Wishing you all...

a very happy, creative and successful year 2014.

(And wishing the blog some more member contributions...)

Call to Auction: Get Ready for The Grand Gallery of Europe/Middle East's Contributions

In one of her recent messages, Martha Sielman posted the total analysis of the results of this year's Benefit Auction. These are the data provided by Martha, which I copied directly from her message:

Here is the analysis of this year's Benefit Auction purchases:

389 pieces were sold raising $65,575.
32 pieces were unsold (7.6% of the 421 total donated).

DISTRIBUTION BY DATE
Online week 1 totals = $18,900
Online week 2 totals = $15,000
Online week 3 totals = $19,100
Houston totals = $12,575
*All totals include pieces sold later through SAQA Store.

PRICE POINT INFO
$750 - 18 pieces     ($13,500)       1 Houston
$550 -   4 pieces     ($2,200)         0 Houston
$350 - 31 pieces     ($10,850)       8 Houston
$250 - 37 pieces     ($9,250)         5 Houston
$150 - 90 pieces     ($13,500)     23 Houston
$100 - 24 pieces     ($2,400)       24 Houston
$75 - 185 pieces     ($13,875)     27 Houston

188 purchasers purchased an average of 2.1 pieces.
Average price - $168
Median price - $100
31 purchasers (including 17 in Houston) were not SAQA members (16% of all buyers). They purchased 43 pieces for a total of $4,925 (7.5% of sales).  They found the Auction by being at Houston, through member blogs, the QuiltArt list, and Pinterest.

Below is a summary of the SAQA Benefit Auction results since it started:

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Number of pieces sold	139	231	229	269	293	379	389
Total raised	$27,250	$41,550	$47,350	$52,300	$53,075	$67,450	$65,575
Average price	200	180	207	194	179	178	168
Median price	150	150	150	150	150	100	100
Number of buyers	73	98	102	120	133	182	188
Non-members	14	21	19	18	25	25	31

*** end of Martha’s analysis ***

The development clearly shows that the number of pieces sold has increased significantly over the past seven years, as has the sum that has been raised for SAQA, even if the average price of individual pieces has gone down.

And it is clear there is a slowly growing audience of non-members out there who are buying more pieces – this should be a definite incentive for any of us to participate by donating a small quilt to the auction, and getting our art work out into the world behind the SAQA scene as such.

This is a call to all members of the region Europe/Middle East to start planning their little quilt for 2014. The first call to auction by e-blast or newsletter from the board will be on us before we even know that the holidays are over!

When planning and sewing, take a few photos, and a few notes, and let the blog moderator know that you want to be included in The 2014 Grand Gallery of Europe/Middle East’s Contributions to the SAQA benefit auction.

My plans were triggered while I was clearing out my scrap box, and looking at leftovers from a quilt I had just finished. And I intend to sit down to work just after Christmas.

Happy planning!

Wanted: Co-Authors for the Blog

We are looking for members of the region Europe/Middle East who would like to become more active and help breathe more life into the blog.
Ideally, it would be at least one person from each country in the region who is willing to act as a kind of 'correspondent' for matters that are of relevance for the blog for their own country. That is, somebody from Netherlands would keep an open eye on the quilt/SAQA scene in Netherlands and post these on the blog independently from the blog-moderator.
Good knowledge of English is a must - although posts don't necessarily have to be in English. But there will be more people interested if that international lingua franca is used...

Interested? Send a mail to the blog address as given in the first post, or to Uta's mail address as given in the newsletter.

European Art Quilts VII in Gent (Belgium)

European Art Quilts VII showcases 47 contemporary works made by leading European art quilters and is one of the leading juried shows in Europe. 

The current edition is now being exhibited in the MIAT in Gent (Belgium). 

Amongst the chosen artists, you can find the following SAQA members in this exhibition.

• Linda Barlow
• Ineke Berlyn Jette Clover
• Yael David-Cohen
• Fenella Davies
• Willy Doreleijers
• Christa Ebert
• Karen Farmer
• Alice Fox
• Brigitte Kopp
• Olga Norris
• Karin Østergaard
• Mirjam Pet-Jacobs
• Jana Sterbova
• Astrid Streng-Groenen
• Grietje van der Veen
• Isabelle Wiessler
• Marjolijn van Wijk

The jury members were

• Claire Benn, United Kingdom - textile artist and teacher
• Eszter Bornemisza, Hungary - textile artist
• Henk Lijding, the Netherlands - MA, art historican
• Olga Prins-Lukowski the Netherlands - freelance curator and textile artist

The exhibition can be seen until January 26th.

Prize for SAQA member at Veldhoven

Elizabeth Michellod-Dutheil (France) won a prize in the contest * BERLIN * at the QUILT OPEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS ( OEQC ) Veldhoven , Netherlands in  October 2013 for her  work "MEMOIRE".

The 2013 gallery continues...

Alicia Merret (UK) also has a piece in the IQF part of the SAQA Benefit Auction, starting in two days now. This is what she wrote about it for the blog:

This donated auction piece is an imaginary night-time map in Alicia's series of maps and aerial views. It is one of a group of pieces which will be auctioned at Houston.

Alicia's work can be seen regularly at the Courthouse Gallery in Somerton, Somerset - www.somersetguild.co.uk.  She will have work in "Water Water", an exhibition of work by the Contemporary Quilt group at The Old Fire Station Gallery in Henley-on-Thames, 14 - 19 November; and she will have a solo gallery of her maps quilts at the West Country Quilt Show, 28 - 30 November - www.westcountryquiltshow.co.uk - where she will also be teaching map-making workshops.

Linda Colsh on TextileArtist.org

Linda Colsh has been featured in an interview with TextileArtist.org about her and her artwork recently, the links to the two parts of the interview can be found here and here. Check it out and enjoy!

Linda Colsh, "Almost There" (detail)

Kurochka ryaba 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Barbara Lange (Germany) has sent us the following report:

This October I had the unique pleasure of being invited to exhibit my „Monochrom“ series of quilts along with the mirror-pyramid series in St. Petersburg, at the Kurotschka ryaba festival. This event is still fairly new – only in its 3rd year, so far – but growing.

The venue is an art deco building, home of the artist association of St. Petersburg. Designed to host art exhibitions, the lighting and the whole flair of the hall is the ideal setting for putting quilts with a  large format on display.

Located on the upper gallery, I was a thrilled to see my quilts all in one glance.

Unfortunately, it is pretty much impossible to demostrate the glow-in-the dark effect of the Monochrome series, you will just have to find a chance to see one of the quilts in reality:

Monochrom V at day…

…and at night.(Note by the blog moderator:
Barbara's picture does show the quilting
with self-glowing thread beautifully,
and it is visible when the photo is
opened on my computer, but obviously
blogger doesn't want to let you see it,
I have tried to reload several times...)

 Fortunately, the mirror pyramids give away their “secret” more readily.  This is a picture of “Magnolia with Virtual Chaffer” is taken more from the side:

Viewed at the exact right angle, you will discover a chaffer (or may beetle), which is set together out of reflections from the surrounding area of the pyramid.

Should you consider travelling to St. Petersburg in October, I highly recommend visiting the festival – it offers a unique outlook on eastern quilts and culture. More pictures and a detailed description of the event coming up on www.berninablog.com!

Barbara  Lange

www.barbaralange.com

The 2013 Gallery Continues...

Cecília Gonáles, one of the two people behind desedamas from Spain, is another member from Europe/Middle East whose mini-quilt will be auctioned at the IQF in Houston later this month.

"Let's open the windows II"

She is currently working on the series "Let's open the windows", which utilizes silk hankerchiefs, because she thinks it is time to open windows to let in fresh air, new sounds, interesting smells...

The SAQA meet and greet in London

A select group of SAQA members from the UK met with Judith Trager at the V&A in London, discussing various issues of SAQA in Europe, and the UK's position in it. Unfortunately, nobody took a picture of Judith, so all we have is a few pictures of the Brits.

Annette Morgan and Sandy Snowden

Linda Seward

A little out of focus, but all the sharper in real: Lynn Seaman

Margaret Ramsay

Would you like to organize a meet and greet for SAQA members in your area or country, either in conjunction with a larger quilting event or exhibition, or independently from that? The co-reps will happily help you get in touch with people. Just send us a note.

Exhibition by Edith Bieri in Dinkelsbühl, Germany

Long-term president of the Swiss Patchwork guild and SAQA-member Edith Bieri (take a look at her blog here) is currently exhibiting at the textile.ART.galerie in Nördlinger Str. 53, Dinkelsbühl, Germany. 

Opening hours of the gallery are: Thursdays from 15 - 18 h and one weekend per month. To get the exact date for the weekend openings, please contact:info@textil-art-galerie.de or phone +49 9851 5898076. 
The last day of this exhibition will be on November 24th.

A member-supported blog

This blog was started just about a year ago, October 21 will be our first anniversary.

It was set up as a member-supported blog. This means that we call upon members of SAQA Europe/Middle East to send in their contributions – i.e. announcements/reports about exhibitions of their work, instances where they were featured in any kind of publication, reports about SAQA-related activities, prizes they might have received. The original guidelines for submission were posted here. 

Unfortunately, so far contributions have been less numerous than I had hoped (and my hopes were not exactly high when I started this activity). 

However, severe criticism has been voiced that ‘not much is happening on this blog’. And that there is not enough reporting about Great Britain, only the ‘continent’.

Please remember that Uta is maintaining this blog as a moderator only, this is not her personal blog where contents lie in her responsibility alone. She has spent a lot of time during the past three weeks giving this blog more content during the countdown towards the give-away that we are all waiting for. But she will not be able to keep up this pace.

• Have YOU contributed anything to this blog yet? 
• Do you have any idea how it might be livened up? 
• What would you like to read on this blog – and would you be willing to send in contributions? 
• Are some members from our various countries perhaps willing to act as regular contributors or local correspondents? 
• Will you remember next time you have an exhibit or are participating in one to send in a short notice for publication on the blog?
• Are you perhaps planning a get-together of SAQA-members in your country that could be posted on the blog? (The co-reps would be very willing to help you get in contact with people in your country, too.)

Please feel free to make suggestions as to how the topic range on this blog could be altered, and the involvement of our regions’ members increased. Do send your suggestions to the e-mail address given in the submission guidelines, and we will gladly take them into consideration.

This blog lives – when everyone gives!

The 2013 Gallery continues.

Sandy Snowden from the UK sent us the following description of her making of the piece that will be sold in the SAQA Benefit Auction at Houston.

A bit of the story:

This piece almost made itself. It was one of those things that you could only make because of several things which I made before and learned from.

Also, a few years ago, I made a few quick sketches of an idea onto old dictionary pages. (This is unusual for me. I don’t often do sketches.) When it came time for the SAQA auction, I thought I might see how to translate the sketch to fabric.

And so fabric with script was the first choice from my stash. Like the words on the paper in my sketch, I placed the script sideways – using it almost like a gentle stripe. I put fusible web on the back of this fabric. I also selected a black fabric to pick up the colour of the words, but also to retain the look of the black pen in my sketch.

A few quick lines again as if making the sketch over. Then a bit of chopping apart and placing pieces back together over the black fabric. All that remained was to fuse it, sandwich the quilt, then stitch round the shapes and bind it!

I have been inspired to develop this style and more pieces have come from it...I call it the Ramshackle series. The various pieces which followed and thoughts about them can be found here, on my blog. 

Here is a link to a detail photo.

And the winner is...

Today was the scheduled grand draw in the giveaway that I have been announcing. Yesterday evening there had been only 4 comments, but that was still before the deadline. Which had been set deliberately to the 13th, to answer Christine's question, however, not for reasons of superstition, but to give people some more time to click onto that comment box. And they did - by the deadline that number had almost tripled!
In any case, here is the full box of participants, waiting for the final step in the procedure:

And this is my husband's right hand engaged in the act of the draw:

The lucky winner is Marika Szabone from Hungary.

Congratulations to Marika, and thank you very much to everybody who participated by leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy stopping by on this blog in the future, too.

This is the day!

Today is the day you may have been waiting for – the grand give-away of a box of the brandnew SAQA Signature Thread Collection. 

The box was donated by Alex Veronelli of Aurifil, and SAQA Europe/Middle East wants to thank him for his kind support!

Here is what you have to do to take part in the draw: 

• Leave a comment on this post for Oct. 10 before the end of Sunday, Oct 12, and that means Oct. 12 at the international date line. 
• One comment per person only, please. 
• You do not have to be a member of SAQA to participate. But it would be nice if you could consider joining SAQA, even if you don’t win.
• The draw will take place on Monday afternoon European time, and the announcement of the winner is scheduled to be published on this blog Monday night. 

Good luck to everybody participating.

Guest comment: Cindy Grisdela on what it means to her being a member of SAQA

The recent newsletter to regional representatives included a comment by Cindy Grisdela on what it means to her being a member of SAQA. With Cindy's permission, I would like to share this comment on our blog here.

So, You Don't Get Anything Out of SAQA?

I've been reading the recent thread (on the Yahoo list) and trying to stay out of it. But I'm very concerned with the assertion from many that they "don't get anything" out of their SAQA membership.
This list alone is a valuable resource for anyone who chooses to use it to ask questions or get encouragement or support.

• If you donate a quilt to the SAQA auction, your name and website, if you have one, is up on the SAQA website along with your work for several months. 
• You have the opportunity to enter many SAQA shows--some juried and some not. 
• If you make a quilt for the SAQA trunk shows, your work travels all over the country, if not the world. 
• You have the opportunity to participate in yearly conferences that bring in speakers and offer workshops to advance your career and your art. 
• You may have the opportunity to participate in parlor meetings or other gatherings, and if there are none currently in your area, you can go on the SAQA website, search for members who live near you and start one. 
• The website is also a great resource for members and it is in the process of being upgraded. 
• The SAQA journal appears four times a year and always makes for interesting reading.

These are just the things that come immediately to mind. And all of them happen because of the membership dues we pay.

You only get out of any membership group what you put into it. We have many volunteers who put in countless hours to make sure the organization runs smoothly for the benefit of all of its members. If you don't like the way something is being done, step up and offer to help. I'm sure they can always use more volunteers.
I've recently joined a committee to help organize the next SAQA conference and I'm impressed with the drive and dedication of the others on this one committee. Their concern has always been the membership as a whole, not just one group or another.

My two cents--

Cindy Grisdela

The Region Europe/Middle East in Statistics

Do you know your SAQA region in numbers? 

This picture (taken from here) only shows the European part
of the region highlighted in green, SAQA boundaries are
not really those that you can find a map for on the internet.

The newest official count of SAQA members has brought the following results in terms of pure statistics:

The region Europe/Middle East has a total of 218 members.

1 from Finland (plus 1 who has Finland as 2^nd country)

1 from Iceland

1 from Saudi Arabia

2 from Ireland

2 from Norway

4 from Denmark

5 from Spain

5 from Sweden

8 from Czech Republic

10 from Belgium

10 from Italy

16 from France

16 from Israel

22 from Germany

23 from Switzerland

27 from Netherlands (plus 2 who have Netherlands as 2^nd country)

52 from United Kingdom

the remainder consists of US-members who have countries from our region as 2^nd countries.

Who wants to do the calculation as to which country has the highest percentage of SAQA members per capita? I would just guess it is a close tie between Iceland and Israel, but I might be mistaken...

Our regional newsletter is usually sent out in four different languages - English, German, French, Italian. Sorry – we can’t do Dutch, or Hebrew, which would be the next two languages in terms of numbers of members!

And the 2013 Gallery continues.

SAQA Europe/Middle East member Hilde van Schaardenburg has also sent notice that her quilt "People" will also be sold at The IQF in Houston.

"People" by Hilde van Schaardenburg

Hilde will also have an exhibition at the OEQC in Veldhoven, from October 17 through 20, 2013.

After the auction...: A first glimpse at a Gallery already!

In response to the post "After the auction is before the auction" a few days ago Meta Heemskerk rightly pointed out that this year's SAQA Benefit Auction is not finished yet.
A selection of mini quilts that were donated very early will be sold at the International Quilt Festival in Houston later this month.
This is a picture of the quilt she donated:

"From Rembrandt to Mondrian"
Meta Heemskerk,
mini-quilt donated for SAQA Benefit Auction 2013,
to be sold at IQF Houston 2013

Meta wrote about the making of the quilt on her blog here and here.
Keep checking for the report of SAQA member Sandy Snowden, whose donation will also be part of the auction at Houston, which will appear before the auction.

The making of "Wide Horizons"

SAQA Europe/Middle East is as large region, with different sensibilities, and a mixed bag of cultures, landscapes, and languages - but with an interweaving of history and creative expressions in a large, rich and interesting diversity.

In 2006 Gül Laporte and Linda Colsh had the idea of a special SAQA Europe/Middle East show after seeing what SAQA was doing in Houston, and I applied to be the curator for the 1rst edition.

Finding a name for this show was a pleasant and puzzling task... and “Wide Horizons” is the perfect one.

A lot of details had to be decided on, and I had great fun doing it! My wish was to give every SAQA artist of the Region the possibility to enter a quilt; so there was going to be no size restriction, no prescribed theme: it just had to be new creative work respecting the SAQA rules of an art quilt, and fitting with the title of the show.

Then began the real work with the choice of the jury, the advertisements in Magazines, the reception of the cds, the computer work (at that time it had to be done by the curator) of writing the acceptance and the rejection letters by e-mail, being very careful to avoid any mistake... and finally the arrival of the quilts with opening the packages, and at last the hanging on the walls for Wide Horizons I at the Espace des Tisserands in September 2008.

As a the location, the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork in Sainte-Marie-aux Mines was absolutely perfect; and thanks to Christophe Crupi, Director of EPM at that time, we had a very strong support from the Carrefour’s Committee. SAQA Europe/Middle East is very grateful for this support, which has continued ever since. M. Crupi originally wanted Wide Horizons to be an exclusive exhibition of the Carrefour; but since Wide Horizons III – and thanks to Gül Laporte who found all the locations - the exhibit travels for one year through many important venues in Europe.

Whenn it all began, I wanted to be sure to have enough entries, so I took the time to write a personal e-mail to every SAQA European artist., As a result we had entries from 41 artists from 9 different countries, and 81 quilts to be juried. Not bad for a first try! The jury made a selection of 30 quilts and we added a quilt from each juror and from the curator to the show. This rule is still on.

To prepare Wide Horizons II for 2010 was much easier; and with the introduction of the SAQA online entries system, there was less paperwork to do. 58 artists from 11 countries registered 111 quilts. The jury again made a selection of 30 quilts.

Now we are waiting for Wide Horizons IV. Curator Alicia Merret is currently figuring out last details about the call for entry, and negotiating with the SAQA board whether a  catalogue will be published. This would be an interesting addition to the Wide Horizons spectrum. More details about this will be published in the general SAQA newsletter and on this blog in approximately two weeks. I hope many of you will participate and make the fourth round of Wide Horizons a great success.

Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix

SAQA co-Rep Europe and Middle East

After the auction is before the auction...

SAQA's annual benefit auction of miniature quilts donated by members has just closed, and raised an impressive amount of ....for the organization. Thank you to all members who have donated, and especially to those who have done so repeatedly already.
I was impressed by SAQA Oceania's special effort at promoting the auction: the Oceania Collection Blog Hop, which was published over an extended period of time on their regional blog. SAQA Oceania is a region with fewer members than Europe/Middle East, yet they have shown an impressive presence at the auction by their number of donations.
Linda Robertus, a Dutch quilter who has moved to Australia, but is still a member of the region Europe/Middle East through her second region, participated in the SAQA Oceania blog hop. Her little quilt "Black and White no. 3" was sold during the first week of the auction.

See her featured on the Oceania blog hop here, and read more about the making of this quilt and the black and white series here.

Have you ever considered donating a mini quilt towards the auction? Then now is the time to start planning. Because on this blog we will be featuring for the first time

The Grand Gallery 

of Europe/Middle East's 

Contributions to the SAQA Benefit Auction. 

What do you have to do to be a part of this?

When making your quilt, take a few pictures of the process - inspiration, actual process of making, and the final piece, and keep a few notes. When you are finished and sending off your donation to SAQA, at the same time, send this little documentation to the blog's e-mail address given in the submission guidelines, and we will publish this report on the blog. Entries may include your personal website or blog address, so this will be great chance to show your work to a larger public. If you would like to participate, you can send a note ahead of time so we could arrive at an estimate of how many posts we will be having. But you can just send in your post as well, and we will post it as soon as possible.

Let's show a strong presence at and for next year's SAQA's Benefit Auction! Donate in large numbers!

SAQA meet and greet in Prague

April 4 - 6, 2014 is the date for the 8th International Prague Patchwork Meeting.

Jana Sterbova has agreed that SAQA will also get a meet and greet reception as has been established in Birmingham and Ste. Marie-aux-Mines. Exact date and time need to be set, but will be published on this blog, and in the newsletter for the region. Any SAQA member from all over the world who happens to be in Prague at that date is welcome to sign up, just send an e-mail to Uta or Elisabeth.
SAQA President Sandra Snyder has also agreed to come to Prague for a visit, and she will be attending the meet and greet as well. Come and meet the President, and the Europe/Middle East reps.  
Check back here for announcement of exact details.

Call for entries

In preparation for the upcoming giveaway of a box of the brandnew SAQA Signature Thread Collection II I am planning several additional posts. Eligible members of SAQA Europe/Middle East who would like to submit a post about their quilt-related activities as set up in the submission guidelines are encouraged to submit these now to the mail-address given in the guidelines.

Already our number of clicks has gone up a bit - take advantage of the publicity of a growing audience!

SAQA Signature Thead Colletion II by Aurifil: Upcoming Giveaway on this Blog!

Last Friday Uta received a package from SAQA-member and SAQA-sponsor Alex Veronelli (Aurifil). In it was acomplimentary box of the brandnew SAQA Signature Thread Collection II that Alex has donated towards the publicity of this blog.

Outside view

Inside view

We are planning a giveaway of this box in the first half of October.
Check back for more information on how to gain a chance to win this colorful box of threads!

Meet and Greet at European Patchwork Meeting in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines

On Thursday, Sept. 12, approx. 35 SAQA members gathered at the meet and greet, which has become a traditional at the EPM by now. This time the meeting took place in the Espace presse and was a casual and friendly affair in which everybody could talk to everybody else.

waiting for the storm - delicious snacks...

Gul LaPorte in action,
translating director Philippe Gasperment's welcome address

Susan Chapman, Monique Gilbert, Christina Lauchenauer
and Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix at the reception

Thank you very much to the organizers of the festival for their continued support of SAQA and their repeated hospitality!

SAQA-member first recipient of prestigious prize for teachers at Carrefour Européen

Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix, SAQA representative for Europe/Middle East is the first recipient of the prestigious prize in the category 'teacher', donated by JHI Nihon, consisting of a flight to Tokoy, one week in a hotel in Tokyo, with a bit of teaching.
Her quilt "Magic View" is an interpretation of lying on the ground on a forest floor and looking at the sky.

Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix
in front of her decorated quilt "Magic View".

Congratulations, Elisabeth!

SAQA benefit auction opening date approaching!

Please remember that the SAQA Benefit auction will start soon - on Monday, September 9, 2013 at 2:00pm Eastern (US) time.

Please share this information with all your friends and any supporters of art quilts, and encourage them to participate in the bidding!

For a preview of the quilts available, click here. 
For a look at some "Dream Collections" of six pieces each, curated by various SAQA members, click here.