Structures in Henley-on-Thames

This week I visited Henley-on-Thames, a lovely little town built on the river Thames.  One of our SAQA members, Kate Findlay, has organised an exhibition in the Old Fire Station and at Lady Sew and Sew's warehouse with the help of her Contemporary Quilt Group regional members. Exhibitors have to be members of the Contemporary Quilt group. The theme was "Structures" and the size fairly open. A number of SAQA members had submitted quilts and been accepted. Here are some photos of SAQA members work - I still haven't got a handle on my camera so if there is no photograph of your quilt that is because my photo wasn't good enough to blog which included a photo of my own quilt. Apologies to Kate - her quilt has been hang at Lady Sew and Sew and I only had time to do the Fire Station and meet friends for lunch and didn't make it to the warehouse gallery where her quilt is hanging.

Alicia Merrett

Brenda Wroe

Sue Hotchkis

Majory McKinven

Sandy Snowden

I now need to read my camera manual before I get to Harrogate and report on the show next week. I have a long train journey so .......!!!

West Country Quilt Show UK

In November, the University of West England in Bristol is host to a small, but growing West Country Quilt and Textile Show.  The galleries are mostly contemporary/art quilt groups or individuals.  This year, 6 SAQA members had galleries.  Alicia Merrett and k3n shared a long stand, myself and Stephanie Crawford has a stand, Cherrilyn Tyler has a stand for her fabulous sheer embroideries and Kate Findlay's Hadron Collider quilts also had their own stand.

My camera is brand new and I haven't yet read the instructions, so I apologise for the quality of the following pictures:

Stephanie's Glimpse series

Cherrilyn at work

Some of Alicia's work

One of Kate's Wall

My Experimental Collages

We also took the opportunity to have an informal chat and get to know Cherrilyn who lives in a different part of the UK. It was hard work but rewarding as visitors were very complementary about our work.

Next to Harrogate where Cherrilyn and I will be stewarding the SAQA stand, Food for Thought. Hopefully see of you there.

Christine

Newbie co-rep in our region

Firstly, I would like to thank Maggi for her hard work as co-rep and her contribution to the SAQA group.  I know it was a role that was important to her.  I hope I can be a worthy successor.

As co-rep, I plan to support Uta’s activities and match her enthusiasm for SAQA in our region. She does a great job across a wide spectrum of countries, languages and cultures.

A little about me: -

I am fairly new to quilting – until 2012, I embroidered and behaved like a butterfly, flitting from one technique to another!  When I retired, I needed a challenge to replace a demanding IT job in the City of London, so as one does, I moved to quilting where the opportunities to enter competitions and show in exhibitions are more numerous and generally to a higher standard.

As part of my move to quilting, I decided to concentrate on abstract designs in limited colour palettes, improvisional cutting and piecing with simple machine stitch to integrate the design.  The design of the first 3 was good, but the quilting would not have passed the Quilt Police.  I was lucky with the 4th piece – it was accepted for the Fine Arts Quilt Masters gallery at Festival of Quilts in 2013.  And again in 2014, my entry was selected.  Here are images of them:

I am currently working on experimental pieces which have a collage feel.  Some of these will be displayed at the West Country Quilt and Textile Show, UWE, Bristol, November 12^th to 14^th where I am sharing a stand with a fellow SAQA member, Stephanie Crawford.  Other SAQA members are also exhibiting and include k3n and Alicia Merrett as well as SAQA members who have work in the CQ Elements exhibition. 

My reasons for accepting the rep role:

I do hope to make more of my SAQA membership and I know the only way to do that is to participate more and give time and effort to the group.  Contemporary Quilt group in the UK has been an excellent learning experience – I have organised and curated two of their exhibitions at FOQ.  I also set up a regional CQ group and was the group's first organiser.

I would like to enable other members in our region to also make more of their membership.  I have ideas but must first read all the paperwork I have received from Desiree Vaughn, SAQA Regional Rep Coordinator, on guidelines for the role.  So bear with me whilst I do that.  I know Uta has some great ideas for us as well.

I shall be at Knit & Stitch in Harrogate all day Saturday 28^th November with sometime late Friday and early Sunday.  I know some of you will be there as I have been putting the stewarding rota together so it will be good to meet you.

Keep making art and please feel free to contact me to nag, ask questions or make suggestions.

Christine
(ps I also answer to Chris and Chrisse)

"Food for Thought" at The Knitting and Stitching Show

SAQA exhibition "Food for Thought" will be on display at Harrogate International Center in November:

More detailed information on the show is available here.

You can order tickets here.

If you would like to help with the rota at the SAQA table, please get in touch with the reps via the blog-address.

Benefit Auction 2015 - donations from Europe/Middle East

In the final section of the 2015 Benefit Auction this quilt will be up for auction at the International Quilt Festival Houston from October 28 through November 1:

Tiziana Tateo (Italy)

"Redirecting the Ordinary" at Vicenza, Italy

Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix has sent some pictures of the recent appearance of "Redirecting the Ordinary" at the Abilmente in Vicenza, Italy:

The next possibility for seeing a SAQA show on European grounds is "Two by Twenty" at OEQC in Maastricht, and then "Food for Thought" at Knitting &Stitching show, Harrogate.

Other exhibitions by SAQA members at Maastricht will be by Chantal Guillermet, Jette Clover & Katriina Flensburg and the group International Threads (eight SAQA members from four countries).

Benefit Auction 2015 - donations from Europe/Middle East

In the final section of the 2015 Benefit Auction this quilt will be up for auction at the International Quilt Festival Houston from October 28 through November 1:

Wil Opie Agute (Netherlands)