Rejection and rejoicing

I haven't shown you this quilt yet - it is called Monstera deliciosa and was inspired by this photo. I made it for Ozquilt Network's Australia Wide Two exhibition, but it was rejected.
A few days after that rejection I heard that the literature review I have written as the first part of my PhD thesis was rejected by the journal I had sent it too. That was a very sad day! I really felt like a total failure and thought I could better stop doing both things - art quilting and the PhD.

Now, a few days later, I am able to look at it more objectively and think, so what? They didn't like my quilt - well, I do, it is hanging in my sewing room now and I enjoy looking at it. I will send my review to another journal and I'm sure that eventually it will get published.



And then today I had some very good news - my Balance quilt has been sold in the SAQA Benefit Auction! And not even on the last day!!! I can't believe it, I was so sure I would get it back, unsold, after a month!

This was just what I needed to restore my confidence. It also tells me that I should continue with my screen printed images, I think the gymnast quilts are my best work so far. After our holidays (we leave tomorrow for a week's holiday in Noosa) I am going to finish the screen printed bicycle quilt that has been waiting for me far too long!

I have finished the Doors quilt; a sneak peek can be found on the AQATW blog. All our doors will be revealed on September 30th, so stay tuned!

I will be back on this blog in one week. Have a great time!

MadeIt and Craftumi

I don't just sell things on MadeIt, I also love to buy things there! My absolute favourite MadeIt shop is Found n Bound - they sell journals made of old books. I bought this Everest journal a while ago and have just bought another journal for a friend's birthday (can't show it here yet!). You can find them on Etsy as well - just go here.



There's a lot of jewellery on MadeIt and so far I have managed to buy 'only' 3 pairs of earrings and one ring!

The people behind MadeIt have recently created another website: Craftumi, where you can buy craft supplies. I have just ordered some chalk cloth there, for my chalk cloth placemats have almost sold out! You can find new supplies and used equipment from crafters as well as commercial wholesalers.

On a quilting note: I have almost finished my Doors quilt. In the end it turned out to be a nice little quilt that I am very happy with. It will be revealed on the AQATW blog on September 30th!

Bunting

Today we celebrated Robbie's and my birthday in our local park (he turned four last Wednesday). I made a chalk and oil cloth bunting using the last bits of the Dutch oil cloth. (actually there are 3 separate buntings)



These buntings (strange word!) are definitely not for sale but this chalk cloth and polka dot oilcloth one is, in my MadeIt store. I love that you can erase the message and write something else for the next party! (or garage sale, or whatever)



This is all the sewing I have done in the last week. I am a little quilt-tired... or rather, tired in general, and looking forward very much to our holiday in Noosa one week from today. I intend to do a lot of reading and playing with my new camera! After the holiday I hope to start on a new quilting project with new energy. Unfortunately I have to finish the Doors quilt for Art Quilts Around the World before we leave... I have made a start but I am so not inspired, even though it is my own theme...

Thermofax screen, postcards and ATCs

After our very busy weekend I finally found time to do some screen printing - yes, more gymnasts! Sally in Hobart, Tasmania, made this thermofax screen for me (thanks again, Sally!):



She has set up a Thermofax Shop and will burn your images for you. I am sure I will make use of her services again!



In the last week I have received four cards from the Dutch Fibermailers. This gorgeous Mother and Child card is from Hannie.

And here are three birthday cards, from Ellen, Evelyn and Olga:



And an ATC from Janet in Canada - her very first one! I think it turned out great:



Here are my ATCs that are still available for swapping (the top ones are made with silk paper, the bottom ones with a thermofax screen):

Weekend

We had a very busy weekend. Yesterday was the Creative Arts Spectacular Gala Night. It was a lovely evening, I wore very high heels for the first time in years and had so much fun! My quilt looked very good among the other artworks (or so I thought and quite a few people told me so) and was sold for a nice sum, so I was very happy. It was the only textile art piece, all the others were paintings, so maybe I have introduced the concept of textile art to some people...



This morning my oldest son, Hugo, had a gymnastics carnival. Which is why I got my birthday present a bit early - a Nikon D3000 DSLR (digital single lens reflex camera)!!!!! I had a lot of fun playing with it at the carnival and afterwards at the Creative Arts Family Fun Day.
(There's another pic on my photo blog and more to come on our family blog)

Zebras

My two oldest boys had Letterland Day today at school and both wanted to dress up as ZigZag Zebra. So I made them some pants and t-shirts with the zebra fabric that I have had for years (I made some ATCs with this fabric in 2008). They loved them ;-).

Not much quilting done this week, except the sleeve on the Op Art Quilt which will be auctioned tomorrow at the Creative Arts Spectacular Gala Night. Brrr... scary!
Here it is in my sewing room - if it doesn't sell I'll be happy to take it back and hang it there!

The rest of the alphabet

Yesterday I designed the last five calligrams for my Calligrammar Collection on Spoonflower.
You may remember that my aim is to make an Alphabet Calligram Quilt for Robbie (it won't be for his 4th birthday though - that is 9 days from today...).



The missing letter were, predictably, Q, U, V, X and Y. I tried a Xylophone Calligram but it didn't work so just made an X-shape using words that have an x in them.
The quilt calligram looks very good in repeat!
I ordered samples of all my new designs - they will be available for sale on the Spoonflower site soon. Apart from the calligrams I also made a Spider Web design and an Alphabet design:



My calligram fabrics turn out to be quite popular - people who bought some have told me they will use them for cushions and quilts, to applique on t-shirts and to make framed art pieces for a nursery. Isn't that lovely!

Remember, if you would like one of my calligram fabrics in a different colour or would like me to design a calligram of another animal or object, just send me a message and I'd be more than happy to help!

Postcards, cards cases and tie-dyed shirts

I have received my first birthday card from the Dutch Fibermail group, from Hannie. Isn't it gorgeous? I can't wait for the other 18 (!!) cards to arrive!



I made this card for the current swap - the theme is Mother and Child. The image I used is the International Breastfeeding Symbol, designed by Matt Daigle. (I was a volunteer breastfeeding counselor in the Netherlands before we moved to Australia, so this is a subject close to my heart)
The card was made in reverse applique, and I used the cut-out piece to make another card, which is now for sale in my MadeIt shop. A nice gift for a new mum!



Also for sale are these business card cases (you may remember I made one before, see here):



and this tie-dyed shirt (size 6) and onesie (size 0):



Of course I made shirts for my boys as well:



They love them!

Yes, I have been busy. I have an idea for a new quilt (maybe for the SAQA New Frontiers: Beyond Comfort exhibit) but am procrastinating, doing all this small stuff... Or maybe I am just letting my idea ripen... ;-)

SAQA Benefit Auction 2010

In just over two weeks, SAQA's 2010 Benefit Auction will start! This is the piece I have entered; Balance 1.

And here are three of my favourites:



Left: Nancy Ryan - Under the Oaks
Middle: Denise Oyama Miller - Autumn Pastels
Right: Susan Walen - It's A Beautiful Day
(yes, I love trees!)