The Australian Quilt at Manning Regional Art Gallery

Manning Regional Art Gallery currently has a quilt exhibition on display featuring a number of QuiltNSW's Colours of Australia quilts, including those made by current members Judy Hooworth, Anna Brown, Val Nadin and Eileen Campbell. The exhibition also includes quilts from some Manning Valley quilt artists, including Jan Irvine-Neale.

Here are some photos of the exhibition. It is wonderful to hear that the exhibition has been very well attended and has received positive praise. It's not too late to plan a trip to visit the exhibition as it runs until 26 November 2017. 

Manning Regional Art Gallery is located at 12 Macquarie St, Taree and is open Wednesday to Sunday (Wed to Sat, 10 am - 4 pm and Sun, 1pm - 4 pm).

Quilt Study Group 2017: Talk by Linda Butcher

Our last event for the year will be a talk at The Glover Cottages on Saturday the 11^th of November. Since coverlets have appeared for the first time in the Sydney Quilt Show, we have asked noted quilt teacher and maker of coverlets, Linda Butcher, to talk to us about the history of this popular bed and wall covering and to show us examples of her work. 

Linda won a First Prize at the 2017 Sydney Quilt Show for her wonderful coverlet, 'By Night and By Day', and will bring it along to her talk. She is hoping to have some other teachers' coverlets to show us as well so it should make for a great afternoon.

Please bring along your own coverlets for show and tell – especially any that you have entered into quilt shows. There will be some other famous coverlets to see up close, including this Mary Jane Hannaford coverlet.

Mary Jane Hannaford coverlet

Please encourage everyone you know who is interested in quilting and quilt history to come along. The Glover Cottages (124 Kent St, Sydney) is a beautiful light-filled venue for the talks and it is an easy walk from either Wynyard or Circular Quay train stations. Entry is $5 for Guild members and $10 for non-Guild members. Afternoon tea is provided and the talks start at 2pm. Check the Guild’s website, blog or the latest Template Newsletter issue for more details.

Friday Showcase - 3 November 2017: Member Show and Tell

Friday 3rd November will be our final Friday Showcase for 2017.  It’s always a fun conclusion for our year, with all members invited to bring along a finished quilt or work in progress to “Show and Tell”.

Prepare for animated discussion, a sharing of ideas and one of Elaine’s brownies with a coffee or tea.  Or take the opportunity to borrow from our extensive library whilst there!

We look forward to your company and the pleasure of viewing the variety of projects and techniques our members continue to delight and encourage each other to try.

Hoping to see you at 10am at our usual venue, our city office at 278 Pitt Street, Sydney. Members and guests welcome.

Friday Showcase will resume in February 2018, with a presentation by Kaye Murray.

Vicki Martyn & Elaine Raahauge
Showcase Co-ordinators

2017 Suitcase Challenge competition - prize winners announced

At yesterday's annual general meeting of QuiltNSW, the prize winners of this year's Suitcase Challenge competition were announced. Addressing the theme "Remember", 45 entries were received. All entries can be viewed on our website and will, over the next two years, travel across NSW, SA and Tasmania as a travelling exhibition.

Congratulations to the following prize winners:

In 1st place, winning a one-of-kind BERNINA 215 sewing machine to be customised with artwork from her winning quilt, Linda Butcher with "For Valour".

In 2nd place, Sheila Beer with "In a Fog"
In 3rd place, Julie Harding with "Forget-me-not"

Judges Commendations:
Julie Harding with "Monday Wash Day"
Julie Harding with "Hopscotch"
Louise Stuart with "The Camera"

All entries, with their quilt stories, can be viewed on our website.

Congratulations to our prize winners and thank you to all the members who participated in the competition. Without your entries, we would not have the Suitcase Challenge exhibition that the entries become. Thank you to BERNINA Australia for coming on board as our first prize sponsor.

At our AGM, we also announced that the theme for 2018 is "Running Away with the Amish". Look out for the November Template, our quarterly newsletter to members, for more details and a full wrap of our AGM. We look forward to more members getting involved in 2018.

Upcoming QuiltNSW events

An initiative of the Australian Design Centre, Sydney Craft Week is a celebration of Sydney's makers, and it is fitting that we have not one but three QuiltNSW events that coincide with this inaugural event.

Friday Showcase - Friday 6 October

Silky Travels by Grace Widders

First up, is our regular Friday Showcase on Friday 6 October with Grace Widders. Grace ventured into our craft as a self taught quilter, beginning with a wall hanging kit, then a Mariner’s Compass.  Joining Hunters Hill Quilters in 2000 opened new opportunities to Grace, inspired by the variety of talented group members to work with wool in Waggas, produce community quilts, join workshops, take up several committee positions and move into teaching machine quilting. Her work has been displayed and has won awards in several quilting shows, including at the Sydney Quilt Show and the Modern Quilt Show Australia.

Grace’s current quilt designs grow from fabric that 'talks to her’, enjoying the texture that wool and linen offer.  Grace continues to teach at Material Obsession and whilst she machine quilts for others, still loves the process and appearance of hand quilting her own quilts. You may have admired Grace's beautiful hand quilting in this year's Raffle Quilt at the Sydney Quilt Show.

Friday Showcase is on Friday 6 October with the presentation starting at 10am.  Visitors are most welcome so bring a friend along - $5 for members and $10 for visitors.


Annual General Meeting - Saturday 7 October 
Burwood RSL
96 Shaftesbury Avenue
Burwood

On Saturday 7 October, commencing at 10 am, we have our annual general meeting. Key highlights (with indicative times) are:

• Best of Show quilt from the Sydney Quilt Show will be on display with maker Pamela Brockwell to answer questions (10 am)
• Normal AGM meeting proceedings:  financial reporting, announcements relating to some of our funding and scholarship programs, member show and tell and election of office bearers for the next 12 months (10.15 - 12 noon)
• Greg Alexander, managing director of BERNINA Australia, and Heather Middleton, outgoing Suitcase Challenge coordinator, will announce the winners of our annual travelling Suitcase Challenge competition from the 45 entries received (shortly after 1 pm). All entries will be on display all day with viewer's choice voting closing at 12 noon. 
• Guest speaker:  Noni Fisher, one of the original guild members, long time quilt teacher and passionate quilter (around 1.30 pm)
• Pop-up retail shop Sew Can I (all day)
• There will be afternoon tea at the conclusion of the AGM (around 2.45 pm) - free to members with a small charge for visitors.

Craft Up Late - Wednesday 11 October
QuiltNSW office
Level 5, 276 Pitt Street
Sydney

We are participating in Craft Up Late on Wednesday 11 October by opening our office from 5 - 8 pm. Grace Widders will be there to talk about her quilts that will be hanging in the office; Jessica Wheelahan will have the entries from the 2017 Suitcase Challenge competition and some Committee members will be present to talk about what we do and how visitors can get involved with QuiltNSW. If you know a quilter who works in or lives close by the city, please suggest that they drop in and see us on Wednesday 11 October. Visitors are most welcome.


Beyond our events, the Australian Design Centre has gathered over 100 events in a comprehensive program that can be picked up from their gallery space or at one of the participants. We have a limited number of programs if you'd like to collect one from our office. Alternatively, the full program and more information can be accessed online.

Friday Showcase on 1 September 2017 with Elaine Raahauge

Our September Friday Showcase presenter is Elaine Raahauge. We had previously scheduled Kay Murray to present this month but she is unable to attend.  We wish her well and look forward to Kay’s rescheduled presentation in early 2018.

Elaine is a coordinator of our Friday Showcases and also volunteers her time in our QuiltNSW office.  She began quilting over thirty years ago, when Amish quilts were instrumental in developing her love of and confidence in use of colour.  Incorporating machine embroidery in her quilts sent Elaine’s quilting journey in a new and exciting direction.  Her first prize award for “Bollywood Flowers” in the Mixed Techniques category at the QuiltNSW Sydney Show of 2011 led to her designing and writing several articles for the Creative Expression magazine.  She now mainly produces machine embroidered quilts and machine embroidered appliqué quilts.  Elaine tirelessly seeks new and innovative ideas and techniques and her current interest in surface techniques encompasses painting her own fabric and enhancing with texture and sparkle.

We welcome members and guests to see Elaine’s quilts and hear the stories behind them as she shares her quilting journey in our Showcase on Friday 1st September at 10am in our Pitt Street office (just behind Town Hall station at 276 Pitt Street, Sydney).

QuiltNSW holds Friday Showcase on the first Friday of most months with the presentation starting at 10 am. Visitors are most welcome so bring a friend along - $5 for members and $10 for visitors. The full schedule of upcoming showcases is on our website.

We look forward to welcoming you to our office for Friday Showcase.

Friday Showcase with Susan Allsop - 4 August 2017

Our August Friday Showcase presenter is Susan Allsop. We welcome members and guests to see Susan’s quilts and hear the stories behind them as she shares her quilting journey in our Showcase on Friday 4 August at 10am in our Pitt Street office.

Susan began quilting in her student days in the mid 1980s, producing two single bed quilts which she still owns.  She has lived in several Australian capital cities and overseas, with her sewing machine a constant companion.  After moving to Sydney, classes at a local community centre reignited Susan’s enthusiasm for patchwork and quilting and her work has been further influenced by overseas quilting tours to Paducah and Japan.

Susan is a frequent contributor and participant in QuiltNSW events and she works behind the scenes in the preparation of The Template.  She recalls attending the Friday Showcase events early in her QuiltNSW membership days and it is with pleasure that we welcome her familiar face, and her exciting quilts, as she presents in August. 

QuiltNSW holds Friday Showcase at our office (just behind Town Hall station at 276 Pitt Street, Sydney) on the first Friday of most months with the presentation starting at 10 am. Visitors are most welcome so bring a friend along - $5 for members and $10 for visitors. The schedule of upcoming showcases for the rest of 2017 can be accessed on our website.

We look forward to welcoming you to our office for Friday Showcase.

Quilt Study Group 2017: Talk by Chris Jurd

On the 29^th July at The Glover Cottages inspiring quilt teacher, pattern designer and quilt maker from the Blue Mountains, Chris Jurd, will talk to us about Foundation Piecing and show us how her favourite technique figures in her work.

Bring along your own examples using foundation piecing to show and share with us.

Please encourage everyone you know who is interested in quilting and quilt history to come along to talk. The Glover Cottages (124 Kent St, Sydney) is a beautiful light-filled venue for the talks and it is an easy and interesting walk via The Rocks from either Wynyard or Circular Quay train stations. Entry is $5 for Guild members, $10 for non-Guild members. Afternoon tea is provided and the talk starts at 2pm.

Friday Showcase with Glen Waples - 7 July 2017

Glen’s “Les Fleurs de Jour”

, from a class with Val Moore

Our July Friday Showcase presenter is Glen Waples. We welcome members and guests to see Glen’s quilts and hear the stories behind them as she shares her quilting journey in our Showcase this Friday 7 July at 10am in our Pitt Street office.

Glen has been quilting for almost twenty-five years and enjoys adapting elements of designs she finds, particularly in antique quilts, to draft patterns for her own unique works. Glen is also a passionate hand quilter. As a regular volunteer in our office, Glen readily share tips on quilting so this promises to be an interesting and informative Showcase.

QuiltNSW holds Friday Showcase at our office (just behind Town Hall station at 276 Pitt Street, Sydney) on the first Friday of most months with the presentation starting at 10 am. Visitors are most welcome so bring a friend along - $5 for members and $10 for visitors. The full schedule of upcoming showcases is on our website.

We look forward to welcoming you to our office this Friday.

Day 4 Sydney Quilt Show 2017

Sunday 25 June is the final day of the Sydney Quilt Show 2017. Join us at the International Convention Centre Sydney between 9am and 4.30pm including the following highlights:

• Pamela Brockwell will be with her BERNINA Best of Show quilt Star Link sharing her process and ready to answer your questions;
• 11am-1pm, in the Best of Australia exhibition area, you can meet the quilter Rachaeldaisy to talk about her prize winning quilt from 2016 Whizz Bang;
• 12noon-1pm floor talk by special exhibitor Carolyn Sullivan
• 1-2pm floor talk by special exhibitor Rhonda Pearce
• 2pm announcement of viewers' choice awards for the Recycled, Repurposed, Revitalised patchwork-inspired furniture and homewares category
• displays by member groups Stone Quarry Quilters and Campbelltown Patchwork & Quilters Guild
• join the action in the Activity Centre where we are making and designing quilts for Streethearts. Make a block, or three! We can do it together; and
• 4pm drawing of the Super Quilt Raffle 2017.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! 

QuiltNSW invites you to join our quilt community. Sign up as a new member on Sunday 25 June either online or at the Sydney Quilt Show and the joining fee will be waived.

Day 3 Sydney Quilt Show 2017

QuiltNSW welcomes you to Day 3 (23 June) of the Sydney Quilt Show 2017 from 9am-4.30pm at the International Convention Centre Sydney at Darling Harbour.

Our team of quilt ambassadors is ready to greet you and to share our members' quilts. You can't miss the ambassadors, they are wearing big smiles and brightly coloured sashes! (Quilt triptych in the background (right) is by Rachaeldaisy.)

On your way into the exhibition area, be sure to stop by the hoop display that showcases a diverse range of techniques and styles. You might even get to meet one of the makers.

Pictured below is Salley Govey with hoops by Merelyn Pearce (left), Cathy Jack Coupland (top) and Salley's hoop.

A post shared by QuiltNSW (@quiltnsw) on Jun 22, 2017 at 9:38pm PDT

Here are some other highlights to help you plan your visit:

• Pamela Brockwell will be with her BERNINA Best of Show quilt Star Link sharing her process and ready to answer your questions;
• 11am-1pm, in the Best of Australia exhibition area, you can meet the quilter Rachaeldaisy to talk about her prize winning quilt from 2016 Whizz Bang;
• 12noon-1pm floor talk by special exhibitor Carolyn Sullivan
• 1-2pm floor talk by special exhibitor Rhonda Pearce 
• displays by member groups Korean Cultural Centre & Singleton Quilters Inc
• in the Activity Centre, with your help, we will be sewing up a storm making quilts for the Streethearts organisation. Help us meet our goal of 15 quilts in 4 days - every block helps

And if you can't make the show in person, you can view all of the prize winning quilts in the online gallery. For more information about the quilts, download the Sydney Quilt Show 2017 catalogue (1.8MB PDF) Also download: Sydney Quilt Show 2017 Prize List (PDF).

PS: f you are planning to travel to Sydney Quilt Show this weekend by train on the  T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Lines, be aware that:
- Buses replace trains between Cronulla and Central and also between Waterfall and Central.
- Trains run to a changed timetable between Bondi Junction and Central. For more details see the Sydney Trains website.

Sydney Quilt Show 2017 Prize Listing

BERNINA Best of Show prize winner Pamela Brockwell will be attending the Sydney Quilt Show every day sharing insights into the creation of her remarkable quilt Star Link.

If you can't get to the show in person, check out the following links:

• Sydney Quilt Show 2017 Prizewinners Gallery featuring over 100 quilts; 
• download the Sydney Quilt Show 2017 catalogue  (2MB PDF - text only)
• download Sydney Quilt Show 2017 Prize List (PDF)

Silver Sponsors

Thank you to the following SILVER SPONSORS of the Sydney Quilt Show 2017.  Their generosity and support are much appreciated. Please support them in return.

                   
  
        

Day 2 Sydney Quilt Show 2017

Come along to Day 2 of the Sydney Quilt Show 2017 at the International Convention Centre Sydney at Darling Harbour  (Friday 23 June 9am - 4.30pm). Highlights include:

• 12noon-1pm floor talk by special exhibitor Carolyn Sullivan
• 1-2pm floor talk by special exhibitor Rhonda Pearce
• displays by member groups SYDMODSQUAD  and Chatelaine Quilters 
• voting on the Recycled, Repurposed, Revitalised homewares category

Be sure to join us in the Activity Centre and help us reach our goal in making 15 quilts for Streethearts:

40 metres of fabric, 336 strips, 864 squares and 736 blocks = 15 quilts in 4 days!

Friendly quilt tutors will be demonstrating all stages of making the top and we encourage visitors to help with the sewing. We also would like younger visitors to help with arranging the blocks on the design wall.

Patterns for two simple blocks, Rail Fence and Disappearing Nine Patch, will be available for a gold coin donation which will go towards batting for the quilts.

A post shared by SYDModSQuad (@sydmodsquad) on Jun 18, 2017 at 4:40am PDT

Sydney Quilt Show 2017 Prize Winners

Congratulations to Pamela Brockwell who was presented with the BERNINA Best of Show award, Excellence in Domestic Machine Quilting (Professional) Award and 1st Prize in the Combined Pieced & Appliquéd Quilt (Professional) category for her rainhow-hued quilt Star Link*:

Design Source: Inspired by "Stars on Mars" by Gail Stepanek & Jan Hutchinson 

Here's a photo that you are welcome to copy and share. Be sure to link back to the Sydney Quilt Show Online Gallery which features images of ALL of the wonderful prize winning quilts.

2017 Photography Policy

If you are attending the show, you are welcome to photograph the quilts in the show for personal use and to post images online or in social media provided you acknowledge the quiltmaker(s) and, if applicable, the designer of the quilt. It's easy to do - all the details are on the quilt tags! Many quilt labels also include social media details so that you can link to the maker's website, blog, Facebook or Instagram profiles.

If you share images of quilts in social media, help us generate interest in the show by tagging your photos with the hashtags: #sydneyquiltshow, #quiltnsw and #craftandquiltfair.

Sydney Quilt Show 2017 Opens Today!

QuiltNSW, with support from our principal sponsors Expertise Events and BERNINA, invites you and your friends to experience the colour and excitement of Day 1 of the Sydney Quilt Show 2017 at the International Convention Centre Sydney* (22 June 9am - 4.30pm). Highlights include:

• the expanded display quilt hoops showcasing a diverse array of quilt styles
• 12noon-1pm floor talk by special exhibitor Carolyn Sullivan
• 1pm awards ceremony and announcement of BERNINA Best of Show
• publication of a comprehensive online gallery of prize winning quilts after the awards ceremony
• 2-3pm floor talk by special exhibitor Rhonda Pearce
• displays by member groups Northbridge Quilters (morning) and Eastwood Patchwork Quilters (afternoon)

Join us in the Activity Centre where QuiltNSW Community Quilts will be demonstrating their skills in making quilts which are then donated to appropriate causes and organisations, including Streethearts.

40 metres of fabric, 336 strips, 864 squares and 736 blocks = Goal of 15 quilts in 4 days!

Come and watch us hurtling along the rails and making Nine Patches disappear before your very eyes. Come and help us sew the blocks, design the quilts and join the tops.

QuiltNSW Principal & Gold Sponsors

Thank you to the Principal and Gold Sponsors of the Sydney Quilt Show 2017. Their generosity and support are much appreciated. Please support them in return.

Principal Sponsors

       

Gold Sponsors

 

      
   

*Download Transport & Ticket Information Flyer