Family Time

 We finally got out of our 6th lockdown and so it was all about catching up with family. My daughter, her husband and Savannah came over on the first weekend to show us their new dog. It is a French Bulldog called Bentley.

He had already grown so much from the first photos that they sent us.

Jack and Anna came over to show us their Halloween costumes before they went out to trick or treat. Anna is showing how scary she can be!

Earlier this month, it was Savannah's 7th birthday and her parents had told her that she couldn't have a party because we had just come out of lockdown. She took it really well, but of course we all wanted to see her for her birthday, so all the family hid in the kitchen and when she arrived home, we all yelled Surprise!! She was completely surprised and had no idea of her parents devious plan. It was a lovely warm night too, so the cousins could all run around outside.

Last weekend, we went to a winery to celebrate my son-in-law's 40th birthday. It was another beautiful day and I had my photo taken with Alison and Savannah.

I had to mind all three of my grandchildren last weekend and Savannah read Jack and Anna their bedtime stories.

I love it when we can all get together.

So, not much sewing has been happening with family visits and organising the Victorian Quilters Showcase. The good news is that the judging is complete and the results will be announced and online next week.

I have started a new quilt though, here are the fabrics that I have chosen.

The fabrics are very different from my previous quilts, hopefully it will all work out.

Bye for now,

Linda

Melbourne Malaise

 I can at last show my latest quilt called Melbourne Malaise. 

The theme for this years AQIPP art quilt competition was 'Where in the World'. AQIPP stands for Australian Quilts in Public Places and it is on every two years.

I was going to do a quilt about Japan and the ideas were going about my head but I just couldn't get started on it. All I could think about was Covid and all our lockdowns. I really wanted to try a more collage style quilt after I had been playing around with it earlier this year.

I was absolutely thrilled to have my quilt accepted, I thought they might want something more exotic than our home town.

The quilt was supposed to be about me and my Covid experience, going for a walk every morning. On a whim, I asked my daughter Bec, if I could take a photo of her in a mask. Here is the photo and it was my starting point. I thought the quilt would be improved with a younger version of me!!

Photo of my daughter

I started on the face first, it made it a bit easier with a mask.

Making the face

Then I added the clothes using different black batik fabrics.

Making the clothes.

I am really sorry that I deleted all the step by step photos as I made the quilt. I took so many but thought they were clogging up my phone and deleted them. To tell you the truth I was really concentrating and out of my comfort zone making this quilt and I couldn't think much further than actually trying to make it work. 

I used my photos that I took on my walks around the neighbourhood and at the closed up shopping centre. Even the 3 kookaburras at the top were from a photo on my walk.

For the background, I used a large piece of white PFD fabric that I painted with my Sun Dye paints in various greens and sun-printed it. I also used stamps and stencils, applique, hand and machine embroidery and digital printing.

I am happy with the result and really must try it again before I forget how I did it. I wish that I hadn't deleted those photos though.

Here is a detail photo.

Melbourne Malaise detail

The Exhibition is on at the moment at the Box Hill Town Hall in Melbourne, Australia.

The opening times are Tuesday to Friday10am-4pm and Saturday 12-4pm. It is open until the 24th December and because of the restrictions the exhibition has been extended and is also going to be on January 11th to February 12th 2022.

Unfortunately, there was no opening night last week and so I don't know who won any prizes but the organisers are hoping to be allowed to have one in early December. I haven't seen the exhibition myself yet but I am looking forward to going soon.

Bye for now,

Linda

Sold! Great news

 My contemporary quilt called Grief that is touring the USA with the SAQA Connections exhibition has been bought by a collector. The quilt was at the Houston quilt show last week and bought at the show, although it is on tour until 2025.

This is the first quilt that I have ever put a sale price on and so the first quilt I have sold except for donations I have made. I am absolutely thrilled. I have had some lovely feedback from people who have seen it, which has been lovely. I made it last year in our first big lockdown, you can read about it here.https://lindasteelequilts.blogspot.com/2021/03/exploring-emotions-with-quilts.html

I got another surprise when the SAQA Journal arrived and there was a photo of one of my quilts.

It is SAQA journal Volume 31, no. 2. I was innocently reading it one night in bed and turned the page and there was my quilt. My quilts have been in lots of magazines before but the surprise never loses its gloss and it's the first time I have been in a SAQA magazine.

That's my Firelight quilt at the bottom. It's very exciting that they picked my quilt.

Earlier this year I did an 8 week on-line course with German collage artist Cordula Kagemann and the organisers, Fibre Arts Take 2 were so impressed by the results that they published a book of our work.

So, I have had quite a boost to my ego lately. 

We got out of lockdown last week and at last the shops were allowed to open. Everyone is so happy and feel that life will start again. Most people agree that this latest lockdown of 3 months has been the hardest of all and everyone has been a bit down. So, we've had six lockdowns over the last two years and have the world record of being the most locked down city. We are still getting lots of cases but we are over 80% vaccinated and should reach 90% at the end of this month. Hooray.

Bye for now,

Linda