AQC 2012

As mentioned in my last post, I went off to AQC (the Australian Quilt Convention) with friends and had a wonderful day - this the 8th AQC event and it has come a long way.  There have been shows in the past that were a little disappointing, in fact last year, I decided I wouldn't attend again; however, early onset of Alzheimers ensured I had forgotten my decision and I'm glad I did!

The show was much better managed this year - the lighting was better (there is still some room for improvement), there was a lot more variety from the stall holders (still a lot of Japanese fabrics about though), the heating/cooling was better (in previous years it was way too hot) and the skills of the quilt makers were of a very high standard.  The quilts were traditional - the Modern movement is yet to make significant inroads - but I found myself looking at them differently (maybe because of the course I'm doing or that I'm teaching now??)  In previous years I would look at a quilt and decide whether I liked it, or not.  There wasn't much thought as to why I liked it and for those I didn't, I dismissed them and moved on (such a quilt dragon!!)

This year was different - I looked at the overall composition and the individual elements.  I looked at the methods used and the execution of same.  I looked very closely at the quilting, whether it was by hand or by machine and tried to work out why I preferred one over the other...it's a personal thing, obviously, but the following photos are either full quilts or close-ups that I enjoyed.  All of these photos were part of the 'Beneath the Southern Sky' exhibition and we were encouraged to take photos ;)

Close up of 'White Cockatoo' by Julie Haddrick.  The feathers were amazing - close machine quilting as well as organza added.

'Antipodean Adventure' by Debra De Lorenzo.  Loved the Shibori dyed cloth that Debra created.  It was added to commercial fabric and machine quilted to represent the earth, ice and sky of the Antarctic Circle

'Traversing the land' by Dijanne Cevaal.  Not usually a fan of Aboriginal Art, but the dyed cloth along with hand embroidery really made this piece call out to me to step in a bit closer.

'Staircase to the moon' by Stephanie Knudson.  This really captured the full moon rising over Cable Beach in Broome, WA.  There was hand and machine stitching and couching all on silk.  Really beautifully done.

There is more, so later I'll share images from the AQC Challenge.........