Quiltfest Gallery - part 1

Due to the number of pictures I want to share with you I will need to break up the tour of the gallery into sections. I hope that you will get the feel of walking around the gallery by following through these posts. So grab some refreshments and let me take you on a tour. The gallery is warm and as you walked down the corridor to the gallery you could hear a sewing machine. It's gone quiet now but maybe we can run it again later. Don't forget you can click on the images to get a bigger picture.

As you can see this is quite a large space which plays very well with my large art quilts. Over on the far wall you can see Bad Rain, the poster quilt for this years Quiltfest. It's a shame See Sound isn't lit, I guess it's too quiet at the moment.

On the greeters table you can see a stack of Quilters Desk Diarys. I think Susan still has a few for sale if you want one. It's her table cloth too. Oddly I rather like it. Not my colours but somehow it works, and I do like her quilting on it.

Next to the table is Guide Me. This quilt is really too large for the gallery so it had to go on a quilt stand rather than be mounted on the wall. That's fine as I have stands but it then leave you with the problem of people tripping over the legs of the stand. So we have a donation jar to one side (for the local hospice) and the table to the other. It worked, no one fell over and no one knocked the quilt down.

Guide Me may look like a pieced quilt but it isn't. It is one piece of black cotton sateen with the design being made in coloured threads.  The straight lines of this quilt were marked and then sewn with silver thread, but all the rest of the quilting is freehand.  This is a design I had planned to piece, well actually I still do intend to make it as a pieced quilt but it seemed a lot quicker and easier to make it as a wholecloth. I was almost right. I learned an awful lot from this quilt. I had to make 2 complete quilts and even on the second one I got to do 12 hours unquilting. I got one of the sets of green leaves in to the space for blue waves. it had only taken 12 minutes to quilt it in. I've got better at unpicking since then. I could probably undo it in 8 hours now!

To the other side of the entrance there are two pieced quilts. Despite being better known for my art quilts I love traditional patchwork. Some people seem to find this odd, but I can't see them changing my mind. A few weeks ago I was giving a talk about my quilts when it suddenly hit me that I needed to do some proper patchwork. I've got a Turning Twenty quilt on the go now which if keeping me happy. Yup, not only do I enjoy patchwork I enjoy other peoples patterns and kits. So sue me :)

The first of the pieced quilts is Ferret's Fractal Stars. This is my latest pattern, and I had hoped to be able to launch it at Quiltfest, even though I hadn't intended to hang this quilt. On hanging day we had more space to fill than I had expected to had to rummage through my bags of quilts to choose a couple of extras. This one fitted the space perfectly so got to come and play.
The coloured fabrics in this quilt are Ricky Tims hand dyes. I'd been hoarding them for a while before this idea came to me. I was really busy when the design firmed up in my head so I got one of my students to make it up for me. She was very glad I hadn't told her they were my prized fabric before she started. I can see why Ricky uses them. The patterns they make when you cut them are fantastic. I especially like the red purple one.

The coloured triangles are all quilted with freehand feathers. That seemed like a really easy option when I started, but of course in the biggest triangles I can't see the whole area in one go on the machine. One of those moments where it might have been easier to do on a domestic machine. Oh well it worked out in the end.


Next we have a another quilt I hadn't intended to hang. Susan had to talk me into it, as it really is too big for the wall. I'm glad she did. A lot of people liked it and asked many sensible questions about it.

It is the sample I made for my book Ferreting Around. Well technically it's the sample I made for the classes that became the book. I never intended to get into writing but it happened anyway. The quilt was made to keep my students happy. They asked for a group quilt that everyone could take home at the end. They wanted a lap quilt that would cover a king size bed, and that didn't need them to buy fabric in the first month (it was just after Christmas). When they asked for flying geese, celtic knots and half square triangles I got the idea for a sampler quilt. I really like sampler quilts and having done far too much research, there aren't that many sampler quilt projects out there. Also I wanted one that was designed to be quilt as you go. This one is, and the backs of some of them are stunning. Mine is a bit boring, but then it was the first so I didn't have the others for inspiration did I.

Heat is another quilt filling a tricky space. That is exactly what she was designed for though, so I guess it is appropriate. It was originally made for the gallery exhibition I had in the Dissenters Gallery in Kensal Green cemetary. That gallery was full of odd spaces as it is an old building. I needed a few long skinny pieces and as at the time most of my quilts were cool and subdued colours I thought something a bit more lively was called for. The photograph I worked from was taken by Alex Treacher, and for me fitted the bill perfectly. This dancer is full of life. The fabrics used to produce her are all commercial quilting cottons.

All my art quilts are made with applique and thread. They are not printed or painted. If you look at the larger image you should be able to see the raw edges and stitching. I don't bond most of my quilts so although they are designed as art to hang on the wall they are still soft like bed quilts. This quilts special claim to fame is being the most 3D nipple I've made so far. Someone recently suggested producing a quilt where the nipples follow you around the room. Which, being me, seems like a great idea.



When I'm not quilting, and indeed sometimes when I am, I can be found lurking at drag strips. many of my quilts have been finished in the pits at various tracks. Some even got finished driving between race tracks, what can I say, I tend to be a bit short on time.

For a while I had been thinking of doing some quilts of the cars at the track, but I couldn't decide how. I knew I didn't want to do photo realistic quilts but that doesn't really narrow things down much. Then I saw the Queens of the Stone age video for Go With the Flow.  I loved the way the colours are used in it and that settled how my burnout quilts were going to look. I think I might have to do some red landscapes too at some point.

The first car I chose to do could have been a mistake. There are a lot of rails (long skinny traditional dragsters) in racing and without their livery they all look quite similar. Fortunately (and quite by accident) I managed to pick one with just enough distinctive features that other racers could identify it as Dave Wilson.

My second car was a much safer choice. It's the very distinctive Studebaker of Andy Robinson. No chance of this being mistaken for anyone else. However those flames and the V8 badge on the nose were a pain to cut out. It was worth it, I love this quilt. I do have plans for a few more burnout quilts, including our race car Trogdor. The hard part is getting just the right angle on the photographs and getting enough details to conclusively identify the car.  I will also be starting a new set of wheelie cars. Several of the cars lift their front wheels when they launch at the start of the race, and I think that will give me lots of normally hidden detail to work with. As soon as I have some spare time (does that even exist?) I'll make a start on those. Well, that's it for now. I'll start work on the next section of the tour. Part 2

Ferret Bites

Given the success of the little quilts I made at Quiltfest we decided they needs a name. We decided on Ferret Bites. The few that were left at the end of the show are now available to buy in my web shop, here. Each piece is unique and once it's gone, it's gone.

I have decided to offer free shipping on any of the Ferret Bites, for everyone. It seemed a bit unfair to penalise those who live further away when they had the least chance of coming to the show in the first place. So just for these there is no need to ask about the shipping, it's free.

I am working on the photos of the gallery. I hope to have the first part of the walk through up tomorrow.

Quiltfest Trading day

Yes, I am doing the easiest posts first. I am not feeling too well, Susan Briscoe did try hard not to give me her cold but seems to have failed at the last minute so my brain is working worse then usual. We are lucky to have to pictures in the post as both Susan and I forgot to take any pictures on trading day. Tet nabbed my camera and saved the day.

Terri who works at the venue and has been looking after us during our stay offered us use of the screen in the lobby for the day if we could put some pictures onto a USB stick. That wasn't an offer we were going to pass on so Tet got to work and just after opening a slide show was up of the quilts in my gallery. I didn't actually manage to get to the lobby and see it, but I've heard from people who did and they seemed to like it, so ti was worth the effort. Unfortunately because I was busy on the gallery I also didn't get to meet the students from Yale Collage, the two guys in the photo. I'd have liked to have found out what sort of things they had been working on but it wasn't to be. They didn't get a chance to see the gallery during the day though I am told the did spend a lot of time watching the slide show. Maybe I should have sent some one to tell them the real thing was just in the next room :)

This next picture is of the trading hall. There were a selection of quite varied traders there. I found a few interesting things. I will be particularly interested in how the spray on glitter/sheen works. If it  sprays well and stays put it could be really useful on some of my more textured quilts. However I am not holding my breath. Glitter usually comes off on everything except what you might want it on. I would love to find out I bought the one product that doesn't but I am still a realist. Still it should be fun to play with.

Lastly, for the trading day, some pictures from the gallery. As we have discovered before turning on a longarm and starting to quilt is a very good way to summon quilters. They appear out of thin air as soon as you start quilting.  I don't mind at all, this really is the point of taking my machine on the road. I want as many people as possible to understand how the longarm quilting process works, and especially what I mean when I say all my work is free hand. Even people who are standing watching me will ask if I am following a line, have I drawn on a line, and is the machine programmed to do the pattern. I'm afraid by the end of a show the answer will usually be a question. Can you see a line? Can you see a computer and does the machine move when I am not moving it.

I really like getting requests for patterns as that is a clear way to demonstrate there is nothing set up in the machine or drawn on the cloth. This time I didn't get many requests, and a lot I did get would have taken more artistic ability than I have. One lady would have liked the Phoenix Rising quilt as an A4 sample in just quilting. To be fair, so would I, it sounds lovely. It's not something I could just draw though. Maybe I will put some outlines onto washaway before I next bring the machine out and about.

The most popular pattern for this show was feathers in the style of the centre of Greek Fossils. I guess that makes sense, but it caught me by surprise. I tried some feathered hearts (Welsh and Valentines day) and the usual sampler pieces but they weren't what people were looking for this time. I will be scanning the left over samples and putting the up fro sale on my website over the weekend.

Links for the shops

I know none of you are interested in shopping, least of all craft related shopping but for interest I've looked up the websites of the two shops I have mentioned :) Castle court quilters can be found here and Colinette yarns here. Collinette offer mail order services, which I may need even if I can't tempt you. Castle Court quilters do have a picture of the castle on their site which I forgot to photograph.

Another link I should share is the Quilt Association News. They have a report on my talk with some pictures here.

One for the knitters

After Castle Court Quilters I headed south towards Collinet (no idea if that is how you should spell it) yarns. It was quite by chance that I found out about this place. A friend of a friend of a friend mentioned it over dinner, and actually was there when I arrived. The building doesn't look at all promising from the outside and the car park was quite revoling. However as soon as you step inside it is worth the trip. The displays are stunning and spread through 3 rooms of yarns. The yarns are produced and dyed in Wales and they are magnificent. The question isn't if you will buy something just how much you will buy. I really liked the number of samples around the shop. Samples that they allowed a customer to try on to check the size before making her own. It's little thing but very helpful. The staff are very knowledgeable about their products and somehow I bought quite a lot of yarn. I did get very lucky. There wasn't much in the sale room but I found a 1kg bag of odds and ends all in black/white/grey 30 pounds, very good value. I have already started knitting up my purchases.

Castle court quilters - Oswestry

The first stop on my tourist trip was to Oswestry. I had planned on going to the morot museum in Llangollen but the weather was foul and I really just wanted to drive for a bit. It's probably just as well as I needed the time for the quilt shop. The location is lovely, they are right opposite a castle and have plenty of parking, even for a customer with a motorhome. As you can see the workshop is impressive with huge tables for people to layer up their quilts on. I wonder if the customers know what a great resource this is.

Obviously I had to buy some fabric. Mostly I bought stone effect. It's not a range I've seen before and I love it. It's also from a supplier that shops around here don't often use so I just had to buy it then right? My only chance and all that ;) The ownwer was lovely, offering not only hot drinks but food too. I wish I could have stayed longer but I had another stop to make on my way to Llanidloes.

Llanidloes - art quilts by numbers

These are a few pictures from yesterdays workshop.

Llanidloes

This will be out of sequence as there are things I still need to post, but it ois real time. All set up for this afternoons talk.

Wholecloth class

This is a bit late, things got very busy here for a while. We had a lively class in Gresford yesterday. I've just had a hard time choosing some pictures for this post. It seems hanging around the gallery gave people ideas, lots of ideas. Watching the students play with those ideas then gave me some too. I never knew people could enjoy drafing so much. I hope you like the picture, bear in mind these are in progress.

After class we went out for a meal, and discovered there are three hotels with the same name and a chinese across the road. You know that makes tracking down your friends a lot harder. Despite that it was a good night followed by an early morning and a busy day. Trading day was good, but I'll tell you about that tom,orrow. Now I want towatch a film and sleep.

Busy day at the gallery

As promised the visitor numbers have been increasing as the end of the show draws closer. I only got a chance to get a picture as we were leaving this evening. I've been very pleased with the response to the show. It seems that most visitors have found something to inspire them. I've also got a surprising amount of little quilts made and again, the different patterns and styles all seem to have found their fans.

If you would like to see the show your last chance is Sunday, which is also trading day. The show will be open 10-4, admission 2.50 and free parking. Well when I say free parking that's not entirely true. The organisers will be paying the parking for you, because a lot of visitors have been upset by the pay and display system. It does however mean less money will be donated to charity so I have mixed feelings about it.

Tonight Susan and I finally got a chance to sit, eat and chat. I made us dinner in the van, and I think she is now sold on my van. 3 course meal, very little effort and even less washing up. I love the posh bags of dinner that are so easy to heat. She had venison and juniper stew while I went for the beef stew, we both had chocolate mouse. The mouse is meant for camping but it's really yummy. I only allow myself to eat it when I am living in the van and I do look forward to it. While I was moving things around I found the toffee chocolates Ricky Tims gave me. Oh boy! I might have to go to La Veta just to get more, they are amazing. He did say they were good, but even so. Yup slumming it in the van is great.

Tiny quilts

Those of you who have seen me out and about with me machine will know I doodle as much as I can on it to show people what I do and how the machine works. In the past I just worked on a single big piece, which to be honest I would have stuffed in a cupboard until I threw it away. Fortunately my visitors showed me the error of my ways and the play pieces became art in their own right. So, this time I am making all my demo pieces about A4 (they are actually a little bigger) and cutting them out as I go. This works much better. As I thought it allows visitors to request specific designs and it means they can take it away immediately.

Quiltfest - Llangollen

Well guys time is running out. My exhibition at the International Pavilion Llangollen is drawing to a close. It will be open Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Today, talking to some of the visitors I realised it's going to be a very long time before my work is this well displayed again. It is so rare to have the very long sightlines that this venue provides. We have deliberately kept the center of the space clear so you can really step back and see the quilts from a distance. For my more traditional quilts this isn't important but for the art quilts it's wonderful. Oddly today has also been the first day when most of the visitors had seen pictures of my work before coming to the gallery. They found the quilts to be quite different in real life, that really makes the effort worthwhile. Putting on a show like this isn't easy, either as the organisers or the artist. It means a lot when the visitors appreciate the end result.

Fur, feather and scale workshop

I'd forgotten to share some pictures of Irish ladies hard at work in their class on Sunday. This workshop is a pure technique class, where students are loking to create the effect of different textures using just fabric and thread. It's a class where it is very hard to describe fabrics that are especially good. Fortunately most fabrics will work for at least one of the textures so I just need to encourage students not to worry too much. After all, whatever you take to a class you will decide someone else has better fabrics and that the 'perfect' fabric is the one you left at home. Given that will happen no matter how much you fret and stress you might as well skip that phase and just relax.

I think that will do for now. My main course should be here any moment and if the starter was anything to judge by, it will deserve my full attention.

Carrickfergus

This is the castle we went and visited yesterday. We didn't have time to go inside, but it's pretty impressive from outside. I really like the way it fit's into the rock. The castle was built by the Normans and overlooks Belfast Lock. It's a shame the weather was so muky, the views here would be great on a clear day.

Snow - in London

This is a picture of my car. I am currently still in Ireland which is definately not cold enough to have snow, but tonight I need to get back to the gallery in Llangollen. I really hope it will hold off the snow there until I get back.

Ulster folk museum

Todays talk was in the parochial hall at the Ulster Folk museum. The museum is a collection of period buildings preserved as they would have been 100 years ago. It's the sort of place I cn spend hours in, although I would rather have had better weather. I am sure it looks lovely when it isn't raining. Two of the houses were open and had their stoves lit. One of the homes had patchwork quilts on the beds. Apparently the offcuts from makeing pajamas and shirts were often used to produce bed quilts. The other quilt was from suiting, I wonder if those were also left overs from the factories. The second house was bigger and more up market. The back room downstairs was set up as a dressmakers workroom. She had the most amazing dummy to work with, it looked corsetted and bustled. I would love one.
As well as the houses there are businesses. We had lunch in the tearoom, visited the picture house and the sweet shop. Sadly most of the others were shut, but I guess that just means I need to come back in the summer. Just as well as we also visited Craftwomen fabrics. Oh my! Just as well I have limited luggage allowance or that would have been a serious shopping trip.