SAQA Meet and Greet in Prague

Sponsored by the PPM organizers, a number of SAQA members (including newly signed-up member Martina from Germany on the far left in the picture) gathered for a lunch-time Meet and Greet at the 8th Prague Patchwork Meeting on Saturday.

The SAQA Meet and Greet  at Prague in front of the SAQA exhibition Deux 

Getting to know each other, announcements of a few business items for the region Europe/Middle East and enjoying a sandwich and a cup of coffee or tea were the items on the agenda.
The next possibility for a personal meeting in the context of a major quilting event is coming up in May, at the Nadelwelt Karlsruhe. Look out for announcements here on the blog and in the newsletter.

Greetings from SAQA Past President Sandra Sider

5 April 2014: Greetings from lovely Prague!  

Sandra on the banks of the river Moldau

I am here to attend the 8th annual Prague Patchwork Meeting, enjoying some fine traditional quilts as well as the numerous studio art quilts on view in several exhibitions, including spectacular solo shows by our own Britta Ankenbauer, Jana Haklova, and Uta Lenk. With more than 6000 square meters of space, this event has become the third largest permanent quilt event in Europe. The two Czech challenge shows are "Mother Nature" and "Applique," and I can't wait to find out who the prize winners are this afternoon. Prague Patchwork Meeting whets our appetite for the next two major European quilt events this year, the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham and the Carrefour in Ste Marie-aux-Mines. Look for my article on the PPM in Quilters Newsletter later this year.

Dr. Sandra Sider, Curator
Texas Quilt Museum
SAQA Past President

SAQA in Prague

The 8th Prague Patchwork Meeting is on this weekend, and SAQA has a good presence - Deux will be there, and several members have quilts on display or offer workshops (Britta Ankenbauer, Romana Cernà, Jana Haklova, Barbara Lange, Uta Lenk,  Irena Zemanová).

If you are not dependent on the German airline on strike, why don't you come to Prague this weekend? Information can be found here.

This is SAQA Europe/Middle East: The Middle East

My name is Amie Starchuk and I am living in Saudi Arabia. We came here in 2001 from Canada with my husband's job. I love to travel and have enjoyed living in this part of the world and seeing so many places! 

I have been quilting for twenty years. I have fallen in love with creating art quilts. My favorite part of the process is the free motion quilting! I love small stitches which create great texture! Most of my work is mounted on stretcher bars, and sometimes framed. 

The Hand of Fatima 8" X 9"

Antique painted doors are a popular collectible in Arabia. I am currently creating a series of Arabian doors. 

Arabian Door II 6 1/2" x 9"1/2

When I am not creating art quilts, I am traveling and honing my photography skills....my other passion!

This is SAQA Europe/Middle East: The North

My name is Eva Have, from Denmark. I was born in 1944 and educated as Technical Designer and worked for several consulting engineering firms.

I am married and blessed with 3 children and 2 grandchildren.

I have been quilting since 1978, but mainly in my spare time. I started quilting seriously in 1994, using mainly traditional patterns. Soon I found it much more interesting to design my own quilt, and suddenly it ended up in Art Quilts. Today my inspiration comes from the world around me, daily life and ordinary things gives me the ideas for to my quilts.

I am a member of the Scandinavian Art textile group  ”QuilteQunstnerne”, The “SAQA” group and “The Danish Patchwork Guild” and I am committee member of a local patchwork group “Limfjorden”.

I have participated in different exhibitions in quite a few countries such as Austria, France, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Spain, Germany, England, Poland, Holland, Canada, Hungary, Scotland and South Africa.

All the Scandinavia countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland has also hosted my quilt and – of course – many, many places in Denmark.

I like to play golf which I started doing in 1996. And I collect thimbles - my collection recently exceeded 2000 different thimbles.

I also collect pin cushions, where my favorites are figurines.

Be my Guest!  Size 100 x 200 cm

The Thimbles, size 95x140 cm

Both quilts were exhibited at the International Quilt Convention, Johannesburg, South Africa, September 2013

www.evahave.dk

https://www.facebook.com/eva.have.7

TAFch Exhibition “teximus 1”

TAFch is a group of dedicated textile artists who are aiming at promoting textile art in Switzerland. Its members – Gabi Mett, Judith Mundwiler, Cécile Trentini and Grietje van der Veen – have organized a competition, addressing all kind of textile artists residentiary in Switzerland. An independent jury has chosen 54 works out of 163. They comprise quilting, embroidery, knitting, felting, lacemaking, weaving, papermaking, etc. of very high standard.

The exhibition will take place in the end of March 2014, from the 27th to the 30th,  in the Altstadthalle, Untere Altstadt 14, 6300 Zug, Switzerland.

Opening hours:

Thu., 27th:     19.00 Opening ceremony

Thu., 27th:     18.30 h - 21.00 h

Fri ., 28th:      11.00 h - 18.00 h

Sa., 29th:      11.00 h - 18.00 h

Su., 30th:       10.00 h - 17.00 h

This is the first comprehensive exhibition of textile art in the broadest sense for many years in Switzerland. A catalogue of all works will be available.

Regina Augustiny: "Kinderhochzeit"

For more information please see:

www.tafch.ch

www.tafch.blogspot.com

For TAFch: Grietje van der Veen

This is SAQA Europe/Middle East: The North

My name is Vera Holmgren and I’m living in Uppsala, Sweden. 

My quilt career began about ten years ago when I took some classes in traditional quilting. Later I got more and more interested in art quilting and in 2013 I took a Master class “Finding your voice” taught by Jette Clover. I have also had technical classes and workshops for Elizabeth Barton,  Elsbeth Nusser-Lampe,  Mirjan Pet-Jacobs and Noriko Endo.

My current work with "Mothers" is about two life stories, my grandmother and my great-grandmother's. In their frequent correspondence I have followed their lives and been fascinated by history.  Taking advantage of old linen, monograms, and bits of lace and silk together with color and text tell their history. This work has also resulted in a book with the letter collection. Two of my quilts in this series were in a juried art exhibition in Uppsala last year and I have also attended some group exhibitions.

Mothers II, by Vera Holmgren

Clara

Link to Vera's Blog (in Swedish - with optional translation).