Autumn 2005 Newsletter
Helping Kaffe Fassett by Judith Roose
I think I must be the original Kaffe Fassett 'groupie'. I have been fascinated by his work since the late 1980s when he produced his first knitting book. Since then I have acquired nearly all of his books and have even completed some projects. So when I was given the opportunity to help him 'sew on some sleeves', I jumped.
I immediately knew I had the right house by the wonderful coloured mosaics in the porch. The door was opened by Brandon Mably, Kaffe Fassett's business manager.I was led up many stairs to the top of the house, but I wanted to stop and stare, as needless to say, the walls were adorned by Fassett's work - politeness made me follow quickly. Brandon took me into Fassett's 'studio', a light and airy room at the top of the house. I was introduced to Kaffe Fassett and although I was initially feeling quite nervous, I was immediately put at ease. Fassett was so natural and charming that all fears vanished, that is until he asked me to use his $7,000 Husqvarna sewing machine to sew a binding onto a quilt. I plucked up my courage and proceeded to use it after a short lesson. It was a joy to use and I had to be dragged off it eventually. Then it was some hand sewing, attaching sleeves to quilts. I had been joined by Jan Sorensen from London Quilters. So there were the two of us busily sewing and chatting away with Fassett, who was knitting. It was a most wonderful experience. Jan's day was made when we were talking about our Exhibition. Fassett said his 'visitors choice' was the one called 'Circles and Squares'. He commented how well the colours worked together. That quilt was Jan's and she was delighted with Fassett’s approval of her work.
One of the thrills of working with Kaffe Fassett was seeing his house and more of his work. Jan and I were given a tour of the house and this time I could stop and stare. It was lovely seeing so much familiar work in the 'flesh' that had been featured in the books. The dining room was especially spectacular, with amazing landscape wallpaper and Fassett chinaware, all lit by candles. All round the house, there were tapestry covered chairs, both Kaffe Fassett's and Brandon Mably's. Mably is also a textile designer with many knitting, patchwork and tapestry designs featured in books. Colour is everywhere in the house and garden. The patio area is striking for the mosaics. In April, this is beautifully set against the blossom of the trees.
We were also shown more of Fassett's quilts, both his own and some antique ones that he had bought. You could see how Fassett has been influenced in his design and colours by his surroundings, whether it is a functional antique quilt or the colours of a country such as Vietnam.
I left the studio with thoughts of a wonderful day, when I was doing things that I love and with the most interesting people and surroundings. I have returned to do some more work, and to me, it is a privilege and a marvellous learning experience.
Kaffe Fassett will be giving a talk and tea at Liberty on the 24th November at 10.30am, followed by a book signing. Tickets are from Customer Services at Liberty. Liberty make it a very nice and welcoming event for all. On the 7th December, Kaffe will be signing books at 3pm at the V&A Museum. This event is to celebrate Kaffe's design of hundreds of covered fans that will be decorating the V&A Christmas tree.
CHAIR CHAT
Dear LQ’s,
Welcome to the latest Newsletter which will be Linda Seward’s last. She has been doing this for several years and feels that she deserves a break. Over those years she has provided us with a Newsletter which has been interesting, informative and well read, not just by us but by the many worldwide readers who read it on our web site. I look forward to seeing all those quilts which she can make now that she doesn’t have to be our editor. A volunteer to take over this post has been found. Rita Dockery will be proposed as the new editor at the AGM and I hope she will introduce herself to you in the next Newsletter.
Most of the quilting that I do is by machine. I think I’m a quite busy person and the speed that the machine gives me lets me be impatient about getting things done. If I really get down to it I can make quilts quite quickly. I’ve been known to produce a cot quilt in a day, especially when the new arrival is a bit early. But this summer I rediscovered the pleasure of handwork in quite an unexpected way.
As well as all the books and magazines that I was given, which have ended up at LQ’s, there was also a whole pile of patterns, including fabrics, for a block of the month project. Some of you may have seen it, Moonglow by Jinny Beyer - a series of ever more detailed star blocks set in an unusual arrangement with chimneys and cornerstone blocks. Although I’ve sometimes liked the B-O-M that I’ve seen in magazines and catalogues I’ve always been too mean to buy them but being given one I felt I had to have a go, especially as one block had already been done. I know I hadn’t done it but somehow the project had been started and so I had to finish it!
As each block was self-contained in a bag with all the instructions and fabric this was an ideal project to take on holiday so I threw half a dozen of them in my bag just in case I felt like doing them. I also took an entire box of fabric for another project but that’s another story. In Italy the weather was lovely. Cooler than usual so not too hot to sit in the sun, even in the afternoons. I started on the first block, tracing the pattern pieces, pinning them onto the fabric and cutting them out with scissors. I pinned the pieces together and using as small a running stitch I could do started to sew them together. To my surprise, it was fun. I wasn’t hunched over my machine, desperately trying to keep control. I didn’t feel challenged or stretched but it was relaxing and not that slow. By doing a bit each day I soon found that the six blocks had been finished and I wished I’d brought more. I now know that although I will probably still try and develop my quilting by machine there are always going to be a few hand pieced blocks lurking in the sewing basket.
One final note. Back in Britain I’m trying to do some more and found that it’s hard to do until I realised that one of things which made it so easy in Italy was the light. Even thought the fabric and thread were dark coloured, sewing in the bright sunlight stopped me peering myopically at the sewing. So now I’ve got to find a bright lamp to put in our sitting room so I can finish what I’ve started.
Best wishes
Tricia
Chair Challenge
Thanks to everyone who participated in the last challenge. The autumn coloured blocks looked splendid together and I’m sure Jean will do something interesting with them.
The next challenge is not a sewing one but a research project. Many members have said how much they enjoyed doing the last group quilt and although we’re not going to embark on another massive raffle (unless someone else wants to organise it) I thought we might want to make another quilt together anyway.
The challenge is to find a project which would be interesting to do, with lots of scope for personal interpretation and a range of abilities. I’ve no preconceptions about what sort of project it could be but if you want to try and design a quilt, or you’ve seen one in a magazine or book and think it would suit then bring your suggestions to the November AGM and December Xmas party and we’ll pin them up for everyone to see.
Kew Gardens by Frances Radford
Kew Gardens has always been an inspiration to plant lovers, but now it has the added delight of the most magical glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly, surely stimulating to anyone of a creative nature. Some you do not have to search for, they are there floating on the Palm House Pond, different coloured onion-shaped “Walla Wallas” along with a skiff overflowing with balls and twisted glass shapes, glinting in the sun when I saw them. (One wonders what the resident wildfowl made of them when first they were launched!) Others you come across mingling with the vegetation in the Temperate Conservatory, wonderful imaginative shapes and colours, in some cases, echoing the plants surrounding them. Some take the form of chandeliers, some rise up from water lily pools like flamingoes, others spring like spears among the cacti. Balls of speckled glass lie half hidden by tree roots or you are caught by surprise as a glittering ‘snake’ appears lurking beneath the overhanging branches in the Temperate House. One installation named “The Sun” composed of all shades of yellow glass took three days to build--all remarkable and magical, and worth a trip on the Silver Line Railway. Em and I thoroughly recommend it. These sculputres can be seen until the end of of the year.
QSDS by Alicia Merrett
Every June an important event takes place over two weeks in Columbus, Ohio: the annual Quilt/Surface Design Symposium (QSDS), currently in its 16th year. Set up by Nancy Crow and Linda Fowler as a way of further developing the artistic aspects of quiltmaking, it has been a great success right from the beginning, attracting many students and great teachers, and it is internationally considered to be the equivalent of ‘postgraduate school’ for quilters.
On alternate years Quilt National, the biggest and most prestigious exhibition/competition in the USA, takes place at the Dairy Barn Arts Centre, in nearby Athens, Ohio. I have been able to attend courses at QSDS twice, in 2003 and 2005, both times coinciding with Quilt National, so I have been able to visit it too. It is an amazing place.
Students stay in, and take classes, all under the same roof: the University Plaza Hotel on the outskirts of Columbus, near the university campus. The facilities are excellent, the hotel very comfortable, the teachers are top notch, and the fellow students are enthusiastic, committed, and communicate the typical American feeling of ‘can do’, that combats the slight reticence of the European students and encourages them to achieve more. The student body is truly international, they come from all continents.
Teachers at QSDS in diverse years have included Michael James, Nancy Crow, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Sue Benner, Melody Johnson, David Walker, Erika Carter, Jane Dunnewold, Els van Baarle, Mickey Lawler, Jane Sassaman, Jan Myers-Newbury, Susan Shie, and many more. The two weeks are divided into 4 sessions, 2 two-day ones over the weekends, and 2 five-day ones, Monday to Friday, and you don’t have to do all 4.
There are talks and slide shows in the evening, as well as social events, and bus tours to quilt exhibitions in the surrounding area, which are numerous and excellent. There is an outdoor swimming pool, air conditioning, and access to shopping in nearby Malls. People can ‘in-build’ some extra days in Columbus to go shopping for fabrics, art materials, clothes, have meals out, see the city of Columbus, etc.
In the hotel itself a number of traders set up ‘mini-shops’, where you can purchase fabrics, books and all sorts of quilting requirements. So if you forgot something, you don’t have to go far to get it.
My two trips to QSDS have been a great success, and I hope to go again once I’ve saved enough money for it! It is not cheap – by the time you add the cost of the courses, the accommodation and meals, the flights, etc., it comes to a few thousand pounds. But if you are serious about quilting, there is no better place to go to learn and develop your skills than QSDS. I warmly recommend it.
You can get information about next year’s courses in their website: www.qsds.com, or get a brochure by writing to Linda Fowler at: Quilt Surface Design International Ltd., 464 Vermont Place, Columbus, Ohio 43201, USA, enclosing two international postal orders. Do try it out!
Review of the Festival of Quilts by Jean Nissan
How to review this amazing display of more than 1300 quilts? This was my first visit to the FOQ and I had planned to spend two days there but family problems prevented this and I had to try to see it all in one day. Not nearly enough time to do justice to individual quilts, but a breath-taking experience of colour and creativity.
The section that remains clearest in my mind is the Quilters’ Guild Challenge: “Classic and Cool Quilts in Blue and White”. There were more than 80 entries in this section, including a delightful ‘Winding Ways’ design by Mary Rose Fry. I kept returning to these quilts, perhaps because they seemed an oasis of calm.
London Quilters were well represented with quilts from Alicia Merrett, Linda Seward and Louise Taylor in the Innovative category. Christine Restall, Sandra Grusd and Karen Ziadeh all had quilts in the Contemporary category and Sabi Westoby had a pair of quilts in the Traditional section. The Miniature quilts were delightful as usual, and of course included one by Carmen Redler. There was even an LQ Round Robin by Judith Hammersia, Tricia Revest, Rhona Neil, Paula Brownsett, Patty Hambrick and Linda Seward among the Group Quilts. I was pleased to see two quilts by Victoria Glyh – one of our newer members and, in her own words, a new quilter. Apologies if I have missed anyone out – this was a very large exhibition.
Apart from the quilts themselves I was very impressed with the layout of the show, with many individual galleries, some for individual quilters, some for particular exhibitions such as 25 x 25. There also seemed to be plenty of places where one could sit and rest while still enjoying the quilts. Of course there many traders – all those we would expect from the UK but also some from overseas. Altogether a wonderful experience, but next year I hope to spend more than one day at the exhibition and to include one or two workshops.
Workshops before The Festival of Quilts by Margaret Scholey-Hill
For the last two years I have enjoyed a three-day workshop before the Festival of Quilts. Last year Sue Benner’s workshop was on fusible textile art with machine embroidery which lifted my work by a couple of notches as well as being most enjoyable because of the good company and teaching.
This year I chose to go to Heide Stoll-Weber’s workshop on miniatures and mounting or finishing the piece. Finishing off is not my forte, but the added incentive was that we needed to take only a shoe box-full of small pieces of fabric. Machines were provided. On arrival we learned that only four quilters had registered but that Heide was happy to work with a small group in parallel with supervising setting up her exhibition and stall. You may have noticed Heide’s stall of beautifully dyed lengths of cotton satine, so popular with textile artists.
Our miniature quilts reflected very much our stacks of favourite fabrics although Heide had brought small packs of her fabrics for us to use. I brought mine home to admire before use! We learned four different ways of mounting small quilts all using materials available from art shops. When I returned home, a visit to Tottenham Court Road revealed all the colours of mounting board that were available, like opening a door to a treasure cave and this set my creative mind free to develop new areas of skills.
These were not miniature quilts as defined by the Miniature Quilts Group and the back of the quilt can’t be seen, so the judges would reject these pieces in an exhibition of wall hangings. But as wall decorations they are exciting and fresh. By knocking on this door eventually The Guild may open it!
Going on one of these workshops is like arriving early for a party when they aren’t ready for you. But you feel part of the action and there is the added interest of watching an exhibition of this size developing. Spending three days with a textile artist of this status was mind blowing, for me anyway. If you have the opportunity to attend a lecture or workshop by Heide, don’t hesitate to take it!
Hertfordshire Open Studios 3-25 September by Fran Katkar
Collecting the brochure for this event at our Sept. meeting, I found that it was in its last week. There were not many quilters listed under "Textile Artists" but fortunately Barbara Weeks was one, and only a half hour's drive away. Last Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a gloriously sunny drive out to her village and followed the signs to her house. Barbara greeted us at the door, and we stepped straight into her living room where quilts were draped over sofas and armchairs with a couple on the wall. There were no other visitors so we enjoyed hearing Barbara's comments about her working methods and sources of inspiration and of course the chance to examine her quilts close-up. Samples and workbooks for her latest commission were on display and the two works themselves are hanging in the Waterend Barn Restaurant in St. Albans. The client had particularly wanted the main piece to be large so it had been a challenge working on a quilted wallhanging 9 feet square! Barbara's studio is actually a large conservatory behind her living room, a very pleasant workspace.There is a large design wall where she likes to work directly to finalise a design. Two large pieces were hanging there, both at different stages of progress. One incorporated old maps which intrigued my husband! As an enthusiastic "quilting supporter" he found her explanations particularly clear and helpful.
By now it was nearly 4 o'clock so there was just time to follow her directions to Art Van Go in Knebworth, 15 minutes away. Of course we were both distracted by the shop and had to make some purchases, but we did make it through to the gallery behind. The artists' work was well-displayed and lit on the walls and in showcases. The four artists, two painters and two machine embroiderers, were sitting together working at tables in the centre of the room and it was easy to approach and discuss their work with them. The fifth artist was Janice Gunner, with several pieces from her Reflections Series on display. We returned home refreshed and stimulated and will certainly be on the lookout for this three-week event next September.
LINUS QUILTS
Project Linus U.K. is a 100% volunteer non-profit organisation and its aim is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and a comfort to seriously ill children through the gift of a personal quilt. It was started in America and named after Linus - the little boy in the Peanuts cartoon strip who always carried his security blanket. Early in 2002 Mavis Haslam and several quilter friends from Rainbow Quilters began making small quilts and by mid-summer had completed 141 which were originally intended for delivery to Great Ormond Street Hospital. By this time the hospital had been overwhelmed by quilts from all over Britain so it was then arranged to donate the quilts to children's hospices and hospitals in Kent. Before they went however, Mavis and her friends celebrated with a grand garden party when all the quilts were hung on lines between the trees in her garden. In 2005 it was decided to start another Linus Project and this time Rainbow Quilters were joined by friends from Red House Quilters, Waterside Quilters and several ladies from Welling W.I. - some of whom had never attempted patchwork before! Progress was initially slow and by April it was thought that we would not reach our previous figure but then everybody put a spurt on and by July we had completed the amazing total of 175 quilts. Again this was a good excuse for another garden party. It was a windy day and all the quilts were cracking like flags which meant a dash to the shops for more clothes pegs
Some of these latest quilts have now been delivered to the Children's Society who work with homeless families; the others went to the Neonatal ward at Homerton Hospital.
INTERNET INFORMATION
The London Quilters web site address is: www.londonquilter.org.uk
It is run and maintained by Tricia Revest, whose e-mail is: p.a.revest@qmul.ac.uk
EXHIBITIONS
4 X 4 quilt exhibition: 3rd- 27th October; Hall Place, Bourne End, Bexley, Kent. Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 11-5. Details: 020 8874 5314
Four by Four Textile Artists: 11-19th October; Menier Gallery, Menier Chocolate Factory, 51 Southwark St, London SE1,
Mon - Sat 10 - 6. Details: 020 7407 3222.
Watford Quilt Show: "Piecing for the Peace": Friday Oct 21st 7pm - 9pm, Saturday Oct 22nd 10am-4pm; Friends Meeting House, Church Road, Watford; Admission £2. Parking available. Details: Kath McMahon 01923 221090.
Quilters from around Watford are putting on our 3rd Quilt Show. We raised money for S.W. Herts Peace Hospice in 1996 and 2000 with very successful shows. They were the first ever in Watford and amazed our local community. This year our venue is the newly refurbished Friends Meeting House - only a short walk from Watford Junction Station. We shall have many quilts on display including one very special winner from Festival of Quilts. We will also have some interesting demonstrations, handmade goods for sale, home-made refreshments, show and tell times - in fact all that a Quilt Show should be.You may even be the lucky person to take home our raffle quilt! Our group of Quilters include several London Quilters and Peartree Quilters so you will really be among friends if you come along on Friday evening or through the day on Saturday.
Committed to Cloth - 'Common Thread': 20th October - 2nd November; Chequer Mead Gallery, East Grinstead.
Mon-Sat: 10-5. Details: Leslie Morgan on 01293 530827 or go to www.committed-to-cloth.com or www.hanging-together.co.uk
“Three Way Stitch”: 29th October-1st December works by Carol James, Christine Reynolds, Rosemarie McLavy.
Tues-Sat: 10-4.15, Free admission. Hall Place and Gardens: located on the A2 at the Black Prince interchange only 5 miles from Junction 2 of the M25 towards London; rail connection: Bexley BR; Bus connections include 229, 492, B15 & 132 to the foot of Gravel Hill.
Egyptian Landscapes: 50 years of Tapestry Weaving at the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo: January 19th - March 17th 2006. Mon-Sat: 10.30-5. Admission Free
The Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1. Illustrated talk and special view - January 25th at 7pm. Details: 36 Camden Square, London NW1 9XA.Tel: 0207 267 1034. www.wissa-wassef-arts.com
e-mail: barbara@wissa-wassef-arts.com
2005-6 CALENDAR
November 21st: AGM
December 12th: Christmas Party
January 16th: Dawn Cameron-Dick: One Woman Quilt Show
February 20th: Janice Gunner: Antipodean Adventures, New Zealand
March 20th: Margaret Ramsay: From Sketchbook to Laptop
April 10th: Dianne Gaffney: Silks from the Ancient Kingdom
May 13th: Alicia Merrett Workshop: Footloose and Fancy Free
15th May: Jenni Dobson: In Praise of Scraps
June 19th: Barbara Weeks
July 17th: Sewing Evening
August: no meeting
September 18th:
October 15th: Kate Dowty Workshop: Comtemporary Wallhangings
October 16th: Kate Dowty: Trial and Error
November 20th: AGM and Trader.
December 12th: Christmas Party.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years with articles for this Newsletter. It’s been great fun editing them for you, but now it’s time for me to do some quilting!
Linda