The AQC continued

Happy Wednesday peoples, I hope the sun is shining where you are because it's so beautiful and sunny here!​ All I really want to do is lie in the sunshine and read my book, but work is pressing and I need to get it done.

What book am I reading? It's called Hare's Fur by Trevor Shearston, and it's absolutely lovely. Big recommend on this one. It's about a professional potter, living alone in Australia's Blue Mountains, and some children who come into his life. I won't say more than that, as revealing even some of the details will ruin some of the small devastations and joys this book just pops into the story casually. I've only got about 15 pages left and I want to go and finish it!! Read this one, I'm tipping you will love it.

Right, on with the show! And what a show it was. Here's some more of my favourites from the AQC, starting with the rest of my pick from the QuiltCon travelling exhibit.

I Scream Out Loud by Lynne Hanson 

I'd love to share the artists statement on this one but the photo I took is completely out of focus!!

My sincere apologies. 

Hue's To Say? by Erin Kroeker

"We all view the world through a unique lens shaped by experiences, values and perspectives. When these lenses overlap, like in a Venn diagram, shared connections emerge alongside distinct viewpoints. Just as overlapping coloured lenses create new hues, our perspectives blend to form something richer. 

My father and son, both colourblind, experience colours differently, reminding me that even when our views don't align conventionally, the unique perspectives of others enrich our understanding of the world."

Here we have a quilt from the SAQA ((Studio Art Quilt Associates https://www.saqa.com/about) special exhibit. This quilt is by Pat Forster, and is called Ordered Chaos. 

"This design was inspired by works by Annie Albers. It evolved from random placement of pieced squares with four orientations and whole squares. Order was brought to the chaotic result by replacing some pieced squares with whole squares, and rotating others, so no triangles have coincident sides. 

Hence, the work moved from chaos to order (opposites by nature), evidenced by pieced versus whole blocks, in opposite hues of the colour wheel (orange and blue), in opposite tones(bright and dull), with straight line and curved quilting."

It's interesting to me that quite a few of my favourites in the whole exhibition were really quite simple quilts, made using traditional shapes and quilt blocks, but were also very modern. Here is Crooked Paths, Or Eight-Pointed Stars? which is also by Pat Forster, which I didn't know at all when I took the photos. Pat, incidentally, was this year's Rajah Award winner. 

Another special exhibit that really held my attention was the Avant Gardé exhibition from Carrefour Européen Patchwork. Some of the figures are absolutely spellbinding and beautifully executed.

Reborn as a Quilter by Sangmi Kim

"Out of life's grey shadows, I discovered a world of colour - quilting. Each stitched piece became a ritual of healing and rebirth. Even after 30 years, I will be reborn like a big bang."

Feel, Connect, Flow by Maria Eugenia Corbella

"In my quilt design, I imagine the future of patchwork as a blend of nature, the synthetic, new technologies and out inner world. Living, feeling, creating and respecting the environment while embracing innovation - and enjoying every moment in life."

I think this quilt was my favourite of the whole show. The techniques she has used to make this face and background it rests on are so beautiful and what a wonderful use of fabric, and of applique!

This is What Are Her Origins by Szilvia Kerékgyártó.

New tools and materials promise to make the creative process easier and faster. I hope that in 30 years, quilters will still be innovative yet traditional, preserving the values of handcrafts and never forgetting their origins."

As a teacher I always love having my quilts hung in the Teacher's section of a show, and its always an honor to have them hanging alongside my collegue's incredible work. The tutors of a large show should always put on a dazzling display, and this was no exception! My favourite was this painted, improvised piece by American Pat Pauly, called Edge of Autumn. Sorry it has feet! :D

As locals, the Victorian Quilters always have the best of their regional show hanging at AQC, and this quilt took my fancy in a big way. 

Fruit Salad by Felicity Garde

"The colours and design make me think of lemons, oranges, blueberries and passionfruit. The blue loops are fun - they are modified double wedding ring blocks. This top has been in the cupboard for years. I unpicked the border, adding the blue semicircles ad corner circles, and finally it's quilted! It is my own original design."

Every time I go to a quilt show I'm struck by the phenomenal array of different skill sets, designs, colours, techniques, sizes, ages.... we quilters really are a talented lot.

If you have a quilt you're working on, why not enter it into the Sydney Show? You need to be a QuiltNSW member, but that's easily fixed - and trust me, with the surprises we are working on for the next year or two, you will WANT to be a member... just a little insider co-Presidential info from me there peeps. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. That aside, enter your quilt!! Quilt shows are not quilt shows without the quilts that hang in them people, and the more quilts the merrier. Have you finished one of my quilts since 2023?? I know that LOTS of you have. ENTER IT!! That's FINISHED it, not started it, which means you can just have been sewing on the binding or something. 

This is ME telling YOU that as QuiltNSW co-President, I WANT YOUR QUILT IN OUR SHOW!! Come on, don't be shy. You can become a guild member here

https://quiltnsw.com/members/#membershiptypes

And if you're already a member, you can enter your quilt here - entries close on April 27, but your quilt DOES NOT have to be finished to enter, you just need to have the top well on the way, and to know what size it finishes at. 

https://quiltnsw.com/sydney-quilt-show-2025/

With that in mind, I'm off to work on my entries! Want to see? Ahhh.... you'll have to wait for next week. 

Sarah x