Fly Away

May I present my most recent art quilt: Fly Away!

Inspired by a photo of my eldest son Hugo (11), taken at the Australian Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne in May 2014 by one of the talented photographers of WinkiPop Media, who kindly gave me permission to use it as the starting point for this quilt (see the original photo here - scroll down a bit)



This is the largest art quilt I have made so far - it measures 95 x 131cm (37 x 51.5 inch). I am proud to say that the quilt was selected as a finalist in the Fiber Arts 2014 exhibit at the Infinity Art Gallery. It will be exhibited at the Queensland Quilt Show in Brisbane from 8-12 October 2014.



As you can see it it is quilted very densely, which was quite a struggle on my small machine! In another blog posting I will show a bit more about 'the making of'' this quilt.



Here is Hugo with his quilt:



And here is his rings routine at the National Championships, where the photo was taken. His score here was 9.033 - a month later at the State Club Championships he scored 10.55 points on this apparatus!



So proud of my boy :-)

A new look and a giveaway

Down Under Quilts issue 166 is on sale at newsagents throughout Australia today! It will be available at Coles supermarkets next week, and you can also order it online (digital or hard copy).
This is our spring issue and it has a fresh new look. To celebrate I have one copy to give away - for your chance to win it just leave a comment here and tell me what you love to see in a quilting magazine. (Australian readers only - sorry international readers!)



My project in this issue is this Stripy Chevrons baby quilt, made with upcycled men's shirts (you may remember I showed some sneak peeks here and here). There are also some gorgeous projects designed by Andi Herman (aka PatchAndi), Anorina Morris and Molli Sparkles, and on their blogs you can also win a copy of the magazine.



Speaking of new looks... I also have one! I decided to go for the short bob again, just in time for my birthday. Today I turned 45, but we celebrated it yesterday, because hubby had to go to Perth:



I am really spoilt, with lots of chocolate, and this gorgeous bag from BagyBags on Etsy (yes, I like chevrons!).



My mother-in-law gave me money to choose something for myself, so I am going to have a lovely time browsing on Etsy. I am thinking ceramics or jewellery (or a combination!). I gave myself Edge of Eternity, part three of the Century trilogy by Ken Follett which has just been published. Looking forward to delving into it!

I have mixed feelings about this birthday. I don't mind getting older (quite the contrary), but I am now older than my mother ever was - she died at 44, when I was 17 - and that is a really strange idea. I guess I'll get used to it...

Cadet Cap

You may remember the Reversible Bucket Hat I made last month for the Sew-long Summer sew-along organised by Betz White. Well, I posted a picture on the Betz White Sewing Pattern Forum on Faceboook and won three Betz White sewing patterns!
One of the patterns I chose was the Cadet Cap and yesterday I made one. I used fabric from a skirt that I bought years ago at the op shop (mainly because of the fabric):



The lining is some soft denim from a pair of pants that do not fit anymore :-(
Here I am wearing the cap. I really like it!



The other patterns I chose are the Alice Book Bag and the Midtown Messenger Bag. I hope to make one of them using the vintage Dutch post bag that my BFF gave me the last time we visited the Netherlands...

Felted Trivet article

My article about making trivets and coasters from felted sweater/jumpers is in issue 16 of Down Under Textiles, which is on sale now. I show how to make the baby blocks trivet and there is a small gallery with my other pieces.



This is a great issue of Textiles - it also has articles about making paper vessels, sun printing and stitching on metal, as well as artist profiles, exhibitions and lots more. You can order a digital copy of the magazine here.




A few of my felted trivets are for sale at the Reverse Garbage giftshop at the moment. They were part of Handmade Harvest which opened a few weeks ago. Sadly I missed the opening night, but here is a photo from the RG Facebook page. I spy a felted trivet hanging on the wall! (under the X)