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).

"This is SAQA Europe/Middle East" - launching the series of introductions

Our SAQA region “Europe/Middle East” is large and diversified – many members, with long distances between them, several different languages, and only limited possibilities of getting to know each other personally. 

A map of Europe - unfortunately without the countries
in the Arab Peninsula, where we have members, too. Picture taken from here.

The internet is a modern means of bridging distances, and the regional blog is one tool set up to serve our special community.

In order for our currently over 200 members to get to know each other at least a little bit, if not in person, we are introducing a new series on the blog. This will be a personal introduction of our members on the blog, and it will be called “This is SAQA Europe/Middle East”.  Members will be invited individually to write a short post about themselves (with a personal photo?), their quilting career and approach, including a photo of one or two of their quilts. If they have a personal blog, they should feel welcome to include the link in that post.

With over 200 members it will be a while until we can have everybody up, even if only half of the people want to participate. Therefore we are staging this series in segments, and if you have not received an invitation yet, just be patient, until your country is called on. Today, members from The North (of Europe) will receive their invitation, other countries will follow eventually. If you are a member of the region, you can watch out for a mail within the next few months.

Looking forward to an interesting presentation of the region’s members here on the blog!

The (Grand Gallery of Europe/Middle East's Contributions for the) Benefit Auction 2014 is on its way

It was in the latest newsletter by Martha Sielman - the Benefit Auction 2014 is on its way! She is calling for Early Bird Contributions, by April 15. On your marks, get set, sew!

You can find information, galleries of quilts from former auctions and the form to register here on the SAQA website. This is the link to the auction donation form.
If you are a SAQA member, please enter a donation, and remember to take a few photos along the way, so you can contribute to the Grand Gallery for the Benefit Auction later in the year. These photos can be sent to either the blog mail-address, or to co-rep Uta's mail account, together with a few words about your inspiration and the process. They will then be published on the blog in the weeks leading up to the auction.
Thank you for your participation!

(N.B.: Uta tried to be amongst the early birds, but managed to end up oversized - now she has to make another one...)

WIDE HORIZONS IV on the horizon!

A view into Wide Horizons II

It is time to start thinking about entering SAQA’s Europe and Middle East biennial showcase exhibition, Wide Horizons IV, which will premiere at the European Patchwork Meeting (Carrefour du Patchwork) in September 2014, and then very likely tour Europe for a year.

The theme ‘Wide Horizons’ is wide open – that’s the idea – you don’t have to think of just landscapes! You may consider making something new for this exhibition, but it is  perfectly possible to enter an existing quilt, provided it has not been shown at EPM / Carrefour before.  You can enter up to three works, but only one per entrant will be selected.

The entry method is online via the SAQA website, and it will be open during the month of May.  You can go now to www.saqa.com, Member’s section, log in, and look into the Calls for Entry.  You can get the full details there, a preview of the registration forms, and also click on links to lots of very useful information, such as how to resize photos.

There are maximum and minimum sizes for the quilts entered, and that seems to have caused some confusion – so here is a clarification of the sizing:

Your quilt can be any size between a minimum of 70 cm by 70 cm (i.e. EACH side has to be no smaller than 70 cm) and a maximum of 150 cm x 150 cm (i.e. each side has to be no bigger than 150 cm).  The quilt DOES NOT have to be square though!  You can make a quilt, say, 85 cm by 130 cm, or 106 cm by 75 cm, or 112 cm by 145 cm, or 87 cm by 95 cm, or whatever you choose.... as long as each one of its sides is not smaller than 70 cm and not bigger than 150 cm.  Shaped edges are possible; but please no very delicate finishes, and unfortunately we cannot accept 3D work.

The minimum and maximum sizes were decided because of likely travelling constraints - too big and it is difficult to transport, too small and it may be more difficult to hang.  We don't know yet how much this show will travel, but I believe there is already a second venue secured.  The previous exhibition, Wide Horizons III, travelled to 6 or 7 venues, most of them in Europe, but the last one was in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A catalogue has been talked about as a possibility, but there are time and budget constraints which may make it difficult to make it a reality for this exhibition.  It may have to wait until Wide Horizons V, in two years’ time….

Do feel free to ask questions about entering WH IV if you have any.

(Comment from the blog moderator: As Alicia did not put her e-mail address here, you can contact her via the SAQA website, members' section. U.L.)

Happy quilting!

Alicia Merrett

Wide Horizons IV Curator.

A view into Wide Horizons III