magazines - they are always full of wonderfully quilted quilts, great tips on different quilting techniques and often very useful articles on maintenance specifically for longarm machines.  In the January 2011 issue I was thrilled to find an article on the Australian Machine Quilting Festival which I attended last year in Adelaide in early October. 

I was even more thrilled to find that the article included a photo of my Field of Flowers Quilt which had won first place in the Edge To Edge category.

I hope everyone in Australia is enjoying a relaxing Australia Day holiday.  Back to quilting soon ...

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows Quilt

I can finally show you more of the quilt made by Linda Collins from Quilts in the Barn which I quilted a few months ago.  Linda's quilt "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" has just been published as a project in Australian Country Craft and Decorating Vol 22 No 6.  The magazine came out today and I have managed to pick up a copy.  It is always great to see a quilt you have worked on in a magazine.

Linda's quilt was inspired by a bundle of fabrics and a Dresden Plate wedge purchased at the Australian Quilt Convention earlier this year.  During a retreat that same weekend, she played with both the fabrics and the wedge, desiging this quilt.  The result is a stunning quilt based on a traditional design.

I quilted Linda's quilt with swirling feathers in between the dresden plates and along the borders.  The dresden plates are quilted with continuous curves and a small feather flower in the centre.

Congratulations Linda on having your beautiful quilt published.  Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows would make a great holiday project - remember to pick up your own copy of Australian Country Craft and Decorating.

Dad Saves the Day

This week my quilting machine had a major break-down for the first time ever.  I hardly ever have quilts with a definite deadline but, of course, this time I did.  I was stitching along one evening early in the week in stitch regulated mode when all of a sudden the machine's speed picked up to the point of sewing uncontrollably fast.  Eventually, the machine would sew at full speed from the second it was turned on and would not turn off with the switch on the handle.

Bruce Brown, the Australian Gammill guru from The Finishing Touch, who unfortunately lives interstate, advised that I had blown my speed control transistor which would need to be replaced - this sounded serious!  Bruce put a part in the mail for me and talked me through the instructions for replacing it.  The part was a very small electronic component which lives under the motherboard and would require soldering in.  I certainly can't solder, nor can my husband.  Who to ask but my handy father....  My dad is a retired tiler but is generally a very handy person who has turned his hand to many trades.  While he has done some soldering before, he had never worked with electronic components.

Friday morning, Dad and I opened up the quilting machine and were faced with the very scary inside of the machine - wires and plugs everywhere.

After carefully numbering all the plugs, we unplugged them, unscrewed the motherboard and found the part to be replaced.  The replacement part was only about 3/4 inch in size with three prongs which required soldering onto three wires - work much finer than Dad is used to.  Together we did manage to solder the wires on, re-attach the motherboard, plug the numerous wires back in and put the cover back on.  We both held our breath as we turned the machine back on.  The first signs were good - at least it didn't start stitching uncontrollably as soon as I turned it on.  After some testing all apeared well - we had done it!  We must have even put the plugs back on in the correct positions.

The quilt with a deadline was finished over the weekend and has already been collected by my customer Linda from Quilts in the Barn.  Linda has made a stunning Dresden Plate Quilt which I have quilted with lots of feathers.  The quilt is going to be published as a pattern in an Australian magazine later this year so I can't show you the whole quilt as yet.  Here is a little sample - I will show the whole quilt once the magazine is out.

So, thanks Dad for a great repair job, Bruce for wonderful instructions and Linda for your patience in waiting for the quilt to be finished.  I am looking forward to a less eventful week.

Fat Quarterly eZine - Windows and Frames Quilt

Fat Quarterly is a new e-magazine written by modern sewists for modern sewists - I can't wait to see the first issue which goes on sale tomorrow Tuesday April, 27th.

Kate from One Flew Over is one of the faces behind this new magazine and for the first issue she has contributed the 'Windows and Frames' Quilt.  Kate made 'Windows and Frames' by upcycling her husband's old business shirts. It is a simple and effective pattern of framed squares enhanced with a crisp white solid.  Kate asked me to quilt this quilt for her and I had a great time quilting it with spirals using the Quilt-EZ template.  Here is the final result:-

I love what the quilting has added to this quilt - the spirals on the squares seem to provide the perfect contrast for this quilt which is otherwise very geometric.  The quilting just kind of happened - initially I quilted spirals in the centre of all the squares.  Having quilted the entire quilt in this way I decided it wasn't quite enough and quilted a spiral on each point where the squares meet.

The quilting also looks great on Kate's pieced back.

I will be heading over to buy a copy of Fat Quarterly here - from what I have seen, it is bound to be a fabulous online magazine full of inspirational quilts.   I can't wait to see other versions of Kate's Windows and Frames Quilt.

Good luck with the magazine girls!

Australian Quilt Market

I attended the Australian Quilt Market on the weekend in Melbourne.  The Australian Quilt Market is a wholesale market which has been the prime venue to view and buy the very latest in patchwork, fabrics, professional quilting machines, threads, domestic sewing machines, notions, patterns, beading and accessories in Australia.  I had a great time with Rita from Red Pepper Quilts and also met up with a number of other bloggers - it was great to catch up over a coffee.  It was wonderful to see the beautiful fabric ranges of fabrics that are coming out.

As a machine quilter, however, I wasn't really in the market for buying a range of fabrics. My purchases were a little more humble - they included the following from Constantine Quilts:-

I was thrilled to get the current issue and some back issues of my favourite quilting magazine Machine Quilting Unlimited.  I tend to find that many patchwork magazines focus on the piecing with the quilting being a secondary consideration.  I often find myself peering at photos in patchwork magazines to try and see how a quilt has been quilted.

Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazine (MQU), however, is focused on the machine quilting process, whether you are using a domestic sewing machine, small frame system or professional longarm machine. I find their articles instructive and informative, showcasing the latest products, designs, teachers and quilting celebrities.  The magazine tries to educate the reader via how-to instruction and detailed product reviews. A portion of the magazine is often decidated to showcasing award-winning, machine-quilted items, whether quilts, garments or miscellaneous creations and profiling industry leaders and businesses.  I also love their maintenance articles which have proved very useful for my longarm quilting machine.  MQU is published six times per year.

I also bought Maree Nordeng's book - Extreme Makeover - Feather Edition.  I am not sure my quilting library needed another feather book but I couldn't resist.

I also received a complimentary Quilter's Diary for 2010 from Universal Magazines and bought a Christmas pattern from the very inspirational Don't Look Now.  I have plans to use the Christmas pattern as a quilting design rather than an applique pattern - somehow I think it may not be ready for Christmas 2009...

Published - Down Under Quilts

The digital version of Down Under Quilts issue 137 is out and it has one of my quilts in it.  I always find it such a thrill to see one of my quilts in a magazine - very self-indulgent really!  My quilt, Hippy Wholecloth is featured on page 18 as part of the article "In the Pink".  As October  is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, Down Under Quilts set out to compile the contents of this issue with this in mind - there is lots of pink!

Hippy Wholecloth was made back in 2007 after I had spent some time with a well-known Australian Longarm Quilter, Susan Campbell, who taught me how to quilt feathers.  I was inspired to make a wholecloth quilt that was a little different and would not disappear into my white walls at home. I decided to use hand-dyed fabrics by Lisa Walton from Dyed and Gone to Heaven resulting in a somewhat 'hippy' look.  Hippy Wholecloth has a soft, dappled centre surrounded by a border of darker pink.  The quilting design is my original design, although based on traditional feathers and the book, Meandering Magic by Suzanne Earley.

The following photo shows the detail of the centre of this quilt:-

I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt and at the time was rather pleased with my feathers.  Hippy Wholecloth still has a special place in my home.  I can't wait to see the actual hard copy of the magazine..

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