Merry Christmas 2024

 It's taken a couple of years but I think I have taken back control of my life. I have been over committed for a while and discovered that it takes the joy out of things. A car accident in the middle of this year was the last straw and I realised that something had to change. It is really hard to say no.

I have resigned my job as Head of Exhibitions and Convenor of the Victorian Quilt Show and stepped down as the leader of the Waverley Art Quilters after 14 years.

It is a relief and means that I can concentrate on one job, President of Ozquilt Network, which is the Australian and New Zealand Art Quilter group.

Our last two subjects for the Waverley Art Quilters was Tomma Abts, a German born abstract oil painter who lives in London and Andy Warhol, an American modern pop artist.

Andy Warhol was known for his depiction of Campbell Soup cans, so I chose a jar of Vegemite which is a popular spread in Australia.

Vegemite

I noticed that Tomma Abts used shadows in her work, so I used organza to make shadows in my quilt.

Tomma Abts

I hope to get a lot more sewing done next year, seeing as I have shed some responsibilities.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Bye for now,

Linda

Galla Grotto Workshop

 A couple of months ago, I flew up to Urunga in New South Wales for a workshop with Galla Grotto. Galla is a Russian quilter who lives in France. I went with Sue de Vanny and we stayed at a lovely place that was an easy walking distance to the venue where the class was being held.

The photo below was the view from our apartment balcony, my photo does not do it justice.

Urunga

Galla speaks very little English so we had an interpreter named Tamara who is a Russian living in Australia.

Here is a photo with Sue, Galla and myself. We do look a little worse for wear but it was at the end of the day and the weather was quite warm and humid.

Sue, Galla and me

 Galla's work is absolutely beautiful, so precise and perfect. Here is a photo of the class samples.

It was three days of precise cutting, folding back the edges of the applique pieces and placement, we didn't get to do any sewing.

Here is my nearly finished top.

My top

I had a lovely time up there. Sue and I walked to the venue and had a coffee at the local cafe and had walks along the river. We went out to dinner every night and I loved the warm weather.

The class was hosted by Caroline Sharkey, who also provided delicious morning and afternoon teas and lunches. I highly recommend doing any of the workshops that Caroline hosts, she does them well, you are truly looked after.

Bye for now,

Linda

Chihuly Glass Exhibition

 A couple of weeks ago, I was over in Adelaide for the Ozquilt Network Inc. AGM and opening of the Australia Wide Nine Exhibition. The following day we went to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens to see the Dale Chihuly glass exhibition. Chihuly is a famous artist from America and is most known for his wonderful glass work.

The entrance to the gardens

It was a lovely warm day and just perfect to wander around the gardens.

The beautiful gardens

The glass sculptures were spread all around the gardens. There were also night time sessions where you could see the sculptures lit up. We walked around during the day, went out for dinner and then came back in the evening to see them under lights.

Here is one called the sun and underneath I have a photo of it with lights.

The Sun

The Sun at night

Here is another called Lime and Red by day and night.

Lime and Red

Lime and Red by night

They were amazing during the day and magical at night.

Sunken garden

Vivid Lime Icicle Tower

Cobalt frog Feet

Float Boat

Red Reeds on Logs

My photos do not do them justice, I felt very inspired.

During the day, we had the lovely sunny weather and luckily the evening was still warm and there was music playing creating an exciting atmosphere.

We also walked around the city and saw the lovely jacaranda trees and had coffee in the heritage Adelaide Arcade.

Jacaranda Trees

The Adelaide Arcade

We only had two days in Adelaide but we certainly made the most of it.

Bye for now,

Linda

Australia Wide Nine Opening

 I recently flew over to Adelaide for the opening of Australia Wide Nine. It is the biennial exhibition run by Ozquilt Network Inc. (OZQN)

I am the President of Ozquilt Network, which promotes art quilts for Australian and New Zealand art quilters. We met earlier in the day for our AGM, it was a bit more tricky than usual because the AGM was held in person as well as via Zoom. It all went well and I was elected President for a second year. A visitor took a photo of us after the meeting.

OZQN AGM

After the meeting, Zara Zannettino kindly gave us a talk about photographing our quilts. Then it was time for the official opening of AW9.

The opening was held at the newly renovated gallery Fabrik, in Lobethal Adelaide. Lobethal is in the Adelaide Hills, I think it was about a 45 minute drive from the city.

The quilts are 40cm x 40cm square or about 16 inches, they were beautifully displayed and the gallery provided us with a delicious spread of finger food.  I missed out on the food because I had to give an opening speech and then I was busy talking to guests. We had over 50 people at the opening including quite a few interstate people.

Here are a couple of photos of the crowd.

I took some photos of quilts with the artists, but I missed out on getting a photo of everyone who was there. Too much talking I suppose.

Here I am with my quilt Tropicana.

Me with Tropicana

Still Surching by Zara Zannettino

Bandicoot on Damask by Julie Haddrick

Ode to Bundanon by Linda Balding

Lorinda Freeman 

Here are some other quilts that I admired.

And the Wheels go Round 4 by Sue Reid

Blossom and Buzz by Tracey Barelli

Configuration by Alison Withers

Kangaroo Grass Study 2 by Alison Charlton

Mr. Roo 2 by Ann Head

After the opening we had a dinner at the Lobethal Bierhaus which is the restaurant next door. Unfortunately,  the power went out in the area and in the end we were dining by candle light. Luckily we had ordered wood fired pizza for dinner. The staff were frantically trying to cook and serve us, it was slow but everyone understood.

It was much more stressful being the organiser for the event rather than a guest, but it went well I suppose. My husband came with me, so that made it a little holiday for us and it was good to catch up with some fellow quilters.

Bye for now,

Linda

Houston 2024 Win

 I woke up at 6am on Saturday to watch the award ceremony for the Houston International Quilt Show and was absolutely thrilled to win second Prize in the Pieced section for my quilt Citrus Zing.

Below is a screen shot from my computer.

2nd Place Houston

Another Australian won a prize too. It was my friend Tania Tanti who won the Master Award for Innovative Artistry for her quilt The Naughty Corner.

The Naughty Corner by Tania Tanti

Best of Show went to a miniature quilt. I would love to see it in person, it must be amazing. It was made by Chen Jing from China. The quilt is only 17" x 18".

Still Life by Chen Jing

Houston is on at the end of the month, it's a shame that I won't be there to see it.

Here is a better photo of my quilt Citrus Zing.

Citrus Zing by Linda Steele

It's been quite a popular quilt. It was used to advertise the Golden Textures Exhibition last year.

This year it is being used to advertise the AQIPP prize for next year.

I suppose the colours are unusual.

A couple of weeks ago the prizes for the Sydney Quilt Show were announced and Ocean Dance 2 won a Judges Award.

Ocean Dance 2 by Linda Steele

It has been a lovely end to my year when I think that  also got into Quilt National for the first time. Quilt National will be opened in Ohio next May and I am planning on going.

Here is a small detail photo of my Quilt National quilt.

Communication Breakdown detail

I know it is not all about prizes etc but they are nice to receive.

Bye for now,

Linda

One Step Further 2024 and good news

 Last Saturday, I went to the opening of One Step Further in the charming town of Kyneton, Victoria Australia.

As usual with these events, one of the most enjoyable experiences is catching up with friends and meeting new people. I managed to catch up with quite a few who I only know by name and have never met before.

The quilts were of a high standard too, I think the exhibition was even better than the last one in 2022. One Step Further is on every two years and is organised by Victorian Quilters Inc.

Here are some of the photos that I took.

Windswept by Anna Brown

Goddess by Grace Di Muzio

Joy Shines Through Life's Blurred Lines by Judith Oke

Earth Blanket- Leaf Litter by Judy Hooworth

Cicada 2 by Julie-Anne Rogers

Heat Stress by Sally Swan

There were two Highly Commended prizes and they both happen to be on the Ozquilt Network committee of which I am President, so I was really thrilled for them.

River Bank by Linda Balding

Eucalyptus 1 by Julie Tasker

Julie Tasker lives in Queensland and she made the trip down so she could visit her brother at the same time. She didn't know that she had won a prize when she organised her tickets.

Second prize went to Zara Zannettino.

Full Circle by Zara Zannettino

The winner was Bree Thomas, one of the judges, Lynda Worthington did a talk and said that this work went Two Steps Further!

New Beginnings by Bree Thomas

I heard Bree talking about her quilt and she said that the rolled fabric behind the butterflies were old quilts that she didn't want anymore. What an innovative idea.

The Old Auction House Gallery is at 52 Mollison Street, Kyneton and there is a large art supply shop attached to the gallery. Oh my goodness, I had to be strong and only bought two things.

The exhibition is on until the 14th October 2024, so plenty of time to get there.

Someone took a photo of Julie and I together.

Julie and I at OSF.

I didn't have a quilt in One Step Further because I was busy trying to make an entry for Quilt National.

This morning I got the email saying that I was accepted!!

I still can hardly believe it. Quilt National is the most prestigious contemporary quilt exhibition in the world. People try for years and never get accepted. It is held every two years and I tried in 2020 and 2022 with no luck.

I guess it was third time lucky!

Bye for now,

Linda