On my design wall

My work is slowly progressing for India Adventure. I have 8 quilts to finish and am happy with my designs so far. Six of the quilts are basted and /or quilted. The quilt above was in the early stages of development.

As was this one. They both use the fabric I printed at the shopping centre from the wood blocks. The Pipal [or Peepal] leaves were printed in India. My aim is to use the fabrics and trims I bought while on tour as well as more, of course. 

Fusible web

Do you use a lot of fusible web in your work? It's a product that I use now and again and I have tried a few brands over the years, mostly the paper backed variety. Last year in Houston I saw the Misty Fuse stand and watched the demonstrations and bought 2 rolls, which are going to last me a long time!

Here is my ironing board in the laundry and 'my' iron used for the messy stuff! The large 'Goddess' sheet covers the board. I'm using the misty fuse in some of my India Adventure series.

Misty fuse is just on the edges of this piece and gives good adhesion for applique. The Australian supplier is Know-How Sewing.
Yes, the Jacaranda blossoms are beautiful on the ground until they turn brown and mushy.

 

Purple reign

It is the time for all things purple to reign in the garden at this time of the year, Spring Down Under!

Berries and flowers in abundance [sorry no names here- need my friend to tell me what it is].

I'm quite taken with the bromeliad flower spikes, with Jacaranda blossom attached.

And, I think, a dead ant here.

The neighbourhood is awash with purple Jacaranda trees, their little bell shaped flowers blown by the wind and turning my paths from drab to fab!

 

Utah memories

This time last year we were travelling around Utah and enjoying the many National Parks in the southern part of the state. We stopped frequently when the vista spread out before us, as we rounded a bend in the road. You may just be able to make out the golden Cottonwoods in the creek, lower left.

On the trip I also took many photos of trees, especially the ones that were hanging on! On Australian TV the David Attenborough program Plant Kingdom has just begun and the time lapse photography is amazing.

Lemon Lace

The Viewpoints 9 challenge for this round was set by Diane Wright, 'The Scent of a Memory' which was exciting because of all the possibilities. Originally I was going to design my quilt around the scent of freshly mowed grass, a very common weekend activity in suburbia. However, on visiting a friend's garden, her flowering lemon bush set me off in a different direction.

The delicate scent of the waxy lemon flowers immediately brought childhood memories flooding back. Lemon Lace is the resulting quilt.

Please visit the Viewpoints 9 blog for more information about my quilt and a full photo.

On my design wall

This is a tale of a small quilt, 22" square that has been a long time evolving. I guess I didn't give it my full attention until this week, so the pieces have been moving around on the design wall. I rubbed the squares in India while on the Textile Traditions tour and also bought the embroidery patches there too.

Now this is the work this week, with another frottage piece from India, cut up for the borders.

The digital camera is such a great design tool allowing the recording and recall of design choices.

Before squaring up and yes, the dark patch worked piece will be positioned on the lavender fabric. Now for the quilting. If you are interested in your own India adventure, please contact Rhonda via the Textile Traditions website as the next tour is in January- I'm very tempted!!

The Brisbane Wheel

We have been wanting to experience the Wheel of Brisbane for some time, so the celebration of a couple of birthdays was the perfect chance. The wheel is at Southbank and the river and city views are great from this structure. It's lovely to look down on the tree tops and get a bird's eye view of the world for a brief time.

Not to mention the interesting photos as you rotate around the central axis.

A pizza dinner at Amici's put the finishing touch on our evening out.

Baby quilt

I have finished quilting the baby quilt, well in time for the new Grandchild due in 2013. This was a panel selected by my daughter. I thought it was very cute with the various animals and there was a matching fabric that I put on the back.

Check this out

Always some interesting new vendors at the quilt show. My friends and I liked Jenny King Designs for the beautiful yarn and crocheted items. And we also could not go past the machine knitted vests from Terry and Sue, vendors from Victoria.

Rubbing plates

As a volunteer on the 2QAQ table at the Queensland Quilt Show, yesterday I decided to work with textile paint and rubbing plates. It is such an easy and quick way of transforming fabric into a wow!

The plate goes under the fabric which is then brushed over with a foam brush that has some paint on the tip.

You can layer as many designs as you like and when dry heat set and use.

Viewpoints 9 current challenge

Today I'm going to direct you to the Viewpoints 9 blog to see what I'm up to in the most recent challenge. Thanks for taking the time to venture over.

Queensland Quilt Show

The Craft and Quilt Fair is on until Sunday at the Brisbane Convention Centre, South Bank and Queensland Quilters hold their annual show as part of this event. I was demonstrating some painting techniques yesterday at the 2QAQ table and so were Linda Robertus L and Jane Rundle. Behind them are the quilts from the challenges we have had at 2QAQ this year.
Congratulations to all who entered the show and to all the winners, well done.

There is a stunning display of red and white quilts, Infinite Horizons from the Mt Isa region.

The STATE of the ART quilt 12 is also on display.
 

Quilt storage

I have been having a tidy-up of my quilt storage area. There are many ways of storing your quilts. What works for my space is rolling the quilts, a few together, face out and placing in a cotton bag.

The rolls are then labeled with a cloth tag, listing the quilts in the bag. This list is also added to a sheet of paper that is stored on that shelf.

I find this the best way for me to find what I'm looking for. Oh, the days of these traditional fabrics have long passed for my quilts, but they make great storage bags.

La Sala del Prado

The Sala can only be reached if you have paid for a ticket to see the exhibition, which is a bit of a pity for everyone who is missing out, on the tasty tapas and snacks we shared. L-R Spanish biscuits- wafer thin and looking like a potato chip, with nuts on top and Galacian baby octopus with potato.  Live guitar music in the background and subdued lighting plus a bit of Sangria adds to the exhibition experience.

Prado exhibition

A day out at the Queensland Art Gallery with a friend was my Saturday. We bought tickets to the Masterpieces of the Prado and were not disappointed with what we saw and heard in the 2 floor talks we attended.

We entered the Prado through this portal and then no photos were allowed.

However it seems I magically was transported back in time and became the embodiment of Prince Susan of Asturia, only to tragically die young from smallpox. The exhibition continues until Nov 4. 

Australia Wide 3

Tussock by Brenda Gael Smith was in the Australia Wide 2 exhibition and I'm now its proud owner.The Australia Wide 3 exhibition, by members of Ozquilt Network is officially opened today and the website has all the quilts for your viewing pleasure. It is interesting to see the inspiration of the various artists and their interaction with the Australian environment.

New fabrics

It was a lot of fun producing some surface designs on fabric last weekend at Ali's place. This was the design from the old fence post.

Tree bark and back with the orange and blue, my preferred combination.

Mostly man made textures with a Silky Oak leaf. We used what we found and the lines are from a wash board and caging wire.
 

Blue Jacaranda

I've had a lovely browse of the Blue Jacaranda website, blog and etsy shop. Linda Robertus, living in Brisbane, is the driving force behind the wonderful products you see. I have watched Linda develop her art over the last few years and wish her every success with her new venture. And by the way, the jacaranda trees are in bloom now and just magnificent.

Quilt National 13

Congratulations to all the 84 quilt artists with work selected for Quilt National 13. Three Australians are amongst the exhibitors- Dianne Firth, Judy Hooworth and Sue Cunningham- woohoo! I continue to be a 'wanna beee....' and will keep on stitching. Always good to have a dream and something to aim for, and I'm not unhappy in the least as there are many exhibition opportunities.

This is Bush Song one of the 2 entries I submitted.

Seen at....

the Queensland Art Gallery ladies toilet foyer- a red lipstick mo on the portrait! and the reflection of me taking the photo.

A day in the countryside

Had a super Sunday with arty friends, St Christopher and some apostles [don't ask!] just mucking about with paint. I have finally been able to 'get' an old hardwood fence post onto my cloth and was lucky enough to come home with a post too.

The above photos thanks to Ali.

L-R Peter, Jane and Ali