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