And All That Jazz

The rains held off, we built it, and they came.  JEMS Quilt Sitters' 13th Annual Exhibition took place over the weekend and was a raging success.

Anything that didn't move had a quilt thrown over it...

...or some bunting.

By the time we opened on Saturday morning, there was a healthy queue anxious to get in early. 

Those in the know headed straight for the Sales Room, where all sorts of hand-made goodness awaited the anxious buyers.  After that they relaxed a little, taking in the marvellous quilts.

As you can see, there was a wide variety of stunning quilts and considering we had to adhere to a strict set of rules (a little too complicated to explain here), it was quite amazing to see the results.  I wish I had room to show them all, but my poor computer would be crying out for mercy. 

My own quilt was was inspired by our recent overseas trip.  Our last port of call was a glorious week in our favourite city, Rome.  I manipulated some of my images in Photoshop before printing them out onto fabric.  I wanted to show how the ancient and modern meld so beautifully into today's Rome.

The refreshment room was busy all day, with people enjoying some time out to enjoy freshly ground coffee, tea, sandwiches, scones and slices.  Then it was time to hit the sales room again.  I was delighted with my sales of Hot Fudge clothing over the two days, selling several dresses and skirts, as well as cushions, library bags and traveller's shoe bags.  By the end of the first day the three trestle tables which had been laden with so many tempting goodies was looking a little sad, so we consolidated them onto two tables and covered the remaining table with beautiful quilts for sale.

On Sunday afternoon more crowds turned up to veg out to the cool sounds of Stitched Up Jazz.

Note the young ring-in playing his guitar next to his adored grandfather.

We were lucky to have not one but two wonderful vocalists, who sang all the classic hits of the jazz era.

And there was dancing.

The next generation are well and truly converted to jazz.  A perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

Deadlines

What do you think of when you see the word deadline?  Stress?  Tension? Panic?  Yes, all these and more.  However, without deadlines I for one would simply sit around all day dreaming of what I would like to create, be it a quilt, dress or recipe.

For me deadlines usually mean there's an upcoming market on the horizon or a quilt exhibition, or maybe a desktop publishing job.  Right now I am working on this quilt.  I can only show you little bits, otherwise I would be shot at dawn.

I'm not quite at the head-in-brown-paper-bag phase, but I can feel that the deep breathing exercises are just around the corner.  I have finally completed the quilt top, but now the fun bit begins - machine quilting. 

The completed quilt (ha!) will be part of the Jems Quilt Sitters' exhibition to be held on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July at Brookfield Hall, Brookfield Road, Brookfield.  Opening hours are between 10.00am and 4.00pm and the hall will be filled with the most creative quilts.  I will also be selling some of my Hot Fudge children's clothing in the sales room - more deadlines.  It promises to be the most marvellous occasion, with lots of delicious refreshments and even a jazz concert on the Sunday.  Pop it in your diaries now.

Deadlines - who needs them?  Me.

Work in Progress

At long last I have started on a new quilt - well,  a wall hanging to be precise.  It's part of a challenge and this is only a tiny portion of the design.  I would be shot at dawn if I showed any more.

Jems Quilt Sitters will be holding their popular annual exhibition mid-year and I have two quilts to complete in that time.  This wall hanging is part of the Whispers Challenge.  We are divided into groups of five. The first person received a photograph, and was required to create a quilt inspired by the photo. The second person gets to see the first quilt (but not the photo) and makes a quilt inspired by it. The third person gets to see the second quilt… and so on.

I am fourth in the line and have already passed on my quilt to the last participant in our team.  I can hardly wait to see them all together, and to take a look at the original photograph.

More on this and the other quilt which is still in my head later on.