South Africa tour

Unfortunately Active Travel have had to cancel the planned Down Under Quilts South Africa Tour as the minimum number had not been reached and the time to hold accommodation bookings had run out.
If there is another tour I will be sure to let you know.

South Africa tour

I'm super excited to have been asked to host this special Down Under Quilts tour to South Africa in June/July this year for 14 days. It's a great opportunity to go on safari and see wildlife, interact with women making a difference to their lives through their stitching and craft and also end up at the biennial South African National Quilt Festival.

Active Travel have put together a great itinerary and I know we will have great adventures together as a small group. Perhaps some rubbing and printing opportunities will pop up too! Places for the quilt festival are filling fast, and as the accommodation is live-in at Kearsney College we may miss out.

If you are interested or want more information please contact Active Travel and I am also happy to answer any questions.



 

South Africa textile/quilt tour

Organised by Down Under Quilts and Active Travel, this is a fully escorted tour to South Africa to experience cultural initiatives, a game safari and the quilt show held biennially. Now that the Summer holiday season is almost over and school just around the corner, you might like to consider this small group tour as part of your travel plans this year. The full itinerary is in the Down Under Quilts #168 or online from Active Travel. I also have the tour button to the right hand side.

I'd love to travel with you on this adventure!

South African National Quilt Festival

If you are joining the Down Under Quilts and Active Travel South Africa Crafts and Quilt tour you have the opportunity to join in with workshops and lectures that are scheduled for the quilt festival.

 The program has been been released for the Quilt Fair and opened for bookings on 15 November: http://festival.quiltsouthafrica.co.za/classes.php   It is a large booklet with many pages so please be patient as it downloads. International and local tutors are offering a variety of classes with something for all quilting tastes.

And you can join the tour from any part of the world as the quoted prices are for the land content. You add the airfare from your country of origin or tag the tour onto another holiday booking.

As we've had a lot of interest about the tour but no confirmed bookings yet, we won’t ask anyone to book their classes until the tour is confirmed with minimum numbers. Detail above is from one of the quilts from my African phase, with more to come I think!

Down Under Quilts

I'm always very happy to see the latest issue of Down Under Quilts magazine when it arrives in my post box and number 167, the Christmas issue is out at newsagents this week. Of course being a columnist helps my excitement grow as the anticipation of how my Global Thread column, page 32, will look takes over.

And wow! The layout looks great with Bob's super shots and my photos bringing the text to life.

The added bonus this time was the full page advertisement for the South Africa Crafts and Quilt tour and Kate Oszko's Textiles and Culture of Turkey tour, appearing for the first time. We are both thrilled by the opportunity to share these diverse cultures with quilt and textile enthusiasts from around the globe, as you can join us 'in country' from anywhere in the world, not just Australia.

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my collagraph and printing efforts. I don't have a press, so used a brayer instead and was happy with the crispness of the result.

Tempting you

Today I want to tempt you to consider a couple of things. At the Queensland Quilt Show last week I spent a couple of days volunteering at the 2QAQ table explaining that the art quilt group is part of Queensland Quilters [2Q] and membership of 2Q has many benefits. The photo above shows the bookmarks promoting 2Q and they were part of the table display I set up.

So if you are new to quilting joining a group or guild is a good way to expand your knowledge and one of the biggest benefits is the friendships developed with like minded people.

Part of the display of the 2QAQ 2014 Calendar Challenge on the back wall. The other thing I want to tempt you with is travel and more specifically, travel on a Down Under Quilts fully escorted, small group [maximum 16] tour to South Africa ending with 4 days at the biennial South African Quilt Festival. We will also go on safari and visit many worthwhile projects making a difference to lives in this country. Full details available from the Active Travel button on my blog side bar.
And now the temptation of my new quilt is drawing me to the sewing machine!