Many thanks to my friend, Babette, for discovering and taking me to this lovely quilt exhibition today.
The Morton Community Centre is a wonderful setting for the exhibition, with Victorian mouldings, an impressive, sweeping staircase, dark wooden furniture and panelling. The exhibition was spread out over several of the rooms and the Just Sew shop from Penrith had a stand selling fabrics, patterns, threads etc.
One of the first quilts we came to and both admired was made by a friend of Babette's, Freda Hodgson. It was based on a quilt by Susan Briscoe and showcased beautiful Japanese fabrics in appliquéd kimono shapes.
Apologies for the blurry, dark photos, but the lighting was quite dim to protect the quilts on display.
Freda said that she had taken several years to complete the quilt and had almost thrown it away several times. Thank goodness she persisted! The framing and border were the sticking points, as she wanted colours that would complement and unify the piece.
As well as the large bed quilts, there were numerous smaller art quilts. This one caught my eye (I could not see the maker's details) but their statement label said that it was inspired by an oriental quilt and depicts the four seasons with borders representing the four elements (wood, fire, water and metal). The Japanese-style chrysanthemum in the middle was made from loose, appliquéd petals giving it a three dimensional look.
This gorgeous Baltimore sampler wall hanging was made by Catherine Edgar using hand appliqué
and quilting. The technique was taught by Yvonne Bodecott at classes held by Just Sew in Penrith. The chrysanthemum heads were very textured and three-dimensional.
'God's Will' pattern quilt by Viva Collins. I love the garden-like palette of this quilt and the perfect mix of light, medium and dark tones. The simple pattern of squares and strips looks quite do-able. I can imagine making something similar from the scraps in my stash. The strips could all be the same fabric to give some unity to the scraps.
A pair of memory lap quilts made by Trish Charlesworth from her late husband's shirts. These poignant quilts must hold many memories for the maker, and I really loved the designer's use of the striped, plain and checked patterns and different tones found in the shirts. A great way of recycling old shirts, too - always readily found in charity shops if you don't have your own supply.
These images show details of an amazing, hand sewn quilt that was made by a lady sitting next to the sick bed of a relative, made from all of her nylon, 1960s/70s dresses and other outfits. It is an unfinished top, donated to the Quilting Group by the maker, and was shown to us as part of a 'show and tell' session. Although the fabrics won't feel as nice to the touch as the cotton ones more usually used for patchwork, this would have been the piece I took home if it had been for sale. It is a wonderful example of the exuberant use of the materials to hand, and conveys the many hours of devotion (both to the sewing and construction, and to the sick relative). Some of the dresses must have been very eye-catching indeed. The vivid patterns and mixture of colours have been skillfully scattered over the surface to provide a good balance of tones and contrast. It just shows what can be done with a seemingly disparate collection of fabrics.
'After The Storm' by Catherine Edgar. This art quilt was machine pieced, appliquéd and quilted. It was made for an exhibition challenge on the theme of 'The Sea'. I particularly liked the rocks and white wave crests in this piece - very effective.
There was a raffle to win a cushion: each of the twenty or so cushions had a bag pinned to it, and you put your raffle ticket in the bag attached to the cushion you hoped to win. The winning ticket will be drawn from each bag. I chose a simple, small cushion with a delicately-coloured floral fabric and a completely different one with carved white faux 'fur' fabric. Fingers crossed! Babette liked one made from tweed fabrics and one with a French theme. I also liked both of those, but felt that the ones I picked would suit our decor better.
The Morton Community Centre is a wonderful setting for the exhibition, with Victorian mouldings, an impressive, sweeping staircase, dark wooden furniture and panelling. The exhibition was spread out over several of the rooms and the Just Sew shop from Penrith had a stand selling fabrics, patterns, threads etc.
One of the first quilts we came to and both admired was made by a friend of Babette's, Freda Hodgson. It was based on a quilt by Susan Briscoe and showcased beautiful Japanese fabrics in appliquéd kimono shapes.
Apologies for the blurry, dark photos, but the lighting was quite dim to protect the quilts on display.
There was a raffle to win a cushion: each of the twenty or so cushions had a bag pinned to it, and you put your raffle ticket in the bag attached to the cushion you hoped to win. The winning ticket will be drawn from each bag. I chose a simple, small cushion with a delicately-coloured floral fabric and a completely different one with carved white faux 'fur' fabric. Fingers crossed! Babette liked one made from tweed fabrics and one with a French theme. I also liked both of those, but felt that the ones I picked would suit our decor better.
A great exhibition, finished off nicely with a cup of coffee and a chat in the restaurant. We both agreed on what a great resource the centre was for the area, with its café, numerous meeting rooms, a large park area at the back and even a beauty room and hairdressers on site.
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