Stitching

I have been stitching on my circles travellers blanket- the weather has been right ,cold wet and miserable, so what better to work on and keep you warm at the same time? I want to finish this blanket- it has been on the go since last year and I feel I need to finish it before I can start on my  French inspired travellers blanket. I tend to not have too many projects on the go at one time, though I need to seriously get working and creating.

I like how the little silk sari circles  change shape as you stitch- initially I as fussing about trying to make them perfectly circular- but who said that they needed to be? So i just sewed whatever shape they decided to be - maybe it's the  former wearer influencing the shape- who knows- it's quirky and i do like the irregular shapes as they do blend in better with the tie dyed shapes at the top. At the moment I am trying to sew all the circles on and then I will embroider them with simple stitches.

Can anyone see a sort of portrait on the background fabric? It's almost like an old negative.

So I will be starting another Travellers Blanket on- line class starting July 1. If you are interested in joining please email me. The cost is $60 and the course consists of three lessons, delivered as pdf files and a discussion group so that  you can share your stories and get feedback .The idea is that you  create a kind of story with fabrics and stitches- it is surprising what stories people have told with their blankets- some have been very personal, using such things as fabrics that belonged to family, others have  told stories of  morning walks along the beach and others have recorded things from the past. The background cloth I have used  is hand dyed khadi cloth ( which is a hand spun and woven fabric ), which is also available for sale if you are interested.

Nothing Productive This Week

Got home very late last Sunday night after a couple of days in France with my friend Christine Moulin. I went to Paris for the day on Thursday and visited the Musee du Monde Arabe which did not have their interesting shutter system working - as the sunlight moves, so do the shutters creating interesting light and sound. I wondered around the Mouffetard Quartier and found some interesting graffiti and wanderers and a very decent meal and glass of wine.

On the Friday we went to visit Vaux-le-Vicomte - a chateau I had read about after reading about the gardens created  by Andre Le Notre which included sections of the Jardin des Tuileries, and his life's work at Versailles. It was after seeing the garden ( and festivities) at Vaux created for the finance minister Fouquet by Le Notre that Louis XIV, in a jealous fit, had the minister imprisoned (Fouquet just narrowly escaped execution and there were other reasons for the vexation not least of which was Colbert's influence over the king, however the display of splendour of Vaux irritated Louis XIV to a great extent) As a consequence Louis XIV embarked on the extravagance of Versailles (and its gardens which were designed by Andre le Notre)- and centered his court at Versailles so that  he could keep a close eye on all his nobles. However it is Vaux which is considered the most beautiful and  perfect of formal gardens and which served as a model for many other formal gardens. One of the brilliant things of this garden is a square pool about 600 metres from the chateau- in which on a still day lies a perfect mirror image of the chateau- a feat or perspective still much admired in this day and age.I did get a bit of a mirror image but unfortunately the cupola was being restored so there was also the shroud of scaffolding mirrored.

Images from Paris and Vaux- click on the photo for a larger image

I have done little work this week- though intend to work on work inspired by France- i will be creating a book of work/images/stories/how to's of the work. But there were things to catch up on and then my father was hospitalised- and he is nearly 80 so  heart problems do have to be taken seriously. It was also the Geelong Quilters Annual Quilt-in- so preparation and attendance for that- I had meant to blog about it but life got in the way!

I will be starting another on-line Travellers Blanket Class- starting 1 July 2012. The cost will be $60AUS and simply email me for details or leave a message and I shall get back to you.I will be creating my french travellers blanket with some silk I bought in Lyon at the Maison de Canuts with the specific intent to create a French travellers blanket.Please join me!

Open European Quilt Championships

I spent the last four days at the Open European Quilt Championships where I was demonstrating along with several other well known Dutch ( Els van Baarle and Cherilyn Martin, French  ( Pascale Brebonne)and English  ( Emma Wood )designers/ artists. Emma is an emerging designer making  designs for teatowels and stationary and will be releasing her new collection on her website in a months time. There were many excellent quilts int he competition and many interesting guest collections- unfortunately I did not take photos- I don't like taking photos at quilt shows because it never shows the work as it really is, and as it should be seen.

 I demonstrated some printing and also finished one  sentinelle panel i started before my trip and finished another at about 5 minutes to five on Sunday afternoon- which are for sale for 120 Euros if you are interested.Just email me

 The last two images are of some of the patterning on the outer doors of Chartres Cathedral- that stone can almost seem like textile is always a surprise to me!

Tour Finished- Reflections

Well the tour of France is finished- we saw a lot despite the weather- rain and wind!I hope people had a lovely time....
So some  reflections from the last 4-5 days.......

Roses in the window of the loveliest rose shop, just behind our hotel in Paris.

Black tulips in Monet's garden in Giverny.

 Just the loveliest view through one of the windows of the ruined Jumiege Abbey.

 Perfect little cakes in a shop window in Rouen.

 Looking seawards from le Mont Saint Michel.

 Copper pots at Chenonceau Castle- I loved seeing the kitchens in the castle! And I loved the little maze/labyrinth in the gardens- but I did not photograph it so it shall remain my secret!

Silk embroidery in the hallway of Blois Castle- it was very large.

From France

It's hard to believe we have already been here for 10 days.... it's been a hectic time, seen lots of things and enjoyed many museums and French food and lots of walking.Despite the weather- very cold and wet, we have managed to enjoy some of the wonderful things that can only be experienced in France. So here is some of it in photos for you...

Only in France could a little dog wait with such excitement in a cheese shop for his master to emerge!

 Wall stencil near Rue de Mouffetard- this stencil is quite sophisticated and who is taking photos of whom?

 Chandelier in Fontainbleu- how amazing and really quite beautiful.

And yes the Louvre today- and yes hundred of tourists in the Renaissance  rooms to see La Giaconda- and yet, Botticelli frescos rushed past- how gorgeous is this and how lucky to be in the presence of such brilliance, I don't know but I like to think of it as a little magic!

Deep Blue Sentinelle and Out the Door!

Ha I have a Certificate III in Micro Business- it was a bit of a slog in the end- the business plan was over 22 pages long-  and I already think some of it needs re writing, simply because I have thought of some other things.

I have also been sewing  like a fury- one last sentinelle with this stencil- other  new sentinelles will be different, and they are moving on in the world. So here she is - there is still stitching to do in the badge areas but I like her face:

Just about to head out to the airport and arrive in Paris tomorrow and then we are off to Beaujolais and Lyon! Will have a glass of champers at the airport that's for sure- it's been hard work and there is all sorts of administrative things undone which i can't do anything about because things haven't arrived in time.

That was a few days ago,and I hit the save button not the publish button! Now at Quilt Expo en Beaujolais- some wonderful work on display- which i shall share in another post later this week. And it's great to be in france- catch up with friends- still haven't quite finished to blue sentinelle despite best intentions- but she is growing!

Five Sleeps until France!

As always thank you for your comments! And your thumbs up for my blog! I have been trying to finish work for exhibition at Quilt Expo en Beaujolais as it had to be in the post earlier this week and also finishing of the business plan and financial details...crossing all the t's and dotting i's- it all takes such a long time. But First of all back to Alice Springs. We went to a number of galleries whilst in Alice- all of indigenous art which is of course a great tourist attraction for the town- and there are many different indigenous nations( I say nations because their language is different and their creation stories and their regions) represented by art centres and galleries.

One gallery we visited Talapi Art Centre was in the process of  mounting a new exhibition and allowed me to take photos of exhibition views. There was some wonderful work on display as you can see from the photos.

My favourite artist was Nirvingka Lewis- see photo below- her work was a little different than the more usual dot and stylised motif  paintings- she had actually burnt on the marine ply panelling and then added painting- the motifs were also of everyday life and had a lovely naive charm- I wished my budget would allow me to have bought one- maybe another time.........

 I also wanted to mention my hostesses again- simply because they have the lovely annex cottage available for quilt retreats or quilters visits to Alice Springs at a very reasonable nightly rate. So if you are at all interested you can contact me and I shall send you Barbara's email details so she can provide further information. I have to say that Barbara and her sister Nancy  are incredibly creative and they are  incredibly productive and inventive:

 Nancy is a ceramicists and these meerkats were just so charming ( one came home with me)- ceramics and quilting is not the only thing Barbara and Nancy do- they paint their own wool to knit all sorts of fabulous things and  socks and  slippers that are felted, they felt and Barbara makes beads- their house and studio was a treasure trove of creativity- very inspiring and most certainly anti-minimalist- it made me realise that all these bare and minimal homes give you no idea of what the people are like- not so with Barbara and  Nancy every nook and corner  revealed yet another creative pursuit- a rich and varied life and production and incredibly kind hostesses.Thank you Barbara and Nancy for a wonderful week in Alice Springs!

  Barbara with a challenge quilt she made which had to incorporate the nine patch block and yellow under the tree that inspired the quilt.

Nancy was making these budgerigars for a bird exhibition later this year ( Australian native bird) which were first knitted then the knitted wool is painted and then they are felted- they were just  wonderful and I am not sure how many Nancy was making but as these birds fly in quite large flocks I think a flock may have been the plan!

And Nancy with her  budgies.

And then last but not least- I have  quadrupled my  quilt output this last month- until the beginning of March it stood at one  quilt for the Beneath the Southern Skies exhibit ( though I did start the full time NEIS course in that time and that impacted on available time, and I did make some small stitched pieces) but I wanted my sentintelles to have maximum impact in Beaujolais ( I am still working on one more which I will take with me - a lady of the deep blue southern skies I think) 

So here is the finished blue sentinelles:

 And red sentinelles......

 And a lace sentinelle- it is the  stencil i used to paint all the other sentinelles- too pretty not to use and allowed me to create a lace like piece- which did not want to hang completely straight- but then the  folds and irregularity actually added to the piece- I am nit sure what a quilt crowd will think of her....

All of my work is for sale ( including the other sentinelles except for the Red Earth Sentinelle)- email me to inquire as to price etc.I also have available lots of the small printed panels- they are $15 each including postage- just name your colour- as I will spend the next 3-4 days doing a lot of printing.