London Quilters Latest Newsletter
compiled by Alicia Merret and web rewriten by Tricia Revest
London Quilters Committee News
Spring Block Challenge
Flower blocks should be twelve and a half inches by ten and a half inches
(12 x 10 finished). Both the fabrics you received at the December social (your
own plus one other) must be used, but you can add as many others as you like,
remembering the Spring theme. Blocks can be pieced, appliquéd or any
other method you can invent, and should be brought to the April meeting for
judging.
Quilting Retreat Days
We are intending to add some Quilting Retreat Days to our programme. If you
know of a church hall (or other) with good parking facilities, please check
the cost etc., and let Kate Cox know. Many thanks.
International Links
We are endeavouring to set up a series of international links with quilting
groups worldwide. At present I see this as an occasional contribution to the
Newsletter plus information on what is going on in other parts of the world.
Hopefully members of the linked groups will visit each other when travelling.
If you have a quilting friend abroad who may be able to set up such a link,
please let us know. Our first foreign contribution appears this month.
London Quilters' Banner
It would be useful for us to have a London Quilters' banner (or quilt) that
incorporates our logo. This could be displayed either at an entrance to exhibitions
or behind a desk. Please let Marlene have your ideas, views, etc. A prize
will be awarded for the best design.
Exhibition Report
Well Done The London Quilters.
Well done? Why? Who said that?
'Why?' is because of the interest, effort, enthusiasm and work put by so
many of you into the exhibits for the LQ quilt exhibition both at the London
and the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Shows towards the end of last year.
Not only that, but also the willingness to help hang, steward and dismantle
which was displayed.
From my point of view it was the easiest exhibition that I have organised, and I am so grateful to you all. Needless to say, I was fortunate to be supported by an excellent exhibition committee, to all of whom I am so grateful. Life for us all was made so much easier by the fact that exhibiting members paid attention to what was requested of them with regard to bagging and labelling. This eased our tasks enormously, and as a result all quilts arrived safely in Harrogate, unlike some from another quilt display's exhibits - it does pay to do it right!
I am only sorry that no sales resulted from the displays in either venue, although the cushions did prove popular and all were sold before the end.
Members may wish to see the comments book which was displayed at each site, and this will be available at the next LQ meeting. In addition to these, though, many complimentary remarks were received from members of the public - often from non-quilters - who compared your quilts very favourably in comparison to the other quilt exhibits at the same shows. So - well done and thank you.
Who said that? Well, Carmen Redler of course.
Chair's Chat
I was recently invited to visit a new alternative health centre in North London.
As I approached the Director's office I passed many closed doors each with
the notice "Silence Please - Therapy in Progress". On arriving home I sat
at the computer and produced a similar notice - which I then placed on the
door to my quilting/work room. Sadly, no one has noticed it and this is probably
my fault.
Over the past few months when other work needs have had taken priority I
have had little time to close the door of the quilting room to the rest of
the world with me behind it. Also professional responsibilities forbid me
the luxury of ignoring the telephone and yet - when I do manage to immerse
myself in there for a while - it is the most therapeutic experience I know.
Time passes by so quickly. I have the radio on or perhaps a talking book or
a CD, although I do not really hear them. The fabrics soothe me by their feel
and their colours, combinations and closeness inspire me with ideas for creations
that I doubt will ever be made. If it had not been for our exhibition I doubt
that anything would have been finished in the past few months.
My New Year's resolution for 1999 is definitely to build in more time for
quilting - in fact to put it in my diary. I will close the door, switch the
telephone to Answer mode and enjoy myself. I know the beneftis will be there.
I will be more refreshed, mor stimulated and more energetic. All I need to
do - is do it!
However, as my close quilting friends will vouch, I rarely let anything come
between me and a regular Tuesday morning quilting session. This time is very
important to me and I think to the rest of the group too, and this regular
shared sewing time is most therapeutic. I think the picturesque Quilting Bees
that we see illustrated in paintings and films etc. offer participants far
more than quilting because they create a supportive environment that stretches
much much further than our sewing needs.
In Victorian and Edwardian times many women were placed in sanatoriums and
asylums as they were considered to be suffering from neurasthenia. It was
thought that this conditions was often brought on by the onset of menopause
- a word and state that was rarely, if ever, mentioned. (For those who maybe
interested, when doing some research a few years ago, I found that the first
ever reference to menopause in a women's journal appears to be in 1910, and
the first serious medical reference to it was not until the 1920s). In Baltimore,
USA, however, a psychiatrist noted that amongst his mother's circle of Baltimore
Album Quilters there was little or any occurrence of neurasthenia. I could
go on about this for hours but do not have the space, although I do recommend
if anyone is visiting Gunnersbury Park Museum they should ask to see the electrical
equipment designed to cure this illness.
I was in Wisconsin a few years ago and visited an Amish home that was advertising
Fabric for Sale. A young girl helped me and I asked her if she quilted. She
replied that she does but did not enjoy the sewing. What she enjoyed was the
conversation that evolved when the women of the community got together. I
enjoy that too.
I know that many of us meet in small groups to quilt and I would like to ask
some of you to open your groups to those members of London Quilters who may
be isolated. Perhaps some of those who work could even form an evening or
weekend meeting. Anyone who would like to be part of a quilting circle or
who has space in one should please put details on our Notice Board.
Happy Sewing everyone.
Marlene.
And
So To Bed
Exhibition by Mavis Haslam at Hall Place, Bexley.
Report by Norah Field
If you missed this exhibition, you missed a treat!
Hall Place was easy to find. It is only a few minutes from the A2 along the
Bexley Road, and well signposted. It is 10 minutes from the Rail Station.
Mavis was in a large, well-lit and airy rectangular room with a view of gardens,
lawns and flower beds. Down the middle of the room were several charming old
beds covered with quilts and cushions. On the walls were bed quilts and hangings.
There were glass cases with small item and books showing photographs of pieces
Mavis has made for illustrations. Every item in the exhibition was accompanied
by a clear and informative label.
There was great variety in the appeal of the work, from simple pieced and
applique shapes to 'Riotous Red" which contained silks of every shade of red
and was textured and embellished in every imaginable way.
Mavis shows such exciting ways of joining fabrics together and has a wonderful
natural sense of colour. There is a tremendous variety in her work yet it
does not appear calculated or contrived. Some pieces are made in the simplest
ways and as she explains her methods and her philosophy she radiates the quiet
satisfaction and contentment which is one of the best reasons for pursuing
our craft.
Try not to miss her next exhibition!
Creations & Savoir-Faire Exhibition, Paris.
Report by Kate Cox
I was lucky enough to be invited to the Creations and Savoir-Faire Exhibition
by Susan Seagram last November. The note she wrote described the event as
a showcase of "great top quality artisans and hand work in a very prestigious
environment"; everything from paper marbling to the ochre earths of Roussillon.
I took the Eurostar at 8.30 a.m. from Waterloo to Gare du Nord, then the Metro
to Porte d'Auteuil, changing once at Odéon. Couldn't be easier. By
lunchtime I was walking into the exhibition. They even put in a little train
to ferry people from the park entrance to the ticket booths. I think the entry
price was 60 francs, about £ 6.
Otuside it was raining, very grey and cold, but inside was a riot of colour,
warmth and stunning French style, showing off every creative form I can think
of. There is plenty of space between the stalls to see the wares and demonstrations.
As it was nearly Christmas, there were lots of marvellous decorations beautifully
set out. I am not really into that sort of thing, but they were quite irresistible.
Of particular interest to our group were a number of quilt shops showing their
stock, including Le Vouvray. There was a lot of fabric that is more unusual,
but also the French seem to make different choices from American stock so
there was new stuff to see. Susan was selling her wonderful hand dyes as well.
I enjoyed looking at the threads and notions that can be used for embellishement.
There really was just about everything creative I can imagine, including
one group who had set out rooms with great paint tricks on furniture and walls
to show how to distress, rag roll, etc. etc. I met a girl who paints porcelain
crockery with wonderful designs and colours. The china had been made in such
a way that it is fine but very strong. It was very reasonably priced. Children
and adults can participate in short workshops to make, on this occasion, Christmas
decorations.
Food and drink are available, much better sandwiches than we'd sell, soup,
coffee, etc., and nice wine. I'd advise taking spending money in cash, a lot
of sellers had not taken credit card facilities to the show, but there is
no problem changing money at Waterloo.
The next Savoir-Faire is on Thursday 8th - 12th April 1999 at the Paris Hippodrome
d'Auteuil, and then again on Thursday 25 - 29 November. It opens all day until
8 p.m.
A very easy trip and most enjoyable.
London Quilters' members Kate Cox and Jean Edwards are having a textile/quilt
exhibition at Burgh House, Hampstead, in June - July. Full details in next
Newsletter.
Colours
of the Indus
By Hannelore Braunsberg
Exhibition at the V&A of Costume and Textiles from Pakistan. Levels 2
& 3, Henry Cole Wing, Victoria & Albert Museum, until 29 March 1998.
Anyone interested in textiles - woven, tie-dyed, quilted or embroidered -
will love this relatively small exhibition of cloths, bags, garments, shoes
and hats.
Although shown by area - Sindh, Punjab, North West Frontier Province and
Baluchistan - the influences across different parts of Pakistan and, indeed,
across borders are apparent as are those of architectural designs and decoration.
Mughal art plays an important part in many items: a modern garment with its
headdress, trousers and shawl, commissioned for the exhibition, is embellished
with designs from the Taj Mahal! Some exhibits date from the 19th century,
the majority from the 20th. The pieces are well displayed and there is brief
information regarding each part of the country. I would have liked a little
more detail explaining the techniques used for some of the items.
The dependence on the needs of different regions - whether determined by climate,
occupations, wealth or poverty, rural or urban - is clearly distinguishable
in the materials and designs used. Methods of embroidery vary widely as do
colours, uses of shells, beads, buttons and the cloth itself. A feast for
the eyes and a great opportunity to study a wide range of exquisite work.
Wyoming Wabi-Sabi
by Marta Amundson
I have been a Wyoming resident for 28 years and yet because of my experiences
in the outside world I have never quite fit in like my neighbors. I accept
that I am an eccentric person and maybe you can too.
It pleases me that London Quilters has a newsletter to keep everyone informed
and organised. It takes many hands to help make a success and I want to help.
I write magazine articles for other publications in Wyoming, Colorado and
Adelaide and thought that you might enjoy hearing from me in your newsletter
too. At first I hesitated as I feel a bit shy about my unconventional wisdom
and dry sense of humor. If you don't know me well, you might miss a joke and
think that I am serving donuts on another planet. Perhaps that is a risk that
I can afford to take since my intentions are often misunderstood and I seem
to be no worse for the wear. Just be patient with me. I asked my friend Kate
how an American could end up an outcast in her own country? She thinks that
I read too many books by British authors and watched too much BBC during my
formative years. I thought it might be because I spend so much time in Stockholm.
Everyone has heard that Swedes can be particularly trying. Mabe it rubs off!
Ninety percent of what I know, I have learned through the generosity of other
people. They told me outright or I read their books. I have more than one
mentor in my life and feel very lucky about that. To have a person with valuable
experience share their knowledge selflessly is indeed a gift. The other 10
percent of what I know is pure inventive genius. If you have a task and need
a method, I can likely think of one that will work with speed and efficiency.
I'm not sure where that comes from, but who am I to question the mystery.
When I was five my father asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. He
was hoping for a rocket scientist, but I said that I would like to be a beatnik
like Maynard G. Krebbs. When I look at my life I guess that is more or less
who I am. I like to go cool places and meet nice people so I do everything
that I can to make that happen.
In a recent Natasha Kempers-Cullen workshop, one of my friends in Colorado,
Patty Hawkins shared this definition of the Japanese word wabi-sabi:
Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is a beauty of things
imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and
humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional.
Wabi-sabi tells us to stop our preoccupation with success, wealth, status,
power and luxury and to enjoy the unecumbered life. It is important to make
choices, and to know when not to make choices; sometimes you must let things
be.
Wabi-sabi is exactly the delicate balance between the pleasure we get from
things and the pleasure we get from the freedom of things.
I hope that in time you will find some elements of that magical word in my
column. This month I would like to share a recipe for biscotti. Maybe that
doesn't sound like an appropriate topic for a quilters' newsletter, but I
thought it might be good to let to get to know me slowly before I blast you
with my opinions on safety pins and the Zen in machine quilting or try to
teach you how to photograph your quilts for competitions. Bon Appetit.
Delia Smith eat your heart out, died and gone to heaven biscotti
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour=20
1 tsp. vanilla (not the fake stuff)
Zest of a lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups chopped almonds, pecan or walnuts
1 cup chopped apricots, or prunes, or cranberries, or other dried fruit (raisins
are boring, apricots are my favorite)
1 cup coconut
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix this stuff together in the order listed. Divide the dough in half and
form it into two 9" x 3" x 1" flattened logs on a greased or parchment lined
cookie sheet. Decorate with raw sugar (you know, the brown chunky kind) or
dinosaur sprinkles or both. Bake 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and slice on
the diagonal into 1/2" pieces. Turn the pieces so the cut side is up and return
them to a 275- degree oven for 10 minutes. Turn to the other cut side and
dry them out for ten final minutes.
There are people in life who make a cup of coffee nervous. Those people don't
need these fabulous biscotti to throw them into a fit brought on by sugar
overload. Just step around them and try not to get in their way. I am not
responsible for how many of these you want to eat.
I am coming back to England for my fourth encore in September 1999. If you
would like to participate in a reversible jacket, or machine quilting workshop,
contact Kate Cox. She is keeping a list.
Take
4 at the Whitworth Gallery.
Review by Christine Restall
The Take 4 exhibition is one of the most important textile and quilting shows
to be mounted in recent years, not least because - in the Whitworth Manchester
setting - the pieces were presented with high seriousness alongside other
works of fine art, rather than in the 'arts and crafts' ghetto. And in this
context, the four artists' achievements triumphed.
Michele Walker's work is perhaps the most radical, both in its engagement
with socio-political issues and in its use of unexpected and 'waste' materials
such as packaging, newspaper, plastic, etc. Subverting our ideas of the quilt,
from a distance her work looks cosy and inviting, but close-to the effect
is disturbing - rather like Rachel Whiteread's. It is also dazzlingly accomplished.
She should be saluted as having arrived in the mainstream of modern British
art.
Dinah Prentice's work is more figurative, and again deals with the pains
and strains of the human condition, although she is more interested in gender
and racial injustices than Michele Walker is (and one of her quilts gives
rise to the 'sexually explicit materials' warning at the exhibition entrance).
Her use of beautiful silks, her wonderful appliqué and other technical
effects are breathtaking, although I personally am less interested in the
causes she espouses than I am in the issues of perception or abstraction explored
by the other artists exhibited here.
Pauline Burbidge's quilts progress from strength to strength. Her new 'Reflections'
work is less hard-edged, its multiple images looking less 'preplanned' and
more natural than her '70s and '80s style, and to me there are enormous gains
in depth. As ever, the workmanship is stunning, and the effects beautiful
- but the emotion comes through too, especially in the latest fabric, petal
and laminated plastic collage work: clearly studies for another leap forward,
which we eagerly await.
But of the four artists showing, all of whose work I admired, it was Jo Budd
whose textiles I most liked, perhaps because her effects are the most painterly
- with excellent and fascinating craftsmanship, using dyes, overlays and stitching,
put to the cause of overall communication. There are vast, beautiful and joyful
distillations of the scenes around her, whether industrial Lowestoft or rural
Suffolk. Looking at her work, I couldn't help thinking of paintings I love,
and from different periods too - from Vermeer to Turner, Rothko, Scully, Louis,
or Helen Frankenthaler, among others. This takes the quilt into another dimension
of meaning - and I am sure I was not alone in these feelings.
The exhibition moves to Nottingham's Castle Museum (till Jan. 24), then to
Aberdeen Art Gallery (27th Feb. - 10 April), Swansea (Glynn Vivian Gallery,
May 15th - July 11th) and Carlisle (Tullie House Museum, July 23rd - Sept.
26th). It is a sad comment on the North/South divide that lingers on over
textiles that a venue could not be found in the South - why not Southampton,
Norwich, or Bristol, if not the V&A itself? Anyone interested in quilts
and textiles would love to see this wonderful show - as would anyone interested
in modern art.
Alicia Merrett adds:
I saw the exhibition at the Nottingham Castle Museum on January 16th, when
the exhibition organiser and catalogue editor, Jennifer Harris, was given
a walkabout gallery talk, which made the experience even more wonderful and
complete.
I strongly encourage people to go and see it if they possibly can - it is
open till January 24th. Trains run hourly from St. Pancras Station, and get
into Nottingham less than two hours later. It is a 15 minute walk to the Castle
- uphill - or you can easily get a taxi at the station. The views of the town
are magnificent and there is a pleasant cafe which serves simple but delicious
lunches as well as the usual teas and coffees. Alternatively, on 23rd. January,
Jennifer Hollingdale is taking a coach trip from London. Phone 0181 874 6314
to see if there are places left.
My preferences among the exhibits are quite different from Christine's; Jo
Budd's work, although texturally wonderful, is too painterly for me to make
it my first choice; I am strongly drawn to more graphic work, like Pauline
Burbidge's (some of my favourite painters are Kandinsky, Miro, Robert and
Sonia Delaunay, who are much more graphic- oriented).
Also, as I am a political person, I am immensely touched by the radicalism
of the approaches of Dinah Prentice and Michele Walker. My eldest daughter
has been involved in the road protests in Twyford Down and the Newbury by-pass
that Michele quilts about; I have personally been involved in the past in
the anti-war and feminist fights that Dinah expounds in her quilts, while
currently I am drawn to ecological and 'green' issues.
Other people will have other points of view. But do not miss seeing the most
important U.K.quilt-art exhibition of this millenium!
London
Quilters Lending Library
Videos available to borrow
Foundation Piecing by Roz Wade
Completely Quilted
Really Sharp Piecing
Really Quick Quilts by Barbara Barber
Dyeing to do Patchwork
Sunshine and Shadow by Helen Deigham
Patchwork and Quilting by Barbara Chainey
Patchwork and Quilting by Lynne Edwards
1993 AQS Quilt Show
(List of Books as soon as I can find one! Help!)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: It is requested that people that borrow books and videos should return them one month after the date they borrow them. If they are unable to come to the meeting, please send them with a friend.
Forthcoming
Exhibitions
EUROPEAN ART QUILTS
Contemporary European Art Quilts, touring from the Nederlands Textielmuseum,
Tilburg 23 January to 7 March 1999 at The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside
Mill, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AF
Tel. 01626 832223
Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
THE QUILTERS GUILD 20th ANNIVERSARY
A year of celebrations!
FESTIVAL OF QUILTS at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, September 21-26 1999
and many more exhibitions, shows, Area and Regional Days.
Support the celebrations!
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
Piccadilly, London W1
MONET IN THE 20th CENTURY
23 January to 18 April
80 outstanding paintings representing Monet's late work.
KANDINSKY: Works on paper
14 April to 4 July
First major showing in this country of one of the fathers of Modern Art.
If you know of any forthcoming exhibitions of interest to quilters, let the
Newsletter Editor know in plenty of time; in writing, please.
London Quilters New Committee
Chair: Marlene Cohen
Vice-Chair: Kate Cox
Minutes Secretary: Sarah Cohen
Treasurer: Alys Robinson
Newsletter Editor: Alicia Merrett
Hospitality: Joyce Jelen and Yzabel Field
Membership Secretaries: Annabel Ebersole and Diane Carney
Editor's
Note
by Alicia Merrett
Our last Newsletter was a very short one, because of the immediacy of our
exhibition. I promised a longer one this time - and I've kept my word! I hope
you all enjoy our Bumper Issue.
This is of course due to all the people, some quite new, who contributed
articles - thank you all very much! Keep the good work going!
To make my work easier, I would very much like to ask contributors to send
articles in the following formats:
1. If you are typing on a typewriter, or writing longhand - give them to me
at a meeting, or post them, or fax them (my address, telephone and fax numbers
are in the L.Q. Members' Directory).
2. If you are typing on a computer, using one of the common word processing
programmes - please copy the file to a disk, and give or send that to me.
I will return the disk (write your name on it).
3. If you have e-mail, send your contribution, preferably in the body of the
e-mail (not as an attached document). My e-mail address is: steve@tufpark.demon.co.uk
4. If you use Microsoft Word for Windows, you can try sending it as an attached
document. My Apple Macintosh should be able to open them.
If those that work with a computer can follow the instructions in points 2
to 4, they will save me a lot of typing time! which I can use to type materials
from those who do not use computers.
Forthcoming Speakers
by Marlene Cohen
Leslie Morgan will address as in February on Crazy Quilting - a subject demanded
by members in our recent questionnaire. Leslie is a regular speaker and teacher
at a number of guilds and she exhibits and sells work in the UK, USA and South
Africa.
Our own Linda Seward will be presenting in March a slide show focusing on
the American show The Elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Chocolate. We hope to
have a discussion on Quilt Art and members are invited to show their own quilt
art. This should be a most lively evening.
Members interest in textile art is furthered in April when Jan McNally, a
textile and stitch artist, introduces her original creations and her personal
route from housewife to prize-winning textile artist.
And now you've come to THE END of this Newsletter. If you have enjoyed it,
help keeping up the standards by sending your contribution to the next one.
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