Post script to Essence of Australia

You remember last time, I was showing you the process of making my quilt, Essence of Australia?  Well, it turns out that those iconic words by Dorothea Mackellar are still in copyright.  Thanks to Brenda who alerted me to the fact.  I sent an email off to request permission and quite quickly I heard back - as follows:

"I’ve heard from the executors, one of whom is a quilter herself.  They think you’ve done a lovely job and, as the sale is for a good cause, are happy for this to proceed without charge. 

We usually ask for some type of acknowledgment to be included (such as on a tag), however, we do understand if this isn’t possible.  The standard acknowledgment is By arrangement with the Licensor, The Dorothea Mackellar Estate, c/- Curtis Brown (Aust) Pty Ltd."

So, I've updated my post to include the acknowledgement and will see if SAQA can include something with my quilt.  Life is interesting!

Essence of Australia

My quilt was inspired by the tree at the front of my house.

 It has gorgeous bark

and it so happened that I had fabric in similar tones.

Because the colours and the tree are so iconic, I wanted something iconic to go with the fabric, so I chose the verse of Dorothea Mackellar's famous poem, "My Country"*. I think just about everyone in Australia knows the words that start "I love a sunburnt country..."  I wrote the words out on a 12 inch by 12 inch sheet of paper, just to make sure they would fit.
*By arrangement with the Licensor, The Dorothea Mackellar Estate, c/- Curtis Brown (Aust) Pty Ltd.

I rewrote them on the quilt sandwich itself, using a Frixion pen.  Then the quilting started.

I knew I wanted to use the leaves in some way.

I happened to have some used (and dried) tea bags.  Ah!  Bush tea is a combination of very strong black tea, swirled with a gum leaf for flavour.  I scattered the leaves over the quilt top, then laid a tea bag on top and stitched around each leaf.

I cut around the leaf shape.

These are real, untreated leaves.  As I stitched, I got the scent of the eucalyptus - and as they dry out and crumble, there will be only the shape left - hence "essence" in both cases.

I did a faced finish rather than a binding, as I wanted a clean edge.  I slightly rounded the corners.

Finished!

Check out the following blogs/posts for more creative inspiration!

15 August             Linda Stokes                   linda-stokes.blogspot.com
17 August             Robyn McGrath               SAQA Oceania blog
21 August             Felicity Clarke                 bearlytherecreations.blogspot.com
24 August             Susan Mathews               susanmathews.info

Pre Work Indulgence

I had a jaffa macaron with coffee yesterday, before heading to the lifts and ascending to work.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

The Outpost Cafe

Despite the threat of rain we went for a ride to Canungra and had lunch at the The Outpost Cafe.  Look at all the bikes!  There were some beauties there.

I had lambs fry and bacon - haven't had it in years - yummo!!!

Shades and Shadows

The smArtArts group in the Redlands has a exhibition in the Redland Museum.

There were lots of pieces to enjoy.  Here are two of my favourites.  "The Long Goodbye" by Marj Long

and "The Answer Lies in Shadow" by Amanda Buckley.

The exhibition is on until 31 May 2013.

Down Under Textiles

This mag is in the shops now - and it's a great read.  An article about my art quilt group "Broadstrokes" is in it, as well as a large spread about Chris Jones' Flood Art pieces.  You can also read about screen printing, breakdown printing and using soldering irons in your art.  I rarely read everything in a magazine, but I did with this one.

Chooks

I've always liked the idea of having some "girls" around the place.  These aren't mine, but they were very friendly

 and very generous.

I made a delicious lemon tart with their offerings.

Highland Celtic Celebration Ormiston House

It was a glorious day on 28 April and the view to the bay from Ormiston House was just gorgeous.  It was the perfect setting for a Celtic Celebration, including pipes and drums

 complete with these cute mascots.

The National Anthem was sung beautifully by a suitably attired Gregory Moore.

Two women stood in the middle of the clearing in period underwear and proceeded to dress with commentary on each piece as layer after layer went on.  Then they went for a stroll.

Canberra Airport Sculpture

Birthday Ride

I was spoiled this year.  I was taken for a ride to Mt Mee.  It was a glorious day, just right for my first time on the back of a bike.  It was a gorgeous machine.

Here's where I sat, enjoying the experience to the full.

Birthday at Tanja's

For a few years now, three of us with birthdays on almost the same day have had a tradition of sharing a birthday dinner at Tanja's in Wellington Point.  Something bubbly set the mood.

It's Organic!

I do like the Wednesday market in the city.  Fresh produce, interesting prepared food, yes.  But this?

Vietnamese Breakfast

Cafe O-Mai is a little gem tucked away in Annerley.  We had slow cooked caramelised pork ribs and classic pork roll (banh mi).  I ordered a Vietnamese ice coffee -

A very yummy breakfast/brunch.

New City Hall

It's been a major refurb, but City Hall is now open - here are a few images.

A Numbers Game

I noticed these giant numbers around town in early April - not sure if they're still there.  A reminder of our city's history.

Re-painted Box

I can't remember what was here before, on the corner of George Street and the start of the Queen Street Mall, but now it's this -

APT7

I only went once this year - as opposed to 3 times last time.  I enjoyed what I saw.  Even before entering the gallery I was taken with this:

I liked this piece particularly:

 detail

 detail

I think I liked the texture of it and the way the lines ie "light" brought out the texture.  Here are details of another one that really appealed - all white, it's all about line and texture:

The piece is by Neha Choksi and is called The sight of our heart's desire.

Parachutists

On Easter Saturday I was taken to lunch at Redcliffe. As I was waiting for my meal a whole lot of people dropped from the sky!

Easter

I know it's a while ago - but still...
I decided against chocolates this year - instead, I treated myself to this cute little figurine.

Tree

There was some pretty wild weather here at the end of March - which ended up with pretty much a whole tree in my pool.

Day Drive

The weekend before Easter I was taken on a lovely drive, along here

with a stop at the Tweed Valley Art Gallery, and passing through Mooball.

Stitches and Craft

I visited the Stitches and Craft Show at the end of March - it wasn't as big as in some years, but it was nice to see familiar faces and to enjoy some of the displays.
Entries into the QQ Challenge had to use this challenge fabric

My friend Jane won the Professional category with her Egyptian Delight - you can just see a bit of the blue ribbon.  Well deserved!!

Also on display were garments made by senior high school students - very talented!

A post show treat was afternoon tea at Mia's in Camp Hil.