Your Guild Needs You!

The following positions will be vacated at the AGM:

• Vice President
• Template Editor
• Minutes Secretary (currently vacant)
• Membership Secretary
• Meeting Coordinator
• Exhibition Secretary

This is an ideal opportunity for you to directly contribute to the administration and activities of the Guild. If you are interested, please complete and return a Committee Nomination Form. The closing date for nominations is 1 October 2007.

Stitching a Legacy Exhibition: Epping Quilters

Epping Quilters Inc. will be holding their exhibition "Stitching a Legacy" celebrating their 25th Anniversary, this Friday 31st August and Saturday 1st September at St. Alban's Church Hall, 3 Pembroke St, Epping (please note new venue).

As well as quilts, there will be a craft stall, fabric shop, antique quilts, raffle quilts and cafe. Raffle proceeds will go to the Patricia Ritchie Centre for Cancer Care and Research at the Mater Hospital, North Sydney.

Contemporary Quilts

A selection of contemporary quilts from the 2007 Sydney Quilt Show can be viewed in Issue 7 of online quilting magazine www.iquilt.com.au


Landforms #4 by Anna Brown
(3rd Prize Art Quilt, Quilt Show 2007)

If you enjoy making contemporary quilts or experimenting with unusual design or construction techniques, please consider submitting an entry to Guild's forthcoming exhibition The New Quilt 2008:Contemporary Quilt Textiles.

Entry is open to all quiltmakers (including non Guild members and non-Australian residents). Work must not have been previously exhibited in New South Wales and must have been completed since January 2006. Entries close on 5 October 2007 (new closing date).

Special 25th Anniversary Partner

The Quilters' Guild of NSW has selected Interface Pty Limited as their special 25th anniversary partner to help the Guild raise funds for the Community Quilts project.

Every year Guild members make and donate "Community Quilts" quilts for a number of charities including The Smith Family, the Salvation Army, Blankets of Love and for foster children.

Interface Australia, and its rural Australian workforce of men and women with disabilities, make the "Fitz Like a Glove" ironing board cover, Best Boy ironing cloth, thick felt underlay and many other fine products. For the year ending 30 June 2008, if you quote the code "QG 25" when purchasing Interface Australia products, they will donate 20% of the sale (excluding postage) to the Guild's Community Quilts project. For your assistance, here is an Order Form.

Dyed Heaven Exhibition

You are invited to any exhibition of textile art by Quilt Show 2007 prize winner, Lisa Walton:

Chrissie Cotter Gallery
Pidock Street, Camperdown NSW 2007
29 August - 9 September 2007
Wednesday to Sunday, 11am-4pm

Exhibition opening: 6-8pm, Wednesday 29 August 2007
To be opened by quilt historian and author, Annette Gero

Birmingham Success

Congratulations to Guild members Judy Day and Nicole Bridges on their success in the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, England. Judy was awarded first place for her small traditional Hawaiian quilt and Nicole and Gay Jenkins received second prize for a quilt that Nicole machine quilted.

Hawaiian Quilt by Judy Day
2nd Prize, Miniature Category, Sydney Quilt Show 2006
1st Prize, Small Quilt, Festival of Quilts, Birmingham 2007

Exhibition: And there was also a golden glow

Warm to the joy of textiles and see the vision of what makes a golden glow - a pear ripening, a field of daisies, coins, sunlight, moonlight, love...and the techniques! So many! Large and small! Ecstasy! Curated by Helen Lancaster.

Fairfield City Museum and Gallery
26 August - 7 October 2007
Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm (Closed Mondays)
Corner Oxford Street and The Horsley Drive, Smithfield
Tel: (02) 9725 0222

25th Anniversary Challenge

To celebrate the Guild's 25th Anniversary, the theme challenge for 2007 is "Looking Forward: Looking Back". The quilts are displayed at the Guild's Annual General Meeting in October and the winners and Viewers' Choice are announced. After the Annual General Meeting, the quilts become a touring suitcase exhibition travelling all over Australia for up to two years. They are returned to the makers at the end of the tour.

The deadline for entries is 28 September 2007. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, there are some special prizes for the challenge this year:

• First – Singer Featherweight sewing machine donated by BrimBin Farms (Quilts and Crafts Shop 14 Centerpoint Arcade Victoria Street TAREE NSW)

• Second – Decorative wooden chest containing full range of Madeira threads donated by SSS Pty Ltd

• Third - $100 gift voucher donated by Interface Australia Pty Ltd

The challenge is open to all Guild members and entry is free. Quilt size 50cm x 70cm - portrait or landscape with hanging sleeve. Quilts may be made using any technique or material. However, they should conform to the definition of a quilt, i.e. three layers. More information and entry forms can be obtained from the guild office.

IQA Houston Finalists - Quilts: A World of Beauty

The finalists in the International Quilt Association judged show at Houston, Quilts: A World of Beauty, are now listed on the web site at www.quilts.org. Amongst the 409 finalists, selected from 835 entrants, are the following talented Guild members:

• Kim Bradley - Feather Fantasy;
• Linda Crouch - Petite Bouquet;
• Judy Day - Autumn Leaves;
• Narelle Grieve - Silk Caprice;
• Julie Haddrick - Fragments in Time;
  
• Jocelyne Leath - Where the Water Flows;
• Margaret McDonald and Susan Campbell - Entwined: True Lovers Knot; and
  
• Mariya Waters - Renaissance Revival.

Fragments in Time by Julie Haddrick
115cm x 130cm
Judges' Commendation, Art Quilt (Open) Category
Sydney Quilt Show 2007

Gosford Art Prize

Congratulations to Guild members and Quilt Show 2007 prize winners, Kay Haerland and Jenni Munday, whose textile works were selected from over 500 entries to be part of the Gosford Art Prize Exhibition which continues at the Gosford Regional Gallery until 30 September:

Gosford Art Prize: 10am - 4pm Daily
36 Webb Street, East Gosford, NSW 2250
Tel: +61 02 4325-0056
Email: gallery@gosford.nsw.gov.au

A Different View, 153 x 123cm by Kay Haerland


Barbed Boundaries by Jenni Munday

Introduction of New Quilt Show Category?

As part of our review of Quilt Show 2007 and preparation for next year's show, the quilt show subcommittee has been asked to consider the introduction of a new open specialised category as follows:

Embroidered quilts made using designs created for computerized embroidery systems. Use original, digitized design cards or discs. Computer embroidery design software may also be used. Entrant will need to document on entry form source of designs and/or their degree of manipulation. Embroidery must cover more than 25% of quilt surface.Minimum size 150 x 150cm Maximum size 290 x 290 cm

Please e-mail your support or other feedback on this proposal to the Exhibition Secretary. (Note that quilts incorporating hooped embroidery may currently be entered into a number of general amateur and professional categories including: traditional quilt, small or wall quilt and mixed techniques.)

Canberra Quilters' Exhibition

The annual exhibition of Canberra Quilters opens today as part of:

Canberra Craft & Quilt Fair
August 9 - 12, 2007
Thursday to Sunday: 10am – 5pm daily
Exhibition Park in Canberra
Budawang Building, Flemington Road
MITCHELL ACT

For some reason, there seems to be a high concentration of talented quiltmakers in the Canberra area so the exhibition is sure to delight and thrill. And while you are in the national capital this week, catch a viewing of the Rajah Quilt at the National Gallery and also see the Eyeline Exhibition by the tACTile group at the Australian National Capital Artists Gallery.

New Beginnings

Blogging is a powerful social networking tool and enables people all over the world to share their passions and interests. Former Guild committee member, Chrissy Sheed, now resides in New Zealand and has recently ventured into Blogland with her aptly named new blog: Chrissy - New Beginnings.

Chrissy also enjoyed success in the Guild's 25th anniversary exhibition, Sydney Quilt Show 2007, and was awarded first and second prize in the Miniature Category with her delightful quilts Waltz of the Flowers (left) and Erica's Hearts:
    
If you are a Guild member, and have a quilting-related blog, contact the Guild Webmaster to have your blog added to the Guild's blog roll in the side bar (see right).

Keeping up with this blog

Since this blog was officially launched nine months ago, readership has steadily grown. The Committee hopes that members (and prospective members!) are finding this blog a valuable resource to catch up on all the latest Guild happenings and other quilting-related activities. To ensure that you don't miss out, we encourage you to electronically subscribe to blog updates by either of these methods:

(1) Enter your email address to receive new postings to this blog via e-mail
(Remember - you can unsubscribe at any time)


Powered by FeedBlitz
OR
(2) Signing up with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Service such as:
OR

If you subscribe with Bloglines or Google Reader, these services allow you to set up a list of your favourite blogs on your computer. Then you can simply go to the list to see if a new article has been added to any of the blogs. Remember, if you have a news item that you think might be suitable for posting on the Guild's official blog, you can e-mail details to the Guild Webmaster.

The Art of Needle & Thread Exhbition: August 2007

Reflections on a Golden Journey – the First 50 Years of the Embroiderers’ Guild. Exhibition of Contemporary and Traditional Embroidery:
THE ART OF NEEDLE & THREAD: 1-31 August 2007
Fountain Court NSW Parliament House. Open weekdays only.
Includes pieces from the Embroider's Guild’s permanent Ccllection.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

In 2007, the Guild's 25th anniversary year, the challenge quilt theme is Looking Forward, Looking Back. Entry is limited to individual members of the Guild. The size of the finished quilt must be 50cm x 70cm which may be hung in portrait or landscape mode with a 6cm deep hanging sleeve attached to the back. Entries close on 28 September 2007 and must be accompanied by a completed entry form.

The Ozone - Going to Pieces by Caroline Sharkey (left)
Organised Chaos by Denise Griffiths
Going to Pieces Challenge 2006

Template Editor: Position Description

The position of Template Editor will be vacated at the 20 October Annual General Meeting so we are looking for a new person to take on this important communications role. The duties of the Template Editor include:

• receive, organise, edit and layout copy for quarterly The Template newsletter;
• gather information and write articles; take photos for use in The Template;
• liaise with contributors and proofreaders;
• liaise with the Guild's publicity officer, who provides advertising information and files;
• liaise with and check colour proofs from the printer;
• liaise with the Office Manager re printing, packing and distribution;
• provide content for the Guild website and blog;
• attend Guild and committee meetings; and
• promotion of the Guild's activities and services through The Template.

The position involves the following skills and resources:

• working with Microsoft publisher and photo editing software (both can be learned and are not difficult to master);
• access to e-mail and the internet - preferably broadband as some files are large - home would be better than work unless you have an understanding employer;
• the Guild provides a laptop computer with software; and
• an eye for design (as most quilters have!) and logical organisation of information.

The Template has undergone a revamp and redesign over the past year and the handover to the new editor will include useful files, documents and training as needed. There is about a month between the closing date for copy and sending of files to the printer, so you would have four busier months in the year.

This is a really way positive way in which you can contribute to the Guild's progress. Our newsletter remains a valuable communication to members and record of events. If you're interested and would like more information, please contact Editor Ruth.