Today was cold and rainy and I really felt like staying home but instead I ventured into the city to see the Craft and Quilt Fair at Darling Harbour.
There was rather a long, but fast moving, queue for tickets and then it was into the fray! There were lots of people but it wasn’t that crowded. I dread to think what it will be like on the weekend though. I headed straight for the quilt show, stoically ignoring the beckoning delights of all the fabric stalls. Can you see my halo?
Kay Haerland
Kay Haerland won the Best of Show prize with her quilt -Under the Canopy. You can see her amazing quilt here. The photo doesn’t really do it justice, in fact I don’t think it’s possible for a photograph to do this quilt justice. It is so textural. It really is beautiful. Kay had some other quilts on display and I was lucky enough to catch one of her talks and she gave me permission to photograph her explaining some of her techniques.
Kay Haerland and Cool Sisters
She was explaining to us that to find the right fabric for a particular area of her quilt she will often cut out the appropriate shape from a piece of card and take that “hole” template with her to the fabric shop. Then when she sees a fabric that looks as though it might work she lays the hole over it. She says that sometimes it’s just impossible to imagine what a small piece of fabric will look like when you’re faced with a whole bolt of it. Great idea, don’t you think?
Rose Lewis
Another prize winning quilter who was on hand was Rose Lewis and here she is with her quilt A Caterpillar’s Dream which won first prize in the Predominantly Appliqué Section.
Rose Lewis with A Caterpillar's Dream
I took some more detailed photos of some of the quilting – a butterfly and a dragonfly.
Dragonfly
Butterfly
There were many other gorgeous quilts on display but you’re only allowed to publish photos when you have the quilter’s permission so I’m sorry I can’t show you those. However you could mosey along to the Quilt Guild of NSW website and check some of the winning ones out for yourself.
On the way home
Stained glass at Central Railway Station
I left Darling Harbour and travelled on the light rail (tram) to Central Railway Station. It took me back to the trams of my childhood when we went to Blackpool and Bispham and the trams ran all the way along the coast. I hadn’t used it before in Sydney and was pleasantly surprised. It even had the old-fashioned ticket collectors. I much prefer them to the horrible machines on the buses.
Anyway when I got the Central I saw some beautiful stained glass windows so I snapped a quick photo. (By the by, please excuse the quality of all these photos. I am currently without a camera and having to resort to the trusty mobile phone.) I think it’s nice to see beautiful things in commonplace everyday buildings especially railway stations, don’t you?
Beautiful quilts – I especially loved the closeups of the quilting! Thank you for sharing (and for being so careful with the images of other people’s quilts). I agree with the small touches of beauty in the environment – they are far too few. I love old buildings for that – in earlier times, making the buiding beautiful as well as functional was part of the design process. The 20th century architectural movements, with their emphasis on function, and sometimes form, over aethetics, have a lot to answer for!
Beautiful quilts – I especially loved the closeups of the quilting! Thank you for sharing (and for being so careful with the images of other people’s quilts). I agree with the small touches of beauty in the environment – they are far too few. I love old buildings for that – in earlier times, making the buiding beautiful as well as functional was part of the design process. The 20th century architectural movements, with their emphasis on function, and sometimes form, over aesthetics, have a lot to answer for!
I agree with you about the 20th century architectural movements and I don’t really see any signs of improvement with the 21st century architectural offerings. Beauty is so important to my way of thinking and the modern built environment seems to to do all it can to extinguish it.
Munaiba
Wow, now I really do wish I could have been with you. So beautiful in photo, I can only imagine what things looked like in person.
And the stained glass window, wouldn’t that make a beautiful Applique pattern?
Thank you so much for sharing this!
Great photos hard to believe they are from a mobile phone! I’m very impressed.
I can’t wait to see all the quilts now. I will be taking my Mum, Sisters and Sister-In-Law on Saturday, some of them have never been to a craft show before.
I agree about the stain glass window making a good applique pattern, they are so beautiful.
Thank you
It was indeed a fabulous show! and it was so nice to meet you in person and spend a little time chatting and looking at quilts with you.
thanks for the pics Munaiba – they were great. And I did go to the website and look at all of the winners. I loved the quilt “the Eight” – the movement, colors, and the way the did the water was fabulous.