Blueberries Blog

It’s baaaack! Grab your gear (and your stamina) because the famous Blueberries sew-a-thon is looming on the horizon once again. If you’ve ever longed for 12 hours of sewing bliss, uninterrupted by kids, spouses and pets, then this event is for you.

Last year’s inaugural event was a punishing, but fun, all-nighter, from 6pm till 6am the following day. Eleven hardy souls from the original 30 were still going strong when the sun’s first rays lit up the eastern sky. It was decided that the second event would fill a more civilized midday to midnight timeslot, and this proved to be the more popular option.

So once again it’ll be 12 hours of intense sewing, as well as the laughing and camaraderie that we all know goes hand in hand with anything sewing-related. On Saturday 25 September the machines will be humming from lunchtime till the Cinderella hour. As catering isn’t included this time, people are encouraged to bring along a plate (plus all the caffeine you need to get you to the stroke of midnight).

“Both events last year filled up quickly, so register today by emailing enquiries@blueberries.net.au,” says Jackie. “Come along and show everyone that you have what it takes to sew for 12 solid hours. I can guarantee you’ll have a rollicking good time in the process.”

The stayers from last year’s all-nighter, bleary-eyed but triumphant

Click here to see more of last year’s photos.

Ok, so you’ve been quilting for a while now and have a pretty good handle on the basics. Everyone says your quilts look good and you agree with them. But there’s another voice in the back of your mind that keeps piping up whenever someone tells you how good your quilts are. “Lots of people can make a good quilt,” it says. “What you want now is to make a great quilt. In fact, a work of art!”

The difference between a good quilt and a quilt that’s a work of art is trapunto. Trapunto involves the techniques required that give an elegant, formal, three-dimensional look to a quilt - things like feathering, multi echo swirls, micro background fillers and pinning. It’s one of the more advanced and potentially challenging techniques to master, but worth every bit of the effort once you start churning out quilts that wouldn’t look out of place hanging in the Quilt & Craft Fair.

Deborah Louie is running a trapunto class on Thursday 16 September at Blueberries. This is for anyone who’s ready to take the next step from good to great and hone the artistry of their quilt making. Deborah was recently awarded the ‘Best in Show’ trophy at the Fair in June and will be sharing some of her many other award-winning quilts with her students in the class.

“Trapunto is like embossing on fabric,” Deborah says. “It’s a way of transforming a singe piece of fabric into a work of art. After the class, people will be able to transform their own quilts in ways they wouldn’t have thought possible, adding timeless elegance to them.”

Trapunto with Deborah Louie
Thursday 16 September 2010, 9.30am – 4.00pm
Details on Blueberries website

Above and below - two examples of the transforming effect of trapunto on fabric.

Show us the item and tell us the story

Di Holmes and her ‘Di & Jackie original’ quilt

What attracted you to this quilt?
I love the fabric. It’s a Japanese print that Jackie had in the shop. I knew the kind of thing I wanted and Jackie really helped with the design. I made it to give to my brother-in-law so I liked the fact that it looked quite masculine as well.

How long did it take you to make it?
All up it took about six months. We played around to get it all together at the end, especially to highlight it.

How long have you been quilting?
I’ve been quilting for ten years now. I was well and truly bitten by the bug. I’ve actually been going to Blueberries on Wednesdays since Jackie’s been there and I just love it. The Wednesday girls are a real blast and we have so much fun. There’s usually people waiting to get into the Wednesday classes.

What’s the next project?
I’ve just finished a bag and I’ve made accessories to go with it as a travel pack.

Show us the item and tell us the story

Rhonda Tester’s overnight bags

What attracted you to the pattern?
It was the fabulous choice of colours that Jackie had. Also, I thought it didn’t look too difficult to make (although it turned out being harder than I expected).

How long did it take you to make all three bags?
About a month. I was so pleased with the way the first one turned out that I made two more for two friends. We’re all going to Hong Kong on 1 September so it was good having a bit of a deadline.

Did you stick strictly to the pattern or did you customise?
I followed the pattern fairly carefully, although the fabric I was using was more heavy duty. A travelling bag needs to be pretty sturdy, so I used stronger fabric for the outside bottom.

How long have you been a sewer?
I’ve been sewing for 40 years (I’ve recently turned 60 so I started fairly young). It was mainly clothes in the earlier years, but then about seven years ago my auntie got me onto quilting and I really became addicted.

What’s next on your sewing schedule?
I’m making a flannel quilt for a friend who’s battling cancer. I’m told her treatments make her feel constantly cold, so a quilt is the ideal gift.

Rhonda proudly displays her three overnight bags, ready for some serious travel action in September.

Name: Janelle Wind

What do you design and why?
I design a pretty broad range of things like quilts, bags, clothing, etc. Anything that has a practical use. I tend to design things that I have an actual need for, rather than things that are just popular.

How long have you been designing and what particular techniques do you use?
I’ve been designing for about 11 and a half years now and patchworking for fifteen. I’ve been sewing since I was about eight, so started really young. As far as techniques go, I try to avoid things that are quite difficult because those people are usually happy to design their own. I do a lot of design piecing and appliqué. Frills and scalloped edges are a bit of my look at the moment.

What gives you inspiration?
I like the idea of something I’ve designed having a practical use, so I suppose that’s a kind of inspiration. Sometimes when I’m stuck I say to myself, “Now what would I like to purchase or carry around?” I also find the fabrics themselves get my creative juices going.

What is your favourite design or project you’ve worked on?
I recently did some fabric-covered boxes for Australian Homespun magazine. The brief was for specific-sized fabric-covered boxes for their eco issue and I was really proud of myself for coming up with the concept from scratch. It’s being released as a pattern very soon.

Are there any exciting new designs that you’re currently working on or recently launched that you can share with us?
I’m about to do a Block of the Month which will follow along the style of my book; bright fresh colours, stitchery and appliqué combined, simple piecing. It’ll be about a seven month Block of the Month.

Do you have a personal philosophy/statement that you work from as a designer?
I don’t design what I think what people will like, I design what makes me happy.

What advice would you give our readers?
Choose things that will make you happy and that you think you can achieve. Don’t be afraid to join a class or a group either because you get so much more out of it than you could ever expect.

Visit Janelle’s website at www.thejanellewindcollection.typepad.com

Janelle’s book, Pieces of Me, was released in June and is available at Blueberries and most patchwork stores.

Janelle Wind (above) and some of her creations (following).