Nearly there

I put the binding and the hanging sleeve on the basic quilt today, then started playing with the images I have printed and embroidered.

I have taken lots of photos: a digital camera is a fabulous design tool. Arrange something - take a picture, arrange the components another way - take a picture. I am not sure whether I can put pictures of what I am doing on this blog, so until I find out - sorry, no pics.

Looking at today's photos, I think I have found an arrangement that pleases me. I just hope it also pleases the selectors.

I plan to finish this quilt tomorrow. The second quilt is pushing hard to be addressed.

Fathers' Day

My father died 10 years ago - a week after Princess Diana. I remember my sister and I pushing Dad in a wheelchair in the hospital gardens and talking about it. We had both heard about the accident on the radio as we drove to the hospital - at that point it was not known that she had died. Dad was not really interested.

Kevin's father died in 1990, so we have not had a family gathering to celebrate Fathers' Day for some time. However, last night we had a mini gathering.

Helen brought all the ingredients and cooked a delicious seafood pie, even though she was not feeling well - sore throat, snuffles, aches and pains. Graham, Kevin's brother, visited after he had been to his daughter's house for lunch and stayed to eat. It has been a very pleasant evening.

The Quiz Night

The night was a fundraiser for the school Helen teaches at, and was organised by the parents. They did a fantastic job - there were lots of prizes though I didn't win any of them, and our table ended up scoring in the middle group, so no joy there either.

The range of questions was very broad and there was only one answer that I disagreed with. They asked for the literal meaning of Frere Jacques, but gave the answer as Brother Jack, rather than Brother James.

They used technology very cleverly, using a computer and a data projector to display answers and frequent updates on the scores.

I will be interested to hear how much money they raised.

Some quilt progress

I have finished the twin needling and have removed the stabiliser from the embroidered pieces. I am still playing with the layout and have not yet cut the background to size.

I went back to the Melville Art Awards yesterday and took some photos of pieces I really liked. This is one of them, made by Timothy Wells. It is created from pieces of recycled and distressed metal and I really love it. If I had the money (and a suitable place to hang it) I would buy it.



I am going to a quiz night tonight with Helen. Haven't been to one for years.

Organisation

I have spent almost all day on organising the big events that will happen in September and October.

First is the Designing Women Retreat. We have this every September at a wonderful purpose built venue in Dwellingup, an old timber town SE of Perth. The group has been going there since 2001 and it is a highlight of our year. I finally got all the details together and sent them off to everyone who is going. I think we'll have a great time again.

The other event is not my responsibility - only getting there with what I need is! It is the Aeoteroa Fibre Forum on the Kapiti Coast in NZ. I booked my own fare some time ago, but have just received the details of a post-Forum tour of the South Island. I have dragooned a somewhat reluctant Kevin into coming to Wellington after the Forum and doing the tour. He has also decided to visit some of his E course classmates in Brisbane ( a hiatus of 46 years since he has seen some of them) so the logistics needed a bit of juggling. I think they are all in place now.

Slogging away

I had a disaster this morning. I set up one of the pieces for embroidery, pressed Start and much to my horror found the machine was stitching out one of the designs I had decided was too dense. Though I stopped it quickly, it proved very difficult to unpick and I ended up with a hole.

So out with the BJS, soak some silk, delete the designs from the memory stick and replace them with the revised versions, iron the silk on to freezer paper and print the backgrounds again, ready for embroidering. This time all went well. The embroidered bits look good, and I have started the twin needling on the foundation.

However, I have also had thoughts about another quilt - in fact I woke up this morning with its design clear in my mind. I have been battling all day to keep it from occupying all my attention. I can enter two quilts, so it's not a question of which one. I am determined to finish this one, then the other can take centre stage.

And more good news . . .

I trotted off to the hospital this morning. Four X-rays and two hours later I was given the all clear. I am so relieved.

Have been working on the quilt this afternoon. Yesterday I decided to redo some of the designs because they were too dense. I think I have fixed them now, but I may have to do another print of one of the photos where I had to unpick some stitching. I had better treat some more silk just in case.

Good news

I sold the piece I put in the Melville Art Awards!

I went to the Council Chambers today to look at the exhibition and was told when I got there that my piece had sold. The exhibition was very interesting - I think the standard of entries has improved in every category except painting. I think I need to go back with my camera and take some photos of pieces that grabbed me.

I wasn't much impressed by the piece that won the textiles prize. I don't think that metallic wire can be defined as a textile, even if textile techniques like plaiting and weaving are used.

I went to the Embroiderers' Guild book sale today and bought 3 books for Designing Women. I also succumbed and bought a book for myself - a facsimile copy of a 1920's book on ribbonwork dimensional flowers. Cost me $1. Also bought 2 metres of black rayon for discharge experiments.

And my quilt? I have cut out the background fabric and the wadding. I have found another fabric to use for the backing - I am hoping for some visual transfer of colour/shading. Tomorrow is sample day.

Little Progress

I went up into the hills with Kevin today to pick up a computer from a guy who has donated several before. It is a "lampshade" iMac and he gave it to Kevin for $50 provided Kevin also took away a laser printer! We haven't decided what to do with the computer yet, but there are always plenty of deserving people, not necessarily in third world countries.

Because of our excursion I have not done much on the quilt. However, I found the fabric I want to use for the background and there is enough to use it for the backing and binding as well. I also found the wadding. I am planning on twin needling the background fabric and the wadding together, then applying the embroidered photos and tying it all to the backing. Some experimentation needed first - it might be better to do the twin needling on all three layers.

I don't think I will get much done tomorrow either. The Embroiderers' Guild is having a book sale. Personally, I need more books like a hole in the head, but there is always the possibility of picking up something that would be good for Designing Women's library. Plus I need to go to the Art Awards - I forgot the opening was last night. And the Save the Children book sale is also on at the University of WA - maybe we could fit that in on Tuesday if I don't have to spend all day at the hospital. I have already put Tuesday aside as a lost day and it would be a bonus to go book hunting.

I am planning on finishing the quilt by next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Work has started

on my entry for the Australia Wide Quilt Exhibition. I am planning a collage of photos I have taken, each embellished with freemotion embroidery (but repeatable if I have a foulup because I have done it with 4D Sketch). I finished tweaking the pictures on the computer yesterday and started on the embroidery designs. I finished them this morning and printed them out. If they look as good on fabric as they do on paper I will be really pleased.

Then I prepared the fabric for printing. I already had silk and silk organza that had been treated with Bubble Jet Set so I just had to iron the pieces to freezer paper. The first print went really well on our new Canon printer, but the second one jammed. Ouch! The fabric was not really damaged, but the printer no longer works. Since it is only a few weeks old, we hope it will be covered by warranty.

The printer I use for my laptop is an HP which isn't a straight through printer, so I have been reluctant to use it with fabric. I shouldn't have been! It worked beautifully and I now have 10 prints, 2 each of 5 photos, one on silk and the other on silk organza. Tomorrow I will either start the embroidery or prepare the background. The required size for the quilt is only 40 cm x 40 cm so I should get it finished really quickly.

One not so good thing happened today. I got a recall for the mammogram I had on Tuesday. They have found something in the picture of the right breast that is suspicious, so I have to go to Charlie Gairdners (hospital) next Tuesday for more pictures and possibly other diagnostic procedures. I am concerned, of course, but not too worried. A couple of friends have recently had recalls and have been cleared, but I will not deny the possibility of disease. If I have something wrong I want to know and learn what options I have. In the meantime, I have a quilt to finish.