Makertorium Saturday 27th April

On Saturday one of my dripping wallhangings will be dyed at Te Papa as part of Makertorium.

I'm really excited about this as I get to show my work with a whole load of people who tinker away in workshops and studios and hopefully it gets seen by a  lot more people than tucked away in a gallery.

I'm also really excited about seeing all the other exhibits which include demonstrations of 3d printers, lazer cutters, robot toothbrushes and all sorts of weird and fun things.

My work is listed a 'Spectacle' and I will get a particular timeslot to start the dye off. There will also be a dvd running with a sped up version of the vertical dyeing performance (I never know what I should call it).

The new wallhanging will look a bit like this when it is dyed, but I have simplified it a bit because it will only be up for one day.

I have quite a quiet year this year as I didn't take many teaching bookings because I thought I was going to be a full-time student. If you are part of a club which would like a dye or print class, machine quilting or one of my other classes please contact me at smith_c*actrix.co.nz
I have spaces for most of June and November as well as dates in July and October available.

I'm going to list my classes on the right side of this blog.

Modern Quilts, exhibitions and 'stuff'

Hi everyone
Things got a bit busy there for a while, I thought I would have two spare rooms and get lots done but then one son came back home for a while then the other came home for the University holidays and I haven't got very far at all.

The last few days I have been trying to analyse what exactly is meant by 'a Modern Quilt'. Is it the fabric? Is it the use of minimalism? Is it the use of white, or grey, greyed down colors, lack of small prints?

Wellingtonians - There is a meeting on Thursday (Nancy' Embroidery 7pm) for anyone interested in talking about Modern Quilts.

I have also promised to teach a class for people interested in designing their own Modern Quilts so I've been playing with ideas and making samples of:

Improvisational piecing
Using a feature fabric with a traditional pattern
Using plains
Large print fabrics
Minimalism

The thing that stikes me is the the minimalism and  I've always been a bit of a minimalist anyway. BUT - I don't usually do piecing, I'm more of an appliqué/collager and not many Modern quilts seem to be appliqué.

Here is something I started today whilst watching a really old version of Heidi on my iPad. I just used a sample piece of a Maurice Kain furnishing fabric. I only had one fat quarter so if I want to make it bigger I will have to go shopping for some other kind of circle fabric. Trouble is - I get confused in quilt fabric shops and usually come out without buying anything.

Here are a few minimalist quilts which I made ages ago. Only the jeans quilt hasn't sold - I promised it to my son but I'm sure he'd love the money as he has gone off to Japan on a working holiday. NZ$800 and its yours!

Every now and again, I end up in a discussion about quilt rules, and whether there are any? Does it really matter about the number of stitches you can squeeze to the inch? I do think that it is nice to see well made things though... so here back from the past is my quilt 'The White Glove Mafia' which sold to someone who lives in Alaska.

Here she is - counting the quilting stitches and wearing her brown bargello vest which was out of date even then (the 1990s), on the right hand side was a painted panel I made but I cut it off as it didn't add to the composition.

Let me know your ideas on Modern Quilts, quilt mafiaism etc.
Clare