Quilt Idol!

Have you ever admired a quilter so much when you see his/her name on an exhibitors list you go out of your way to see the work on display? Ethelda Ellis is a quilter, doctor and teacher based in the midlands in Ireland. I’ve never met her but I am a big fan!

I’m normally drawn to modern graphic quilts but every once in a while a quilt artist will make me stop in my tracks and I have to examine every last detail. Ethelda’s work hits that “look closer” button for me! 

I first came across her work through an Irish Patchwork Society exhibition called Explorations. She made this beautiful quilt showing the solar system and the Hubble Space Telescope with some lovely details and embellishments and beautiful quilting.  This quilt stuck in my head as I’ve always loved anything space related – I wrote to NASA when I was 7 and got a letter back!

Then I saw her story telling piece in a Hands Across the Border (IPS & Northern Ireland Guild) themed Reflections which I think was voted viewers choice in Dublin.  It was the thread detail in the hands that totally grabbed me!

When it was announced at one of our branch meetings that Ethelda was having an exhibition, in the library in Mountmellick, near Portlaoise , I knew I’d have to find the time to go visit. And it did not disappoint.   From Irish Scenes to South Africa, Confetti quilts to thread painting, this was a visual treat!

And even this month, I got an opportunity to see one more piece! Paula Rafferty curated an invitational exhibit for National Quilting week this year, themed Freedom. It originally exhibited on Spike Island, a decommissioned prison, but Paula brought it to the Hunt Museum in Limerick where it's on show until September. It’s free entry to the museum on Sundays so the Sunday before last, I dragged mum to visit the museum, as Ethelda had a piece in it that I wanted to see. I think this might just be my favourite of hers so far.  Forgive the angle, the quilts are hung in the red stairwell and I'm only 5ft trying to shoot over peoples heads!  This one is called Playtime.

What about you – any quilty hero’s you just can’t pass by?

MQI exhibiton : A Patchwork Hoop – a quick fun project!

The Modern Quilters Ireland group are having our first exhibition and its been all go working on finishing up projects for May 8th delivery to Dublin.  Made it just in time and it was close what with finishing the quilting, hand sewing binding, hanging sleeves and preparing labels!

That's one of mine peeking our from behind the announcement.  I'm so looking forward to the opening on the 4th and taking some photos of the finished quilts to share with you all.  If you are in Dublin over the course of June please pop in and have a look!

MQI members were allowed enter 2 quilts each and a hoop with an inspiring word if we had the time to make a small something extra.    When I think of a hoop I think of embroidery.  It never occurred to me to make a Patchwork hoop as a wall hanging.  Fiona gave us some inspiration links here on Pinterest to get some ideas going and I was immediately taken by the cute hedgehogs and bicycles and thought I just had to try this.

You might have seen this on Instagram and I thought I’d share more about this easy scrappy project with you.  My Husqvarna Viking machine has an embroidery module to it and when I first got the machine I bought some patterns for it but never used them!
 
One of those patterns was a patchwork balloon from Embroidery Library.  I still like the image so decided to grab some scraps and some fusible paper and made a scrappy balloon.

This was fun and easy and I think could be something really fun to try with kids.  Imagine helping them make something like an airplane and their name underneath or something cute like a teddy bear to decorate their room.


Using stitch ‘n tear stabiliser on the back to give some support I sketch stitched around the outline with a dark color and added in the balloon lines.  To finish it off I hand embroidered some text. We were taught by Sister Margaret in sixth class (about 12 years old!) to always have your embroidery as neat on the back as on the front and not travel between motifs with thread.  Funny the things from school you’ll never forget!



I used this little project for a tutorial on Modern Quilters Ireland to show how to finish the back of the hoop if you are interested and named this one “The Sky’s the Limit”.



Thanks to all who helped with names for the exhibition quilts.  I appreciate all your help!

I think I have finally settled on “Good Morning!” for the triangles  and “Scrap Happy Too” (as there is already a Scrap Happy) for my Modern Irish Bee quilt, that to some looked like flags and others fields and to me happy scrappy colour! Thank you to my Bee mates who made such lovely blocks!

Linking up to Thankful Thursdays and  the Friday Finishes!

Knitting & Stitching Dublin 2014

Last Sunday, a group of us went to the Knitting & Stitching show in Dublin.  We left Limerick at 8 in the morning and arrived home just about 8 in the evening!

It was a long day but a productive one.  There was a whole bolt of wadding & a new machine brought home in the car with us!  And I got to see my Bachelors Walk quilt hanging for the Irish Patchwork Society Explorations exhibit!

I also bought a few bits and bobs myself.  I did have a list of stuff to buy but managed to leave it in the car! 

I did well though, remembering most items.

This is my haul!

The quilting frame, chalk pencil and perle cottons are for my hand quilting projects that I have yet to start (Penny Sampler and Sashiko Quilt).  The quilt ruler stand and the hair clip (yes I bought a hair clip at a quilting show!) were bought on whim.  Everything else has a purpose in mind!

The most important thing though was a replacement 1/4" foot.  I broke mine making a bag.  I had moved the needle all the way over to sew a zip, changed foot and forgot to move the needle back.  Broken needle, broken foot and all my own fault!

Some of the quilts on display for explorations from our Just Threads sewing group were Suzanne's X-plorations, Meg's sampler quilt she didn't like much, chopped up and put back together, Paula's fabric dyeing exploration (I always see Godzilla in this one!) and Isabelle's school project which is probably the cutest in the whole show.  Her class hand dyed the fabric, then her mum printed their photos onto fabric and Isabelle quilted it herself on her mum's machine!

I really liked this group project from Cork group 4WTG but my favourite quilt of the whole exhibition is this one of the Hubble space telescope and the planets by Ethelda Ellis.

 This nebula even made it onto the exhibition cover - isn't it fantastic?

There was also a mini- do not touch the quilts competition and this Sin Bonnet Sue mini was the winner.  Made me smile anyway!

So that was the weekend shopping adventure - now really looking forward to putting some of the haul to good use!