Goodbye to a Colleen

Today, so many people gathered to say goodbye to Colleen Robertson.  She was remembered as a kind, friendly and a devoted mother and grandmother and sister.  One of her best qualities is that she included people and didn 't exclude them from the community she lived in.  She accepted people, as they were and was always ready to stop and listen. the world needs more people like Colleen not less.

Taking the pledge!

I, Karen, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear. I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

Why you ask?

Yesterday I attended my local groups AGM, which was presented in a new format this year. We started at 11am with the AGM no surprises there! Had a soup and sandwich lunch, then because the guest speaker was late, went on to present our Ballarat Icon Challenge show and tell.

My friends know that I have been stressing over this part of the proceedings, because I was scared of the negativity that my presence and work engenders within the group. I find it frustrating that I always make supportive and positive comments about everyone quilts and yet get stony silence or snide comments about what I take. Worse still is what is said behind your back, which always has a willing group member ready to let you know " who said what nasty mean thing" as soon as possible.
   In essence, it leads to not talking about your work and not sharing or participating in Show and Tell or other group activities such as the challenges. I have always thought the group is more important than the individual but have decided to take a back seat in my local group from now on. I will participate in what I enjoy, such as retreat and the quilt show but I give up on the politics, the bitchiness and downright meanness of a few particular members of the group. I will be saying loudly to those individuals that have ruined Christmas, spoilt my birthday, and treated me with rudeness and hostility "STOP Picking on me!".
   These few really don't get that if they are treated by me with courtesy that I deserve the same back.

   Getting back to the icon challenge, I went last, but couldn't bear the thought of the presenter holding up my quilt top. I was too frightened that she would looking for all the flaws to gossip about later. I asked friends to hold it up while I talked about what I had done. That generated "funny" looks and eye rolling. As I talked there was only a handful of members that smiled, while the other's sat with disapproving frowns and studiously blank faces. No questions were asked and no positive comments given.
   I had shown 3 friends my quilt beforehand so that I had their kind words to lift my spirit before I did the show and tell. I was too intimidated to put my work on display on the tables at the back, I know every flaw in my quilt, I didn't want the less positive elements to publicly humiliate me yet again. Only one person. afterwards spoke to me about my quilt, and said that it was great and that they really would love to see it in detail when it was finished. My friends and that one person made my day.

So I take the pledge to share my work here, and thank Rosie for giving me the space and encouragement to do so.

This is my yet uncompleted Ballarat Icon quilt.  We were challenged to draw an envelope which contained a photo of the theme we were asked to interpret.  I drew " miner's cottage"  I decided the interpret the theme via the medium of crazy patchwork to reflect our country town' gold rush heritage from the 1850's onwards.  I read and researched.  Then this quilt took on a life of it's own when I decided that it would become a story quilt or our beloved weekender in another village.  Our miner's cottage stated in Ballarat but as the goldfields moved so did our cottage on a bullock's dray.  The quilt then started to incorporate some of our family stories, then it started to have it's own stories that could be told depending on the imagination of the viewer.  lastly because my girls and I loved "I spy" and hidden object books it has become that too. 

   I thank you for taking the time to share in my quilt's story and hope that you will follow it's progress!

Thank you to Annelise, Yvonne, Karla, Annie and Peta,  your words carry me through.  I know that you get what I am trying to do.

Love Karen. xxx.

Go! Baby Go!

Go Go Go check out Christine's blog, Once Upon a Quilt for her Go! Baby Cutter giveaway. If you are a follower of her blog you will be dancing with me over her good news. One of our doctor's has a photo of the cutest little baby girl with the caption "Find a Cure before I Grow Boobs". Hearing Rosalie Quinnlan's recent news too, is a timely reminder to get those monthly self checks done! Have that mamogram, Donate to the fight, and keep on praying for a cure tomorrow! I will be making my donation at Linda Collin's Quilt in the Barn show in September. Her blog is by the same name, worth looking at if you haven't before. Love Karen

Inspirations from Linda Steele at melbourne quilt Show

Lucky for me Linda Steele was the profiled quilter at Vic quilter's showcase this year!
Enjoy!

Ballarat Icon Challange

The current project is for my local patchwork group. I drew from the lucky envelope the theme Miner's cottage, and decided to use crazy patchwork as the medium to interpret this for my Icon quilt. How naive I was! I had no idea where it was going to take me!
After reading and researching, buying and a class with Judith Baker Montanno at Houston festival last November, I finally started

I like to challenge myself, so I chose to use jewel bright colours. Then I started to embellish.
The first unveiling is this Saturday. More later. love Karen

Walk America

See the new button to the right, click on it to go the the blog site at Tallgrass Praire Studio. I am going to cyber walk across the USA to improve my fitness. anyone care to join me?

Yesterday's achievements and Todays challenges?

I did manage to get some work done on those cream crazy patchwork blocks and 2 were sent off in the post yesterday afternoon along with the 1940's atc's. These 2 blocks are for Phyl and Margret. I embroidered their initial in the center, but cream does not show up well!

     Today is a wonderful Ballarat day for winter, sunny, little wind, but still cold., so today like alot of other people who live in my town will be spent filling up this!

This is the week to catch up on everything!

Today I managed to finish my 1940's past decades ATC's ready to post off first thing tomorrow.  I chose Vivian Bullwinkle to represent the best of the 1940's decade. Tonight I will working on my cream crazy patch blocks, hopefully I can finish another one so that I can post off more than ATC's in the morning.