Architextur - and an introduction

It was just a short time ago that I became a member of this group ... and when I read about the theme that was due on Feb. 24th, I had to grin. Because - I had already done a quilt to that theme! About a year ago, and it measures about 1 m square.

"Architextur" was the challenge of the MainQuiltFestival in 2011. The quilt was due Dec 2010, and I was late, as I'm quite often. The quilts were not allowed to be shown before the exhibition, so I worked on it secretly and blogged only little bits of information. In the end - that quilt never made it to the exhibition, because I messed up, big time. DH and me were able to save it, so at least it became hang-able. It now lives in our office /guest room in our home.

This trainstation was the inspiration for the quilt. I commute to work every day, so I see this building quite often. The fabrics are hand-dyed, and I transferred surface textures from different parts of the station with paintsticks. As our station is an pretty old station, you can find lots of different patterns - I had fun, and was even joined by a little guy who helped out ;-))

The piecing of the quilt included some troubles, but I was able to solve them. I started quilting the top in the fine light lines, and everything was well. But (you knew there would be a but, don't you?) - than I started to quilt the dark strips. I wanted them to resemble wood ... and I did dense quilting ... more like "intense machine stitching" ... and when I realized that my quilt was now happily waving at me, it was too late. So, no quilt of mine at that show - but by pulling it taut over stretchers, it did not go to waste.

Ok - now some information about me. I live in the southern part of Germany with my husband and two cats. English is not my first language, so I might make mistakes ... sorry for this !! When I'm not working for a paycheck, I'm chasing my creative dreams. Quilting became my creative outlet about 15 years ago. First I sewed traditional quilts, but soon those got a twist towards a more modern style. In 2009 I started art quilting - and I never looked back. Recently I realized why quilting became so important to me, the link to that specific blog post is here. And this is the link to my blog - I try to blog at least 3 times a week. I'm glad to be now a member of this group - looking forward to our next challenge!

G'day

Hi, I'm Kathryn and thoroughly chuffed to join this group.  I am in my 50's, from Melbourne, Australia and a friend of Lisette's. I have been quilting since 1985, and if you laid my quilts out in chronological order, they would probably be a fair representation of the history of quilting over the past (almost) 3 decades.  At this point, my quilts tend to be quite representational, and I love free-motion quilting and thread-painting.
I have just begun to teach: I don't know whether to say professionally or formally, but let's just say that it will be recognized on my tax return!
It's a bit of a tight turnaround to meet Fridays deadline, but I love the challenge theme and know where I want to take it!  Hopefully I will have something more tangible to show by Friday!

Sue - here I am

Posting from London where I'm visiting my Mum in the house I grew up in.  Normally I live in a village between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, not far from the birthplace of our Annabel.  One day, I'll actually meet her.  I have met Liz, and know almost everyone else from blogland/yahoo groups and the like.  So, ladies, it's lovely to be with you here.

I'm going to be 57 next month and have had ME for 23 years, before which I was a zippy social worker and young Mum to Sarah (now 24 and living away from home).  I also have arthritis and am awaiting a hip replacement op, probably in September.  Harout and I also have Anna (20) and Ben (15).  I am not really a patchworker although I have dabbled a bit over the years, and especially when I took C&G Embroidery.  Thus I guess I'm more of an embroiderer but I'm a technique tart and dabble with many different methods of working.  I have also started painting again, having found a lovely teacher within reach who is helping me achieve acrylic paintings I'm well chuffed with.

It occurs to me that my most recent painting is kind of about light and shade, and that I took loads of light and shade-relevant photos at the Chelsea Physic Gardens yesterday afternoon (lovely place to visit).

Lots of possibilities to explore, aren't there? This is going to be fun!