Dolls.

Folk-Art Snowmen. Jenny and Tertia.

Crazy-Patch Santa.

Wishlist - Summer in Greece.

Quadrille Quilters Challenge 2015.

My local quilt guild issues a challenge each year. Details are given to us at the beginning of the year. Participants make a quilt inspired by those details, and hand it in by October of that year. The quilts are judged by SAQG-qualified judges, and prizes are awarded.

This year's challenge came from a member, Hermien, who played Nana Mouskouri's song "White Rose of Athens", and then gave a small biography of Nana. We were challenged to make a quilt using this as an inspiration. We were also given a size limit.

Having watched a TV programme of Nana being interviewed, in Greece, by Joanna Lumley, I found myself being inspired by strong associations - associations where the music conjured up the colours of the Greek Isles.

And this was my entry - "Wishlist - Summer in Greece." It was foundation-pieced and hand-quilted. I tried something new in that the coloured squares are satins and silks which were needle felted. Of course the rest is 100% cotton. It won second place. The lovely rosettes were made by Jenny Smith, our present Chairlady.

Gallery Update.

Gallery Update.

Summer in the City. (2011)

This quilt was made as an entry in the Quadrille Quilters Guild Challenge in the latter part of 2011. The theme was "Seasons", and this quilt won Second place. In September 2013 it was accepted to be part of the South African Exhibition at the European Patchwork Meeting in France.

Moonlight and Roses, and the Young Girls Dream. (2012)

This quilt was my entry into the "Dreams" challenge issued at the first International Quilt Convention - Africa in 2012. It went with other South African quilts to the European Patchwork Meeting 2012, in St Marie aux Mines, France as well as to venues in Australia and New Zealand.

Free to Express. (2013)

The theme for the second International Quilt Convention -Africa was "Free to Express". As in the previous year this convention was held at Emperor's  Palace, in Johannesburg. This was my entry. The exhibition was featured at other venues in South Africa, and my quilt was sold in the Cape.

Flagstone Memories - Better than Diamonds. (2014)

During July 2013 I had the wonderful experience of visiting Italy with three of my quilting friends. We arrived in Siena during a rainstorm, and took refuge in a coffee shop while we waited for the rain to abate. I took photos of our luggage and umbrellas which I later used to create this little quilt. I entered it into our 2014 Quadrille Quilters challenge where it took second place.

No Keener Revelation. (2014)

A group of quilt artists from South Africa and the USA were invited by the Michigan State University museum to submit quilt works for an exhibition honouring the life of Nelson Mandela. The exhibition was called Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela ,and a book of the same name, featuring all the quilts, was published. The exhibition was supposed to travel around South Africa and the United States for several years, but due to certain difficulties with customs, that did not happen. It was exhibited at IQC - Africa in July 2014, and the National Quilt Festival, Durban in July 2015.

Working in a Series.

Working in a Series.

Several years ago I attended a lecture by Odette Tolksdorf where she addressed the subject of working in a series. The whole idea did not appeal to me, as I am the type of person who, when something has been tried, likes to move on to the next process or technique. However, I made one quilt which then seduced me into a second one using the same idea, which then led onto the next, and before I knew it I had a series named "Facets".

"Facets 1" was the first in the series. I wanted to use some silk fabrics I had bought, and wanted to work with a three-dimensional image I had found. This quilt hung in our lounge for a while before being claimed by my son. While it was in our home I would pass it and see other interesting lines and shapes. Eventually I designed "Facets 2" exploring those ideas.

"Facets 2" went on to win a second prize in the Theme category of the National Quilt Festival 2011. It was also accepted for the World Quilt Show-2011.

 "Companion (Facets 3)" came about once again when I studied the previous quilt and saw new lines and shapes. The "what if" question led me to totally re-arrange my colours, and bring a different shape into focus. I also added black and white fabrics as a counterpoint to the saturated primaries. The size of the diamond and square units was also reduced. This quilt was exhibited at the 2012 TAGG exhibition in Johannesburg in October of that year.

I now decided that I needed a brownish quilt that would "go" with our lounge. So, "Facets 4" came into being. I love sunflowers so added that to the design as well as emphasizing the heart shape that can be seen in the piecing. This quilt went to the National Quilt Festival in Bloemfontein, 2013 and then to the 2013 TAGG exhibition where it was sold.

I still needed a brownish quilt for our sitting-room, but was feeling slightly bored with the nine-patches in the Facets series. I kept the basic design of squares and diamonds but inserted Crazy Patches into them. I tried to keep it brown, but couldn't help myself, and the colours crept in to "Facets 5 -The wheels of Change Turn Slowly". This quilt was exhibited at the International Quilt Convention held in Johannesburg in 2014, and then at The Pink House Gallery in the Western Cape.

"Facets 2", in the meantime, had returned home and is hanging in our entrance hall. Once again I was asking "what if" as I passed it each day. And soon I was designing and creating "Facets 6", changing the colours as well as the orientation. I loved working with the bright colours again, but did not enjoy the hand-quilting. I tried something different and found it rather tedious. This quilt went on to win second prize in the 2015 National Quilt Festival Innovative Masters Category as well as the special Bernina prize for Best Traditional Piecing done by a Machine. It has also been selected for the Eighth South African Travelling Exhibition.

Am I finished with the Facets Series? Maybe not. With each of these quilts I have tried something new. Sometimes it was in the design focus; sometimes it was in the quilting. One even had machine embroidery on it. So, although the basic design remains the same, I have grown as a quilt artist. Yes, I would recommend quilters to try working in a series. It is not boring after all.

Introduction

Thank you for visiting my Blog. I would be interested and love to see your comments.

Please visit again soon.
Jenny.

Quilt: Crown of Thorns

Title: Crown of Thorns for a Rainbow Nation
(The South African National Festival Award Winner)
This quilt won 1st prize in the Traditional (Small) category at the South African National Quilt Festival in 2000.My first prize-winner……how pleased and excited I was. I used hand-dyed fabrics; designed the quilt on EQ.

Quilt: On The Stage

Title: On The Stage

(The South African National Festival Award Winner)

3rd place winner in the Master’s Category at the South African National Quilt Festival in 2008. This quilt as also accepted to travel to the World Quilt Competition in 2009. It was inspired by a visit to the South African Ballet Company’s production of “Nutcracker” in 2004.

Quilt: Beauty Still In The Eye of the Beholder

Title: Beauty Still In The Eye of the Beholder.
Continuing an exploration of using the New York Beauty block with hand-dyed fabrics and batiks, this quilt as accepted in the World Quilt Competition in 2005. Then it travelled around South Africa in the “Don’t Be So Square” travelling exhibition 2007/2008. (Designed on Electric Quilt)

Naughty Cats.

Naughty Cats.
In the old days, before the idea of a design wall, I would lay my finished blocks out on the lounge floor and choose a setting. I had two rather naughty cats who found great delight in playing among the blocks. I would walk away and return to find them all mussed up and in total disarray; I would then shout “Naughty Cats” This quilt was made as a memory of those times. (Designed on Electric Quilt)

Light Source 1.

Light Source 1.
This quilt didn’t travel. I made it before Light Source, using the same design, but different colouring. Unfortuhately, after hand-quilting it I found that the batting “beards”, so it has never really been shown.

Light Source.

Light Source.
Another quilt that travelled our country, Light Source was part of the South African Travelling Exhibition “Optical Illusions” during 2005/2006. This was also an experimentation with three-dimensional design.(Designed on Electric Quilt).

(Going Around in) Square Circles.

(Going Around in) Square Circles.
I made this quilt in 2002 as I was grieving the passing of my Mother. The title was one of her favourite sayings. It was only finished in time to be entered into the South African Travelling Exhibition “Round the Bend”, because my friend Grace of Quiltec nagged me so. It was accepted and spent 2003/2004 visiting places in our country that I haven’t even visited myself. (Designed on Electric Quilt).

Boxes of Nothing Hiding in My Closet.

Boxes of Nothing Hiding in My Closet.
During the early nineties I was experimenting with three-dimensional designs. I had bought my first Electric Quilt computer programme, (EQ1) and my husband and I designed this quilt. I got the initial idea from my son (twelve at the time) who was playing around with geometrical patterns during moments of boredom at school. The quilt was my first one to be accepted for the South African Travelling Exhibitions, in the case the Hide-and-Seek Challenge. It left home and travelled during 1995/1996.

Northern Mountains 2.

Northern Mountains 2.
I used the same fabric as the earlier Northern Mountains quilt but a different design.(Designed on EQ) It was on this quilt that I found that the quality of batting affects my hand-quilting. I used a cheaper batting, and found that after only a short time of quilting I would be suffering with pain in my arms and shoulders. It took greater effort to push the needle through with each stitch; the batting seemed to have a resistance. So now I am careful to use only the best quality batting. It took about ten years to quilt this little quilt, because I kept abandoning it.

Northern Mountains.

Northern Mountains.
This quilt was made in the late 1990’s, and sadly the fabrics have faded. It is however, a favourite and spends a large part of the year hanging in our lounge. (Designed on Electric Quilt)

Christmas Kittens.

Christmas Kittens.
Fabric also purchased at Tennessee Quilts, and also special to me, I’ve made this quilt as another class sample. It was quilted by my good friends at Quiltec Fabrics on the big machine we call Gloria. This quilt is lap-size and made to be used, not hung up on walls. (Designed on Electric Quilt)

Santa Panels.

Santa Panels.
Created as a class sample, I used a panel I bought at Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough in 2005. This panel is special to me, so I spent considerable time hand-quilting and beading the quilt. It, at present, is in the USA as part of the World Quilt Competition, 2009. (Designed on Electric Quilt)

Facets.

Facets.
I saw this design in a book years ago, was intrigued by the way it flows. I drew it, with difficulty, on EQ5. Concerned about copyright issues, I took it to a Maths. Teacher friend. She re-assured me that it is actually a Maths problem that is given to students at tertiary level to draught. This is my first attempt at working with silk. Although I love the way silk glistens, I am not sure if I will use it in my quilting again.

Searching For Simplicty.

Searching For Simplicty.
I think this is my favourite quilt, one of the very few not designed on EQ. It also went to the World Quilt Competition in 2004.

Colours of South Africa.
(Best Use of Color, World Quilt Competition 2004)

I started this quilt in 2001. I had it up on a design wall when Mum-in-Law visited in October of that year. She fell in love with it. Two weeks later my Mom took ill, and we started a two-month journey at the end of which Mom passed away. Full of sadness I took the blocks down and packed them away. Mum-in-Law, however, did not let me forget it, and finally at her insistence I completed the quilt. It went to the World Quilt Competition in 2004, my first time entering, where it won a Blue ribbon for Best Use of Color. (Designed on Electric Quilt)