Hello from Kirsty!

How exciting to be writing a Twelve by Twelve blog post after so long! It will be obvious that I'm really rusty - the formatting is all over the place and, after three hours of fiddling, I've given up trying to fix it :)

In the midst of Twelve by Twelve, I opened a small quilt and craft shop in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia where we were living. The shop was great fun and it was interesting to be involved in a different facet of the quilting industry. But after three years of living The Shop it was time for a change and, on the spur of the moment, one Friday, I decided to close the business. By Saturday of the following week the shop was completely bare and I found myself packing up my life once more to go with Peter to a small mining town in Western Queensland where we stayed for nine months.

At the end of that project, Peter mentioned that he was interested in going to Christchurch, New Zealand. He didn’t have to say it twice! I am from New Zealand and I was very keen to move back there. Christchurch experienced two very large earthquakes in 2010-11 and the city is still in the midst of extensive re-building. For a civil/structural engineer it is an exciting place to be but also a place where he feels that he can genuinely contribute to community needs. I had never lived in the South Island of New Zealand before and was a little surprised that after only a few days in Christchurch I felt that I had found my true home and now I never want to leave this beautiful region. It is a spectacular part of the world.

Although we thought that we would be living alone for the first time in thirty years, that didn’t actually happen and our two children (now in their mid-twenties) are living with us, as is our daughter’s fiancé. I’m going to be the Mother of the Bride in May 2017! Additionally, my sister moved here a few months after we did and soon after, had a third daughter, so for the past 20 months I have been caring for her baby girl a few days a week. This little one is such a joy! Peter works from his office in our house, so he also enjoys having the baby wander in to see him several times a day.

What about sewing? Well, after I closed the shop I must admit that my passion for sewing had left the building! For more than twenty years of my life I had scarcely had a day when I didn’t use my sewing machine so it was a shock for both of us when it remained untouched for over a year! Instead I began knitting, crocheting and spinning.

Slowly, my interest in sewing returned and for the first time in my life I found myself really enjoying hand sewing. I even made a hand-pieced AND hand-quilted quilt for the very first time ever, in 2015. I currently have a half-done La Passacaglia, an appliqued medallion quilt in progress and a huge box of basted hexagons for paper piecing at some point.

Not long after we arrived in Christchurch I bought an Elna Grasshopper and sewing on this old machine suited my new desire for slow stitching. It has also gradually re-enthused me for machine sewing and my two latest projects have been machine made.

All of my projects are now very much in the category of Nest Feathering! I make things that I think are beautiful and that I want to have in my home. My interest in making art quilts is kind of minimal. The appeal of quilting for me was always about the blend of beauty and usefulness and I take great pleasure in making useful objects.

I am still teaching from time to time and still enjoy that very much. Quilters are extraordinary people and I love the company and inspiration of creative makers. Quilting still feeds my soul!

Within a week of our move here, we had the most wonderful visit from Karen and Ted. They felt like old, old friends even though it was our first meeting. Out of all the Twelves, I have still only met Karen and Brenda. I would dearly love to meet the other Twelves. These women mean so much to me! I was heartbroken to not be able to be in Houston with the others when our book was released. When Diane started our group none of us imagined  where it would lead us and the impact it would have on our lives.

These days I no longer blog. My online activities are primarily to stay in touch with my family and close friends, who are spread far and wide. From time to time I wonder about starting a new blog… who knows? My days are filled with my family and friends, our crazy busy household which often includes a visitor or two, making whatever has stirred my creative soul and daydreaming about our goal of building a house in the country.

2+ Twelves in New Zealand

Happy New Year!  There's a little Twelve by Twelve action coming up in New Zealand this month.

Both Brenda and Kirsty are teaching at Quilt Symposium Manawatu from 15-21 January 2015.  All their classes, including Kirsty's two day workshop Working to a Theme, are booked out but it's not too late to sign up for the lunchtime lecture on Saturday 17 January 2015  (12.15 – 1.00pm):

See:  Adventures & Inspiration from the Twelve by Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge

In addition, you are invited to the Living Colour! exhibition at:

• Te Manawa, Palmerston North, New Zealand in conjunction with Quilt Symposium Manawatu, 15-21 January 2015; Curator floor talk 12.30-1pm Tuesday, 20 January 2015;and
• Northart Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand: Wednesday 28 January (opening 6pm) – 11 February 2015.  Gallery hours: 10am – 4pm daily (closed Friday 6 February).

Living Colour! is travelling textile art exhibition curated by Brenda Gael Smith comprised of 32 vibrant works celebrating life across the spectrum.  The exhibition features Indigo Garden by Twelve, Deborah Boschert.

Quilt Symposium Manawatu, New Zealand 2015

Quilt Symposium Manawatu 16-21 January 2015) is the premier quilting event in New Zealand. A wonderful week of quilting organised by quilters (on a voluntary basis) for quilters.  The Twelve by Twelve International Quilt Challenge is participating in this event in three ways:

• Kirsty and Brenda are part of the teaching faculty, presenting an array of stimulating workshops;
• Brenda is giving a lunchtime presentation (Saturday, 17 January 12.15-1pm) Adventures & Inspiration from the Twelve by Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge and there will be an opportunity to view some of Kirsty and Brenda's quilts "in the cloth"; and
• Deborah's distinctive work Indigo Garden is part of the Living Colour! travelling textile art exhibition, curated by Brenda, that will be on display at the Symposium.

Registrations are now open for classes including Kirsty's workshops:

• Working to a Theme (2 days)
• English Paper Piecing (1 day)
• Back to Basics Scrap Party (1 day)
• Stitch Some Magic(1 day)

and Brenda's workshops:

• Strata Various
• Stacks of Improvisation
• Serendipity Circles
• Scrap Queen Odyssey
• Power Stripping

Join us if you can!

Twelve by Twelve Bingo !

Today is an momentous day in Twelve by Twelve history.  Let the record show that on 19 October 2013 (New Zealand time), Karen completed a real life game of Twelve by Twelve in that she is the first Twelve to have met every other member of the group.  BINGO!

For her part, Kirsty doubled her Twelve count in just one day!  Here is the smiling duo in Christchurch, New Zealand:

Just this week, Kirsty relocated from Townsville, Australia to Christchurch to join her husband Peter who is working on earthquake reconstruction projects.   The timing was serendipitous as Karen and her husband Ted are currently exploring New Zealand.  Both Kirsty and Karen have limited internet access but, via Facebook, Kirsty reports:

We have had the BEST day with Karen and Ted! I adore them both. They are funny, loving and gracious.

We're feeling the love. Congratulations on making Twelve by Twelve history!

PS:  If you look carefully, you can see Peter and Ted (with the cap) reflected in the background of the photo.

Official Invitation to Colourplay @ Pinnacles

Colourplay opens at Pinnacles Gallery in Townsville today and continues until 2 June. You are cordially invited to join Kirsten for the opening festivities at 11am on Saturday. If we're lucky, there might even be cupcakes and macarons.

Colourplay in Melbourne

Thank you to everyone who joined Kirsty and me to celebrate Colourplay at the Australasian Quilt Convention 2013. Today, Sunday, is the last day of the show and Kirsty will be giving a floor talk at 1.30pm before she packs up the collection for our exhibition at Pinnacles Gallery, Townsville (29 April -2 June).

Also, you can find a listing of tutorials and resources on the Twelve by Twelve website and Brenda shares her Five Tips for the Beginner Art Quilter.

Book Sales at Australasian Quilt Convention 2013

Kirsty and I are packing our bags for the Colourplay exhibition at the Australasian Quilt Convention that opens on Thursday 18 April and continues until Sunday 21 April.   We don't have room in our suitcases to pack any books but our book Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge is available at the show from Can Do Books (Stand 71).

Kirsty and I are happy to sign your copy.  Come along to our daily floor talk at 1.30pm!

Colourplay @ AQC and Pinnacles

Catch the Colorplay Series on exhibition tour in Australia this month at:

• Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, Australia, 18-21 April 2013. Daily floor talks by Kirsten and/or Brenda at 1.30pm;
• Pinnacles Gallery, Townsville, Australia, 29 April - 2 June 2013. Official opening 11am, 4 May.

 

Australasian Quilt Convention 2013 Preview

All 144 quilts from the Colourplay Series will be on display at the Australasian Quilt Convention (18-21 April) and Brenda and/or Kirsty will be presenting a daily floor talk at 1.30pm. All welcome!

Download the AQC Preview Magazine (9MB PDF) for more information about the attractions at this year's event.

2012 Series by Kirsten

Kirsten is looking forward to seeing the Colourplay Series for the first time "in the cloth" at the Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, Australia, 18-21 April 2013 and to sharing the collection with her local community in Townsville at Pinnacles Gallery, 29 April - 31 May 2013.

By the way, please contact us if you can help with our exhibition at Craft & Quilt Fair, Palmerston North, New Zealand 14-17 February 2013.  We are looking for someone to install the exhibit on Wednesday afternoon and take it down on Sunday so this is your chance to get up close and personal with the Twelve by Twelve work (and get a free pass to the show).

Sugar Pie

As usual, inspiration lead me a circuitous route to this quilt. For the longest time my plan was to make a fairly literal interpretation of the theme, maybe even something pictorial. Then a week or so ago, as I struggled to find any germ of an idea that would lead me to The Quilt, I had an interesting (probably only to me!!)epiphany about how I design. Often I'm asked to explain how my inspiration evolves and I struggle to put it in words. It always starts with colour and a mood. I feel a certain way, a certain visual atmosphere starts to form. The epiphany part is that this creates a kind of design board/mood board in my head. It has snippets of lines, shapes, but mostly waves and sparkles of colour, and they all merge and float and blend into a feeling. So then I collect together fabrics that match that feeling and think about how I want them to interact. The type of interaction (is it fluid, sharp, linear, etc) informs that technique that will be needed to join them together. The whole design is never made before I start. I just choose a beginning and go for it. The process is then an organic one; things just happen and every decision is made as the need arises. Another epiphany - that's why I have so many failures and why I should probably work in series! Often a mis-step along that way will create another problem that needs correction which causes another problem, etc, etc. (I know lots of you relate to THIS!)It's a haphazard way to work that, for me, results in many more bad quilts than good ones. I usually know immediately if it's been a success or failure. One of the more difficult lessons for some artists/artisans to learn is to cull their own work; to weed out the rubbish and get rid of it. When we began this Twelve by Twelve adventure, I made a commitment to myself that I would try new things, that I would be accepting of whatever I produced and not beat myself up about stuff that sucked. There would be no culling because, for me, this was a learning, fun project. I never imagined a book! or even exhibitions! And now my good quilts and my terrible quilts share a stage with each other and with the magnificent work of my colleagues. Looking over my quilts from the three series, I would still happily burn quite a number of them. But there are also a few that I am quite proud of and they would not have happened had the bad ones not been there to learn from.

This one? This one I love! This is my Sugar Pie. The mood board for this one was sugared almonds, fondant, gelato, Marie Antoinette, frothy, lacy, twinkly. The first background that I planned was very small rectangles, stacked sort of like Chinese Coins. It wasn't gelling in my head and I realise now that that's because it would have been far to staccato. Then I took this photo of some english paper pieced hexagons that I'm making and a friend commented on how much he liked the edges (surround yourselves with artists, people!).

Now I had a background that worked - very narrow strips of highly patterned fabrics. I actually didn't know that it was a background until I had sewn it and it needed something on it! It needed frothy, blendy flowers that melted into it and emerged from it.

And now, after making 7235687265 colonial knots, I have run out of time. It still needs more embroidery and more sequins and some beads. They will have to wait until next year now. It is the sister of my first quilt for this series,Jubilee. And I think they may have more sisters waiting to be born.

Sweet Time in Townsville

Kirsty and I have had a great time catching up while I am in Townsville for the Craft & Sewing Show. We didn't get a photo together but we did eat delicious ice cream at Juliette's - twice.

2013 Colourplay Exhibitions Down Under

Mark your diaries! The Colourplay Series will travel down under in 2013 and will be on display at:

• Craft & Quilt Fair, Palmerston North, New Zealand 14-17 February 2013;
• Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, Australia, 18-21 April 2013; and
• Pinnacles Gallery, Townsville, Australia, 29 April - 2 June 2013.

caution to the wind

I have a soft spot for the mavericks of the world. More than a soft spot, actually - I admire them and love them for the joy that they bring to my life. Rule-breakers make our world an ever-changing place. They are the ones who inspire us to be better and kinder human beings by embracing racial and gender equality; the ones who say "What if...?" and invent popping candy and silly putty and iPhones; the ones who terrify and enthuse, startle and bless. God love them.

 Many times over my forty three years of sewing I have thought of the women who, a hundred, two hundred, three hundred years ago, were the mavericks of their generation. How constrained were they by the sewing conventions of their times? How constrained are WE? I take so much delight in imagining the "naughty" ones at the quilting bees who stitched a little rebellion into their quilts. I must admit to not enjoying a single second of making this quilt. I'm not sure why - maybe I am kind of done with challenging quilt making and am wanting to return to simpler sewing? Maybe it's just that we have changed direction again personally and are now doing a 1200km round trip weekly for work. Who knows but time?

Anyway, now that it is done, it has surprised me by appealing to me aesthetically so much more than I expected it to. It's a simple and quiet(ish) commentary on rule-breaking maverick quilters through the last hundred or so years.I have been making quilts long enough to have heard more than a few people refer to machine-stitched quilts as "not real quilts".Others have loudly declared that using fusibles is "cheating". The much-admired (maybe 'adored' is not too strong a word!)and heavily influential quilts by the quilt makers of Gee's Bend would, at one time, not have been as well-regarded. It used to be, not all that long ago, that competitions and exhibitions defined a quilt as "three layers" and required that they be bound. That's no longer necessarily the case. What kind of rule-breaking does one have to do to be a quilting maverick these days, I wonder? The bottom row of this quilt is made of paper and cloth. My apologies for the fairly dodgy photos. My beloved phone has its limitations.

Flying to Close to the Sun

At first my plan was to illustrate one of the many wonderful Maori legends that I grew up hearing. Brenda mentioned Maui in a post a while back and I remembered a painting that I did as an 11 year old of Maui harnessing the Sun. In the time of Maui, the Sun moved so quickly through the sky that the people didn't even have time to finish their work before night was upon then. Maui, the Quintessential Peoples' Hero, harnessed the Sun with ropes and dragged on them to slow the day. I always liked my painting and remember well how I wanted it to look, although my skills at the time didn't allow me to attain my goal. But when I thought longer, I realised that it needed to stay as it was and the time was not yet right for revisiting it. So I kept thinking.

 After considering many obscure myths and enigmatic characters, I stayed with the sun and constantly was drawn to Icarus. Poor Icarus, who dared to dream of flight and flew so close to the sun that his (rather foolish) wax wings melted and plunged him to his death. I always felt it unfair that his ambition and hope met with such doom (maybe the lesson is that preparation is an essential aspect of ambition?! hmmm....I've clearly not learned that lesson!). I rather hopefully believe in points for effort...

The background for this quilt is paper-pieced on isometric graph paper. Fabric for the wings is painted with acrylic paint. The applique is fused, raw-edge stitched and then buttons sewn on top. I didn't have fun making it and it rather shows. Maybe my quilt experience parallels the subject!

and the winner is...

Poor twelves! You have been waiting with bated breath, I know, as I have prevaricated about our next theme. I have tossed around a few ideas some of which were discarded on the basis of being too restrictive (the sky, Amazon,circus) and others that may have been a little too vague or esoteric. My favourite (and originally planned-for theme) was "Journeys" but then we did "Maps"so... our next theme is Mythology. Ta daaaah! Such a broad subject should provide us with plenty of variety and I will be fascinated to see what gems you all unearth. The reveal date for this challenge is 12 July 2012. Ladies, start your engines! Ready...set...GO!!

Website Update - All Mapped Out!

The Twelve by Twelve website has been updated to include our latest challenge quilts.  Click on the mosaic below to view the Maps Gallery:

The 2012 Series Artist Gallery pages have also been updated and it is clear that some of the Twelves are developing their own personal series within this overall challenge.  For example, here are Kirsten's 2012 works so far.  We're all curious to find out what Kirsten has chosen for our next 2012 challenge!

And don't miss the new Tutorials Page which sets out a selection of online tutorials and other resources offered by the Twelves.

you are here

Hmmm....I may be 'here' but with this quilt I never felt as if I got 'there'! It still feels very unfinished but I don't know what is coming next. It's origins are my thoughts about my nearly-grown children and the idea that life does not come with a roadmap. This is my attempt to create a Life Map. Life begins somewhere off the edge (wherever we were before) and continues off the edge (wherever we go next!) so the edges will remain as they are - no neat, tidy bindings in real life - and the threads wander off into the ether. The only constant points of reference are longitude and latitude representative of God/Spirit/Truth/Love and Family (by which I mean those people in your life, related or not, who are always there for you). Along the way are diversions, false starts, progress, people who walk alongside us for a time, setbacks. Initially I thought the quilt would include advice and admonishments but it's not that simple, is it? Each person's map needs different words, different directions. I suppose the point is that there IS no map for life. We all have to make it up as we go along, so I doubt that this quilt will ever be finished. It's only in hindsight that we know what our map looks like and my map isn't even slightly done.

In terms of technical stuff, what really bothers me about this quilt is the complete lack of focal point (I suppose the circle is a focal point except that it's poorly placed for that role). Maybe that's a reflection of my own lack of focus on this project?? I guess some work and some just don't!

Philadelphia

Karen and I attended the Studio Art Quilt Associates conference in Philadelphia last weekend. It's a good thing we snapped this picture because we only ran into each other briefly at a few of the galleries. Not much time to chat... so much art to absorb!

But it was so great to see her. A big hug is such a lovely reminder of the wonderful connections we "twelves" have created over the last several years of working together.

Kristin was in Philly too -- or at least her art work.

This is her War Sucks quilt in the Art Quilt Elements exhibit.

Mapping Twelve by Twelve

Deborah has selected such a rich and inspiring theme.  Maps, of course, are everywhere! Looking back through the Theme Series and the Colorplay series, there were several "mappish" works. Deborah has already mentioned Everlasting from the Shelter theme. When I was touring with the Theme Series in New Zealand in 2010, I stayed at Kirsty's parents home for a few days. They were travelling overseas and it was my first visit. Yet, somehow, thanks to Kirsty's schematic - it all seemed very familiar.  Here are some other pieces with a map element:

Everlasting by Kirsty

12N 12W by Helen

Terra Incognita by Nikki

Flight Path by Diane

As illustrated in the BBC series The Beauty of Maps (click for map highlights and video tour), cartography is full of art, intrigue and discovery.  I can't wait to see what 1 May reveals!