Book launch Festival of Quilts: CQ@10

This is the new book from Contemporary Quilt that launches at the Festival of Quilts at the Birmingham NEC on Thursday 16 August. Its a review of the last 10 years of exhibited work. I designed the book, page layouts and the cover, and worked with Hilary, Janet and Margaret who worked on the content: photographing, editing and the task of managing over 500 images and captions.

I'm also very happy to mention that my textile work appears a couple of times in the book too.

Looking forward to hearing feedback from the ladies on the Contemporary Quilt stand who will be selling the book over the next 4 days.

Feeling the pressure on BBC website

With a wide variety of media represented from painting to sculpture, I was very happy to see a textile piece winning the Feeling the pressure exhibition prize. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17936982

While a detail of my piece was shown in the round-up at image 8:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17936982

Sew near, and so far

Sew Hip magazine issue 41 - I need a copy!

My recycled denim cushion design has appeared ... EXCEPT the magazine publishers have gone into administration, so I have not been able to get hold of a copy (or receive payment or my sample back - boo). All I have found is this tiny thumbnail image.

I believe a few copies went out to subscribers and advertisers. If you have this issue and can either scan my feature and send it by email, or sell me your copy when you've read it - I would be VERY grateful.

I'm trying so hard to establish my career and (swallowing hard) ignoring the fact of my invoice and my sample, I could at the very least really do with having my feature in my portfolio.

Feeling the Pressure

Opening on 5th May, my piece 'Pressure Front' has been selected by Rhyl Arts Centre for their exhibition 'Feeling the Pressure'. On until 2nd June 2012.

Preview the exhibition slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/llyfrgelloedd/sets/72157629837259409/show/

More information on the exhibition
http://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en-gb/DNAP-8Q8LV5

Saw myself in SewHip magazine

Got my copy of the May issue with my recycled pendants and key tags article featured today. Busting with excitement! Made myself travel sick on the way home trying to read the whole issue in the car as I couldn't wait until I got home. Oops!

Available from WHSmith and other newsagents, and I think as an online subscription. See http://sewhip.wordpress.com/ for more information.

Diamond Day flyer design

A big event is planned for Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale to celebrate the Jubilee, and I'm pleased to say I was asked to design the flyer. It has just been distributed to schools so they can get busy over the Easter hols with their 'Design a MINI roof' competition. How cool is that? The winner will see their design on a real car at the event.

Bletchley Park - Alice and Bob

A detail of my piece 'Alice and Bob' which celebrates the background story of Alice and Bob in the history of cryptography. This was shown as part of the Secret Messages Exhibition held at Bletchley Park in association with the Quilters' Guild on 25th and 26th February. The exhibition was a great success and saw 1500 people through the doors on the first day alone!

My piece was contructed from recycled papers and a found silk scarf. Constructed with hand and machine stitch. I was intrigued by the mythology that has grown up around the mysterious relationship and secret messages that fly between Alice and Bob (A sends a message to B), and wanted to develop an ethereal piece. The typewritten texts that are visible through the layers include translations into Binary code, Enigma code and Morse code.

Crisps selected for York exhibition

This is my piece made from recycled crisp packets selected for a new exhibition at the Quilt Museum and Art Gallery, opening on 4th May. Sixty 20cm squares were selected by Contemporary Quilt to be joined together into a larger piece to represent the UK entry for Celebrating Diversity, organised by the European Quilt Association.  

Crisps – a celebration ...

A French exchange girl came to stay with me when I was 11. The girl was very, very homesick and simply didn’t stop crying. My elder brother’s bi-lingual girlfriend had to be summoned over to speak to her in French (my skills hadn’t got much past “Bonjour, je m’appelle …”). I decided I would give her my favourite Pickled Onion Monster Munch – how could that fail to cheer her up I thought? But I only made things worse and the Monster Munch made her cry even more (even the Roast Beef flavour was no better if she couldn’t take the extreme of the Pickled Onion). Her horror was equivalent to the horror I felt when faced, six months later, with a tray of bubbling snails emerging from a French oven (but at least I didn’t cry).

I think this was the point where I began to understand that there were some things that are typically ‘British’. Crisps abroad are very disappointing and bland. You get salted, or occasionally some paprika (though admittedly they are catching up a little more these days). But over here – what a celebration of Britishness and diversity all rolled in to one. What other culture would have Cajun Squirrel, Builder’s Breakfast or Onion Bhaji flavour limited editions?

The technique used is essentially a crazy patchwork.

Sewing retreat in Sew Hip shows & events

Pleased and excited to see that my creative textiles retreat at the Really Big Dream Company in France from 6-12 May is featured in the April issue of Sew Hip magazine. Find me on page 54!

Also coming up in Sew Hip, is my article on making pendants and key rings from recycled scraps which will be featured in issue 39 (out at the end of March) and my denim jeans cushion with lettering applique which will be in issue 40 (out at the end of April).

Lovely feedback for Sabi Westoby site

There's still time to catch the last three weeks or so of Sabi Westoby's exhibition Filamental, until 24 March at The Courthouse, Thirsk.

Before the exhibition began, I designed Sabi's new website. Recently we've received some lovely feedback on the site:

"I love what you did for Sabi. The website is so clean and fresh and a delight to navigate."
Hilary Gooding

"What a wonderful website, Sabi. Excellent presentation, easy to find one's way around and what brilliant work! I will want to look at it again and again."
Hannelore Braunsberg

Thanks - its so good to hear that the website has been well received. And as a direct result of Sabi's site, I'm going to start designing a new website for author and quilt artist, Linda Seward. Watch this space.