Sunday, August 08, 2010

Canberra Quilt Show 2010

Warning: Quilt-related content!Rounding out a supremely busy week, was a trip to the Canberra Quilt Show today, where I had two quilts on display! Well, one. Well none actually entered for competition...!
My calendar challenge quilt, 'The House That Jack Built' was on display with all the others - I'm 'Miss October'!'Susan's Stars', which was the collaborative quilt some of my work colleagues and I put together for our friend who was badly injured in a car accident, was on display too - they were down on numbers this year, so Susan asked if we wouldn't mind having it included. Why not?! With each entry comes the obligation to 'volunteer' for a shift. I chose to do a stint at the 'Quilts for Others' stand and enjoyed playing with a new Bernina 440 QE - with table! It fairly hummed along, and I was able to finish a medium-large all-over meander on a lap-size quilt in two hours. The quilt is destined for a local hospice once its bound. The Canberra Quilters gift many such quilts each year and it was nice to be able to do my little bit to assist. The quilting was by no means perfect, but it did the trick. It's the first time I've quilted with an audience - there were lots of ladies (and even a couple of fellas) who wanted to know how I was doing the quilting, so it was lots of fun telling them I'm a beginner FMQ-er - a lot of them didn't believe me! I encouraged them all to give it a shot. It was pretty funny, as I was sitting next to Pat Godden, quilter and mother of Helen Godden, whom, if you've been reading for a while, I admire greatly - she is one of the best machine quilters in the world. Helen was on duty as well and I was a tad embarrassed to be sitting there having a bunch of women admiring my very basic meander while one of the best quilters in the world was watching!

Here are some of my favourite quilts from this year's exhibition (click any image to enlarge):
Beth and Trevor Reid - Hot Lava II - Best of Show

Close-up - check out that marvellously textured quilting. Amazing.

Brenda Gael Smith - Dreamlines #3

Helen Godden - Chameleon (yes, the chameleon is trapuntoed - quite an eye-popping effect)

Diane Firth - Stones

Dell Armistead - 40 Shades of Green

Diane Firth - Drainage Basin

Helen Godden - Swanning East

Helen Godden - They Grow Up So Fast

And the Australian Best of Show for 2009 - unbelievably well done in concept and execution. This photo does not do it justice.
Marlene King - Travels

And the Australian Patchwork & Quilting Challenge quilts were also being displayed. Some of my faves:
Erika Krieg - A Snapshot from My Heart

Robina Wickerson - Flanders Poppies

Poppies close-up

And, finally, here'sEB quilting buddy Leah's quilt - it's massive! Well done Leah!
Leah Clark-Vial - Country Dresden Garden

I'm hoping to enter my first quilt for competition next year, but with all I've got on my plate these days, I'm not committing to anything! That's one of the good things about quilting - there's really no rush except our self-imposed deadlines!

7 comments:

Helen said...

What a huge day Lily!!!! Lucky you! The quilts on display look amazing and how cool seeing two of yours up there? Ohhh to the quilting on the Bernina 440. I think that is the one Ad has, its a dream to stipple on.

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

I've never seen quilts like that before - not blankets by any stretch of the imagination, they're art; pure and simple. I'm impressed!

Emma said...

Some fantastic quilts there, and what a great opportunity to quilt alongside some quilting legends!

Sandy's Quilter's Block said...

Gorgeous quilts! Thanks for sharing them. I am loving the best of show quilt. Wonderful stitching on it. You should enter a quilt, it's a great experience! I
had no expectations when I entered my first quilt, but it won the best design award. I am so proud of that quilt even now after nearly 10 years.

dutchcomfort said...

That’s some awsome fabric art! Thanks for sharing. It’s lovely to see much talent from OZ!

The obligation to volunteer... I know all about it! We have to volunteer as quilt-angel, which means you have to gard the quilts and wear white fabric gloves and tell all visitors to stay away from the quilts!

Monika said...

Thanks for showing us the Quilt Show. I too am a fan of Helen Godden BUT I am now a fan of Diane Firth. WOW! What an amazing artist.
You looked quite comfortable sitting at the machine! Well done!

Magia da Inês said...

♥ Olá, amiga!
Passei para uma visitinha... amei!
Está tudo muito lindo, criativo e de bom gosto.
Bom fim de semana!
Tudo de bom!!!♥
Beijinhos.
Itabira♥♥
♥♥Brasil