Continuous Lines

President’s Message- May 2014

It’s getting cold here in Canberra, but I must say the city is resplendent in its Autumn colours. The view from Telstra Tower lets you see all the trees in their changing colours. The days are getting shorter and it’s harder to get out of my warm bed. I am very thankful for the quilt on it and that it’s one I made.

Australian quilters have again done very well in overseas quilt shows and I would like to congratulate you all. I have seen some pictures on various internet sites and I am so proud of all the Aussies who have won places or honourable mentions. This is encouraging and inspiring.

Our Annual General Meeting will be happening before the Quilt Show!!

It’s time to start considering how we can all continue to improve and grow our Association. Without you the Association will cease to be. All positions will be declared vacant at the AGM and there are committee members who need to step down for health reasons and also like myself cannot stand for the same position again. The current committee is a wonderful group of ladies and I have learnt so much from them and being on the committee. I would like to continue to help the Association but I cannot stand as President again according to our constitution. You do not have to be a seasoned quilter to join the committee; I was a very new member and a new long arm quilter when I first joined the committee as a general member.
In particular we need a new Secretary and as per our constitution the position requires the person to be residing in Qld or within 65km of the border. There are many new members and we can split the role if there are a couple of people who would like to work together. If you would like to see something happen within AMQA Inc. and help us improve our member benefits, please join the committee and/or attend the meetings.
Meetings are held via Skype linkup which is a free program to download and use. We successfully hold meetings with attendees from almost all states and even NZ. You will need to create a Skype name and then send a contact request to me at the moment (Thomas and Raylee) before the meeting and I can add you to the conversation.

AMQA Inc. Quilt Show

Have you been thinking about your entry for the Show? I am trying to decide which quilt or quilts I will enter. Just a reminder the entries close on the 31^st July 2014. Your quilt does not need to be received until the 20^th September 2014 so you will have time to complete it. The entries and photos allow us to plan the quilt display to the best advantage for the quilts. The only last minute changes will be when the Best of Show and Runner Up BOS are decided. The previous newsletters have contained the category descriptions for you to think about and they will be repeated in the next few newsletters.

DON’T FORGET –we have a new category!!

Modern Category

Maximum 480” perimeter. This category is for those quilts which encompass the Modern Quilting style. Modern quilts are functional and can display features such as solid &/or bold colours, simplicity, minimalism or improvisational piecing. Features can include asymmetry and the use of reinterpreted traditional blocks, the use of modern prints and grey or white as a neutral.

Sponsorship requirements for our show are almost filled though we are always happy to speak with interested businesses. If you have any suggestions for businesses who might consider sponsoring our show, please let someone on the committee know. You can find an email address on our website for the committee members. We hope to make the show extremely successful with great prizes for all categories. I would like to thank the sponsors who are already supporting our show and providing some wonderful prizes.

Our wonderful Show sponsors

Jan Foster - Red Shed Quilting

Bill and Leonie West - Westalee Designs

Hollyburton Park.

SA Quilters Guild.

Australian Quilters Association

Studio Mio & The Quilting Heart

Canberra Quilters

Victorian Quilters

Dayview Textiles

Blue Gum Quilting

BBT Distributors

Busy Needles

Blueberries

Mt Vincent Quilts

Central Coat Modern Quilt Guild Inc.

Leutenegger

Blessington

Patchwork on Parade

Threads and Tangles

Constantine Quilts

and we are proud to have

M&S Textiles as our sponsor for Runner Up- Best Of Show and

Quality Always as co-sponsor of Best Of Show.

Australian Machine Quilting Festival as co-sponsor of Best Of Show. Thank you Tracey and Sharon.

2015 Member’s Challenge – Competition Now Open! We still need a design.

Do you have an idea for a pieced design you think would be perfect for the next Member’s Challenge? To enable as many people to enter as possible we are thinking way ahead and wanting to release the pieced design at our Quilt Show in 2014. This will give almost a year for quilts to be thought about and made. If you have a design in mind, I encourage you to spend a bit of your downtime writing it up and submit it to the committee for use as the 2015 Member’s Challenge pieced design. All acknowledgements will be given to the designer as appropriate. The challenge is great to stretch our skills, try new techniques and help us be confident.

We need

- a design that is approximately 40-45 inches square, ideally closer to 40inches but this will depend on the design.

- instructions to make the pieced design and measurements for cutting etc. Any templates etc. in printable format, ie; PDF is good.

- a picture or photo of the finished design, not necessarily quilted.

The prize for the successful design is a free year of membership to AMQA Inc. Other design will be held to consider for future Member’s Challenges.

We are hoping to make the challenge a travelling showcase which will be great for our industry and for our businesses. To be able to offer the quilts for travelling we do need to make sure it is worthwhile. 4 quilts don’t really make a showcase. I encourage you all to consider designing and then entering the Member’s Challenge in 2015.

This is your Newsletter!

Please let us know about anything interesting in your area, or even an issue you’d like to be discussed. The newsletter is a great way to share information with our members as well as the Facebook page. Your questions can be asked there or answered by those in the know. Please share your quilty highs or lows and this will benefit all of us.

Happy Quilting

Raylee Bielenberg

Next Committee Meeting - 28^th May 2014

Being Business Savvy - Part 2

Terms & Conditions

Further to my previous article in Continuous Lines # 34, if you were to use two copies of the Customer Work Order with a sheet of carbon paper between them, when they sign the top sheet they also sign the bottom copy. You can determine which copy is yours to keep, but on the back of the customers' copy you could have the following information not only as a further Disclaimer for yourself & your business, but most importantly, this will cover you as the quilter should anyone every query your liability to them or their quilt . You need to tell them that there is important information on the back of their form which they need to read & understand.

Dear Piecer/Owner of this Quilt

As the owner of (name of business) I value my professional reputation very highly & will treat your quilt/project as though it were my own. Your quilt will be handled with care in a smoke & animal free environment. If you would like to make any changes to the pattern, thread(s), backing fabric or wadding noted on the front of this Work Order, please let me know as soon as possible. Once work has begun on your quilt, any changes made by you will be at your additional expense. You will be charged for time spent to prepare the quilt for the changes you are requesting at the rate of ($ your hourly rate), including removal of any or all stitching that has already been put into your quilt/project. The estimated cost of work listed on the front of this form will be re-calculated to reflect the time taken to prepare your quilt for these changes & to carry them out.

I am more than happy to help you decide the quilting pattern/design & thread choices for your quilt. If you leave the pattern/design & thread choices up to me, please understand that you have made this choice. As a professional quilter, I will execute this choice to the best of my ability. The responsibility for the pattern/design & thread choice begins & ends with the quality of workmanship done by (name of business). Should you loan/enter your quilt/project for exhibition or public display, please show the courtesy of crediting (name of business) as the machine quilter.

Terms of this Guarantee:

If there is a problem with this quilt for which I am responsible, please let me know within two days (48 hours) after it is returned to you. I will use every reasonable means at my disposal to rectify the problem. If this is not possible, (name of business) will issue a credit for the cost of quilting labour only. Backing fabric, wadding, binding & thread charges will NOT be included in this credit.

This credit is the maximum liability of (name of business) & is redeemable within ninety (90) days from date of issue only. THIS GUARANTEE SUPERSEDES ANY AND ALL GUARANTEES IMPLIED BY LAW, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTEES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

(Name of Business) as a signature line

(Town of Suburb)

I wish to acknowledge Cindy Roth of Longarm University for her permission to use this information.

Cindy has this article available for purchase, if you want more information follow this link

http://www.longarmuniversity.com/Bookstore%20pages/longarm_pricing.htm#worksheet

to purchase your own copy or follow the Machine Quilting Blog (US based)

http://mqbusiness.wordpress.com/

I think you will agree there is some valuable information here which you could use. I hope it is of some use to you & your business.

Val Towill

AMQA Committee

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AMQF

All the Tutors and classes are listed on the website......grab a cuppa and take a look.

www.amqfestival.com.au

Helen Stubbings

Helen lives in Hobart, Tasmania which is the island at the bottom of Australia - she jokingly says she lives at the bottom of the inhabited world. Helen has been quilting since 1995 after completing a 2 year Certificate IV in Needlecraft and before then she was an embroiderer; Helen is the owner of the ever popular Hug's and Kisses. She loves anything at all to do with handwork, embroidery, stitchery, applique and paper piecing which she incorporates into all her designs along with her Colourque®. At the moment Helen's schedule is such that she simply doesn't have the time to do hand quilting although it is something she loves. Helen says she is never short of inspiration, carrying her camera when travelling and uses architecture, history and culture as a starting point. As a mum of three girly girls and a love of gardens there is always something to get those creative juices flowing. Helen loves teaching, which she has been doing since 1996 and her classes are full of entertaining moments as she generously shares her knowledge and techniques. She is very grateful for all the wonderful, interesting people she has met during her teaching career which has taken her all over the world. Although Helen has travelled extensively she loves Australia and would love the time to lay by a pool or on one of our beautiful beaches - not too hot, not too windy. She thinks this could only be enhanced by having a personal butler serving her cocktails, Michael Buble crooning in the corner with nothing to do but lay and listen with needle and thread in hand. She is currently working on some super cute projects and here's a sneak peek.

Kindergarten colouring = grownup masterpiece
4hrs
Hands on colouring

Colour and create your very own ‘Lace’ wholecloth quilt in a day. Using a pre – quilted mini quilt you will learn the colouring technique as used in the award winning quilt Lace#2. Using a variation of Helens’ Colourqué® method you will learn about colouring, blending, sealing and finishing a personal version of a mini wholecloth quilt. You can then use the method to create your very own masterpiece using coloured pencils, your design and quilting skills.

Perfect Gluestick Applique' by machine
2hrs
Hands on DSM

Using Hugs ‘n Kisses Applique paper and a gluepen you cannot get a simpler method to perfecting needleturn applique – by machine.. Class will cover perfect circles, (the bain of all appliquers) points, bias technique and sewing methods. Convert to hand applique if you prefer. We will make the centre of a simple tablerunner in a hands on class.When finished, just wash, semi dissolve and wallah! A work of art with no stress at all…

Iron, Glue, Stitch & Wash - Hexies done Easy
2hrs
Hands on DSM

Iron it on, glue it over, stitch it down, wash it out!!! Hexies done easy….

The look of English Paper piecing by machine. Using Hugs ‘n Kisses iron on precut hexies learn the easiest possible hexie technique adjusted for machine piecing. Make a small table centrepiece in this short informative hands on class. Also see the nifty quick flying geese ruler in action.

Michelle Bouchier

Michelle is located in Greenwith, South Australia and was introduced to needle and thread at the age of three and has been stitching ever since. She started with blanket stitch and has had a continued love of embroidery and hand-work ever since. Serious quilting began in 1998, when she spent a year in Auckland New Zealand as a result of her husband's employment; she was hooked! Michelle's interests in quilting are many and varied. As the mood takes her, she enjoys piecing and appliqué (both hand and machine, blanket-stitch, needle-turn and free-motion). She is currently trying to find enough time to indulge in landscape and pictorial quilts; she has a background in Art and finds this invaluable for her quilt designs and use of colour. Michelle began as a hand quilter but laments how long it takes to complete quilting a quilt in this hot state of ours, and so she ventured into machine quilting. In 2001, a long arm quilting machine was purchased Bloomin' Quilts was born. Michelle loves the diversity of machine quilting and is passionate about educating other quilters and the public about its merits, both edge-to-edge and custom quilting. Her teaching career began informally with the quilting groups she was involved with, and with the encouragement of friends she has ventured into professional teaching. Michelle teaches beginner’s classes as well as original appliqué designs using the vliesofix method or needle-turn. She has also taught dimensional flowers, machine trapunto and machine quilting. Michelle and her family have travelled around Australia and are now enjoying revisiting places, particularly photographing landscapes with the variation in light that different regions possess. Hopefully, this translates into future quilt projects and we have the pleasure of seeing them!

"Bush Blooms" 6 hrs hands on DSM

A vase of Australian wildflowers incorporating the techniques from my quilt Bush Magic 2. Appliqué may be done by hand or machine. We will shade fabric to give dimension to our flowers and create beautiful three dimensional Waratah and Bottlebrush blooms. Includes both hand and machine embroidery.

This class will complete a sampler of the award winning original Bush Magic 2 quilt, that has won a 1st place at the Festival of Quilts, 2013 in Adelaide & has been selected to be hung at AQC in Melbourne, 2014.

Cristyn Merry

Do you own an Intelliquilter or are thinking of getting one? Then don't miss out on the chance to do classes with Cristyn Merry - if there is anything that the IQ can do I'm sure Cristyn knows about it.
Cristyn is originally from Alaska, and currently lives in Colorado. She spent 10 years in Houston, Texas, working in the Space Shuttle Program and learning how to quilt and has been making quilts since 1998 and bought her longarm machine in 2003. In 2007 Cristyn had an IntelliQuilter installed on her longarm and in 2008 became an IQ dealer/installer/instructor. She has been teaching IQ classes at large machine quilting shows in the United States for five years and her favourite style of quilting is currently what is labeled as "modern quilting". Cristyn finds that her style evolves as she learns and because of this she never knows what the future in her quilting may look like. Her inspiration comes from many places, but mostly from blank spaces on quilts. It's those negative spaces that prompt her to think up something new and that's when the magic happens. Cristyn does quilt for customers, but sparingly as her main focus is on installing IQs and teaching new owners how to get the maximum out of their investment. Cristyn gets great pleasure out of the light bulb moments... "OMG I didn't know it could do that"! In addition to teaching at AMQF Cristyn is very much looking forward to learning about the Australian quilting culture and how things are done differently here to the US. She hopes to see as much of Australia as she can - any and all of it including seeing our amazing wildlife.

IQ Masters Class
4 days of 2hr classes
Lecture/demo

Join award-winning IQ quilter and dealer for 4 days of in-depth exploration of the IntelliQuilter system. Learn how to use the powerful features of the IQ to maximum potential. Each session is a pre-requisite for the next. The focus of this class is on custom work with the IQ. Learn how to translate hand-guided work into IQ work, including using the recording feature. Each student is required to have had day-of-installation IQ training and be familiar with the menu system of the IQ. Optional homework will be given for students who bring their tablets or StiQ to AMQF. The homework allows for practice and any questions that arise with homework will be answered in the next session. Bring note-taking materials and camera.

An IQ Master certificate will be awarded at the end of Day 4.

What's New with IQ
2hrs
Lecture

Students will get in-depth information on all the latest tools and how they can work for quilts. This class will cover all new features and releases for the past 12 months. Bring IQ tablets (or equivalent) to class if desired, to help learn the new tools.

Intelligent Pattern Creation
2hrs
Lecture/demo

This class will teach students how to use the IQ to generate beautiful quilting designs using only IQ's pattern generation capabilities, without purchasing a single pattern. Students will learn how to use Path Pattern, Echo Pattern, Fan Pattern, Split Pattern, Smooth Pattern and more to create formal feathers, curved cross-hatching, custom background fills – anything imaginable!

Rachelle Denneny

Rachelle was absent from our teaching panel during AMQF2012 and we are delighted to have her back with us this year. Since her AMQF debut in 2010 Rachelle has won some of the most coveted awards in the quilting world. Rachelle lives in the lovely suburb of Glenelg which is located south west of the city of Adelaide near one of South Australia's most beautiful beaches. She has been quilting for 13 years and has been entering her glorious work into shows since 2006. Rachelle loves all the processes involved in making a quilt but her love of designing and the actual machine quilting of her quilts is her most favourite part. She loves the way the texture of quilting can completely transform a flat piece of fabric and the results never cease to amaze her. Rachelle gets inspiration from many different places and once again architecture features strongly along with textile designs from various countries including India, Japan and the Middle East. Look out for the ideas she is currently exploring influenced by Russian designs. Rachelle has been teaching since 2004 and this has continued up until this day, early on she had to juggle this commitment with the raising of her young family. Her extraordinary talent has been passed on to her 3 children who also regularly enter shows. Rachelle doesn't quilt for others but has not discounted the option of doing a commissioned piece in the future.