Busy...

Our National day of rememberance along with New Zealand- Anzac day  25 April 1915,the beginning of the attempt to  take the peninsuala at Gallipoli in World War I- often said to be the birthing of our nation- when we lost thousands of young men at Anzac cove at Gallipoli and where the "enemy" lost many thousands more. When I was a teenager I was asked to read a poem on an Anzac day commemoration ceremony held at my school. I was allowed to choose the poem and I remember my teacher asking if I was sure? But I think I had just read All Quiet on the Western Front and then discovered this poem by Wilfred Owen Dulce et Decorum Est. I wasn't  attempting to denegrate the sacrifice  that had been made but just trying to show the awfulness of war and the awful loss of bright shining lives ( we were in the midst of the Vietnam war at that stage) .  I know I got a letter of great indignation from the local RSL, needless to say it was not well received .So i share the poem because  along with remebering those that died and the sacrifice they made we must never ever forget the bloody awfulness of war and the havoc and misery and pain that it wreaks.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

It has been a busy few weeks since my exhibition at Chartres. I taught in West Flanders for a couple of days and then went on to Prague to meet Jane Rollason the curator of Crossing Oceans, an international exhibiting group to drop of my quilts. As it was easter it was easier to take the quilts in person than to courier them. Then back to Holland and  teaching at the Lapjesgaard and then a day with my aunt at the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse. It was beautiful but it was the beginning of the season so it was only partially in bloom.

Tulips at the Keukenhof gardens. We got there early so it was not packed with tourisst yet and we parked almost at the front door.

A photo with Ira Labordus ( one of my online Traveller's Blanket students) and my unfinished waste not want not indigo travellers blanket at the Lapjesgaard. I was lucky enough to find accommodation on a houseboat in Almere- believe it or not it was amongst the cheapest accommodation I could find and there was a bar and restaurant there so i could have my meal there. It was actually wonderfully relaxing had I not been so busy. Watching the birds and their spring time antics was quite amusing. I discovered that male water coots are very sneaky in trying to get female attention- they dive underwater and then try and pop up behind the female- but  the female water coots were up to this game!

  Then I gave Els Mommers a lift to Bienale International d'Art Textil in Villefranche sur Saone where I discovered to my surprise not only was I showcasing the Aussie Bush Project but also my own work ( just as well I had all my quilts from Chartres in my suitcase, as I had thought it was only the Aussie Bush Project) I am sorry for the lack of photos for the Aussie Bush project ( I forgot my battery charger for my good camera in Australia and my phone camera was not up to take a decent photo in the prevailing lighting)- but people loved them and all the wonderful interpretations. The Aussie Bush Project will have its last public outing at the Berry Quilting Retreat in Berry in August of this year ( I will also be teaching there at the same time) I don't have very many potos to share, as I was there on my own, and whilst friends  were willing to give me a toilet break I can't expect them to man exhibitions.

 Then it was two days in the Alps before teaching in Lyon  at brin da Talent with a group of enthusiastic ladies to make their own linocuts and embellish them with hand stitch

And then it was onto Moux to try and get some serious stitching and writing done on the Waste Not Want Not indigo traveller's blanket for a series of articles I am writing for Downunder quilts. Tonight it is on to Spain for some teaching of linocut carving, printing and embellishing and then later this week by overnight bus to Austria for more teaching- the risk of strikes was too great to take the train. Hopefully I will get some stitching done on the bus. To say it has been busy is an understatement, though quietly stitching at moux has  helped me to breathe! The view from teh terrace of my friends house is rather lovely!

 I also caught up with my le Triadou friends briefly and  found waiting for me a book which included an article I did for Edi de Saxe last year on machine quilting ( yes I do stitch by machine sometimes and can't wait to get back to the machine after this marathon of hand stitching is over)

Inspired by roadside weeds I was trying to show what great effects you can create with simply using hand dyed cloth and coloured machine threads ( I use Aurifil cotton  28 weight threads)- how you can even create borders with thread work.

Traveller's Blankets and Aussie Bush Project Going to Berry Retreat

A very quick  post as I am heading out to the airport to deliver some of my travellers blankets for an exhibition with Crossing Oceans a project organised by Jane Rollason in Prague.

But meanwhile am excited to announce that  the travellers blankets will be exhibited alongside the Aussie Bush Project at the Berry Retreat in Berry on 18-19 August so  you will be able to see them up close and personal. They are so different in real life as compared to photographs which show none of the texture.

I will also be teaching the travellers blanket class at the  Berry retreat- this  is the only time this year that I am teaching this class person to person- and it is very different  simply because  of the creation of texture and movement which you can't really see with the online class. I will also be teaching linocutting- so you cna make your very own linocuts which we will embellish after the retreat. Making your own linocuts enables you to make your own unique fabrics which can be incorporated into other work or embroidered any old how!

 Here is a little of the history of the blankets which also alludes to a history of travel and exploration like  the great travellers of the past like Marco Polo- if you were in the entourage and you could not write how would you have captured the  glorious textiles you encountered ( and which was mostly the reason for the journey)

Travellers Blankets (Plaids Nomads) began life in the early 2000's when I made my first one with fabrics I had purchased in Africa in 1990. Since then I have made various ones over the years , as they are a long process of stitching motifs and the background. I try and think of them as stories about a journey, as they are invested with heart and soul and often carry inspirations of my travels and many of them have been on journeys themselves in my bag or suitcase.

They marry my love of fabric and thread and storytelling. I would never write such an elaborate story but with stitch I can make dozens of stories each of itself but also a part of a larger piece. Some tell the story of journeys, for example the urchin one is about Atauro Island , others are about heritage and exploration.

And here are six of the finished blankets thus far.... there will be another four I hope!

I am also starting another on-line course for those not lucky enough to get to the Berry Retreat. It starts on 7April so there is still time to enroll! Just email me for the information sheet