Van Toeka tot Nou...

I was invited to contribute to a new South African book, Laslap en Kwilt - Inspirasie uit die Verlede, translated Patchwork and Quilt - Inspiration from the Past.    The book was published this year (2013) by LAPA Publishers in South Africa but unfortunately it is only available in Afrikaans .   Hopefully it will be translated and available in English soon...      The book was a joint venture of the South African Quilters' Guild and LAPA Publishers.    I obtained permission form the South African Quilters' Guild President, Elsa Brits to write about my contribution as the quilts made by each quilt artist, are now the property of the SAQG and LAPA who holds copyright.

Laslap en Kwilt - Inspirasie uit die Verlede by LAPA Publishers

SAQG President Elsa Brits feels that if you don't know where you are coming from, you'll never know where you're going.     I can endorse that....    The idea for the book was to choose 15 heritage quilts from museums and in private collections around South Africa and to challenge 45 South African quilt artists to produce their interpretation of the specific heritage quilt in their personal brief.   Each of these quilts had to be portrayed in a traditional, innovative and freestyle way.    The finished size of the quilts had to be 30cm x 30cm (12" x 12")...   One always think that it is so easy to make a small scale project, but oh dear, what a challenge...

The heritage quilt - my brief!

Above is the heritage quilt allocated to me, I tried to find more information about the quilt, but at the time I could not get access to the records.  So I actually do not know the history of this quilt...   My brief was to do a freestyle interpretation of this quilt and I focused on the colours, block design and medallion style of this quilt.   

My first impression when I opened the picture, was oh no - not at all exciting....!    Mostly green and yellow which is not my favourite colour combination.   I noticed the dark green velvet (I think) border embellished with embroidered or lace motifs, log cabin blocks, the strippy square within a square (I haven't done traditional patchwork for such a long time and forgive me if I name this block incorrectly) and the diagonal strippy blocks of the centre.   I also noticed the squares on the corners of the border and remembered that I had a similar piece of fabric somewhere in the cupboard....   I decided to work with these elements.   The important thing however was to remember that I had to do a freestyle interpretation....!

As a pattern was also requested in the brief, I drew the block on scale and decided to use the strippy elements of the centre blocks as background, but using it in a horizontal line with colours ranging from yellow to cream  to beige.   I fused the strips to a base fabric, raw edges butted and secured the raw edges along the length of the strips with feather stitch.   I also fused strips which would form borders on the sides and top edge of the quilt around the strippy centre section - a patterned green as inside border surrounded by a wider plain dark green leaving the bottom section without a green border for a freestyle effect.   I used the piece of fabric which I thought similar to the corner blocks of the original quilt, as corner blocks at the top for the quilt.    So far, it seemed rather easy....

I tried various ways of doing the log cabin and square within a square blocks and nothing seemed to work as my interpretations were all too traditional...  The scale of the project was also rather limiting...  In desperation, my eye caught the candle and I decided to seal the edges of strips of taffeta, satin, lining etc by burning it to give it more of a freestyle feel.   This seemed to do the trick!   I chose colours from the quilt for these blocks.    I fused background squares for each block positioning it in a random way to give the idea of the blocks floating on the background.   I handstitched the strips down with big stitches in a log cabin pattern and the square within a square design onto the floating fused squares.

Freestyle interpretation of a Log Cabin Block

As I burnt the edges of the strips for the blocks, I needed to repeat the method in the border - this technique creates texture and it is important to balance it throughout the project.   I burnt the edges of strips of chiffon and tulle and stitched it to the outer border and added a few beads and sequins to make it interesting as it catches some light as the dark green was rather dull and lifeless.   I used a green decorative cord to seal the edges around the border sections and sealed the outer edge with a double row of satin stitch as a  freestyle technique instead of a traditional binding.

Van Toeka tot Nou 2012

This was an amazing project and an honour to be part of the recorded history of quilting in South Africa....   It was such a thrill to receive a complimentary copy of the book from the publishers and find my mug shot on page 99....!

Diversity

We had our annual Spring Show at the Dias Quilters' Guild last week where I also taught a workshop, so life stays busy....

Two years ago, my friend Yolande Bowman of the Pied Piper quilt shop and I sat at the Spring Show and "cooked up" an invitational creative challenge for the 2012 Spring Show.    We identified 12 quilters (including the two of us) to participate and were thrilled that everybody accepted the challenge.   It added a wonderful dimension to our annual quilt exhibition which sparked interest for a similar challenge for this year...

The 2013 challenge was to make a piece in the format of a diptych within prescribed size restrictions.    We received 17 entries which was on display as a satellite exhibition of the 2013 Spring Show.   It really was WOW!

Currently I am intrigued with fusing squares as backgrounds - I find it a wonderful foundation to complement basically any kind of design.    Personally I have rediscovered the beauty and peacefulness of neutral shades, also in my home decor.   Maybe a new phase of inner peace...?    Any way, I bought so much fabric to have a good selection of neutrals when I made the Willa quilt.   I still have quite a stash and at the moment, I just love the effect....!

Having made two major quilts this year already, I did not have lots of time to work on the diptych challenge and it had to wait for after Festival 2013.    I had a completely different idea for this challenge, but when I started work on the other idea, I realized that it will be a major project for which I did not have enough time as Willem and I also had a holiday planned.    So, my original idea was shelved and I had to make another plan.   I offered the piece to my daughter Elizabeth who was excited to get something from her mom!    That made it so much easier for me as she chose the colour scheme, size etc and I could start work, almost the same as being commissioned.

Traditionally a diptych is two panels attached with hinges like a book.   I thought that I would make fabric hinges to hold the two panels together, also to be able to hide a sleeve at the top back to hang the piece from.   I pinned the the two panels to my design wall with an asymmetrical triangle across the top which would be one hinge, but my friend Brenda wanted to know why I would spoil the effect by doing that....?     It made me think!   Somehow Brenda's remark uncluttered my process and put me on the right track.   I drew circles and generally just played a bit with colour adding some silks for that rich lustre.     Every piece of fabric was fused and stitched using the raw edge applique method.   I stitched extra detail onto certain sections and also couched decorative threads at others.    In the end, it took me about a week to make this piece which is quite unusual for me!

Diversity 2013

Some detail of the stitching on one of the circles and background

Diversity - Detail of the 2 hinges

The diptych is attached by the two circular motifs which was made separately and stitched onto the quilt after the two panels were completed.    I satin stitched around the outer edges of these two circles to secure the edges which also gave it a neat finish.   Personally I thought the mood of the quilt is understated and the more I looked at it, I realized that true beauty often lies in the simple things in life...  

I was so pleased with this piece and Elizabeth could not wait for the exhibition to finish so that she could take Diversity home....!    I also had the honour that the Dias Quilters's Guild Committee used this quilt to make a poster advertising the 2013 Quilt Show! 

Glow Part 3

I'm back safe and sound after a lovely two week holiday touring up the West Coast seeing beautiful flowers in Namaqualand and visiting areas in the Northern Cape for the first time.   What a diverse and beautiful country we live in....

Well, back to Glow.   At the stage where I stopped my story last time, I had beaded the tiles on the sides, the top strip as well as the semi rounded section at the top of the quilt...    Such diverse elements each on its own - I had to find a way to create unity between this lot otherwise all the hard work would have been in vain...

My initial idea was to make fabric beads to hang at the bottom as a fringe, also to hang a combination of fabric beads and patterned circles  from the side panel tiles....     I however realized that I had to complete embellishing the centre panel first as that would dictate the embellishment and mood of the rest of the quilt.   As I only used Lutradur in the top section of the quilt, I needed to repeat it in some other place.   I had prepared a round piece of Lutradur when I iniatially prepared the pieces - it was so delicate and lacy and perfect in the end.    I also felt that I needed to use the reddish purple centre panel as a backdrop for another element...     I prepared a square piece of light purple silk and stitched the round piece of Lutradur to it and embellished it in the same way as the top section.   Repeating the colours and techniques with these two sections created the desired unity.   This square placed on point was hung from the top section with 5 beaded cords running through the piece and lying loose on the reddish purple background of the centre panel.

Glow - embellished Lutradur section hanging from the top section lying loose on the centre panel.

I also prepared two round cut out patterns in different sizes and finished it off similar to the tiles on the side panels and hung it from 3 beaded cords from the square on point.    The colours, embellishing etc did the trick and pulled most of the elements together.   I made various fabric beads and hung it at the bottom of the centre panel, combining the fabric beads with wooden, metal and biggish glass beads.

Glow - Embellished centre panel.

At this stage I felt happy that the top section was not in isolation any more as I managed to repeat some of the materials and techniques in the hanging elements over the centre panel which also softened the strong colour of the centre panel.   The fabric beads at the bottom also balanced the heavy texture at the top of the centre section of the quilt.

Another element which needed to be repeated somewhere was the very structured fabric beads which I placed around the curve on the top section.

Fabric beads around curve of top panel, gold thread wrapped around beads...

I made fabric beads similar to the green ones at the top of the quilt to hang  at the bottom of all the hanging elements - all capped with a brass spacer.   I had this grandiose idea of making all these round shapes to hang from the side tiles with fabric beads and quickly realized something....    I would spoil the quilt by overdoing the hanging elements and I had to stop before the quilt looked like a badly decorated Christmas tree....  At that stage I had stitched various round motifs and already beaded it, ready to be added to the quilt...   Instead, I made inchies and twinchies using silk fabric in the same shades as the small squares of the centre panel and hung it from the tiles, finishing it off with one of the bullet like fabric bead.    Choosing these shades complemented the colour of the centre panel and brought it all together.   I did however add two round and 2 square motifs to the hanging elements on the side tiles as the shapes balanced those of the hanging section of the centre panel.     I placed the square pieces on point to complement the bigger on point square of the centre panel.  

One of the hanging sections on the side panels with a similar bead at the bottom to the beads on the edge of the top section.

It was only after reaching this point in the process of making this quilt that I realized that it worked and that in fact I had a quilt....    The journey was intense, challenging and interesting - yet very satisfying....  I chose difficult elements to combine in this quilt and had to create balance with repeating colours, techniques and the different design elements.

Glow 2013

I was fortunate to win 1st Prize, Freestyle Masters at the 2013 National Quilt Festival in Bloemfontein with this quilt....    

  

Glow Continued...

I always find it extremely difficult to name my quilts...   It somehow was much easier to name our children. Elizabeth was named after my mom and Jopie after Willem's dad!   Easy, we did not even have to think (or disagree) about it...

But it is so different with my quilts as the title somehow has to reflect the core of the quilt...   When I had to complete the entry form for the National Quilt Festival for this quilt, I was almost at panic stations as I could not think of anything apt...   Then one day as I was looking at the quilt in progress on the design wall, it came to me that it was such deep, rich jewel colours...   Immediately the image of the Kristall Gallerie in  Swakopmund which we visited last year while on holiday in Namibia, came to my mind...   It was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited - all the glittering crystals on display...   So, I thought GLOW might be a good title for this quilt and after a few days, it felt right.   Short and sweet!

Last time I told you how I battled to create harmony between the different elements of Glow.   I prepared the top middle section in a much paler shade to complement the lighter purples of the tiles at the bottom of the side panels.   By doing that, I balanced the colours...    The next challenge was to incorporate the painted and heat treated Lutradur pieces in this section.   I reshaped it to fit the space and stitched it down into position with the machine.   My  main objective was to create lots of texture to this section as it would form the focal point of the quilt.   I needle punched lilac handspun merino wool along the inside of the border which I fused around the edge.   I stitched burnt pieces of organza and tulle to the Lutradur section to create texture.    Couching of recycled silk yarns and adding hand made fabric beads created more texture.   I added a mixture of metal, glass and wooden beads as well as sequins to fill spaces.    Burning of the Lutradur caused open spaces through which the background fabric was visible.    These spaces were filled with hand embroidery stitches - seed, fly, cross, French knots and running stitches.    The spaces between the needle punched wool were filled with various beads in similar shades to the wool.    

Glow - Embellished Lutradur section

The next step was to make long beads which I placed around the border section - I used similar fabrics to those used for the tiles.    I decided to wrap old gold embroidery thread around the beads to make it more interesting - it was quite difficult as I had to use pliers to get the needle through all the layers....    I machine quilted the border section, but somehow it did not look right....    After a good sleep, I realized I could use the same embroidery stitches which I used to fill the spaces on the Lutradur section and it somehow did the trick.    I sealed the raw edge around the curve with cord made from string - 10 metres in total made for this quilt.   This top section was quilted separately and attached to the quilt after the main body of the quilt was quilted!

Glow - Embellishing completed with fabric beads sewn into position

The next step was to bead all the tiles.   As the top section was heavily embellished, I had to create texture to the side panels of the quilt to once more create balance.    A combination of wooden, metal and glass beads were used for the 14 tiles.    As I scrutinized the work in progress one day, it came to me that the beading on the tiles looked like brooches....   I was very happy as it reflected the title of the quilt...   I was very happy with the effect of the beading as I felt it had to be very subtle - at a distance the beading only ha a hint of a shimmer, almost receding into the space.   Exactly the mood I was trying to create...

Detail of beading on some of the tiles...

Creating Glow was really a challenge and it took me on a wonderful road of discovery as I had to delve very deep...    Next time I'll share how all the different elements came together....

Glow

These past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about the creative process as I'm working through some administrative stuff with others.   Ideas for certain quilts are relatively easy to apply and execute, but other concepts can be such a complex journey as it continually develops...    One goes along within the process, waiting for inspiration for the next step - nothing can rush it....!    Patience is one of the most important qualities needed ...

I will share my journey making Glow with some images so that you can understand how I managed to combine such varied elements.....

More than 3 years ago, our little art quilt group Transitions experimented with painting fabric on gelatin moulds and some time after with paper folding and cutting techniques.    It was great fun and opened various creative possibilities....

In September 2011, I started cutting patterns from 10cm x 10cm  folded pieces of paper.    Some looked good, others awful - I had no idea what I would do with it!    I also kept the pieces of fabric which I painted on the gelatin moulds for something special and thought I could maybe use it for this paper cut patterns - it was all greens and purples, so I had a colour scheme....     At this stage it was only a concept, making a quilt from this was only a distant thought...     Eventually I decided to prepare 14 tiles from these designs, cutting two similar designs from the same piece of fabric.   A vague idea started to form - I thought that these tiles could form side panels alongside an interesting centre panel.    Repeating the colours would provide some symmetry and balance... The purple fabrics used for the tiles were mostly blue purple tones and I decided to use a reddish purple for the centre panel.    I painted a piece of fabric for this panel and pinned everything to the design wall....    In the meantime I found pieces of Lutradur which I painted and burnt with a soldering iron some time before, also in the same colour range and thought it was a match made in heaven....   It also went up on the design wall but somehow nothing gelled...!    I looked at it every day for months and did not know where to go with this...   It came to me one day in December that the centre panel (a solid piece) looked too flat  - I decided to cover the entire panel with 2 1/2cm x 2 1/2cm squares, all in the reddish purple colour range in cottons, silks, taffeta etc.   These small squares transformed the entire mood of the piece and I felt the first stirrings of excitement....

Glow in progress - first image taken in 2011.
   14 tiles on the sides, centre panel covered with small squares.  
Painted Lutradur pieces  pinned onto it....  
A long way to go...

But I was stuck again and did not know what the next step would be...    In the meantime I decided that the centre panel was not wide enough and added another 3 rows to the width which brought better balance to the piece.     It stayed on the design wall for almost a year before I actually started stitching.  

My initial idea was to use raw edge applique to secure the edges of the motifs on the tiles, but somehow it did not really give the effect which I was hoping for.  I then experimented with couching perle yarns onto the raw edges which looked worse as it was difficult to navigate around the designs...   So, I turned to the trusted technique of machine applique which added definition to the designs.   As the tiles were rather structured, the neatness of the machine applique technique seemed to complement the designs...    Again all the pieces went up onto the design wall waiting for inspiration for the next step - I knew it was time to stitch the centre panel and wanted to make a feature of it, but had no idea how to do it...   On our way home from holiday in January this year, it suddenly came to me to machine embroider each little square of the centre panel.  It created texture and changed the mood of the panel as it popped the squares.   

                         

                                     A sideways view of the machine embroidered centre panel.

My next problem was that there was no unity between the different sections - I had to find a way to bring the 3 panels together as each was standing on its own....    I realized that I had to repeat some elements in different places to bring the design together...  I thought a long strip across the top of the quilt would hold the 3 sections together...   I battled for a week before I was happy with the colours and design!   I used a long paper cut pattern to decorate this strip and used a reddish purple fabric as background for the patterned section to complement the reddish purples of the centre panel.   The patterned section of this strip was also machine appliqued .    Somehow the quilt was now in a T-shape which I did not particularly like.  The centre panel was still a concern as I felt that no other design element really complemented it...   The idea of stitching the Lutradur pieces to the centre panel did not gel either...

Glow taking shape with strip across the top, initially in green which was later changed to purple which looked softer...

Up to this stage, this quilt was more on the design wall than under the sewing machine as I battled to get the balance right.     As I played with different options to decorate the top strip, I realized by adding small rectangles around the patterned section, would complement the squares of the centre panel. I did not like the T-shape and added a piece of fabric to the top middle section, breaking the straight line at the top by placing the piece higher than the edge.   This seemed to work - this section would become the focal point of the quilt and I had all sorts of ideas to "work" this section.   I changed the bottom line of this piece to a rounded shape which I immediately liked and discharged the purple fabric to a much lighter shade.   I needed to bring the lighter purples of the tiles at the bottom of the side panels to the top section of the quilt to create balance by use of colour.   I fused a border in different fabrics around the rounded edge to prepare a base for a special feature...    

Progress at last - the changed shape of the top section of the quilt.

Only at this point I felt that the combination of these different elements could work together - embellishing the piece would transform it...    I was really excited as I felt that I really climbed Kilimanjaro...    I cut paper circles and pinned it to the design wall, contemplating bits and pieces hanging down the sides.... 

Next time more about Glow....

Willa - A Tribute

The past two months have been incredibly busy and I had no extra time to write this blog....   I sometimes think that I'm getting slower or my work schedule is more intense...    Normally I make one quilt for the biennial National Quilt Festival, but this year I decided to make two quilts.   O dear, working in tandem on both quilts was very stressful and not recommended.    It was as if these two quilts consumed every aspect of my life and I lived like a hermit, not going anywhere...   Again the intense concentration and working like a robot, no pleasure actually....    Just the race against the clock, utterly exhausting...

My focus for the exhibition was on a piece which I started cutting in September 2011, but only started stitching in January this year...   But I want to tell you about the other quilt today.

I made my first protea quilt in 1994, another in 2002 and decided to make my final protea quilt this year.   The idea for this quilt came to me one day and I just had to make it...   As it is always difficult for me to title my work, I decided to dedicate this quilt to my mom-in-law who tragically died 10 years ago.   She loved proteas and indigenous plants and taught me to be appreciative of our abundant wild flowers.   I put the last stitch into the quilt 10 years to the day that she was taken from us - a rather emotional experience...

I started playing with little squares about 18 months ago and thought it could be an interesting background for a still life styled quilt.    As ideas for quilts evolves, I decided to combine squares and triangles for the background.    The triangle section would be in lighter shades of neutrals than the square section which would form the border section.   I used commercially printed cottons and combined it with silk fabric.   I prepared patterns for the proteas from my own photographs and started cutting the flowers and leaves and painted some shading onto it with fabric paint.   I also cut a copper pot and polished it with a copper Markal oil paint stick - it gives such wonderful results.    I wanted to add some 3-D flowers to the arrangement and decided to do Protea Cynaroides (Giant) as it lends itself to 3-D work.   I used silk ribbon to embroider the inner flowers and the rest of the flowers and leaves were stitched using the raw edge applique technique with certain sections machine embroidered to add extra colour and definition.   Every triangle and square on the background section was individually stitched using the free motion method - a variety of motifs as the inspiration came each day...   The result was this lovely textured background section (which I continuously wanted to stroke....)    Any way, the real challenge was the border section...  There was an immense amount of cutting and painting on the leaves, not to mention the amount of stitching...    I used variegated threads to stitch detail onto the squares and triangles which was a perfect choice.

Corner Section 

Protea Cynaroides with detail of copper pot

Willa - A Tribute
Won 2nd Prize Freestyle Masters Category at 2013 National Quilt Festival in Bloemfontein.

For now I'm done with proteas and it is time to let the subject go...    I've had this passion for realistically themed quilts for such a long time, but somehow the urge to make them is fading....    The world of freestyle/art quilts are so enticing and exciting, so next time I'll tell you of that other quilt that I made for NQF 2013......!

Passion for the Creative Process...

I am slowly catching my breath and touching down on mother earth after a marathon quilting session, hence the silence....  

We all make quilts for different reasons.    Some quilters get pleasure by stroking fabric, some working on a huge stash of UFO's, others by making as many quilts as possible and then suckers like me, who have this crazy passion to push the boundaries all the time...

The creative process can be very lonely as one often battle against ideas not working, fatigue and fast approaching deadlines.... When does patience become stubbornness not to give up?    Two words with such different meanings, yet so close in a way...    During the past two months, I again realized how passionate I am about the creative process.    It is an emotion which I cannot really describe, it is very spiritual and takes me on a journey of intense focus and discovery...    The amazing thing is that while I'm in this creative mode, concepts and ideas just flow and I am the privileged one to execute all of this...    It is extremely exciting and the deeper I'm drawn into a piece, the more I switch into an autopilot mode where I can work very long hours, make do with little sleep and work with intense concentration...    It makes me feel so alive...   When it is done, I instinctively know it is finished...  

Working to deadlines provide me with lots of thinking time about what, why and how I do things, the processes which I follow etc...    It is like solitary confinement, just me and my thoughts.    This time around I again realized how difficult it is to estimate "production" time for a creative piece.   It is fairly easy to calculate how long it will take to make a traditional style quilt top.    Not so easy with creative pieces as one has no pattern and no instructions...   Finding your own path, often stumbling as not all ideas work which can be very frustrating and wasteful of precious time...    A successful piece will embrace all the different design elements in harmonious unity like all the music instruments in an orchestra - nothing out of sync...    It sometimes is a long journey to find that harmonious unity in a piece...    Lots of patience and time are needed to do creative pieces as it is a process, one cannot rush it as it develops over time.  

This piece below was pinned onto my design wall for about 14 months before I stitched it....    It just came to me one day how to stitch it and I am so glad that I did not rush into it as I was so pleased with the outcome - completely different to what I initially envisaged...  

Part of a quilt which I will share at a later stage....

As my latest work is for a competition, I cannot share it yet.   I will gladly do so in July....  

Enjoy the creative process....    It is so special...

Fusing

Oh dear, I am so engrossed with my Festival 2013 entries that I don't have time for anything else....   Even the poor dog gets neglected...  I have made peace with the way that I work - I need a deadline to really focus on a project and get working....    I tend to dream and fiddle and not really work productively if I don't have a date circled on the calendar....   I need the adrenalin rush...    I think many can relate to that....

I cannot share the work in progress at this stage as the pieces are for a competition.....   I am working on two pieces in tandem.   When I'm tired of the one, I switch over to the other one with renewed energy and focus.   Working on some pieces are physically exhausting because of the size of it and others again by the intense staring at the machine needle while stitching....   Normally I prefer to work on one piece at a time, but somehow this time I manage working on two pieces at the same time.

I have been using the fusing method for most of my pieces for the past 20 years.    It is such a versatile construction method with so much scope and I really enjoy exploring all possibilities....

At the end of last year, I redecorated our lounge and went back to the trusted neutral colour scheme of our first lounge.    Any way, what a wonderful opportunity to make new scatter cushions and by doing so, experimenting with different effects....   I used Bali fabrics, batiks, silks and some of my own Brush Rags fabrics in colours ranging from creams to rusty browns, greys and charcoal.    I sealed the raw edges of one cushion with a decorative stitch on the sewing machine, another with 3mm silk ribbon and hessian threads couched on either sides of the silk ribbon and for the other one, I stitched decorative cords on the raw edges with hessian threads on either side of the cords.     All of them were machine quilted.   The beauty of this was that I used tiny scraps for this project.     My one friend was amazed that I hardly ever throw scraps away!     I keep scraps in a container, all sorted in colours and sealed in ziploc bags, easy to to find when needed.    I have scraps from the first patchwork fabrics which I bought in 1984 and sometimes it is just the right snippet I need!

Some fused cushions made in 2012

 

I need to make a few more cushions, but I have more interesting work at the moment....!

 

Now it is back to the grindstone of making competition quilts......!    It really is hard work, but nothing beats the thrill of the creative process....

 

 



 

 

Ukhahlamba - Gallery of Ancient Art

I am so caught up in the excitement of being creative that I forget about the world out there - I am very busy with my quilt entries for the National Quilt Festival in July (but my lips are zipped as I cannot share it yet)...   I have started this post more than a month ago....   So, here goes...

I spend most of my days in my studio, whether it is actively stitching, preparing workshops, painting fat quarters, working on the computer or just daydreaming and fiddling.  It means being indoors most of the time...

I often look at websites and blogs of other quilters and am quite in awe of how beautifully presented it is....   When one opens this blog, blue skies, trees/bush, a few loose clouds and the open road welcomes one, not a quilt in sight....    Seems to be more of a traveling blog than a quilt one as such....     Blue and green, my two favourite colours anchored by the grey of the road....    

I love the atmosphere of this picture when I open the blog...   It immediately takes me on a journey, something which Willem and I love doing.   We have discovered beautiful and very interesting places by traveling off the beaten track, always excited to explore.   This picture is a constant promise that there are many more places and roads waiting for us to discover....    These trips are ideal photo opportunities and Willem is very patient with my constant requests to stop for photographs....   With the  use of a digital camera, it is so easy to keep all the images in folders on the computer, easy to access when new inspiration is needed.    Nature inspires the majority of my quilts whether it is the shapes of rocks, bark of trees, colour combinations, flora, landscapes and our abundant wild life......  

I was invited to participate in the 2011 Korea/Japan/South Africa Textile Challenge with the theme of "World Heritage Sites".    30 World Heritage Sites from all over the world were selected and 30 quilt artists from the three countries were invited to participate - in total 90 quilt artists.  The quilts had to be 50cm x 50cm  and each site was interpreted by a quilt artist from each country - so one specific site had three different interpretations of it.     These three entries were displayed together at venues in Korea, Japan and is currently in South Africa.   We were fortunate to have these quilts on display here in Port Elizabeth in 2012 and it was wonderful to witness the creative flair and genius of the 90 international quilt artists.

I was fortunate that I was given the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg World Heritage Site.   While we lived in Harrismith, we often visited various sections of the Drakensberg...   The mountains are magical and awesome, it has the same effect on me as watching the ocean - very spiritual....   It is so huge and one realizes what a small fraction human life is....

I love the amount of research needed for such a project as I learn so much of many things...   For this project, I learnt that the Drakensberg mountain range has the biggest selection of Stone Age rock art on the African Continent and because of the significance of this, the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park was proclaimed a World Heritage site.   Giants Castle was proclaimed a nature reserve in 1903 to protect the eland from extinction etc....    

I decided to make postcards of three sections of the mountain range, Cathedral Peak, Giants Castle and the Amphitheatre which was placed on the one side of the quilt.     I painted a background like a cave and had lots of fun trying my hand at San drawings.    I also wrote lots of information regarding the history of the site into open spaces of the cave.   Unfortunately I do not have permission to publish images of the other two interpretations of this site.

Ukhahlamba - Gallery of Ancient Art 2011

The label displayed next to the quilt in the languages of Japan, Korea and South Africa (English)

Techniques included fabric painting, raw edge machine applique, needlelace machine embroidery and machine quilting.

Now it is back to the sewing machine and my new quilts....   

Challenging myself...

Wonderful, I feel like I have my energy and inspiration back...     Such a blessing...   I have been stitching all week on a project which I had already cut in 2011....   Yes, sometimes one has a wonderful concept, but the challenge is to transform the initial idea into something special....     A lesson maybe that we don't always need to rush through projects, sometimes one has to wait for the magical inspiration to come....  I know that if I started stitching in 2011, it would have been quite mediocre.... Now I feel the stirring of excitement and I cannot wait to continue, but I am taking it slowly, there is no rush ....  While I was happily stitching along, I realized how exhausted I was before my long holiday....      

My Mom's motto in life was that one had to try before you could say that you could not do something....   The word "cannot" did not exist in her vocabulary and she always encouraged us to try again if our first attempt failed...    I share this motto and it has landed me in challenging situations...   Where quilting/sewing is concerned, I know no boundaries and will try my hand at anything, no matter what amount of patience it takes....   I will challenge and push myself until I get it right....

I made a wedding dress for a very special young lady with very definite ideas of what she wanted...    But as you know, it is not always possible to find the exact fabrics needed to create the dream with....     This is the same reason why I started painting fabric for my quilts as I could not find commercially printed fabric which suited my style of quilts.   We wanted a piece of lace with a curved edge at the bottom with a border pattern - a very tall order indeed.   So, without thinking twice, I decided to make the lace myself...!    I have never made lace before and I had no idea what it would entail...   As I felt skilled enough to work with all the wash away stuff available for embroidery, I decided that it would actually be easy....    I started off by designing the lace panel on paper to scale.   The design had a curved edge at the bottom which would form the back section of the dress.   I joined strips of Avalon Plus with wash away thread to form a big enough piece for this panel and transferred the diagram onto the Avalon using a wash out marker.   The bridal tulle was sandwiched between two layers of Avalon Plus to make it more sturdy and protect the tulle as it was very soft and delicate....    I tacked the 3 layers together the same as making a quilt sandwich.    I then started embroidering the design by machine, numerous little satin stitch leaves with rayon thread, the 3 layers carefully secured in an embroidery hoop.   I couched No 5 DMC perle thread with silver and gold metallic thread as stems between the leaves.    I used  commercially embroidered organza flowers on the border section.   The entire piece was hand beaded, using numerous perle sequins, pearls and glass beads.   The beading took almost 80 hours to complete.....     I used the same technique to make lace sections to cover the shoulders with scalloped edges - this was stabilized with transparent organza to prevent strain on the delicate lace.   Making this lace was rather daunting and I had no idea whether it would actually work....   I completed the beading 5 days prior to the wedding - only then could I wash all the Avalon Plus away....   What stressful experience it was to put this piece into the water not knowing whether all this effort would produce the desired lace....!    Any way, the Angels smiled upon me as I took the lace from the zinc and spread it open onto old towels, just perfect....  I was so excited, relieved, grateful and needless to say, I slept like a baby that night!    I succeeded in making this lace, the first time ever that I did something so spectacular....    The bottom line was, if I was not an experimental quilter, I would not have known how to tackle this challenge....

Diagram for shoulder sections

Bodice section with completed lace section on shoulders.
Bodice partially embroidered and beaded.

Lace  panel immediately after it was washed with untrimmed scalloped edge....

Bottom back section of completed dress...

This post is about making lace and not about the dress.....   It was a wonderful challenge to create this, but rather stressful ....    As with life, there is always something new to discover...     This project introduced me to working with silk.   I fell in love with silk and promptly started collecting bits of silk in all the colours of the rainbow (and all the colours in between) which has now taken me on another road of discovery.....

Welcome 2013....

I have been very quiet.....   There were a few reasons, nothing serious though....   My son occupied the computer as he was preparing for his exam towards the end of November and I took time out from my quilting activities after a very busy year....   I did some redecorating at home, oversaw routine maintenance work to our house as well as the garden which was so nice for a change....    In the meantime it was the Festive Season, then January came and our little family went away on a holiday, great fun going away with adult children...    I really needed time to reload my batteries as it was very flat....    I now feel rejuvenated and ready for action...

I had lots of time to rethink many things - I often need to this...   I have now shared My Journey with you.   My quilting career has been an incredible one to date and I feel very blessed to have achieved so many things.    It has been incredibly good for me to write down this passage of my life as it enabled me to put so many things in perspective.   Thank you for reading it....

It sounds very fancy to refer to myself as a quilt artist, but in my heart, I am just a normal quilter and a proud member of our local Guild.   As a quilting veteran of 29 years, I think I can safely predict that I will always be fascinated by fabric, design, threads, paints etc....   It is however intimidating to read blogs of other quilt artists and it sounds as if they quilt every day....    Good for them, but I actually cannot quilt every day....   Maybe because a lot of my work is experimental and I do a lot of my work mentally...   Maybe many of you can relate to this...

This year it is time for the National Quilt Festival again, this time in Bloemfontein in July.   As the official Festival Programme is now available, I can share the two workshops which I will teach there.   More information is on the Workshops page.    Currently I am doing a lot of experimenting with fused small squares and triangles - ideal for using scraps.   I never throw scraps away, sometimes even the last threads of fabric are used for projects!   I have also collected a palette of silk fabrics of which I use small pieces and it just adds something special to a piece....

The first workshop will be Freestyle Ways on 1 & 2 July 2013....   A little story about this one.   My good friend Yolande Bowman and I thought up a concept of a skinny quilt for an informal challenge between some fellow quilters of the Dias Quilters' Guild in 2011.   As my program was so full, I decided to make my entry and use it as a new workshop which I presented to the 2013 Kaleidoscope National Quilt Festival Committee.     It is always a challenge for me to prepare new workshops as I feel I need  to teach the students as much as possible.....  

Freestyle Ways

Small squares of cotton and silk were fused in a colourwash format to a background piece of fabric and it was decorated with embellished silk strips.  This is a machine stitching workshop and various embellishing techniques are demonstrated in the workshop.   More information on the Workshops page.

The second workshop is Bag-a-Square on 3 & 4 July 2013.

Bag-a-Square

Fused cotton and silk squares complemented with paper cut tiles at the bottom, embellished with beads and cords and constructed in a specific way to form a bag.      More information on the Workshops page.

I hope to see some of you at the Festival in July.....!