Wednesday 3 December 2008

4 December Evening Meeting

The final CQ evening meeting for 2008 is tomorrow:

Thursday, 4 December 2008
Weston Creek Uniting Church (Parkinson St)
7.15 for 7.45-10pm

Special Show & Tell: Putting on the Glitz!
Christmas gift exchange

Dress up in your glitzy clothes and bring along your sparkly quilts to share. Visitors welcome!

Thursday 30 October 2008

Christmas Skills Share


Join the Christmas Skills Share with other CQ members at Turner on Saturday, 8 November 9.30am-3.30pm. Cost $5.

Christmas quilts and decorations are always popular items in the CQ Sales Room and are fun to make. Bring your patterns, ideas and fabric and share inspiration with other members.

Wednesday 29 October 2008

Helen's Houston Hat Trick

Canberra Quilters extends its congratulations to member Helen Godden who has been awarded three top prizes at the International Quilt Association festival in Houston as follows:
Seasonal Sisters by The Three Sisters

Monday 27 October 2008

6 November Evening Meeting

The next evening meeting is on 6 November 2008 at 7.15pm for 7.45-10pm, and there will be a whole lot on!

This is Quilt Pledge Night, so bring your pledge certificates and UFOs to join the finishing drive. Will yours be a UFO for QFO?

There will be a special show and tell for Block of the Quarter quilts. This activity started in 1989 and lasted 18 years so please bring along your BoQ quilts for an evening of memories and laughs.

In addition this is Bring and Buy Night. After the formal part of hte meeting, members may set up to sell their wares - fabric, thread, tools etc. So bring along your goods and bring your money!

Saturday 25 October 2008

My Place Website Update

The gallery pages of the MY PLACE contemporary art quilt exhibition website have now been updated to feature thirty striking quilts from South Africa. You can view these quilts, along with the others from New Zealand and Australia (including CQ members), at the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne next year.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Sharing Our Legacy Seminar: 17-19 October

The Quilt Study Group of Australia's 'Sharing our Legacy' seminar, which is held every two years, will be in Brisbane between the 17th and 19th of October. It will start with an informal dinner on the 17th October followed by Saturday's full day of presentations by speakers such as Annette Gero, Margaret Rolfe and Pam Holland plus a number of Queensland presenters on local topics of interest to us all.

The details and seminar registration form can be found at www.sydneyquiltstudygroup.blogspot.com

At the same blog address, the current newsletter which contains more details on the agenda and presentations can be downloaded.

Thursday 2 October 2008

Twelve by Twelve: A Collaborative Art Quilt Project

CQ member Brenda Smith belongs to the Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt Project, an international group of twelve quilt artists who have embarked upon an online art challenge together. Every two months, they each make a small quilted art piece -- 12 by 12 inches – based on a theme chosen by each member in turn.

The group share their process and progress on their blog and the finished works, together with artist statements, are showcased on their dedicated website gallery. The group's latest challenge quilts are due to be revealed online today (1 October US time). The theme is "shelter" and it is always interesting to see how the theme is interpreted.

Favela by Brenda Gael Smith
"Favela" ©2008 Brenda Gael Smith

This marks the midpoint in the Twelve by Twelve challenge timetable. To celebrate this milestone, they encourage readers to leave a comment about this project and to enter a draw for some notecards featuring the collaborative quilt mosaics.

Thursday 25 September 2008

Evening Meeting: Thursday 2 October

The next evening meeting is Thursday, 2 October 2008 at the Weston Creek Uniting Church Hall, Parkinson St, Weston Creek (7.15pm for a 7.45pm start). The guest speaker will be longstanding CQ member, Judy Turner. Judy has moved to Tura Beach. Come along for a glimpse at Judy's quilts and to hear about her new directions.

Monday 15 September 2008

Batemans Bay Exhibition 19-21 September

The South Coast and Country Quilters Guild will be holding their ninth Biennial Quilt Exhibition this weekend at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club. The Exhibition is open on Friday 19 September from 10 am - 5 pm, the same period on Saturday 20th, and from 10 am - 4 pm Sunday 21st. Members who head for the coast this weekend will be very welcome.

Saturday 13 September 2008

Dare to Differ 2008 Exhibition now online

Dare to Differ 2008 is the seventh Dare to Differ exhibition of contemporary quilts held in Prospect Gallery in Adelaide, South Australia. Entries were selected by members of the SA Quilters' Guild from quilt makers all over Australia and includes works by CQ members Dianne Firth, Helen Gray, and Brenda Smith. The emphasis is on original and innovative work. The exhibition continues until 28 September but you can view the quilts online at the Prospect Gallery website.

Monday 8 September 2008

GREAT NEWS!!!

Late last week we were contacted by the ACT Government to be told we have been allocated 128 square metres (that’s equivalent in area to a small 3-bedroom house) in what was the Cook Primary School. Please see the Press Release from the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Disability and Community Services, Katy Gallagher MLA. We have been told to expect a formal offer some time after October. The school is to be refurbished and a lift installed, with the estimate for occupation about mid-2009. So we won’t be moving in for a while!!

We have been told the space is one big area on the second floor, which we can subdivide. Some members of the Committee hope to be able to inspect it in the next few weeks.

Cook is fairly central and is reasonably easy to access from all parts of Canberra. Of course, some of us will have a shorter distance to travel to meetings and some of us will have longer – but the advantages of having space of our own which is truly ‘Canberra Quilters home’ will far outweigh the disadvantages.

Just think – access to the library, flexibility for QFO, a drop-in place, friendship group meeting place, small group exhibitions, workshops ... the list goes on.

Your input is important. Now is the time for you to let the Committee know your thoughts and ideas on the HOO (Home of Our Own) and the HOOT (Home of Our Own Transition) – so talk to them, email them, phone them ... or even post a comment here.

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Quilt Show Presentation Night: Thursday 4 September

The next evening meeting is Thursday, 4 September 2008 at the Weston Creek Uniting Church Hall, Parkinson St, Weston Creek (7.15pm for a 7.45pm start). This will be Quilt Show Presentation Night where awards and prizes from the Canberra Quilters Exhibition will be presented to the recipients. Join us in celebrating the talent and diversity of members of Canberra Quilters.

Saturday 16 August 2008

Exhibition CD available now


The Canberra Quilters Exhibition this year was so good, the selection of prize-winning quilts on our website doesn't do justice to the great standard of work. So this year, Canberra Quilters made a CD of all the quilts and other items in the Members' Exhibition. The CDs are available for $15 each.

This price includes GST and postage and packing within Australia. To obtain your copy, please send a cheque or money order (no cash, please) for $15 to:
CD Sales
Canberra Quilters Inc
PO Box 3297
Weston Creek ACT 2611

My Place Exhibition Website

My Place Quilts Exhibition
MY PLACE is a travelling exhibition of 90 contemporary art quilts from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa curated by Jeanette Botha, Dijanne Cevaal and Anne Scott.

Congratulations to CQ members (including Helen Gray, Beth Miller, Beth & Trevor Reid and Brenda Smith) whose quilts have been selected to be part of the MY PLACE quilts. You can now view their quilts, along with the other Australian quilts on the MY PLACE quilt gallery.

Visitors to the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne in late February 2009 will be able to view all of the MY PLACE quilts in person.

Wednesday 13 August 2008

Viewers' Choice & Prize Listing Update

The voting slips have been counted. Here are the results of the Viewers' Choice:
  • Quilt Category: Kairo Kaleidoscopes by Helen & Pat Godden; and
  • Creative Clothing: Anyone seen those old jeans? by Wendy Saclier
In addition, the following prizes were announced at the opening of the exhibition:
  • Margaret Armistead [First Time Exhibitor] Award: In the Red by Joanne West; and
  • Allan Armistead [Junior Exhibitor] Award: Flower Garden by Kristina Kleine-Butron.
The Prize Listing has been updated. Please note the changes to the Wall Quilt Professional Category.

Friday 8 August 2008

2008 Exhibition Winners Gallery

The CQ Webmaster has been very busy and images of the prize winning quilts from the 2008 Canberra Quilters Exhibition are now available for viewing in the website gallery. Thanks Carol!

Thursday 7 August 2008

2008 Exhibition Prize Listing

The following awards and prizes were announced at the official opening of the Canberra Quilters' Exhibition this morning. Congratulations to all concerned. Images can now be viewed in the website gallery. Remember, you can purchase a CD featuring ALL of the quilts on display for $12.

SPECIAL AWARDS
Hashim ©Jenny Bowker
  • Best of Show: Jenny Bowker, Hashim (pictured)
  • Best Use of Colour: Fiona Hammond, Botanical oddity
  • Chiatanya Designs Embellishment Award: Fiona Hammond, Botanical oddity
  • Keeping the Traditions: Jan Laut, Florilegium
  • Excellence in Hand Quilting: Nobuko Miyake, Chairs are always with us
  • Margaret Armistead Award: Joanne West, In the Red
  • Alan Armistead Award: Kristina Kleine-Butron, Flower Garden
SECTION 1: NON-PROFESSIONAL
Category 1.1 – Bed quilt
1 Joanne West, In the red
2 Lorelle D’Arcy, Japanese wedding quilt
3 Frances Buscombe, Japanese fantasy

Category 1.2 – Wall quilt

1 Jenny Cook, Sadako’s rainbow
2 Yvonne Williams, Ahead
3 Jocelyn Green, Concentric

SECTION 2: PROFESSIONAL
Category 2.1 – Bed quilt
1 Kerry Gavin, The two of us
2 Jan Laut, Florilegium
3 Judy Turner, Hundreds and thousands

Category 2.2 – Wall quilt

1 Nobuko Miyake, Chairs are always with us
2 Beth and Trevor Reid, Dreaming
3 Helen Godden, Sikh and Find

SECTION 3: OPEN
Category 3.1 – Mixed media quilt
1 Brenda Smith, Acacia bloom
2 Fiona Hammond, Botanical oddity
3 Rosemary Butt, Growing enthusiasm

Category 3.2 – Challenge A Novel Idea
1 Joanne West, Contemplating Jane
2 Rosemary Butt, It was a dark and stormy night
3 Dianne Firth, Coffee swirl

Category 3.3 – Tiny Treasure

1 Sue Robinson, Checkerbox
2 Dianne Firth, Mini-cell #2
3 Helen Godden, Lyrebird

Category 3.4 – Group Quilt

1 Elizabeth Scroope, The magic of three spirits
2 Cecelia Kaye, My creamy green
3 Alison Yamazaki, Every cook needs a garden

Category 3.5 – Commercially Quilted Quil
t
1 Kathleen Hunt, Indiana shade garden
2 Margaret Thomson, Lavender green
3 Marie Reardon, Floral appliqué quilt

Category 3.6 – Art Quilt

1 Helen Godden, Mother Earth
2 Dianne Firth, Cone
3 Beth Miller, The girls of Tyrone Farm

Category 3.7 – Creative Clothing (everyday
)
1 Donna Sunderland, Chou-Kasuri coat and bag
2 Louise Fredericks, Granny’s little sweetheart
3 Lyn Steel, Handbag

Category 3.8 – Creative Clothing (anything goes)

1 Wendy Saclier, Anyone seen those old jeans?
2 Giselle Burningham, Minister’s cope
3 Louise Fredericks, Second chance

SECTION 4: CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Category 4.1 – Children (up to 12 years)
1 Ineka Voight, Pokemon patch
2 Talitha Thompson, Dragonfly dance
3 Kristina Kleine-Butron, Flower garden

Category 4.2 – Youth (13 to 17 years)

1 Stacey Waring, Procrastination lost
2 Lyndal Slater, Bedazzled

Wednesday 6 August 2008

Canberra Quilters Exhibition: 7-10 August 2008

The 2008 Canberra Quilters Exhibition opens tomorrow Thursday, 7 August and continues until Sunday 10 August at:

Exhibition Park In Canberra
Budawang Building
Flemington Road
Mitchell ACT 2911
Open 10am - 4.30pm daily


Don't miss out! This year, Canberra Quilters is selling a CD catalogue with photos of all entries for $12. While you are at it, buy a raffle ticket with a chance to win this beautiful double-sided Poppy Paradox quilt made by Helen Godden.

Wednesday 30 July 2008

Evening Meeting: Thursday 7 August

The next evening meeting is Thursday, 7 August 2008 at the Weston Creek Uniting Church Hall, Parkinson St, Weston Creek (7.15pm for a 7.45pm start).

Quilted One Block Marvels by Carolyn SullivvanCarolyn Sullivan, a quilter and embroiderer from Bundanoon, will be the guest speaker. Carolyn's work on various committees, as president of both The Quilters’ Guild NSW and Ozquilt Network, with the Quilts 2000 project, has given her an insight into the wider picture of the Australian quilting world. Carolyn is a trained high school teacher who enjoys teaching people to find their own creativity and to produce stitched works that are meaningful to the maker. Carolyn is also author of the book Quilted One Block Marvels.

Wednesday 23 July 2008

CQ Exhibition 2008 Timetable

August is a BIG month for Canberra Quilters as we stage our annual members' exhibition from 7 to 10 August 2008. Don't forget to mark these key dates in your calendar:
  • 2 August: quilt and creative clothing delivery (9am - 6pm)
  • 5 August: judging day
  • 5 August: exhibition setup from 3pm
  • 6 August: exhibition hanging day from 9am
  • 6 August: sales room delivery 10am-1pm
  • 7 August: official opening 11am
  • 10 August: Collection of items from 6pm

Sunday 20 July 2008

My Place Exhibition

Congratulations to CQ members (including Helen Gray, Beth Miller, Beth & Trevor Reid and Brenda Smith) whose quilts were selected for the My Place travelling exhibition. The exhibition comprises 90 quilts - 30 each from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The 50cm square quilts will travel to South Africa for the South African National Quilt Festival 2008, before touring other venues in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Europe. The quilts will be displayed at the Minerva Textile Gallery, Wellington during Quilt Symposium 2009.

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Hanging Around

The Canberra Quilters Exhibition is less than a month away. Have you attached a sleeve and a label to your quilt(s) yet?

ALL quilts, including tiny treasures and challenge quilts must have a sleeve on the back to accommodate a security wire. Quilts have been stolen from CQ exhibitions in the past and, to prevent it happening again, a security wire is threaded through a sleeve on the back of each quilt. The wire is thin but the dowel "needles" are thicker, so a sleeve 10cm (4 inches) deep is required.

If one of your exhibition quilt entries measures 240cm or more, it may be displayed at the Exhibition on one of our custom-made quilting frames. In order to use our frames effectively and to display your quilt to its best advantage, please put a split sleeve on your quilt. You will find special instructions on page 10 of the June issue of the Connecting Threads newsletter.

Monday 7 July 2008

Old Bus Depot Markets Textile Day: Sunday 13 July

Join us at the Old Bus Depot Markets at Kingston on Sunday 13 July 2008. We'll have the 2008 raffle quilt there and expect to sell lots of tickets. While you are there, check out the other stalls for the textile and creative fibres themed market.
2008 Raffle Quilt by Helen Godden

Wednesday 2 July 2008

Quilts for Others Working Bee: Tuesday 8 July

The next QFO working bee will be held on Tuesday 8 July from 10am to 4pm at Blackfriars Parish Centre, corner of Antill Street and Phillip Avenue, Watson. Come for a few hours or the full day (morning and afternoon tea are provided but please bring your own lunch).

Tuesday 1 July 2008

Upcoming Quilt Valuation Day: 26 July 2008

A quilt valuation day will be held on Saturday, 26 July 2008. You need to book your quilt with the valuation team to be valued on the day and to arrange drop off and pick up times (See the inside cover of your newsletter for contact details.)

Canberra Quilters is unable to insurance coverage on any items exhibitied, or for sale, from the time they are delivered until they are collected from Exhibition Park. Similarly, quilts travelling with CQ suitcase exhibitions are not insured by Canberra Quilters. For these reasons, you may wish to get your quilt valued and arrange coverage under your personal household insurance.

You can download a copy of the quilt valuation form or find a copy in the June 2008 issue of the Connecting Threads newsletter.

Thursday 26 June 2008

Evening Meeting: Thursday 3 July

The next evening meeting is Thursday, 3 July 2008 at the Weston Creek Uniting Church Hall, Parkinson St, Weston Creek (7.15pm for a 7.45pm start). There will be a presentation by the Krazy Kwilters. Come and take a look at the work of this group dedicated to the crazy patchwork genre.

By the way, a wiki on crazy quilting is under development. It is framed as series of fully illustrated lessons in a PDF file. This excellent resource is free and open to anyone.



Crazy Quilt Sampler by Sharon B
In a Minute Ago - A Textile Blog

Saturday 21 June 2008

A Red World @ Wangaratta: 21 June - 27 July 2008


Celebrate the opening weekend of textile exhibition A Red World & Wangaratta’s Stitched Up Textile Festival listening to talks by some of Australia’s most respected textile artists: Beth Hatton, Dianne Firth, Ilka White & Pamela Fitzsimons with a light lunch catered by Tread & an opportunity for questions and discussion (11am - 2.30pm, Sunday 22 June - Bookings essential).
Wangaratta exhibitions Gallery
56 Ovens Street Wangaratta VIC 3677
T: 03 5722 0865 F: 03 5722 2969
E: d.mangan@wangaratta.vic.gov.au
Hours: 1-4 Sat-Sun, 12-5 Mon-Tues, 10-5 Wed-Fri
Free Entry • Closed Public Holidays + for installation
www.wangaratta.vic.gov.au

Friday 20 June 2008

Eyeline Exhibition @ Fairfield: 31 May - 27 July

Waterline by Dianne FirthThe Eyeline Exhibition of contemporary quilts is open for viewing at:

Fairfield City Museum & Gallery

Cnr The Horsley Drive and Oxford Street
Smithfield NSW 2164
Free admission
Open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm
and Sunday 1pm-4pm
(Closed Monday and public holidays)




Eyeline is an initiative of tACTile, a group of Canberra-based textile artists aiming to advance contemporary quiltmaking in Australia. The group includes Dianne Firth, Beth and Trevor Reid, Helen Grey, Jenny Bowker and Beth Miller.

Waterline (pictured) by Dianne Firth

Sunday 15 June 2008

Canberra Quilters Blog Roll

If you take a glance at the sidebar to the right of this blog, you will see that we have started a blog roll listing the blogs of various members of Canberra Quilters. For your assistance, it also shows when the blog was last updated.

The list is a little short at the moment. If you belong to Canberra Quilters and would like to be added to the blog roll, please leave a comment with your name and the url of your blog. You might even like to return the favour by adding Connecting the Blog to your blog roll or mentioning this blog in a blog post. Comments and links help make the blogosphere a vibrant world!

Saturday 14 June 2008

Congratulations to Sydney Quilt Show Prize Winners

Congratulations to the following CQ members on their success at the Sydney Quilt Show 2008:
  • Jenny Bowker - Contemporary Art Quilt Award, first prize Pictorial Quilt and second prize, Art Quilt;
  • Dianne Firth - third prize, Small or Wall Quilt (Professional) and fourth prize Art Quilt;
  • Kerrilyn Gavin - third place, Predominantly Applique (Professional);
  • Helen Godden - Judges' commendation Art Quilt and Pictorial Quilt; and
  • Beth Miller - Judges' commendation, Small or Wall Quilt (Professional).
You can view the prize winning quilts on the Quilters' Guild of NSW website at:
www.quiltersguildnsw.com/quiltshow

Tuesday 3 June 2008

Evening Meeting: Thursday 5 June

The next evening meeting is this Thursday, 5 June 2008 at the Weston Creek Uniting Church Hall, Parkinson St, Weston Creek (7.15pm for a 7.45pm start).

There will be a special show and tell with the theme of "Starry, starry night". Please bring along your quilts that have stars as a significant design feature.
Billie's Stars by Brenda Gael Smith
Billie's Stars by Brenda Gael Smith

Monday 2 June 2008

Reminder - CQX Closing Date is 6 June

The closing date for entries for the Canberra Quilters' Exhibition 2008 is this Friday, 6 June 2008.

If you cannot put your hands on the March issue of Connecting Threads, you can download all of the relevant forms from the forms page of the Canberra Quilters website including:
And don't forget that you can purchase raffle tickets by mail too.

Thursday 24 April 2008

Seeking donations for the Biggest Quilting Morning Tea

We are seeking donations of the following items to support both the fundraising and the fun of the Biggest Quilting Morning Tea to be held from 10am-2pm, 17 May at the Church of Christ, 82 Limestone Avenue, Ainslie ($5.00 entry. Theme: Hot in the Kitchen!).

Do you have any:
  • Charm Squares
  • Fabric, fabric and more fabric - unloved material you will never use but someone else may
  • Beads, beads and more beads – always a welcome addition to handcrafted projects
  • Cards, stamps or tools which would be a welcome addition to any craft room
  • Cottons, notions and doodads
  • Unwanted kits, patterns, magazines
Or any other items which you think may be enjoyed by someone else! Please remember that pre-loved items still need to be of good value to another crafter.

Donations can be made by contacting:
  • Paulette on 62540462 or 0405 109 478
  • Robin on 62425520 or 0417 260 731
Southside donation points are also available (call Paulette for details) or just bring your goodies along to the May evening meeting of Canberra Quilters.

Wednesday 23 April 2008

3 May: Creative Clothing Inspiration afternoon

Do you want some inspiration for making something special to wear? Do you want to share some ideas, techniques, or pictures in books for clothing? Have you ever thought you might put some “wearable art” into the Canberra Quilters exhibition? Join the:
Creative Clothing Inspiration Afternoon
1-4pm, 3 May 2008
Queanbeyan Community Centre, 262 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan $2 to cover venue hire.

Come along to give and get ideas and share a cuppa. Bring along fabric, or special bits and pieces for inspiration. Partially completed objects welcome, as well as show & tell.

Wednesday 16 April 2008

1 May Meeting

At the evening meeting on May 1 we will have a special themed evening based on the colour RED. Please wear something red and bring along your red quilts for a special show & tell. They don’t have to be totally red, just predominantly red. Remember there are many shades and tints of red – from pale pink to deep burgundy. To help you remember the red theme, coincidentally the meeting falls on May 1 – traditionally May Day, celebrated by Communists and Socialists world wide. Instead of having reds under our beds we will celebrate reds on our beds, on our walls…and shall we see many ladies in red?

Wednesday 9 April 2008

New Committee for 2008/2009

A new committee was appointed at the recent Annual General Meeting as follows:
  • President - Susan Blood
  • Vice President - Elizabeth Rose
  • Secretary - Jocelyn Green
  • Treasurer - Helen Rose
  • Librarian - Patricia Butron
  • Exhibition Coordinator - Anne Arnold
  • Publicity Officer - Vacant
  • Newsletter Editor - Rosemary Butt
  • Membership Secretary - Jenny Cook
  • Workshop Coordinator - Valerie van der Winden
  • Committee Member - Pat Barter
The position of Publicity Officer remains vacant. Please contact one of the committee members (or come along to the next evening meeting on 1 May) if you are interested in taking up this position to promote Canberra Quilters and its range of activities.

Monday 7 April 2008

Canberra Quilters Exhibition Blog Button

If you would like to add the CQX button to your blog or website, here is the html code to insert into your blog template or webpage:
<a href="http://cqconnecting.blogspot.com/"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuOH3vLWmSbYPxMgFWIm9tt2rsPVcaiSQnmkk_nI6o19AoYIP7YackoEkAmxIOWDpVDinbdd4QetaW-rYlG82vK_5kxroWHFUlHvHdkk8qCX0AbDkx_73Nuw4ldzyXIa1R18d5tJFP0Nu/s226/cqxbutton.jpg"alt="Canberra Quilters Exhibition 2008 Raffle Quilt" /></a>

Here are the steps if you have a Blogspot blog:Canberra Quilters Exhibition 2008 Raffle Quilt Information
  • go to Dashboard>Layout>Page Elements>Add Page Element;
  • choose "HTML/Javascript" as your page element, click "Add to Blog";
  • cut and paste the code and click "Save Changes";
  • on the "Add & Arrange" page elements page, you can drag and drop the button at the desired place in your side bar.
The button should look like this. Please contact me if you require assistance.

Wednesday 2 April 2008

Canberra Quilters Raffle 2008



The eventual winner of the Canberra Quilters Inc Members Exhibition raffle will surely find it difficult to choose between the terrific prizes on offer. How would you choose between a quilt by Helen Godden and a Bernina Aurora 440QE from Bernina Australia?

This year the Raffle Quilt is Poppy Paradox triptych by Helen Godden. It is in fact six quilts in one, being completely reversible and in three separate panels. Beautifully created in cotton and silk, one side is bleach painted homespun and the other is hand painted silk and quilted with free motion machine. It is a wonderful vibrant quilt that any quilter would be delighted to win.

Then there is a Bernina Aurora 440QE, valued at $2,999, kindly donated by Bernina Australia. This fantastic machine has the celebrated stitch regulator that gives even sized stitches for free machine quilting.

Third prize is a Happy Jack Quilting frame valued at $1,325, kindly donated by Jackie McNab of Brindabella Quilting – a compact quilt frame that will help you to quilt to perfection. The aluminium frame sits on your own sturdy table and it is suitable for most domestic machines. It can extend to fit a king sized quilt yet packs down to 1 metre for easy storage.

The raffle will be drawn Sunday 10 August at the close of the Canberra Quilters Inc Members’ Exhibition.

This year (until 1 August and within Australia only) you can buy books of 10 tickets by post for $10 each, paid by cheque or money order made out to Canberra Quilters Inc – NO CASH PLEASE!

Send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope* (for return of the tickets) with your cheque or money order to Canberra Quilters Inc, PO Box 3297, WESTON CREEK, ACT 2611.

Single tickets will be available at participating shops and at Canberra Quilters Inc regular meetings from 3 April:
  • Evening Meeting, 7.30 pm 1st Thursday of the month;
  • Southside Day Meeting, 9.30 am 3rd Wednesday of the month;
  • Northside Day Meeting, 10 1m 4th Friday of every month;

and at participating shops.

* Please note that if no SASE is included then only 9 tickets will be sent as $1 will be deducted for post and handling.

Friday 28 March 2008

Have you renewed your membership?

To be eligible to enter the Canberra Quilters Exhibition, you must be a financial member as at 31 March. Download a membership form and post it off today!

Sunday 23 March 2008

re-fabricating environments: Call for Entries

After consultation with Braemar Gallery, Springwood, the re-fabricating environments exhibition, expected to be held in the first half of 2008, has now been postponed to the end of the year. The new dates for the exhibition are 31 October to 7 December 2008 and the new closing date for submissions is Friday 3 October 2008.

You are invited to explore and give material expression to your connection with the various environments that surround us as members of communities – globally, locally, personally, living in natural worlds and those human-made.

Entry is open to all quilters resident in Australia. Quilts must be an original design and will be selected on the basis of innovative use of the medium, must be predominantly textile, and comprised of at least two layers stitched together. Size: no more than 150cms wide; any reasonable length. Entries must be submitted no later than Friday 3 October 2008. Please contact Annabelle Solomon with any further inquiries.

Download re-fabricating 2008 Entry Form

Friday 14 March 2008

Tifaifai workshop with Dijanne Cevaal

Dijanne Cevaal will be running two two-day workshops on "Playing with Tifaifai" (Polynesian-style quilting) at Braidwood Townstay Workshop Arts Space. See Dijanne's blog for some images of student work from last year's workshops - some of the participants came up from the south coast for the workshop, and really loved it.

  • Dates are: May 24th & 25th (Saturday & Sunday)
    or
    May 26th & 27th (Monday & Tuesday
  • Workshop cost: $180
  • Accommodation cost (if staying onsite): $40 per person per night

Contact Fiona Hammond for bookings or more information on: (02) 4849 4489 or email chiatanya@goulburn.net.au

Go to www.braidwoodtownstay.com.au for more information about the venue.

(Sorry this contact info was missing in March Connecting Threads!)

Subscribe to "Connecting the Blog"

Welcome to Connecting the Blog! To celebrate the new look, and to make sure that you do not miss out on the latest news and happenings with Canberra Quilters, we suggest that you "subscribe" to the blog. What does this mean?! Well, rather than manually checking to see if there are any new items, you can be notified of updates to this blog in one of two ways.

Firstly, you can subscribe to the RSS feed using a "feed reader" or an aggregator such as Google Reader or Bloglines. This service checks your selected blogs regularly for new content, downloads any updates that it finds and delivers it directly to your web browser or desktop. To view RSS feeds, you will need an account and RSS reading program. To initiate this process (it's easy to do!), click on the icon below:
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Tuesday 11 March 2008

$500 acquisitive art quilt award for Braidwood Quilt Event

Many members of Canberra Quilters will be aware of the Braidwood Quilt Event, with its famous "Airing of the Quilts", which is held in November each year. This year (2008) it will be held on November 22-23, and the local FyreGallery will be offering a $500 Acquisitive Award for a quilt that focuses on Women.

In the two weeks within which Quilt Event 2008 will be held, FyreGallery will hold an exhibition at No 84 Wallace Street, Braidwood (November 14-29) of wood-block prints, etchings, lithographs and dry point with the focus on women.

Artists include Thea Proctor, Adelaide Perry, Vera Blackburn, Lisette Kohlhagen, Napier Waller, Christian Waller, Eileen Mayo, Eveline Syme, Frank Weitzel, Jesse Trail, Ethel Spowers, Ethleen Palmer and any others who created masterpieces of printmaking from the 1800s to the late 1900s in Australia.

FyreGallery will offer a $500 acquisition prize for an art quilt that celebrates Women inspired by one of the artists listed above. Suitable quilts of any size submitted to the Braidwood Quilt Event in 2008 are eligible to nominate for the prize.

For details and entry forms please contact Jill McLeod in Braidwood on (02) 4842 2626 or email her on dunvegan@activ8.net.au.

Thursday 7 February 2008

"The New Quilt", Manly, 27 January - 26 February 2006

Manly Art Gallery & Museum is presenting an exhibition, in conjunction with the NSW Quilters' Guild Inc, of Australian contemporary quilt textiles from 27 January to 26 February 2006. The exhibition comprises 27 works which represent the innovation and diversity of quilt textile making today.

Three works by members of Canberra Quilters Inc are represented in the exhibition.
At the time of writing, you have three weeks to see contemporary works by
Elizabeth Rose
Diane Firth
Beth & Trevor Reid

For more details about the exhibition, see Manly Art Gallery Exhibitions

Wednesday 6 February 2008

World Quilt & Textile 2008

Australian quilters are invited to be part of the World Quilt Competition at World Quilt & Textile XII.

2008 entry forms will be available soon from Australian World Quilt & Textile coordinator Sue Dennis. Send a business size SSAE to 31 Shelley St, Sunnybank 4109 QLD or download from www.suedennis.com.au. Entry submission deadline is mid May, notification mid June and delivery of quilts early July.

Cash prizes are given for traditional & innovative quilts and include awards for Best of World, Best Use of Colour, Best of Country (first & second) & Viewers’ Choice.

In 2007, 10 countries were represented. Australian Eileen Campbell was awarded Innovative Best Machine Workmanship and Australian Esther Aliu Traditional Best Machine Workmanship, with Best of Country Australia awarded to Marlene King and second Clare Fairless.

The World Quilt Competition 2008 will be exhibited in Manchester New Hampshire, the Pacific International Quilt Festival Santa Clara California & the Greater Chicago Quilt Exposition. See the website www.worldquilt.com.