The New Quilt 2024 Preview: Anita Brown

The New Quilt 2024 features Stripes and Struts 2, a double-sided work by Anita Brown.

Anita has been quilting for 26 years and comes from a background of drawing and printmaking. She started her first quilt in 1998 and has finished almost 100. In 2016 she joined Sydney Modern Quilt Guild and has been president for the last few years. Her practice has changed over the years, but quilting has always been paramount to the design of her quilts and she uses a combination of machine and hand quilting. Anita also likes to reflect the top design on the back of the quilt and has started to stitch on the back which does not go through to the front. It has always been important to her to design her own quilts and to keep progressing with both skills and designs, and she sees quilting as drawing with thread. In an age of computerised machines and a myriad of tools, she thinks that making a quilt totally herself which is reflective of her skills is an important message that “hand made really still matters”.

Plan an art excursion! The New Quilt 2024, on exhibition at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 4 May to 23 June 2024. Official opening and awards ceremony from 6pm on Friday 3 May 2024. RSVP to the gallery. 

Gallery hours: Open 6 days a week Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-4pm Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm. Closed on Tuesday and public holidays.

 

The New Quilt 2024 Preview: Anna Brown

The New Quilt 2024 includes Canopy 27 by Anna Brown, one of the founding artists of The New Quilt exhibition. 

Anna has produced a body of work studying eucalyptus canopies and more recently the impact on them by catastrophic fires. Using photographs from Anna’s immediate environment and a deliberate high contrast colour selection, Anna draws shapes directly onto cotton fabric. Her favourite technique of reverse applique enables her to cut away at the layers and to reposition the shapes until she’s happy with the composition. 

See more of Anna's artwork at: www.annabrown.net.au and IG @annabrown1554

 

 

 

Plan an art excursion! The New Quilt 2024, on exhibition at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 4 May to 23 June 2024. Official opening and awards ceremony from 6pm on Friday 3 May 2024. RSVP to the gallery. 

Gallery hours: Open 6 days a week Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-4pm Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm. Closed on Tuesday and public holidays.

The New Quilt 2024 Preview: Jenny Bowker

Today's preview is O Holy Night by Jenny Bowker (www.jennybowker.com), a commentary on the Gaza-Israel conflict.

Jenny Bowker is a textile artist, quilt teacher, writer and textile tour leader. She has lived for 19 years in Arab and Islamic countries. This has contributed to a large part of her work. She loved her time in the Arab world. Some of the things happening to people there at the moment are difficult for her to watch.  She says: "Not all quilts need to be warm and comforting. There is a strong message in a blanket that has a disturbing story to tell."

 

Plan an art excursion! The New Quilt 2024, on exhibition at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 4 May to 23 June 2024. Official opening and awards ceremony from 6pm on Friday 3 May 2024. RSVP to the gallery. 

Gallery hours: Open 6 days a week Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-4pm Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm. Closed on Tuesday and public holidays.

 

The New Quilt 2024 Preview: Sheila Beer

Negative Space by Sheila Beer is made from photographic negatives, book cover plastic, thread. 

Sheila Beer online: @thingstitcher

Plan an art excursion! The New Quilt 2024, on exhibition at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 4 May to 23 June 2024. Official opening and awards ceremony from 6pm on Friday 3 May 2024. RSVP to the gallery. 

Gallery hours: Open 6 days a week Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-4pm Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm. Closed on Tuesday and public holidays.

The New Quilt 2024: Previews, Profiles and Public Program

QuiltNSW proudly presents The New Quilt 2024 at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 4 May to 23 June 2024. The New Quilt is a juried survey exhibition showcasing the art of quilting. The exhibition features 36 quilts by contemporary textile artists from across Australia highlighting the rich diversity of stitched and layered materials. This includes two invitational works by jurors Ruth de Vos and Fiona Gavens. Starting on 28 March, we will be sharing a daily social media preview of each of the quilts along with an introduction to the relevant artist(s).

Plan an art excursion! Hawkesbury Regional Gallery is open 6 days a week. Here are the gallery hours: 

• Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-4pm
• Saturday-Sunday 10am-3pm 
• Closed on Tuesday and public holidays (eg King's Birthday)

Hawkesbury Regional Gallery is situated at 300 George St, Windsor and is accessible by car and public transport.  See the gallery's How to Find Us page for more information.

The public program at the gallery includes the following events:

• Friday 3 May from 6pm: official opening and awards ceremony for The New Quilt Prize and The New Quilt Prize Runner Up. (RSVPs will be coordinated via the gallery's website closer to the time.)
  
• Thursdays 1-3pm: meet an artist - more details to come
• Sunday 19 May 2024 from 1-3pm: artist floor talks
  
• Saturday 1 June: Artful Stitching with Sustainable Materials, a workshop with Jessica Wheelahan with a focus on hand stitching techniques and processes for the sustainable use of materials - more details to come.

For information about exhibition tours and group bookings, please contact the gallery directly at: gallery@hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au

 

The New Quilt 2024: Entry Form Now Open!

Call for Entries

QuiltNSW recognises the quilt medium as an art form and is committed to providing opportunities for textile artists to share their artwork in a gallery setting.  The New Quilt online entry form is now open and closes at 5pm on Thursday 1 February 2024 (Sydney time). 

The New Quilt 2024, a juried survey exhibition showcasing the art of quilting, will be on exhibition at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery in Windsor, NSW from 3 May – 23 June 2024. The selectors are textile artists Ruth de Vos and Fiona Gavens together with a representative of Hawkesbury Regional Gallery. 

Please share this announcement with others. The New Quilt is open to all artists resident in Australia regardless of whether they belong to QuiltNSW. (Current QuiltNSW members get a discount on entry fees.) All selected entries are eligible for consideration for two new prizes:

• The New Quilt Prize $1500
• The New Quilt Prize Runner Up $500

Note:

• artists may enter 1 or 2 quilts. Only 1 work per artist may be selected;
• there is no prescribed theme – submit your best work reflecting your creative practice;
• a quilt means stitched and layered materials using any technique; and
• 2–D, 3–D, installation work, ceiling hung work, work on stretcher bars and framed work are eligible subject to certain size restrictions.

Download Conditions of Entry or see www.quiltnsw.com for more information 

Inquiries to: thenewquilt@quiltnsw.com

QuiltNSW 40th Anniversary Publication

 

To celebrate our 40th anniversary, QuiltNSW has published a full colour, catalogue-style softcover book featuring images of ALL of the quilts in the main members’ exhibition of the Sydney Quilt Show 2022.

The quilt photos are arranged by category across 120 pages with 4 quilts per page. 

Order online by 30 April 2023.

Call for Entries: The New Quilt 2024

 

QuiltNSW is excited that The New Quilt is returning to Hawkesbury Regional Gallery,, Windsor, NSW from 3 May to 23 June 2024. This juried survey exhibition, showcasing the art of quilting in a gallery setting, is open to any textile artist resident in Australia whether or not they are QuiltNSW members.

Note:

• artists may enter 1 or 2 quilts. Only 1 work per artist may be selected;
• there is no prescribed theme – submit your best work reflecting your creative practice;
• a quilt means stitched and layered materials using any technique; and
• 2–D, 3–D, installation work, ceiling hung work, work on stretcher bars and framed work are
  eligible subject to certain size restrictions.

 Download The New Quilt 2024: Conditions of Entry

The New Quilt Prizes

All selected entries are eligible for consideration for two new prizes:

• The New Quilt Prize ($1500)
• The New Quilt Prize Runner Up ($500).

Selectors: Ruth de Vos, Fiona Gavens and a representative of Hawkesbury Regional Gallery.

Key dates

• 1 April 2023: open call for entries with conditions of entry
• 1 October 2023: online entry form opens
• 1 February 2024: online entry form closes\6 March 2024: notification of selection by e–mail
• 18 April 2024: final date for delivery of artwork
• 3 May 2024: exhibition opens
• 23 June 2024: exhibition closes
• 24 June 2024: dispatch works back to artists

The New Quilt 2024: returning to Hawkesbury Regional Gallery

As announced at the general meeting on 18 August, QuiltNSW is excited to confirm that The New Quilt exhibition, showcasing the ART of quilting, is returning to Hawkesbury Regional Gallery from 3 May to 16 June 2024.

This juried survey exhibition is open to any textile artist resident in Australia whether or not they are QuiltNSW members. Note:

• there is no prescribed theme – submit your best work reflecting your creative practice;
• a quilt means stitched and layered materials using any technique;
• the quilt must be your original, non-traditional design; and
• 2-D, 3-D, installation work, ceiling hung work, work on stretcher bars and framed work are eligible subject to certain size restrictions. 

Share YOUR artwork. Start planning for 2024!

Please direct any queries to: thenewquilt@quiltnsw.com

QuiltNSW Exhibition 2022: 1 Week Reminder

 It's just one week until entries for the QuiltNSW Exhibition 2022 including the Sydney Quilt Show close at 5pm on Thursday 30 June 2022.

Don't leave it to the last minute, jump online and send us your ONLINE ENTRY FORM.

No matter what kind of quilts you make, there's a place for you share it in the Sydney Quilt Show. Quilts in progress are eligible for entry so long as you have completed your quilt top.

We look forward to showcasing the creativity of our members at the QuiltNSW Exhibition at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse from 21-23 October 2022.

Contact quiltshow@quiltnsw.com if you have any queries about your entry.

Call for Entries: QuiltNSW 2022 Exhibition

Share YOUR quilts! Entries are now open for the QuiltNSW Exhibition 2022 including the Sydney Quilt Show.

Enter online by 5pm on Thursday 30 June 2022 at www.quiltnsw.com

• For assistance with lodging an online entry or queries about your entry: quiltshow@quiltnsw.com
• For general questions or comments about the QuiltNSW Exhibition 2022: exhibition@quiltnsw.com
• For information about the vendor marketplace: marketplace@quiltnsw.com

Resources:

• Membership form: entrants must be financial members for 2021/2022 and/or 2022/2023
• Conditions of Entry including categories and awards. Key changes for 2022 are highlighted below.
• Worksheet: review the worksheet to gather all the information that you will need to complete the online entry form.
• Flowchart: no matter what kind of quilt you make, there’s a place for you to share it.  Follow the flowchart to help you choose your category.

Highlights from the Conditions of Entry

1. Eligibility: This is a members' exhibition. Entrants must be financial members for 2021/2022 and/or 2022/2023. New and returning members are welcome - invite a friend! Renew or join online at: QuiltNSW Membership Form
2. Entry fee: 1 quilt $30. 2 quilts $40.
3. Cancellation & Refunds: QuiltNSW may cancel the exhibition. If the cancellation occurs before the quilts are received for judging, you will receive a $10 refund. If the cancellation occurs after the quilts are received for judging, no refunds are payable.
4. Limit of 350 Quilts & Selection Ballot: QuiltNSW has set a limit of 350 quilts in the members’ exhibition having regard to space and resource considerations. Please ensure that you nominate your preferred quilt as your first choice. In 2022, if we receive valid entries for more than 350 quilts, a ballot will be conducted of second choice entries to a number we consider manageable. If your second choice quilt is not selected due to the ballot, you will be refunded $10.
5. Postage: Entrants who elect to have their quilts sent and/or returned by mail are liable for all postal costs, regardless of location. (Previously only interstate and overseas entrants had to pay return postage). We are looking to expand our network of Drop Off Volunteers. If you are interested in learning more about this important role, please contact quiltshow@quiltnsw.com.
6. Prizes: groups and individuals sponsor prizes at the Sydney Quilt Show. Because of their generosity, we will be able to allocate cash/voucher and product to the quilts awarded a 1st place in each category, excellence or special award. All prize winners will receive a rosette and certificate.
7. Choosing Your Category: Review the definitions and conditions and choose the category that best suits your quilt. The decision for the category entered is your responsibility. Refer to the flowchart for assistance in choosing your category.
8. Blue & White Special Themed Category 20: The Blue and White category is only open to individual members including 'quilted by another’. Juniors, groups and members who are two person collaborators may submit a blue and white quilt into their usual category. If you are entering the Blue and White category and your quilt is 'quilted by another' and we do not receive enough entries to create a ‘quilted by another’ sub category, your quilt will be moved to category 5 or 10 depending on whether you are an amateur or a professional. We will endeavour to display all blue and white quilts together. If you enter the Blue and White category and quilted your own quilt, you may nominate for the awards Best Contemporary Quilt or Best Traditional Quilt.
9. Quilt Tops Must be Completed at time of Entry: quilts in progress are eligible for the Sydney Quilt Show 2022. However, as a minimum, the quilt top must be complete at the time of entry.  We encourage you to progress your quilts as much as possible prior to entry so you know your work will be show-ready in time and withdrawals are avoided.

Other Reminders:

• If you are planning on entering Entrant’s Quilt Top Quilted by Another (Categories 5 and 10), please ensure that your quilter is a current QuiltNSW member. QuiltNSW Membership Form
• Ensure that your quilt size matches your submission. The show layout is dependent on this information.  It is used for the layout of all the quilts for the show and all the equipment that is used to hang your quilts.
• QuiltNSW respects the rights of First Nation People to own and control their heritage. Therefore, entrants should not incorporate design elements into their quilts without consent of the owners.
• Include proper attribution to the design source for your quilts, and if applicable design consent from the copyright holder. (Design consent is not required for a commercially available pattern.) Please obtain design consent prior to commencing work on your quilt.
• All entries in category 13: Art Quilts must be your own original design, not a copy or a variation of another artist’s design in any medium.

Key dates:

• Opening Date for Entries: Monday 6 June 2022
• Closing Date for Entries: Thursday 30 June 2022 (5pm Sydney Time)
• Acceptance Notification Dispatched:  Monday 15 August 2022
• Deadline for Quilts to be delivered to Drop Off Volunteers: Wednesday 28 September
• Deadline for Quilts to be collected from Drop Off Volunteers: Sunday 30 October 2022

Save the date for QuiltNSW Exhibition 2022

 QuiltNSW proudly presents the QuiltNSW Exhibition 2022 at the Grand Pavilion, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Sydney from Friday 21 October to Sunday 23 October 2022 (10am-4pm daily).

Save the date! This exciting event includes the Sydney Quilt Show, a selection of prize winning quilts from the 2021 online show and a vendor marketplace.

Share your quilt! Entries open on Monday 6 June 2022 and close at 5pm Thursday 30 June 2022 (Sydney time). Online entry only.

Special Announcement: Coming Soon!

Come along to the QuiltNSW Zoom Meeting at 10am on Saturday 19 March for an exciting quilt show update! Register for Zoom meeting.

 

From these Curtains: Craft Alive Newcastle

The 2019 Suitcase Challenge From These Curtains was exhibited for the first time at the Craft Alive event in Newcastle, NSW from 11-13 March 2022 and will continue on tour across Australia in 2022. Look out for a Craft Alive event near you. Book a ticket!

By way of background, QuiltNSW had a wonderful sewing day at NSW Government House. The Governor Mr David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley visited the group during the day and were very interested in our individual projects and quilts. QuiltNSW was later approached to see if we would be interested in recycling some curtains from Government House. This became the basis of the suitcase challenge.

For maker credits, please see the online gallery: From These Curtains 

Thanks to BERNINA Australia for their continuing support.

 

Sydney Quilt Show 2021 Online

QuiltNSW is committed to providing members with opportunities to share their quilts and to celebrate creativity. With the welcome easing of health restrictions in NSW, the Exhibition Subcommittee is proceeding with the plan to present the Sydney Quilt Show 2021 online. This is a virtual event where ALL of the quilts are judged in the cloth, photographed and then displayed online.

258 entrants are participating in the online show. The Exhibition Subcommittee is very excited by this response and buoyed by the encouragement and enthusiasm of the entrants' comments in their participation forms. Thank you!

The awards ceremony will be a special online event and everyone is invited! Watch this space! All prize winners will receive a ribbon and a rosette. The BERNINA Best of Show will be awarded a sewing machine sponsored by BERNINA Australia and there will be a mix of cash and voucher prizes for the Special Awards and First Prize winners. THANK YOU to all of the sponsors. Please support them in return.

Sydney Quilt Show 2021 Update

The pandemic continues to present challenging and uncertain conditions for event organisers. QuiltNSW was hoping to open the Sydney Quilt Show this week but instead the exhibition subcommittee is working hard on arrangements for a rescheduled event. Here is an update based on our current understanding of COVID conditions. 

New Show Dates: 1-5 September 2021

In partnership with Expertise Events, QuiltNSW is preparing to present the Sydney Quilt Show 2021 in conjunction with the Craft & Quilt Fair at Sydney Showground from Wednesday 1 September to Sunday 5 September from 10am to 4pm daily. (QuiltNSW may postpone or cancel the 2021 show but any postponed show dates will be no later than 1 October 2021.) 

We look forward to celebrating creativity with you on these new show dates.

Extension of 2021 Raffle 

The date for drawing the 2021 Raffle has been changed to 3pm Sunday 5 September 2021 at the Sydney Quilt Show. (If the show does not proceed, the raffle will instead be drawn at the QuiltNSW office at 12 noon on Friday 3 September.)

The prizes are:

• 1st Prize: Tea Rose hand-pieced and donated by Sue Cody (pictured left below) and hand quilted by Kaynka Powning (value $4500)
• 2nd Prize: The Narrawallee Star custom-quilted by Kaye Jamieson of Quilting Quarters  (value $3000)
• 3rd Prize: BERNINA 325 sewing machine (value $1499)
• 4th Prize: Quilter’s Basket (value $350)
• 5th Prize: Horn Sewing Chair (value $279)

Stitching in the Sticks

The original idea for this program was born in early 2020 out of a desire to give assistance to our regional members affected by fire and drought, but the commencement was delayed time and time again due to social distancing restrictions.

The aim is to reach out to our drought and fire and flood affected groups who may have lost some of their sense of community and the ability to meet up or hold events due to the catastrophic circumstances we have seen affecting NSW over the past couple of years.

Members of the host group will enjoy a weekend workshop at no cost to the participants, where they can invite visitors from neighbouring communities to make new connections. We are hoping that this may even encourage new members, or introduce some new people to the quilting community.

As this is a pilot for the first year, three locations have been chosen which will work with our tutors and volunteers working the program.

The first workshop was presented by Lisa Mattock on 1-2 May in Griffith. It was hosted by the Murrumbidgee quilters, who invited women from Coleambally, Goolgowi and Hillston to join them. Lisa's workshop was Slow Stitching 101.

We must give Lisa credit for the “Stitching in the Sticks” title – she is a country girl from Orange and has been supportive of this program from the outset.

Two more Stitching in the Sticks workshops are planned for 2021 - Chris Jurd will visit Cobargo quilters in August and Kathy Doughty will visit Batemans Bay/Malua area in September.

General Meeting at Burwood RSL - Saturday 15 May

Our next General Meeting will be held on Saturday 15 May at Club Burwood RSL, from 10 am to 3 pm. You will hear reports from the President and Committee members as well as from coordinators of the groups and other activities.

Fabric Garden will be on hand to meet all your retail needs.

Award-winning quiltmaker to the stars, fearless leader of the Glitterati, and spiller of truth tea, Molli Sparkles is our guest speaker.

Molli originates from small town USA but has called Sydney home for over sixteen years. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Sydney.

He started his journey with textiles in 2012 after deciding he wanted to make his grandmother a quilt. He likes drinking champagne while sewing, and if there's one thing he's learned, it's just fabric, you can't break it!

Bookings are essential as capacity is limited to 60 people.

When: Saturday 15 May, 10 am - 3 pm

Where: Club Burwood RSL, 6 Shaftesbury Rd, Burwood 2134

Bookings: Essential, book here.

Friday Showcase featuring Lynn Hewitt - Friday 7 May 2021

We are pleased that Friday Showcase has returned for 2021. Our first event will be held on Friday 7 May and will feature Lynn Hewitt.

In 30 years, Lynn Hewitt has made many quilts, and she enjoys doing workshops, learning new techniques and developing new skills. After a workshop, she often wonders what if she might make it again in another colour, or a different size or shape.

 At the May Friday Showcase, Lynn plans to show several quilts which have resulted after " What if?", as well as her very first quilt, and her latest, a modern quilt.

Friday Showcase will be held again this year at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA) in the Auditorium on Level 1. Doors will open at 10.45 am for an 11 am start (note this is one hour later than previously) and numbers will be limited to 60 people.

Bookings are essential and payment is required at the time of booking. 

 
We recommend you bring a mask to wear when looking at the quilts at the end of the presentation. 

Refreshments will not be available in the office before or after Friday Showcase due to the reduced office capacity (currently 10 persons). However, there is a cafe at street level.   

When: Friday 7 May, 10.45 for 11 am start
Where:  Level 1, Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street Sydney
Cost: $5 for QuiltNSW members, $10 for non-members
Bookings: Essential, book and pay here, maximum 60 people

Pop-Up Sewing Day: 17 April at Stitched 'n' Framed, Port Macquarie

One of the many advantages of being a QuiltNSW member is the opportunity to attend Pop-Up Sewing Days at venues throughout NSW.

The next Pop-Up Sewing Day is on 17 April at Stitched 'n' Framed, Port Macquarie.

The Mid North Coast of New South Wales has been devastated by recent flooding. By coincidence the next Pop Up Sewing Day will be held at Port Macquarie, which was one of the badly affected areas, on Saturday April 17. To support the area, why not “Pop Up” in Port Macquarie for the day at Stitched ‘n’ Framed 18/14 Acacia Avenue, 9.30 am to 1.30 pm, there are still spaces available and they would appreciate your attendance.

Remember this day is FREE for QuiltNSW members to attend and you only have to bring your sewing, either hand or machine and a mug for morning tea which will provided by Jenny and her team at Stitched ‘n’ Framed.  You can bring some lunch if you wish. 

There is ample parking outside the shop at the front and on the opposite side of the road.  Hope to see you soon.
Jenny Chapman – Pop Up Sewing Day Coordinator

When: Saturday 17 April from 9.30 am - 1.30 pm
Where: Stitched 'n' Framed, 18/14 Acacia Avenue, Port Macquarie
Bookings essential:  QuiltNSW members only - book here. 

To take advantage of activities such as these, consider joining QuiltNSW. You can become a member here.