Morocco Adventure

I had the most wonderful holiday in Morocco last month. I went on a Textile tour that was organised by Amazigh Cultural Tours Morocco. It was so well organised and we were taken to so many amazing places and stayed in the most gorgeous guesthouses.

Our special guest host was Gloria Loughman and she had designed an applique project of a Moroccan door for us to work on when we had some free time.

We started our holiday in Marrakesh and we had so much fun exploring the markets. It was so different to anywhere that I had been before, I kept thinking that I had wandered into a film set.

Here are some market photos that I took.

Fruit stand

Spices

Glassware

Shoes

Tagines

The Moroccan people do most of there cooking in Tagines, the food was usually meat and vegetables and it was always so tender.

It was such a culture shock to walk along the narrow streets keeping a look out for people riding on donkey carts or motorbikes. The motorbike is starting to replace donkeys in Morocco

As we were leaving Marrakesh we were taken to the Yves St Laurent Museum. Apparently, he used to live there. There was so much to see, we could've spent all day there.

YSL House

As well as a gorgeous bright blue house there was a magnificent garden with the most interesting display of Cactus plants. 

There was also plenty of YSL clothing on display.

YSL clothing

There was a lot of embroidery on all the clothes, it made me want to get back into doing embroidery again.

Next we stayed at a French style farmhouse in Ait Oumghar. It was very quiet and picturesque and so different to the noisy hustle and bustle of Marrakech. 

Everywhere we turned seemed to be a photo opportunity.

We visited a women's embroidery group where they showed us a couple of their specialist stitches and we were served a delicious afternoon tea. There was also some free time for us to start our Door project that was organised by Gloria Loughman.

The following morning we set off for the Sahara Desert and on the way we went to Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a walled village that was built in the 15th Century and there was a part that was from the 11th Century. 

Ait Ben Haddou

It is the backdrop for many films including Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Cleopatra. Apparently Morocco has a huge film industry.

Most of us climbed the many, many steps and got to the top where we had a good view of the area.

Here I am at the top, it was a hot day.

I happened to get a photo of this interesting gentleman outside one of the many doors.

We also stopped by a women's association where they showed us how they process the Argan nuts to make their famous Argan Oil. There was also a shop where we could buy some.

Argan Oil Shop

All of a sudden, we were in the Sahara Desert, a place I never thought I'd be. We were welcomed as usual with green tea and fancy biscuits.

Our welcome treat.

We stayed at so many lovely venues. They were Riads, that meant they used to be the home of rich people and have now been turned into guesthouses.

Our Sahara Guesthouse.

We settled into our rooms and then walked out onto the sand dunes to watch the sunset.

Sahara Sunset

The next morning we got up early and watched the sunrise.

Sunrise in the Sahara

It was like a dream come true and a truly wonderful experience.

On the other side of the pool was a covered outdoor area where we could do some more work on our doorway project. We were having such a great time.

We took the opportunity to have a photo with us all showing the silk scarves that we had dyed earlier with Rose Madder dye. The man on the left is Abdou, our wonderful guide who was having some fun with us.

Our silk scarves

We were only halfway through our holiday and so much more to come. I'll show some more photos in my next post.

Bye for now,

Linda

Sydney Quilt Show 2022

 I have been back from my holiday in Morocco for over a week now, but it took me a week to get over my jet-lag. I have never experienced it before! 

While I was away, the Sydney Quilt Show was on and I won first prize in the Miniature category. I was actually staying at a guest house in the Sahara Desert and woke up to messages from friends in Australia congratulating me. Isn't that amazing! There is internet in the Sahara!

My quilt is called Zest and it is 10 inches square. It is improv machine pieced and machine quilted. My quilt has been returned to me and so I took a photo of it with its blue ribbon.

Zest with ribbon

A friend of mine went up to Sydney for the show because she also won a prize and she brought my prize home with her.

I received a gift voucher from Grafton Textiles and another from Fabric Sauce, they are both shops in NSW. I also received a gorgeous little rotary cutter, circle cutter and a ruler by Olfa and batting from Quilt NSW.

Sydney Quilt Show prizes

I really appreciate those prizes because I know from experience how much work goes into putting on a quilt show and the work that goes into securing sponsorship. Thank you very much Quilt NSW.

I arrived home on Halloween and so two of my grandchildren came over to show me their scary costumes, they were very excited.

Halloween

I took so many photos of Morocco that I will have to start editing and do some posts about it. It was an amazing experience.

Bye for now,

Linda

Textile Tour of Morocco

 Yes, I am actually going to Morocco! A friend mentioned that she had booked into the textile tour of Morocco that is being hosted by Gloria Loughman. I know Gloria because she lives in the same state as me and we go to the same quilt shows etc, but she is world famous and I love her quilts. Click on her name if you don't know Gloria Loughman's work.

Anyway, I am leaving for Morocco on Thursday and I am flying by myself! I fly to Dubai and then to Casablanca and then to Marrakesh, where I will be met by a guide who will take me to our first hotel. My friend is meeting me at Marrakesh because she is going to London first. 

I have been busy tying up loose ends and getting prepared.

I have been making another portrait quilt that features my grandson, Jack.

I managed to get the top finished and basted it yesterday, so it is ready for me to quilt when I get back.

I am still doing the art course on-line with Laura Horn. She's a lovely young artist from South Australia. I follow along with the lessons but it's quite time consuming learning a new craft. I hope to apply my new skills to art quilts. In fact, I have decided to spend the Christmas holidays doing fabric surface design. But I have had that goal for the last couple of years and didn't get around to it. We'll see, I just might do it this year.

Last month, we had to make abstract marks onto watercolour paper and then cut it up and try and resolve the compositions. I hated mine and they sat in a pile for a couple of weeks. Finally, I thought I might start trying to draw on them and see what happened.

I ended up enjoying it and liked the end result. I haven't got a photo of what they looked like before I started decorating them because they looked so bad to me, it didn't occur to take a photo. I used posca pens for the mark making.

Next time you hear from me, I'll be back from Morocco, I'll be gone for two and a half weeks.

Bye for now,

Linda

One Step Further Opening

 We had the official opening for One Step Further last Wednesday. One Step Further is an Art Quilt exhibition run by Victorian Quilters, it's run every two years. I left early for the long drive, it usually takes 2 and a half hours to get there but I always stop off for a coffee at a lovely bakery in Murchison on the way, so it takes 3 hours.

We had about 25 people attend, numbers are still down compared to the pre-Covid numbers. A local lady provided a lovely lunch of sandwiches, sausage rolls and cakes. There was a lot of food and it was absolutely delicious.

I managed to take some photos of people that were there in front of their quilts.

Here is the current President of Victorian Quilters, Marie Lee (on the right) with Leslie Edwards, who coordinated One Step Further this year. I took their photo in front of Judy Hooworth's quilt, Mangroves- Low Tide at Lake Eraring, which won first prize.

Leslie Edwards and Marie Lee

Leslie also had a quilt in the show, Leslie loves doing lots of surface design.

Leslie Edwards with her quilt, Silkience

Beth and Trevor Reid came all the way from Canberra to be there. It was good to see them again. They had two quilts in the show. This quilt was called The Eyes Have it.

Beth and Trevor Reid with The Eyes Have it.

Some one took a photo of me with my quilt, Time Flies. I cannot believe how tired I look, I am so busy all the time, I really must slow down.

Me with my Quilt Time Flies

I met Christine Beardsley from South Australia for the first time and we had a good chat.

Christine Beardsley with her quilt, Winter Playtime.

Linden Lancaster won the runner up prize and she was at the opening too. I loved her quilt, she was also excited because she's just heard that she got into Quilt National this year.

Linden Lancaster with Bottlewashers no. 1

It was a lovely afternoon catching up with friends that we haven't seen for a couple of years or more.

I almost forgot, Lyn Weeks also came and I took a photo of her too.

Lyn Weeks with One Green Thread

There was a very diverse range of quilts, so many different techniques. I hope people manage to see the exhibition.

It's on at the Kyabram Town Hall Gallery. Allan Street, Kyabram, Victoria. 

10-4 everyday except Sundays. The exhibition is open until the 26th November.

Bye for now,

Linda

One Step Further 2022

 I was at the opening for One Step Further today, it's the Art Quilt Competition run by Victorian Quilters and I was absolutely thrilled to win a Highly Commended prize for my quilt Time Flies. Actually, I was gob smacked, because I thought my quilt wouldn't be arty enough to win a prize.

Time Flies by Linda Steele

However, I am not complaining.

Jan Preston won the other Highly Commended prize for Shadowed Leaves.

Shadowed leaves by Jan Preston

I don't know how she got such strong colour with her eco printing.

The Runner Up or 2nd prize went to Linden Lancaster for her quilt Bottlewashers 1. I really love Linden's work.

Bottlewashers 1 by Linden Lancaster

Drumroll for the first prize!!

First Prize went to Judy Hooworth for her gorgeous quilt, Mangroves- Low Tide at Lake Eraring.

Mangroves- Low Tide at lake Eraring by Judy Hooworth

The exhibition is help at the Kyabram Town Hall Gallery, Victoria and it will be open everyday except Sundays until the 26th November.

It was a long 3 hour drive there and another 3 hours back, so that was a lot of driving in the rain today. It was a wonderful opening and great to catch up with friends. I'll put more photos up in another post but after all that driving, I am pretty exhausted.

Bye for now,

Linda

Haven Catalogue

 I received a lovely surprise in the mail today. SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) sent me the catalogue for the Haven Exhibition.

I was thrilled to be accepted for such a prestigious exhibition because I know that people try for years  and can never get accepted. The downside for getting accepted is that the quilt is on tour for three years and so it's a while before you see the quilt again.

I found my page in the catalogue.

I clearly remember taking that photo of my daughter, Rebecca last year. I had the idea for a quilt and tried taking a photo of myself but I didn't like them at all. I asked if I could take a photo of her in a mask and she agreed. It was a cold, wintery day and I took a few photos but only the final photo was the right one. I asked her to look down and try to look sad.

This is actually the second time that I have been accepted, my quilt called Grief was accepted into the SAQA Connections Exhibition.

Grief by Linda Steele

The first outing for the Haven exhibition will be at the Houston Quilt Show later this year. I am not going but I would love to see it. 

Bye for now,

Linda

Playing with paint and Collage

 The time is flying by and although I am busy all the time, it's hard to remember what I have been doing. I might have to start keeping a record or a diary!

I have recently finished an improv quilt but it cannot be revealed yet, but here is me putting on the binding. Although binding is not my favourite part of making a quilt, at least it means that it is nearly finished.

I have also been playing around with collage, paint and paper. I really enjoy it and hope that I will eventually do something that I love. At the moment I am allowing myself to experiment.

I bought an online class (actually I have bought a lot of online classes during and since lockdowns) with a French artist named Laly Mille. The class is called Soulful Abstracts and she asked us lots of questions about the things we like and we had to quickly answer them and then find a picture on Pinterest that looks like the answer to each question. We weren't supposed to take much time, just go quickly and then take a screen shot of the pictures that we collected.

I was so surprised to see them and how the colours went together. Apparently that is a colour palette that we should try and work with. I printed out the photos and pasted them into my sketchbook.

I was shocked to see all those blues, dark pinks and golds. Then I remembered a photo that I took a few months ago of a scene from a TV show because I liked the colours and it happened to be the same colours.

The next step was to just paint a page of those colours.

Now I have  to try and use those colours and prompts from the photos to see what happens. I still haven't done that, it's on my do-do list.

I did do some little abstracts using some other colours.

I wasn't that happy, so I added some mark making and I liked them better.

I hope I will be able to translate these ideas to fabric eventually.

One of my daughters wanted to make some cushions for her new house, so she asked me to teach her how to make them. We had a lovely afternoon making them. She sent me a photo with my granddaughter Anna admiring them.

The world has had the sad news of Queen Elizabeth passing away, I feel a bit flat and sad about it. I remember lining up in the city to see her drive by on one of her visits to Melbourne. I think it was in the 1970's.

Bye for now,

Linda