Quilts in the Barn 2011

Quilts in the Barn 2011, organised by Linda of Quilts in the Barn is on again - the exhibition is being held from next Friday 2nd September through to Sunday 4th September, 2011.  The exhibition is a fundraiser for breast cancer research.

This year, the quilter being featured is Jo Morton.  Jo is a quiltmaker, author, teacher, lecturer, a designer for Andover Fabrics, Inc. of New York, and a student of ancestral quilt making.

Jo presents re-creations of antique quilts, imitating colors and styles of period pieces. Using an antique quilt's color and/or design as a source of inspiration, she creates an interpretation - a quilt that might have existed in the 19th Century. Her quilts are made in a lasting tradition, using new cotton fabrics, cotton batting and cotton quilting thread.

If you are a lover of vintage and reproductions quilts, then this year's Quilts in the Barn is an exhibition not to be missed.

I have recently quilted two quilts for Linda which have been made exclusively with Jo Morton fabrics.  The first quilt is a Strippy Nine-Patch Quilt.

The fabrics used are just beautiful - the quilt has been simply quilted with continuous curves, some in the ditch stitching and 1/4 inch outlining.

As described on her blog, Linda has been working hard on her Tumbler Quilt which is the second quilt I have just completed.  The Tumbler Quilt is huge - a massive 98 inches x 87 inches and an incredible 1,334 tumblers!  The quilt was too large for me to photograph in its entirety, however, here is a snippet.

In keeping with the traditional fabrics and design, the Tumbler Quilt has been quilted with Baptist Fans - one of my favourite designs for reproduction quilts.  I believe they have added some great movement to this quilt.

To see the above quilts as well as many of Jo's quilts from her personal collection, visit Quilts in the Barn.  Wishing you all the best Linda for a wonderful exhibition - may the sun shine this year!



Purple Haze Quilt

My sister, Mum and I had a wonderful day on Thursday at the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair which is on until tomorrow, Sunday 31st July.   We had a great time viewing the many fabulous quilts on display, shopping, catching up with quilting friends and having lunch together.  The day became even more special when my quilt "Purple Haze" was been awarded a First Prize Ribbon in the Small Quilts Category - Professional of the 2011 VicQuilters Showcase.

Purple Haze is a quilt which I made as part of the Australian Machine Quilting Association's 2011 Challenge.  The challenge involved making an Amish style quilt with a pattern provided.  The instructions stipulated that the maker could use fabrics of their choice, provided that only the colours red, blue and purple were used.  Purple Haze was also awared a First Prize ribbon in this challenge.

I have quilted Purple Haze with a central floral design, surrounded by feathers in the purple border, flowers in the red setting triangles and hours and hours of pebbles in the background.

I found great inspiration for the quilting of Purple Haze in the quilting of Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts.

Thanks for visiting - have a wonderful weekend.  If you get a chance, do go and seen the fabulous display of quilts at the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair.

Red & White Quilt

Linda from Quilts in the Barn recently travelled to New York City to the incredible exhibition Infinite Variety:  Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts.  This exhibition included 650 red and white American quilts which were on loan from the collection of Joanna S Rose. 

The exhibition inspired Linda to finish her own Red & White Quilt - Linda's quilt is a wonderful example of this traditional style of quilt.

Linda loves feathers and so feathers I quilted.  Each setting square has been feathered with a heart.  The setting triangles are feathered to flow around the quilt.

If you would like to see some more of the Red & White Quilts from the Infinity Variety Exhibition, have a look at some of Linda's Posts:-

• Impressions - gives a great sense of scale to the exhibition
• Texture - a series of individual Red & White Quilt photos

I think I may well have been inspired to make my very own Red & White Quilt.  Hopefully the Infinite Variety Exhibition will eventually travel the world so that we can all experience those incredible quilts.

Tree of Life Quilt

One of the things I love about quilting is that there is a different quilt and style for almost every quilter.  I particularly love the fact that there are different styles of quilts linked to different cultures.  The vast range of quilts which come to me to be quilted never ceases to amaze me and I was very excited to be able to quilt this Indian Tree of Life Quilt for Kate.

Kate gave me some background information on her purchased Tree of Life quilt top.  Kate was backpacking around India more than 10 years ago and saw some women working on one of the bedspreads in Jailsamer, Rajasthan.  As an impoverished traveller with very little room in her luggage she couldn't buy one, but always regretted it. Years later her parents went to India on a far more 5-star trip, and Kate's Mum was given very strict instructions to try and find a Tree of Life quilt.  Kate's Mum spent a whole day schlepping around the shops in Jailsamer and finally found one, which cost a lot more than the original quilt Kate had seen all those years ago.  Being a good mum, she bought it anyway, and the quilt has finally made it to me to be quilted.

 

This Tree of Life Quilt is large - some 88 x 104 inches.  The quilt has been entirely made using hand applique.  Each tree, including the large central tree, is made from one piece of fabric which has been appliqued using the needle turn method.  The central tree is about 50 inches tall.

In keeping with the simplicity of this two-toned quilt, I have quilted around all the applique, including all those leaves, and filled the background with swirls.  The outside border has been quilted with a freeform feather style design including more swirls.

While I spent quite a long time quilting this quilt, I couldn't help thinking how long the Indian quilters had spent working on this wonderful quilt top.

I hope you enjoy your quilt Kate - I am sure it will provide a wonderful memory of your travels.

Easter in Ballarat

My family spent a delightful long weekend in Ballarat over the Easter break.  Of course no visit to Ballarat is complete without dropping in to the wonderful Ballarat Patchwork.  I was fortunate enough to visit on the day they reopened after renovating and they were celebrating with a 20% off all stock sale!

Ballarat Patchwork is a feast for the quilter.  I took the following photos which I was permitted to share by Emma from Ballarat Patchwork.  The shop has an amazing range of bright, modern fabrics, books and patterns all displayed beautifully.

I fell in love with their display of quilts.

And these softies took my fancy ...

Of course it was impossible to leave empty handed.  I bought some black Hanky Linen fabric to make the Amy Butler Liverpool Tunic - yes, an item of clothing, not a quilt!  We will see how I go - the idea of making button holes is scaring me - wish me luck.

Ballerina Quilt

Kate from One Flew Over has recently made a Ballerina Quilt, the making of which she has outlined extensively on her blog.  It is a beautiful quilt made with some lovely vintage fabrics.

When Kate initially asked me to quilt this quilt with "straight wavy lines" I was a little concerned.  Straight wavy lines don't really go with my usual need for perfection - it was certainly a request outside my comfort zone.  Once I got started I had a great time quilting this quilt and I love the end result.

You can see Kate's quilt on her blog after washing and drying - perfectly crinkled.  Anyone else for straight wavy lines?

Australasian Quilt Convention

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I am excited to be attending the Australasian Quilt Convention which is on from April 14 - 17 at the Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton. 

I am particularly looking forward to seeing the entries in the APQ Seven Deadly Sins Quilt Challenge.  This year I was fortunate enough to have my quilt "Envy" juried in as one of the 30 finalists in the challenge.  As a result of participating in the Quilt Challenge this article appeared in today's edition of our local newspaper, the Northcote Leader.  Click on either the link or the photo below to read the article.




You may recall my quilt "Envy" from previous posts - be sure to look out for it if you are attending the Quilt Convention.

I hope those attending the Australasian Quilt Convention have a great time - I am sure I will!