Wednesday 28 July 2010

BLOG 19

If you are visiting the blog for the first time, you will see that there are 3 sections to each entry. Life Before Quilting documents my early years up until the time I started to quilt. My Quilting Journey covers my 25 years of teaching and the quilts that I have made during that period. Quilting 2010 addresses what’s happening in my quilting life now. Just enjoy what you are interested in and visit often!

LIFE BEFORE QUILTING

The Tautunu made 3 stops to deliver much needed supplies to the local population, to collect copra and to enable Holland and myself to supervise the entrance exams. We called at Onotua, Tabituea South and Tabituea North and the sight of these islands was so welcome to me as a respite from bouts of seasickness. The ship could only get so far into the lagoons of these islands so the remainder of the journey had to be made by motor launch and often by wading. Whole villages would turn out to witness the arrival of the ship, the unloading of the cargo and the slow progress of transferring the passengers to the shore. As the only Imatang (white person) I was heavily scrutinised and commented upon! But I only recalled their happy, ever-smiling faces, scant clothing and the warmth of their usual greeting ‘Ko Na Mauri’.
Before the ship returned to Tarawa, we had to call in at Nonouti to collect copra, so Holland and I went ashore and called at his cousin’s house for an impromptu meal of rice and fresh fish, baked on an open fire.


QUILTING 2010

At the moment, I am concentrating on my contribution to ‘Pennants for Patch workers’. This is a money-raising scheme for the Quilters’ Guild, to be run as a tombola at the Festival of Quilts. As members we are invited to make pennants, to A4 size, in whatever style takes our fancy. I have used experimental pieces, left over from workshops, to make mine.



Pennant 1


Pennant 2

Pennants 1, 2 and 3 have machine-pieced backgrounds, with fused appliqué. Pennants 4 and 5 are machine-embroidered pictures. Some need to be bordered but they will be finished today and in the post tomorrow.


Pennant 3

Pennant 4
Pennant 5

Wednesday 14 July 2010

BLOG 18


If you are visiting the blog for the first time, you will see that there are 3 sections to each entry. Life Before Quilting documents my early years up until the time I started to quilt. My Quilting Journey covers my 25 years of teaching and the quilts that I have made during that period. Quilting 2010 addresses what’s happening in my quilting life now. Just enjoy what you are interested in and visit often!

LIFE BEFORE QUILTING

Two months after arriving on Tarawa, and being the most dispensable member of staff (debatable!), I was despatched on a trip to the outer islands with an Ellice island teacher called Holland Banaba. Our task was to supervise the entrance exam on three outer islands for the boarding school where I taught. The ship was scheduled to call in at a fourth island to collect copra. I thought this would be a great adventure and I relished the opportunity to go. That was before I saw the size of the supply vessels that travelled between the islands. Known as T ships, the Temauri and Tautunu were smaller than the Lake District pleasure cruisers. They were shallow draft so that they could manoeuvre into the lagoons and get as close to shore as possible. I recall that accommodation was basic, with two compact first-class cabins on deck for travelling officials (us), two second-class cabins below deck, and deck accommodation for the remainder of the passengers who shared the space with their pigs, chickens and belongings.
Filled with a sense of responsibility for the task ahead, I settled down on the topmost deck of the Tautunu, ready to enjoy my first Pacific voyage. I watched Tarawa slowly recede and disappear over the horizon as we left the protection of its small harbour at Betio. As I resolutely turned to look ahead, I privately assessed the sturdiness of this small vessel against the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Once outside the protection of the reef, it didn’t take long before the Tautunu settled into its corkscrewing rhythm. I believe I managed one meal before I disappeared into my cabin for the remainder of the heaving journey!


MY QUILTING JOURNEY

With my first quilt, Jacobean Spring, I always maintained that I started at the top and worked my way down for the rest of my creative career! As champion, I was invited to John Lewis’s in London, where my quilt was displayed, to demonstrate my technique in a remote corner of the basement. I also demonstrated in the waterways museum at Camden Lock, to advertise the waterways theme for the next year’s competition.

Having had success with the Jacobean style, I felt compelled to follow it up with another in the same style thus creating a series of work. The fact that the next quilt was called ‘Goodbye Crewel World’ said it all! The inspiration for this quilt was an antique, crewel wall hanging seen in a window display at Voirrey Embroidery on the Wirral. The hanging had originally been made at the Lee's Brother factory in Birkenhead, where young women were painstakingly trained to make exquisite hand embroideries, to be exported all over the world.
I was given permission to photograph and trace the flowers, motifs and stems as the inspiration for a quilt. I recorded the colours faithfully and, once back in my workroom, I simplified everything for ease of sewing. Here is the result:


Goodbye Crewel World 82” x 97” 1989
Hand appliqué, corded quilting and hand quilting

*This large quilt was the first one that I hand quilted as a complete quilt. It was rolled on a huge quilting frame which was placed behind the settee in the lounge and that's where I had to join it, whenever I worked on it! I never worked on that large frame again and have always preferred to hand quilt with large hoop from then on.
Below are some details of the quilt:


Goodbye Crewel World: detail 1



Goodbye Crewel World: detail 2


Goodbye Crewel World: detail 3


Goodbye Crewel World: label

Goodbye Crewel World: corded quilting


QUILTING 2010

I continue to make my Liberty Logs sampler quilt. It is a slow process as the pattern is so small and each square of a 16-patch block takes much attention to detail.



Liberty Logs: 16-patch with ruler

Above you can see the latest 6 ½” square against a ruler. Below you can see three paper patterns against small embroidery scissors. The squares are constructed using the paper foundation method, a process that revolutionised the precision in patch several years ago. I love it!



Liberty Logs: paper pattern and scissors