Autumn 2001 Newsletter
DIJANNE
CEVAAL,
AUSTRALIAN QUILT MAKER
We are looking forward to our November meeting, when well-known Australian quilt maker Dijannne Cevaal will be our speaker.
She will also be teaching a two-day workshop to the London Quilters. This workshop will be held at the Roundwood Club, 49 Longstone Avenue, Harlesden, London NW10 3TT, which has good parking. Because the Roundwood Club has a dance group on Saturdays, the workshop has been moved to Sunday the 18th and and Monday the 19th of November. The cost is £60. Please contact Alys Robinson if you would like to book a place.
Subject - Creating With Story Cloths A two day workshop in which the aim is to complete a quilt top. Suitable for beginner to advanced. We will look at designs that have come to us through the centuries, including European and African designs and will use them as clues to create twentieth century interpretations. The aim is to create geometric effects without stressing out over making corners meet and to create story cloths which tell about your life.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
The time has come to renew your membership to the London Quilters!
Forms were handed out at the September meeting and are now available through our Membership Secretary, Patricia Revest. If you’d like to be included on the updated membership list, please get your form and payment of £20 back to Tricia as soon as possible.
EXHIBITIONS
The Autumn Quilt Festival: at
Chilford Hall, Linton, near Cambridge, will run from November 9 - 11 (Friday to Sunday), 10am - 5pm. The London Quilters' Millennium exhibition will be on display. The quilts will be delivered to Chilford Hall on 7th November, and collected on 11th November. The quilts will then be brought to the November meeting of London Quilters.
If you are not going to be at the November meeting to collect your quilt, please make alternative arrangements with Christine Restall or Alicia Merrett.
For details of how to get to Chilford Hall, please contact Grosvenor Exhibitions, or ask at the meeting.
Quilt 2001: was at the Knitting and Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace in London, and then moves to Dublin and Harrogate until 25th November 2001. Our Chairman has a quilt exhibited at this show!
Hidden Secrets: St Albans Museum,
Hatfield Rd., St Albans, from 6th October -13th January. Only 10 mins from St Albans mainline station (Thameslink). The museum is open 10-5 Mon-Sat, and 2-5 Sundays. On Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, members of the New Horizons Textile group will be at the museum to discuss their work and give demonstrations.
Each member of New Horizons had to make a new piece of work for the exhibition following the title theme Hidden Secrets. Other recent work is also shown.
CHAIR CHAT
I am writing, feeling rather dislocated, in southern Alabama, USA. Echoing from the real world (??) are constant reminders of fearful atrocities and bellicose responses, entirely belied by the orderly, friendly, polite charm of this greatly underrated part of the USA. Then there are the delights of daytime temperatures in the 80s (but cool nights), and the pool or the lovely north Florida beaches (surely the best in the world). In the garden the last humming birds hurry south, followed by the migrating Monarch butterflies. But for once in my life I brought no sewing, apart from a little clothes alteration, being in between hand piecing projects when I left. It is a most peculiar feeling.
I thought I'd take a break after finishing three pieces this summer, to plan some new work. I have indeed visited the local fabric stores, from Hancock's to Wal-Mart, and seem to have acquired the usual haul, plus the new suitcase to put it in ($12.99). I have taken a lot of photos, I have doodled quilt plans, I have looked at some nice old quilts in antique shops - and resisted them - and have read all the quilting magazines I could lay hands on. So I haven't been entirely starved. I have even read four books in a week - and yes, I did alter the clothes. But it isn't the same thing at all.
I have definitely got quilter's twitch.
However, by the time you read this, I shall no doubt have recovered - though missing the warmth and sociability here. It looks like a busy autumn. Our next meeting is the AGM, and our Committee has some work to do before then, and I would like to thank them for their hard work and support this last year. With thanks also to Alicia Merrett, our Millennium Challenge quilts will exhibit at the autumn Quilt Fair at Chilford Hall near Cambridge (from November 9th to 11th), and I'm sure some members will be able to get there. It is wonderful to have the chance to show our work in this enthusiasts' environment to a wider audience than in Highgate. Then there's Ally Pally in October and Dijanne Cevaal visiting us in November - details in this Newsletter.
I am also reflecting on last summer, and remembering some good quilting experiences. I particularly valued attending a workshop with Pauline Burbidge in August at her Allanbank Mill house in Scotland--she is a delightful person and a real inspiration. On the way there, we stopped off to see the stunning exhibition Art of the Quilt curated b Helen Joseph at the Shipley Gallery, Gateshead. The quilts--by quilters invited to participate, and covering a spectrum from traditional to controversial--were enormous, and hung like vast canvasses on huge white walls. I am sure my jaw dropped when I walked in.
But then there is also the wealth of beautiful work done by ourselves, and a fine mix of traditional, ‘art’ quilt, and ‘transitional’ makers--and what about the wonderful wearables? Our September Show and Tell was really memorable.
My own hope for the next year is that we can get the mix right between the different quilting interests in London Quilters and to preserve our broad and friendly membership balance. Happy quilting!
Christine
QUILT 2001
By Linda Seward
Judging by the number of people crammed into Alexandra Palace on Thursday, October 11th, the world of knitting and stitching has been untouched by recent events. People jostled for position to do everything from taking photographs to spending money. The aisles were jammed and it took an awfully long time to work one’s way around the show. But it was definitely worth it, particularly from a quilter’s perspective.
First, we were able to enjoy Quilt 2001 which was fresh and exciting. Although very cramped, which detracted from viewing some of the pieces, it was full of wonderful works of quilt art from all over the world. Former winners of this show and well-known names hung side by side with newcomers, and the overall effect was stunning.
Our Chairman, Christine Restall, exhibited her Midsummer Night’s Dance, which hung beautifully and looked wonderful--definitely one of my favourites. Another piece that really caught my attention was by Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs from Brussels, entitled Rendez-vous. Striking in black, white and red (lady bugs) with some curved golden shapes, it was enhanced by beautiful machine quilting. The winning quilt, by Laura Kemshall, entitled Morpheus’s Garden, was an unexpected choice, featuring poppies as a symbol of sleep and awakening. It must have been a very difficult contest to judge, because almost every one of the quilts could have been a winner. I also have to mention Sara Impey’s Triangles in Four Colourways, which was delightfully geometric and well-balanced.
Next on the agenda were the winning quilts from the 6th Quilt Nihon Exhibition 2000 that took place in Japan. (The President of Nihon Vogue, Mr. Tadanabu Seto attended our September meeting.) Again, the quilt makers were from all over the world, including our own Alicia Merrett, and the visual effects were incredible. From reverse applique to the most intricate Baltimore Album quilt I have ever seen to the most modern works of art, the techniques were highly refined and the colour combinations were breathtaking. What a feast for the eyes!
Then we enjoyed the quilts exhibited by the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles--some old, some new, all well worth studying.
There were other ‘mini’ exhibitions throughout the halls by individual quilters which were outstanding. Those, combined with the wonderful shopping opportunities, made this a very enjoyable day.
Oxymorons -
Absurdly Logical Quilts
by Patricia Revest
Many quilt competitions, shows and challenges have a theme. Some of these are very restrictive and only serve to stifle creativity, whilst others are so open-ended as to make a theme irrelevant. Just occasionally, a concept emerges which not only provides a source of ideas for the show but stimulates ideas and discussion among the viewers.
'Oxymorons' is the name of a quilt exhibition and its associated book (published by AQS) which features quilts which are all based on these odd expressions. Defined as 'a combination of contradictory or incongruous words', it includes expressions which often make you think about the way you express yourself and how silly it sometimes sounds. Quilts with names such as clearly ambiguous, deafening silence, original copy and whole piece, give you an flavour of what oxymorons are. A group of five quilters called the Renegades, plus 35 invited art quilters created a quilt 30" by 48" on an oxymoron of their choice. The resulting quilts cover an enormous range of styles and techniques and the book has a description of the design and construction process behind each quilt.
This book set me thinking about some oxymorons of my own, although a quick surf around the internet showed me that they have all been thought of before. Some of them are funny ones like the idea of fast food or plastic glasses, but very quickly you find how many of these sort of expressions seem to be used in more serious contexts. Expressions such as holy war, religious tolerance and friendly fire show how words can be misused.
QUILT ART AT THE
BRAINTREE MUSEUM
by Alicia Merrett
‘Moving On’ is the title of the new exhibition by Quilt Art, a group of professional quilt makers, originally set up in 1985. Its members come from several European countries, as well as from the U.K. The pieces exhibited draw from many quilt making traditions, and move on from them in different directions and degrees.
I cannot mention every one of them, so I will describe my favourite ones.
Jane Lloyd from Northern Ireland plays with simple spiral shapes in most effective ways. Bethan Ash, from Wales, has pieces different from her previous work, which have transparent windows full of strange shapes that cause some wonderful transparency effects, set within rectangular blocks. Jette Clover, a Dutch artist, brings to her quilts evocations of history through representations of writing. Those can be diaries, graffiti and ancient letter shapes. Her latest quilt has layers of transparent organza over the writing. Ann Fahy, from Ireland, continues her playful layered fabric manipulation, producing holes within minimalist blocks. Mary Fogg, from England, continues using torn fabric strips, but her imagination becomes even more fertile every time, with new and original
arrangements. They are simple but extremely effective. Bente von Klausen, a relatively new member, evokes ancient stone carvings and historic symbols from her native Norway, in almost duochromatic quilts, with the occasional bright red or silver accent. Dirkje Van de Horts-Beetsma from the Netherlands, continues her series of quilts with flaps, which have the most wonderful surface textures. Anne Viche from France tries to move on in her use of strip-pieced fabrics with a wonderful shine, evoking a marine island nature reserve.
Charlotte Yde from Denmark shows one of her ‘Flora Danica’ series of quilts, with beautifully applied and cut-out organza sections on an almost wholecloth quilt.
Elizabeth Brimelow from England had two quilts on show, conveying the peace of the country farm landscapes. Sandra Meech, the well-known English quilter and recent recruit to Quilt Art, shows quilts from her series on Arctic Impressions.
It is a very encouraging thing that a group like Quilt Art has been going on for so long, inspiring other quilters with their wonderful displays. We need more groups like this one, that push the boundaries of quilting further forward, while not negating the tradition they come from.
INTERNET
INFORMATION
The London Quilters web site address is:
http://members.tripod.co.uk/London Quilters/lq1.htm. It is run and maintained by Tricia Revest, whose e-mail is: p.a.revest@qmul.ac.uk
Really Looking at Blocks!
by Patricia Revest
At the September meeting, Pauline Adams showed us a quilt with an interesting block which I have drafted for you. The original quilt, which is featured in the Quilters' Guild book 'Quilt Treasures' was originally made pieced over papers. Unless you feel very confidant in sewing curves, either
by hand or by machine I think that this would still be the easiest way.
