BETTY AND STEVE - WINNERS!!!
Every year in SIngapore, all the quilting groups and individuals get together and oranise a huge Quilting Challenge. Each year judges and participants vote for the winner. Last year my friend Suwako won with her stunning Asian Star enty.
This year I was thrilled that the winner was Betty WON the SIngapore Challenge for 2008. Betty is one of my ANZA (Australian New Zealand Association) friends who came on my Tokyo quilt show tour in 2008.
This amazing work here's what Betty told me a obut it:
- First of all, it comprised of 5,185 one inch squares, when sewn they became half inch squares of course.
- My poster that the picture came from, was transformed to a cross stitch pattern by a computer, then each square became a symbol which represented a colour/shade.I used only cotton materials in patterned, plains, tie dyes and often the wrong side of fabrics gave an appropriate colour when needed.
- It required a lot of preparation in counting the symbols in each row, then for the whole quilt. This determined how much material to have for each symbol. The colours had to be sorted in their shades like greens, greys, browns, skin tones etc to determine from light to dark shades.
- Then finding the materials to match all the shades took some time, and then the cutting begins. I cut for a couple of days (with a rotary cutter) of the colours most likely being used a lot, then I cut as needed afterwards.
- All the shades/colours were placed in a clear labelled bag for easy finding, so overall I ended up having 70 shades/colours.I sewed blocks of 100 squares at a time, six across and 8 rows down. It took 2 hours from placing the 100 squares on the board to the finished block. Once I began the sewing it took 3 months to complete the entire picture, that's not sewing on it all day every day either. I made several other things during this time for a break.
- I was quite surprised how fast it went.Halfway down the picture, I had to break away from the order the pattern had set and change the shades, as it was not looking like the poster which I was always referring to. I often spent hours just changing the colours on the board and looking through my peephole to see if it was a close match.
- Finally, to sandwich it with thin wadding and backing material, I used the clear thread and sewed the outlying features of the body and crocodile, then stipling was done in the background."
Not only did Betty WIn the Singapore Quilt challenge, but then the icing on the cake....The other exciting news is that Janice - also ANZA friend and Japan tour participant was a finalist too.
What is really exciting about Janice's work is, that a year ago, Janice did not even consider herself a quilter. WOW what an effort.
If you double-click on the photo you will see the detail on this work. look at the dragonfly on the bottom left hand water-lilly flower.
Of course I couldn't attend this year, but there were SMS's going back and forth during the exhibition and judging function. Betty sent one....."I won!" which I didn't see till I looked for a response from one I'd sent Janice - to check if Betty had won.
I didn't hear till later that Janice won too - she was too modest to tell me as I was SMSing her about Betty.
Well ladies, I'm so proud of you, and think that you are brilliant quilters - I'm honoured that I've shared this time with you and seen your development, I'm also proud of your perserverence and to win was just fabulous. What an honour ....
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