Lemons

Lemons
The garden is in its winter dormant stage but yet the lemons,mandarins ,limes and oranges are bursting forth ( and the asparagus spears!). This little lemon tree is always loaded and I am always scouring for lemon recipes. The lime tree is this year also bursting with fruit- guacamole so much nicer with limes rather then lemons!
We are off for a few days with friends to Nelson - on our Southern coastline- kids and dh for fishing- me for hand stitching, reading and writing and feeding the mob. It looks like the weather is going to be horrid- ah well. I will try and take photos as the coastline is rugged- straight onto the Southern Ocean and Antarctic blasts.

Hand Painting Fabric

Hand Painted fabric

I tried painting this fabric with the textile inks that I normally use which are manaufactured in Australia. I was tickled that it worked, but the Trapsuutjies paint gives a superior result- the transparency of the paint and the fluidity of the paint seem to be factors in this. I also used a limited colour palette of blue, turquoise and purple and the paint wasn't quite dry when I photographed it (had a bit of a slack day after the quilting effort of the previous two days, but in the ehdn still did something), so I don't know what the hand of the fabric will be like. With the Trapsuutjies paint you heat set by placing the fabric in the oven for 15 minutes, but twith the textile ink I use normally you heat set with an iron- so I will have to test this out. The technique I am using is called African Painting and is taught by Irene van der Wolf in the Netherlands . She also uses latex in some of her work with interesting effects

Born from the Blues

Detail
I know I said I had given up on the Rhythm and Blues thing on Saturday, but I woke up Sunday morning and there suddenly it opened up before me. I had exactly the right fabrics- the contrast of the blues to the more dancing and happier R&B coloured fabric and jumping patterns and viola- set to work- it was going to be long and narrow quilt but then it grew and it needed the adire cloth ( which I purchased in Kano, Nigeria 15 years ago and have always been loathe to cut into ) borders- it sort of bounded the whole thing with the feel of African music/rhythms and roots. It turned into a marathon stitching effort because it ended up 105 cm by 155 cm ( a bit larger to what I normally do- but this quilt just grew of its own account- it was very strong in demanding what it needed) and I sewed the binding down lunch time today. I still want to do some hand stitching on it- but I was only going to quilt it to have it togehther- but the stitching ended up much heavier than that.

Hoorah methinks until I ring the photo processing shop and hour and a half away from here to check whether I can get the slides processed today- they don't do it any more- everything is digital they say- whahhhh- it's too far to drive to Melbourne. So I took photos, thinking I will put the slides in and send them after- not - the good SLR is out of battery power and I need to go to town ( 22kms away) to get a new battery. Sooooo.... I sent the photos with courier ( I know I have to sort out this last minute habit... but I only got back from OS less than two weeks ago) wrote a note saying the slides would be along as soon as I have them and hope that they accept the entry as is, and can wait for the slides.

Born from the Blues 

Facing Reality

Journal entry for today
I had to admit to myself today that despite all my best intentions I was not going to get the Rhythm and Blues thing done. For a start I did some more dyeing- and because it is so cold and because I was working with urea on silk really, weird washed out things happened ( this doesn't happen when I use salt and soda on cotton, but you can't use soda on silk). So instead I started a new journal- I usually work in A4 ( legal paper ) format , or square but decide I would see how I could work in an A3 size with the intent that i work larger. Instead I made three drawings,so still not working larger really, oh well.
The fabric postcard I made whilst in Europe- the sunny symbol is based on an adinkra symbol and the two curved shapes often represent two people meeting in aboriginal art- a mixture of pictorial metaphors- I don't know who the three dots are- maybe my children???

Fabric postcard 

Blue fabric

Rhythm and blues
Some fabric I dyed today whilst thinking of the theme Rhythm and Blues for the Val d'Argent quilt competition- I know I am running completely out of time as the deadline is 9 July, but something is tantalisingly hanging in the shadows of my mind and it won't quite emerge. I can't quite pin the imagery, for rhythm and blues took blues and jazz into another realm, without it music would not be what it is today. I wanted the background fabric to be rhythmic and to represent the blues from whence rhythm and blues emerged. In its early days it was largely the music of African Americans and so the blue colour is also a reference to indigo- the traditional dyeing of much of western Africa and from where many African slaves were abducted and transported. I did not want to notate music in the traditional western way because traditional African music is on a pentatonic scale. Rhythm and blues is also about dancing and song titles like Walking the Dog have floated into thought space, but but somehow....... I am not there yet. What would you do?

And on an up note- the roof is on my studio/shed, one wall and the back wall is almost done!!! I can't believe it is actually happening.

Adinkra Stamps

Adinkra stamps

I love African textiles and I have long had a fascination for adinkra cloth. The stamps in the photograph are actual Ghanaian adinkra stamps carved from gourds which I purchased at the African Museum near Maastricht. I am looking forward to working with them, but alas the weather is not being too co-operative ( I uaually dye and print outside)- it is doing it's wintry best to be cold and miserable. The symbology of stamps ( which are used to tell stories and allegories) are from left to right- Fofoo- what the foofoo plant wants, is that the gyinantwi seed will turn back- the symbol for jealousy ( what a cool form for jealousy- I think of it more as sunshine), Kunitkantan- don't show off-There is a need for humility and dignity,funtunfunafu denkyem funafu,won afuru bom nso worididi a na wo ko- whilst sharing the same stomach they fight for the food- dwanimen, horn of the ram, symbol for keeping things hidden.

And whilst thinking about the African museum I should mention that my friend Heidi-Stegehuis Ihle has had her African Elephant quilt invited into the Hands All Round Exhibit in Houston later this year. People say I am very productive but Heidi's output is truly prodigious. I enjoyed seeing all her work in the flesh this time in Europe, and I am just awed by the amount of work she gets through and her imagination.

Less Successful
This is another piece I painted which I don't like too much- too much like a rainbow! And yes it is a scrape back method, but the underlying colour is very important and so is its placement. I have a few ideas I want to explore but tonight we have to go to Gembrook so it will have to wait another day or two.

I tried dyeing a piece of muslin, for the Rhythm & Blues competition for Val d'Argent,and whilst I achieved a rhythm in the dyeing , I don't like the colour and I don't think it is something I can work with. I used pegs on fold lines to create and undulating rhythm in the cloth- oh well another thing learnt....

Surviving the Weekend

More hand painted fabric

Well I survived the weekend- a ten year olds sleepover and last night a teenage sleepover! The mud cake ( which had been requested) was too chocolatey, and as a non-lover of chocolate I am not sure who will eat it all- maybe the chooks!

Naturally in all of this busyness I haven't done anything vaguely related to quilts, and my room looks like a disaster area- too much stuff everywhere. But on the other hand the best way to get started again after a break is to simply get on and do it- so that is my promise to myself today- to just get on and do some dyeing some painting and perhaps get as far as making something.

This and That

The Linen Closet at Erve Brooks
The picture above is of the linen closet at Erve Brooks. The owners kindly allowed me to see this treasure. The cupboard itself was made of oak and dated from the eighteenth century and its shelves were loaded with the linen of the household- all neatly arranged in categoried bundles. The ornaments on the shelf signify the married couple and also held leather bound family bibles. This was the layout an impending bride was expected to make before her wedding. The rolls of linen you see are the actual bleached linen from which the layouts were made- in a sense it signified your wealth . They are rolled in a special way and required two people to roll them. The linen arrived in an unbleached state and was then bleached by the women and then rolled, and assembled into pillows, sheets, towels etc as needed. Heaven knows what the women would think of my linen closet!

The pictures below are of more hand painted fabrics I made last week. If it were warmer I would love to make some more today, but there was a frost last night- and I am feeling the cold and I am getting a cold! At the moment it is hard to imagine doing anything, but I need to get working again.

I have also booked my next trip to Europe from 14 September to 10 October 2005- if anyone is interested in my coming to teach please contact me and i can send out a list of workshops I teach.

More hand painted fabric 

Hand Painted fabric 

Home!!

Gelderse Clock, Erve Brooks
I was going to post some pictures of some more of the textile painting I did with the paint from Trapsuutjies ( I also dragged quite a lot of these home on the plane and am glad they did not check the weight of my hand luggage!) However instead I have posted some pictures of Erve Brooks which is an old Saxon farm and just delightful. I also posted a pic of poppies- I love poppies and for me the symbolise my childhood- I took a lot of pics of poppies and hope to work them up into a quilt one of these days.

However meanwhile I have to do something about the state of my house- with Collin studying and three kids who are scared of housework by the looks of it, something has to be done- and then there is two birthday parties this weekend involving sleepovers here. I will post more regularly now that I am home! I have found out I am teaching at Val d'Argent at St marie aux Mines in France from 15-19 September this year which fits in with the installation of Across Australia at the Panorama Mesdag in early October- so I shall be back in Europe in mid September.

Poppies 

Bake House, Erve Brooks 

Ondersteboven

Sorry no pictures to post as I am on another computer. I just wanted to remind everyon ethat on Wednesday I will be at our exhibition with Annelies Elburg at Erve Brooks, in Gelselaar in Gelderland. Laura Liebenberg from Trapsuutjies will be there on the weekend demonstrating. Hope to see some of you there, and I am hoping my quilts from England have arrived!

Yesterday we spent the day in Maastricht, walking around, looking at the two basilica's- Our Lady and St Gervais- I really liked the dark almost mysterious atmosphere in Our Lady.

Now I have to find the motivation to make some small tifaifai's which I sew onto paper card, and which I sell,but I think I shall go for a walk first!

Breaking All The Rules

Anneke's Quilt
Anneke's quilt and the previous four quilts are all work which was produced in a workshop I taught last year entitled Breaking All the Rules. It was a thrill to see the finished pieces and my apologies to the makers for not recording their names! Each one is so different in a sense- and I enjoy seeing the playfulness that each student has incorporated into their finished piece ( I just have to get a bit better at making clearer photographs!)

And on another note- I have been babbling on about 10,000 steps in the past. I was wearing my pedometer in workshops I taught last week and was surprised to find that I stepped between 8,000-12,000 steps on the days I taught. However I do like the feeling of well being I get from going out in the morning and walking for an hour- it sort of energizes your day. Sometimes so much that I do another half hour walk in the evening as well. There are all sorts of sites promoting 10,000 steps but I found the site I have linked to be very useful for basic information. And yes the weight is coming off and I do feel better!

And Another One 

And More 

More 

Breaking all The Rules 

Student Work from Workshops

Anneke's quilt
Nikki Perryman asked me about tifaifai awhile ago. Firstly I have written a book about the technique, the image of the cover appears below. I have to say the publisher chose my least favourite quilt I made for the cover- she had specifically requested something pink and green ( and yes I can hear all my friends guffawing in the background...) and then she put it on the cover. However tifaifai is a Polynesian word which means to patch repeatedly, although usually when you think of tifaifai you would think of a appliqued top. Tifaifai is the Tahitian version, and the Cook Islands produce Tivaevae. The tifaifai are culturally significant to the Polynesian people and designs are passed from mother to daughter and carefully kept within families. I create my own designs- the only thing I have adapted is the technique of cutting the tifaifai.Hawaiian is in a similar vein but the designs are created on an eightfold thereby creating a more symmetric design. Polynesian designs are done on a fourfold thereby creating a loser symmetry- which I like, although the eye always wants to make it symmetric.
I have included some photos of work done by students in my workshops over the last two weeks. there were some really fun works created- I encourage students to draw their own designs rather than use my patterns.

Arja's quilt

Kok's quilt

My book