Update

It's been very quiet here on the blog, because I didn't really have anything to share. But last week the quarterly magazine of the Dutch Quilters' Guild arrived, and it was a nice surprise to see two of my Lone Star quilts featured in an article about traditional blocks used in modern ways.

I made some more diamonds for my Lone Star Blanket, and also started a new crochet project that I hope to share here soon!



And other than that I have been working, reading a lot (you can see the books I read in My Bookshelf in the side bar), and running of course. Together with my eldest son and a friend I did the International Women's Day Fun Run 10km in Brisbane on March 3rd:



I also ran my 50th parkrun in February (in a tutu! See pic in sidebar) and brought my 5 km PB down by 2 seconds to 31:43. It's still very hot and humid here in Queensland, so I hope to bring it down further when it finally gets a bit cooler.

I have started training for my first half marathon (21.1 km) in July and am up to 14 km now! If you had told me three years ago that I would ever run that far, I would not have believed you...

Saty tuned for more crafty stuff soon!

Mondrian's Lone Star

UPDATE: This pattern is now available in my pattern store on Etsy!



May I present my latest quilt: Mondrian's Lone Star!



I made this modern baby quilt back in February, but have waited to show it here, because it is one of the projects in issue 19 of the digital magazine Make Modern, which is available now!



I have always been a fan of the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, and last year I made a small Mondrian's Lone Star quilt (16'' x 16'') for the 10th Annual Quilt Alliance Contest (you can read more about it here).



At the time I mentioned that I would like to make a larger version, and so I did - this one is 39.5" or 1 metre square. It is strip-pieced and quilted in straight lines with white Aurifil 40wt thread, to emphasize the graphic effect.



For the binding I used a fun Mondrian-themed fabric that had been in my stash for ages, waiting for the right project:



I had to provide photos for the magazine, so took the quilt for a photo shoot to Edgecliffe Boulevard here in Collaroy Plateau, where you have a lovely view over Narrabeen Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean:



But indoors it looks good too!



Here is a close-up:



Mondrian's Lone Star is now hanging on the wall in my sewing room:



Piet Mondrian was one of the most famous members of the Dutch art movement De Stijl (The Style) and this year it's exactly 100 years ago that De Stijl was founded. In my home country the Netherlands lots of events and exhibitions are held this year to celebrate this (you can read more about it here). When we were in the Netherlands in July, we saw the red, yellow and blue everywhere - like this flag on a church tower in The Hague:



So it's very appropriate that I made this quilt this year!

Lone Star Quilt

With everything that has been happening I had forgotten all about my Lone Star Quilt being featured as a project in the current issue of Down Under Quilts. It's even made it onto the cover - although I much prefer the photo on the project page.



The quilt itself is now in storage (as is the magazine) - we won't need it in the coming weeks as it is rapidly warming up here in Brisbane, and we only brought the most essential stuff with us to this one-room apartment. Yes, the five of us live and sleep in this room! (well, four at the moment - hubby is in Europe for two weeks) At night the chair is moved aside and more mattresses come out from under the beds...



I'm glad we brought the Big Cushions I made for the boys earlier this year - they are so useful, and decorative as well! :-)



After all the stress of the last few weeks, things have begun to settle down a bit now, and I am enjoying a few quiet days until hubby comes back next week and the next challenge starts: finding a house in Sydney! I am going down to visit the Modern Quilt Show Australia which will be on in Sydney from 25 until 27 November (because one of my quilts has been selected!) and hope to look at some houses then as well. To be continued!

Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show

The Stiches and Craft Show is on here in Brisbane this week. I went yesterday and had a lovely day. The highlight for me was seeing a matter of time - it's a fabulous collection of quilts and I am thrilled to be part of it!



My Poinciana Seed Pod was at the show as well, as part of the SAQA 25th Anniversary Trunk Show.



I spend most of my time at the show at this table, minding the SAQA exhibition Food for Thought and talking to visitors about SAQA. It's a great exhibition and if you get the chance to see it I would definitely recommend doing so. It will also be on show at the AQC in Melbourne in April. (If you can't make it, you can click on the link to see all the quilts online.)



I did have time for a little bit of shopping and bought these fabrics for my middle son who loves dragons - he wanted a big cushion like I made for his brother, but with a dragon theme. I'm planning to make this in the coming week .



When I came home, the local newspaper had just been delivered - and I was in it! I was interviewed last week as a local contributor to the a matter of time exhibition. Such a flattering headline!

Messenger bag

A few months ago I made this messenger bag, using a lovely home dec fabric from Ikea  for the outside and a chevron quilting fabric for the lining.



The bag was  a project for issue 9 of Love Sewing Australia, which is now available at newsagents and online. I had planned to add the bag to my Etsy shop, but I liked it so much that it is now my everyday bag!



This is the magazine's cover - see that little superhero?



That's my youngest son Robert, modelling the superhero cape designed by Rachelle Page. He is thrilled to be in a magazine!

1000 Quilt Inspirations

This week my copy of 1000 Quilt Inspirations - Colourful and Creative Designs for Traditional, Modern and Art Quilts by Sandra Sider arrived. How exciting!



I knew Speed, my little bycicle quilt, would be in it, but was surprised to see Black & White #3 and #2 in it as well:



And Balance 2, one of my personal favourites!



As the title says, the book is full of inspiration. There are no patterns or techniques and there is very little text (just a 2-page introduction) - it's just lots and lots of images of gorgeous quilts. I spend a wonderful evening going through it slowly.

I showed the book to a few non-quilting friends and they really enjoyed looking through it. A perfect coffee table book!

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)

Good news

Yesterday I received an email telling me that my quilt Speed had been selected to appear in 1000 Quilt Inpirations by Sandra Sider, due to be published by Quarry Books in December 2015. How exciting!



This little quilt (A4 size) is getting a fair bit of limelight, for it was also featured in the American magazine Quilting Arts in 2011. It lives in Holland, as I made it for my uncle who loves cycling. I will have to get him a copy of the book!



More good news: a dear friend bought my Forest quilt and it is now hanging in her home office. That is making me very happy! :-)

Rainbow Cushion in action

Here is the Rainbow Floor Cushion in action!

Rainbow Floor Cushion

Finally I can show you what I think is one of the best items I have ever made! In November last year I was asked to make a floor cushion with piping for a new magazine, Love Sewing Australia. I had a rainbow jelly roll in my stash and decided to use that - and this is how it turned out. I'm quite proud of it as I had never made anything with piping before!



I absolutely love this cushion, and more importantly, so does everyone else! The boys adore it and immediately asked, 'You are not going to sell this one, are you?' No way! (besides, postage would be astronomical - the diameter is 90 cm / 53 inch, and it weighs A LOT)



The magazine is now on sale; you can find it in Coles stores and newsagents. There's lots of great projects inside - I love that robot softie on the cover!



UPDATE 2015: The pattern for this cushion is now available in my pattern shop on Etsy.

Dutch Baby Quilt

A while ago I was asked to make a quilt with a Dutch theme for Creative Expressions, the sister magazine of Down Under Quilts. Of course I was happy to make one! It has pinwheel blocks in the colours of the Dutch flag (red, white and blue), with one orange square for the Dutch Royal House of Orange. I used some typical Dutch 'farmers handkerchiefs' that my mother-in-law and my BFF Hylkia (the Apple Tart Queen) had sent me. (If you would like to get some you can find them here)



I especially like this one, with drawings of Friesian cities and a traditional Friesian sailing ship:



I am thrilled that this quilt was chosen to be on the cover of the magazine!



UPDATE 2016: The pattern for this quilt is now for sale in my Etsy pattern store.

Quilting magazines from around the world

One of the things I really like to do in another country is buy a quilting magazine! In the Netherlands I bought this one, Quilt & zo (Quilt etcetera), which had a lovely quilt made by my friend Petra on the cover and an article about Dijanne Cevaal inside! It has a mix of traditional and contemporary/art quilting articles.



In Switzerland I bought this German magazine (couldn't find any Swiss ones), Patchwork Professional, which claims to be for professionals and advanced quilters.



And indeed, it didn't have any articles about quilts to make, but technique articles and lots of profiles of professional quilters; among them Maria Elkins and Paula Chung, but also about this German artist:



... and about Russian artist Tanja Rottger - nice to read about people from outside the English-speaking world. No traditional quilts to be found in here. Just the sort of magazine I love!



And then we came home and I found my favourite Australian magazine in our mailbox. It's always fun to see your own article in print:



Robbie was thrilled to see himself in a magazine! ;-) (his brothers were a little jealous..) I was thrilled to see so many of my quilts in a magazine!



Which magazine is your favourite?