'Random Shuffle' An exhibition by GroundWorks Studios

Here are some photos of the window display of work by GroundWorks Studios in Abbeygate Street. The work will remain on exhibition until 8th August and may move to another venue after that. For more information on the studios visit http://www.groundworksstudios.com/ and http://www.groundworksstudios.blogspot.com/.

'Random Shuffle' An exhibition by members of GroundWorks Studios

"Random Shuffle" is an exhibition of work by members of GroundWorks Studios and was opened by Galway Arts Officer, James Harold on Friday 23rd July and will run until August 8th in Abbeygate Street, Galway (next to Subway).

GroundWorks Studios is based in Mervue Business Park and provides facilities for ceramics and textile artists in a collective environment. This is the group's second exhibition and provides a showcase of recent work by the artists at a Galway city centre venue, to coincide with Galway Arts Festival and Galway Racing Festival.

For more information see www.groundworksstudios.com and www.groundworksstudios.blogspot.com.

Changing Art & Minds: Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

'Changing Art & Minds' is an exhibition at the Golden Thread Gallery which runs from 22nd to 31st July 2010. It is an exploration of the creative journey of the Supports for Women project. Supports for Women is a creative learning experiment for women living in Leitrim and the project was set up to encourage women to share their personal stories by using the arts, crafts, creative journaling and conflict resolution tools.
By using a multi-disciplinary approach, the project took the participants on a year long journey of self-discovery and personal growth while also challenging the old negative beliefs that have been inherited in the border county as a result of the conflict. 'Changing Art & Minds' showcases the work created during the year and hopefully changes minds through the arts in the process.
The exhibition includes work in textiles, glass, painting and drawing and mixed media made by the women during workshops with Jewellery designer Erika Marks, visual artists Laura Gallagher and Mari Aymone d'Jeribi, glass artist Louise Rice and textile artist Brigitta Varadi.
I was delighted to be involved in this project at the Leitrim Design House helping participants rediscover their creativity through visual journalling along with Therese Hackett who provided support to the group with conflict resolution.
If you are in Belfast in July be sure to check out the Golden Thread Gallery for this exhibition which also connects with August Craft Month with workshops and other activities.

'Jigs and Reels' A quilt finished!

The photo shows the finished quilt top before layering, quilting, binding and washing.

The quilt was finished in time for a fabulous 21st party in July.

I brought the quilt to Frances Conroy in Maam to have it quilted with an all-over swirly love-heart pattern in pink. Frances did a fantastic job and had the quilt ready in time for me to complete it by adding a candy-stripe binding.

As with most of my quilts, I machine-washed it and cool tumble-dried it. As I use cotton wadding I like the slight crinkly shrinking that happens when a quilt is washed. I think it helps to give it a warm, soft, cosy look. Also it comforts me to know that the quilt can now stand up to normal everyday usage and be thrown in a washing machine (at a 30 degree wash) as often as necessary.

I hope to take a good photo of the finished quilt soon and show it here. So watch this space.

'Jigs and Reels' a quilt in progress

It always amazes me how secondary patterns start to form when patchwork blocks are put together edge-to-edge.
Sometimes it is difficult to visualise in advance how a quilt will look . The pattern for this quilt came from the book "Clever Quarters Too" but the quilt photographed in the book is totally different in dark red, green and cream.
As with every project I learn a lot as I work my way through it.
For example, I hadn't really paid attention to the fact that each block is made up of 21 pieces within a 9in square! With 30 blocks required for the quilt that's a lot of small pieces to sew together (630 to be exact!). With a pieced border as well, it brings the total number of pieces in the quilt to 806!! This seems a little daunting!
The challenge would have been obvious had I read the pattern through before I started (lesson no. 1!). However, in a way I'm glad I just jumped right in, as it meant I just got on with it. By approaching it like a production line, it came together fairly quickly! And it wasn't as complicated as it looks! Honest!

'Jigs and Reels' a quilt in progress

Discussions about this quilt started some time ago. My niece's 21st in July required a special gift and so I made a trip to Maeve Meaney at the Limerick Quilt Centre with my sister and sister-in-law to select some fabrics. We had a warm welcome from Maeve who put the kettle on as we arrived! Then my sister and sister-in-law set to work on selecting some special fabrics. As my niece is studying traditional music and dance at the University of Limerick, a music theme was going to show up in the quilt somewhere. With all the family history of knitting, sewing, lace-making and embroidery through the generations, a sewing theme became an obvious choice as well. The light and dark turquoise floral prints brought back fond memories of my mother's sense of style. And the old-fashioned floral/stripe fabric was so pretty we couldn't resist. The block-pattern and overall quilt design was chosen from the book "Clever Quarters Too" by Susan Teegarden Dissmore.
Cutting of the fabric started in May and here is the first block ready for assembly. More photos to follow

A taste of World Culture at Leitrim Design House

Leitrim Design House will host a World Culture Day on July 11th. This is a family event with lots to see and do. For more information see www.intoleitrim.com.

Galway Now feature

I'm delighted to be featured in the 'artist profile' page by Lynda Cookson in the July/August edition of Galway Now magazine. It's nice that Lynda decided to title the feature "Aunt Gobnait's Parcels from America" in honour of the aunt who provided me with the inspiration to travel and to sew.

Abbeyknockmoy ICA group completes quilt!

The enthusiastic ICA women in Abbeyknockmoy have made a fantastic job of their centenary quilt! Tonight was their final class where they learned how to attach the binding and the hanging sleeve to their completed quilt. They will add the final hand-stitches to the binding and the sleeve on the back of the quilt on their own and then they will have completed their project.

So my work with this group comes to a close. I enjoyed the classes hugely and was extremely impressed with this dedicated group of new patchworkers. They rose to all the challenges of getting to know unfamiliar sewing machines, making quarter-inch seams, accurate piecing, machine-quilting and lots more.

This was a wonderful group to work with....not just because they came to every class equiped with wonderful home-baking to tempt me!! I was very warmly welcomed into the community hall in Abbeyknockmoy every week and loved every minute of the 10 classes we had together. I hope our paths will cross often in the future around the local area and at future patchworking events in Galway and beyond!

"Where do you come from"

"Where do you come from" features a photo of a derelict Irish cottage and a map of Balinora, Co. Cork printed onto calico and stretched over an 8x8inch frame. I can now reveal I made this for the "secret postcard" section of the "Down the Road" exhibition in St. Fin Barre's Cathedral. "Secret Postcards" are sold on the opening night of the exhibition (all at the same price) and the artist name is not known at the time of purchase. The money received is used to help fund future Cork Textiles Network events.

"The man who built the wall"

"The man who built the wall" is part of a triptych I've made for "Down the Road" an exhibition of textiles by Cork Textiles Network at St. Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork which opens today and runs until 17th June. For more information see www.corktextiles.com.

This piece is hand-painted onto calico and free-machine quilted. It is part of my on-going obsession with the beautiful dry-stone walls around my home in County Galway.

New journals in stock!

Just some of the embroidered notebooks I have added to my stock recently! These are blank A6 sketchbooks/journals that I've made covers for. No two covers are the same as the combinations of vintage fabrics, threads, buttons, beads and embellishments cannot be repeated exactly. When the journal is full simply remove the cover to put on your new A6 journal.

London calling!

Travelling always provides me with lots of inspiration. I love to be on the way to somewhere....anywhere! I love packing, people-watching at airports, arriving at my new 'home' for a few days and the 'foreigness' of every little thing in a different country.
Here are just a few photos of things that caught my eye on a recent trip to London.

A fabric shop on Berwick St. used old dress-making patterns to decorate one of it's interior walls.

A photo from the Ryanair in-flight mag seemed ripe for reinterpreting in fabric and stitch.

A criminal offence! All these lovely old sewing machines had been used as a window display on Regent St. and were being thrown onto the pavement outside as part of a shop-renovation. How I longed to rescue them....but Ryanair baggage allowance does not allow for such sentimentality!

Cork Textiles Network exhibition 3rd to 17th June

I'm working on some pieces to include in this exhibition in Cork in June. Check out the Cork Textiles website on http://www.corktextiles.com/ for some photos of the work by its wide range of textile artist members (you don't have to be from Cork or living in Cork to join...It's open to everyone!)

Feile na Tuaithe, Castlebar Museum of Country Life

The weather was fantastic on 22nd and 23rd May for this great annual event at the Museum of Country Life in Castlebar. Lots of beautiful craftwork for sale with traditional craft demonstrations and exhibitions in the park grounds. If you haven't already visited this Museum it's worth a trip and watch out for Feile na Tuaithe next year!

Feile na Tuaithe, Museum of Country Life, Castlebar

I'll be stitching furiously over the coming days in preparation for Feile na Tuaithe at the Museum of Country Life, Castlebar on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd May, 2010.

This is a very enjoyable event as there are lots of outdoor activities for the children to enjoy: music concerts, magic-shows, facepainting, etc. There are food and craft producers exhibiting their work in 2 marquees. A number of traditional craftspeople will demonstrate their techniques. The museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions are open to enjoy. Various artists are invited to create sculpture and other installations around the lake and the grounds. The restaurant and shop are open all day. And if the weather is good, there's plenty of nice picnic spots around the grounds.

Art in Action, Townley Hall, Slane Rd, Drogheda

Art in Action is an event that takes place every year on the June Bank Holiday Weekend. I've attended since 2000: first as a customer, then a craft-trader and now a demonstrating artist since 2008. I've always been hugely impressed with the quality and variety of arts, crafts, workshops, demonstrations, music recitals, food providers at this event. Come along from 5th to 7th June, 2010 (only 30mins from Dublin on the M1) and meet the makers, watch them work, ask questions and be inspired! For more information see http://www.artinaction.ie/.

"The West's Awake" exhibition opens at Galway City Museum

We gathered at the Galway City Museum on a sunny Tuesday evening to celebrate the opening of "The West's Awake", an exhibition by the Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society. The Mayor of Galway, Declan McDonnell complimented the group on the variety of work displayed. Sandlin Poth presented the Mayor with a cushion inspired by the marble tiles in the Galway City Cathedral. For more photos and information about this exhibition which runs until the end of May see http://www.westernips.blogspot.com/.

Irish Quilt & Craft Magazine (May/June Issue)

Frances J. Sawaya (http://www.francessawaya.com/) is a feature writer for Irish Quilt & Craft Magazine (http://www.irishquiltandcraft.com/) as well as the organiser of the wonderful Lakelands Quilt Fair every September in the Ballyjamesduff Museum, Cavan. The May/June issue of Irish Quilt & Craft Magazine features a photograph of one of my wall-hangings showing the use of recylcled 'colour-catchers'. I was very flattered to see a photo of mine in print! Thanks Frances!
This transparent wall-hanging will also feature in the exhibition 'Make it New' by the Textile Art Forum (http://www.textileartforum.blogspot.com/) at this year's Lakeland Quilt Fair in September.

Classes 4 & 5 with Abbeyknockmoy ICA group

Breege adds a bit of satin-stitch to the logo.

Kathleen, May and Liz adjust the stitch to zigzag and alter the length and width to create the satin-stitch required.

And the quilt-top is almost complete. The logo is finished for the centre block and almost all the green sashing strips are attached. Next week we decide on the outer border and hopefully start to layer the quilt together to get ready for quilting.

Classes 4 & 5 with Abbeyknockmoy ICA group

The Abbeyknockmoy ICA group have settled into some serious sewing now. They've learned how to measure up the strips of sashing require to go between each block. The green fabric they've chosen is based on the colours of the ICA logo.

Annette and Phil learn how to adjust the zig-zag stitch to create a satin stitch which can be used to create a decorative finish around an applique shape. In this case they are creating the green, white and blue circles of the ICA logo for the centre block.

Theresa works on joining the blocks together with the green sashing strips in between.

Phil's previous experience making Irish-dancing costumes helps her pick up this new technique quickly!

Breege is very comfortable sewing the sashing strips in place.

Patti quickly accomplishes the skills required to use satin-stitch to applique shapes in place on a small sample piece.

Creative Journalling Classes with Mohill Family Resource Centre

In our third class we developed our ideas further. We played with new materials like foil, bondaweb and tyvek. All of these can add dimension to collage-work.

Using clear plastic sheets (like transparency film) can create layers of interest.

Combining images and materials from different sources can help create connections between different aspects of your life.

Experimenting and playing with household materials (like cling-film) allows you to become resourceful in using what you have around you to express your ideas.

Patchwork Classes with Abbeyknockmoy ICA

In our third class we were ready to look at adding 'sashing' around each block. As the group wanted to include the colours from the ICA logo we looked at both blue and green as possible sashing options. The majority voted to use green as it created a 'fresher' overall look to the piece.

We began cutting the strips to the desired sashing width and stitching the blocks together in rows. In class 4 we will add the rows together and hopefully make our own ICA logo for the central block. All along we have been using a stitched logo which was given to us just to see how it might look.

Everyone seems pleased with the progress so far and looking forward to the next step.