Introducing Kathy Tidswell

Kathy Tidswell is a remarkable quilter.  Her workshops are so varied and unique, and that is reflected in her  breathtaking gallery of quilts.  Kathy is  down to earth and her students adore her classes, so much so that she was CQA/ACC's Teacher of the Year in 2005.  Interviewing her was just like sitting down  for a cup of coffee with a good friend.

Please tell us a little about yourself outside of your quilting career.
My two children are grown and out of the house.  My daughter lives in Norwich England and my son in Stratford Ontario, so visiting isn't as  frequent as I might like. My husband has his own business repairing scientific equipment and travels quite a bit. I enjoy going with him when I can spare the time. There is never a problem entertaining myself while he is working. There are always museums, art shows, quilt shops and even shopping. We also enjoy travelling when he isn't working.
My dad is 90 and still lives in his own home about 100 km away. I try to spend a day a week with him making meals etc. We have a large property and a house that was built in 1784 so there is always work to be done. I enjoy gardening and we have just started a new rose garden.

How do you come up with an idea of a quilt and getting that onto fabric?

The design idea for a quilt often takes  longer than the execution. I muse on ideas, consider and also try different techniques to accomplish what I want to do. I prefer finished edges and often create a lot of extra work for myself.

Ode to Vulpes vulpes

This wall quilt was juried into the 2006 Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Grand National themed exhibition "Wildlife".

Many of your quilts have animals in them, why is that?

Animals are a source of inspiration for me. I was trained as a biologist and I gravitate towards all things in nature and the great outdoors.

Great Horned Owl

3D Thread Applique

You have mastered the art of both 3D Thread Applique and Thread Painting, can you define the difference between the two?

 I consider 3D Thread applique a subset of Thread Painting. The 3D thread appliques are made using just one technique. I have developed the technique on my own. You can never really "discover" something new because someone else will  have already developed it but I didn't find the technique in a book or anything. I just started making birds because I felt that the stitches really looked like feathers. In order to write notes for my first class, I had to keep going back to the sewing machine to see what I actually had done. I have considered writing a book and the idea is appealing, but the fact that it consumes your life for up to two years has held me back.

Serenity

Thread Painted

What are some of your favourite aspects of quilting? 

I really enjoy teaching. It is very fulfilling to give students some tools and watch them fly. I have taught the last 5 summers at the edVentures vacation summer learning program in Fredericton and my "away" teaching seems to come in fits and starts. At QC 2012 I taught 4 full day courses and gave a professional development course so that was pretty hectic. My husband has just built, in our house,  a teaching studio that will accommodate 6 students. He has recently given me a "dig" that I have not yet used it. This coming fall is quite hectic, so I have not yet organized a series of classes, but I envision having a block of 4 or 6 classes where students could build upon the knowledge gained each week and have time to practice at home.

Majestica

This wall quilt was juried into the CQA/ACC National Juried Show in St. John's, Nfld. 2008

Wearable Art  at the NJS is not one of the  popular categories to enter, can you give the readers some encouragement on this?
I find entering National Juried Shows to be stressful. I put a lot of pressure on myself when making a piece that I want to be worthy of a show. I think that that is just a personality trait. I want to enter the shows but I certainly don't find it relaxing. I enjoy creating "one of a kind" garments. Years ago I saw things from the Fairfield fashion show and decided they were suitable only for the fashion runway. I decided I wanted to make unique garments that could be worn in a normal setting, so that is why I have gravitated to Wearable Art in the NJS. It is certainly no more difficult than making a quilt.

How often do you get into your studio/quilting space?

 I try to get in my sewing room at least 3 times a week.  I produce thread paintings that are framed and sold at a gallery  and arts and crafts sales, so I spend more time working on these than on quilts.

Bank Machine Blues

What are some highlights in your quilting career? 

I was pretty excited when I got the phone call that I had been accepted to teach at my first Quilt Canada back in 2000 but the highlight of my quilting career has definitely been receiving the CQA/ACC Teacher of the Year Award in 2005.  I am  also quite excited about being invited to teach in Luxembourg this fall.

What is your favourite food to keep you quilting these masterpieces?
At a meal I love prime rib roast beef, and as a snack unsalted peanuts.

We look forward to hearing more about Kathy's 'in house' classes.  No doubt they will be popular!

Trend-Tex 2013 Challenge

 CQA/ACC's biggest fundraiser could not happen without the generous people at Trend-Tex Fabrics who donate all the fabric for our Trend-Tex Challenge.   Did you know that this is the 25th anniversary of the Trend-Tex Challenge?   How fun would it be to look back on the past 25 years of challenges and see all the different fabric this wonderful company has donated to CQA/ACC?
This year's theme is 'Sunshine and Vines'.  Very appropriate for the Quilt BC conference being held in Penticton in May 2013.

Come October 1st, members can send in their payment and receive 5 fat quarters of fabric donated by Trend-Tex Fabrics.  Next they create a fabulous wall hanging following the guidelines set out by Vice President Judy Kelly.   The completed quilt is then dropped  in the mail by the due date, and auctioned off at the conference.

Do you want a sneak peak of the fabrics chosen for the next Trend-Tex Challenge?

Do these fabrics not scream creativity and imagination?   Get out your pen and sketch pad and get designing your quilt. You may be the next Trend-Tex Challenge winner!

If you want to get some inspiration, check out previous Trend-Tex Challenges here.

Trend-Tex Challenge Winner - Lise Belanger

Meet Professional Member - Pamela Allen

Pamela Allen is one of those rare quilters that sticks with you.   We all have different tastes when it comes to quilts, but Ms. Allen creates such works of art that no matter your quilting preference, you can't help but remember her quilts.  That is a true gift.   Not only that, but this quilter can inspire her students.  Having been fortunate enough to take a workshop with her, I know that Pamela is a motivating and very patient instructor.  

Tell us a little about yourself. 

I live in Kingston, a small university city on Lake Ontario . Lucky me....I married my professor of painting when I had returned to university for a BFA in my thirties.  As a result, I have acquired 16 grand and great grandchildren which makes for a lively family life!  I am on the cusp of becoming a bona fide senior citizen next year. The most significant element of this is that I will finally have a small, reliable income in the form of old age pension.  Who knew I would welcome THAT particular milestone?  When I am not working in my studio, I am reading, or cooking/baking, or cycling, or tracking family members for our Family Tree.

My Town Markey Square

What got you into quilting?

Haha!  It certainly wasn't any skill I had as a seamstress!  As a full time painter and sometime collage artist, it occurred to me that some of my images would work well in fabric.  In fact a friend who IS a quilter, made a beautiful wall piece based on a collage I had done in coloured and patterned paper.  I was still hesitant because of my abysmal sewing, but at the same time discovered my hero, Susan Shie.  Her work was all about what fabric can do as an art medium, and not about perfect stitching, quilting or binding.  After spending a week at her Art Camp in Ohio, I was hooked.  I have been working in textiles exclusively since 2001 and loving it.

Is there a technique in quilting you are passionate about?

I am not so much a technique person, as I am passionate about creating FINE art in the fabric medium. To me that means taking advantage of all the characteristics of fabric to make a unique and recognizable art piece. Those characteristics such as the fact that it frays, it comes in delicious patterns and colours, you can scrunch it, pleat it, fold it, and dye it. You can cut it up and reassemble it into a new form or design.  The possibilities are infinite once you give yourself permission to try anything. This of course is the definition of creativity anyway, no matter what the medium.

What are some of your favourite things about quilting?    

Very quickly I discovered that quilting and particularly art quilting is a huge sisterhood (with a few brothers), who are eager to mentor, give technical assistance and offer  advice.  Furthermore there are many, many opportunities for a professional fabric artist to enter juried shows, international shows, and museum shows. As a corollary, becoming active in the shows brings offers to teach.  I love teaching, and find it stimulating for my own work as well as a way to meet and enjoy fellow companions in the field.  I was honoured this year to receive the Teacher of the Year Award by the International Association of Professional Quilters.  Although I am not a member of a guild, I do keep in touch with literally thousands of fellow quilters online by belonging to the quiltart list and Studio Art QuiltsAssociation.    I also offer three or four online quilt workshops each year. 

A Rather Attractive Prison

Does anything frustrate you when it comes to quilting?

Hmmm, alas it now seems I have a bit of a reputation about the issue of judging art quilts.  Many times I have posted or written letters about art quilts being judged using the same strict  criteria as bed quilts.  I believe the two are apples and oranges. Art quilts should be viewed and judged as would a painting for instance. Based on the artistic merit, design, composition etc., and not on whether the stitching is even, or if there are knots on the back! I liken it to an art judge criticizing a painting because the staples are not evenly distributed on the stretcher frame!  I'm not sure I have convinced anybody yet though!

Neutral Still Life

What is your next quilt related goal?

Well jokingly I refer to myself as a "quilt show slut" because I enter so many shows. There is some rationale to this strategy.  I make a lot of new work each year and want as many people to see them as possible. Also I am aiming for a higher and higher level of acceptance.   For years I dutifully try for Quilt National and Visions quilt shows, as they are considered the crème de la crème of fabric venues. So far, no luck with the former but I have had ONE quilt shown at Visions. So I guess one of my goals is to be accepted at Quilt National.

As an artist my ongoing goal is simply to get better, and not be satisfied with what has gone before. In some cases this has meant changing my style somewhat, or changing my palette, or subject matter, or even scale.  These experiments keep me on my creative toes so to speak, and interested in what I am doing. They are not always successful or even liked by some viewers, but art-making is risk taking and living with the consequences.  Otherwise work can become mundane and boring. Right now I am working in a limited palette of fairly monochromatic colours. Quite different from my usual in-your-face brightness. Also I am exploring landscape, cityscape, and interiors rather more than my former figure compositions.

What is your favourite food to eat while quilting?

What a great question. And furthermore, very a propos as I am a BIG food person. I snack on frozen treats, mixed nuts, chocolate, toast and cheese.  But never when I am working. My husband says I am an accident waiting to happen and if I ate while I worked, food spills would be part of the "surface design" on my fabrics.

Nocturne Brewers Mills

We certainly look forward to following Pamela's career as she continues on her journey!

How Far Can You Stitch Challenge!

Did you know that there are 307,929,600 inches across Canada via the Trans Canada Highway?  This is from St. John’s Newfoundland to Victoria British Columbia.

Why would I tell you that in inches, when I could just say it is 7821 km from one end of Canada to the other?

It is because we are quilters, and we know our inches!   Especially if we are being challenged to measure the perimeter of all our finished quilts from September 1, 2012 until February 28, 2012.   

We are asking all our member guilds and individual members to join us and see if we can quilt enough inches in six months to get us right across Canada.   

For details on specifics and where to send your inches to, please go to our website. 

CQA/ACC will be keeping you informed on exactly where we are on that highway of quilting!   You can check back here for regular updates.

Sign Up a Friend Contest

Are you watching the Olympics?   The drama and competition is so exciting.   I have something equally thrilling to share with you, it is our 'Sign Up a Friend Contest'.

This contest runs until December 31, 2012.   For you dedicated CQA/ACC members, all you have to do is sign up a new member, and you and the new member have a chance to win a free membership for a year!   If you sign up the most new members, then you can win an OLFA 23in. x 70in. self healing Rotary Mat Clip Set (value $155.49).

For all the details, go to our website.

Get out there and tell your friends about all the great benefits of CQA/ACC, and they will be begging you to sign them up!

If you want to get active in the Olympics, check out this  site for great ideas for Quilt Olympics for you and your friends!

A New Welcome

Welcome to the new CQA/ACC blog. Our Conference Blog  has produced so many blooms that we are planting this new blog,  Canadian Quilting CQA/ACC.

This blog will be concentrating on what's happening in Canadian Quilting. And, yes, our beloved, Jackie White will continue to bring all that to you..

And Now Here'zzz Jackie!




Hi Everyone!


 I am really excited to show you what quilting in Canada is all about.   


I already have interviews lined up with some super famous  quilters from Canada!   As well, we will talk about what goes on for Canadians in the online world of quilting and  the upcoming contests and challenges CQA/ACC is offering.  


The blog is to encourage and promote quilting in Canada.   Everything nowadays has some component of online access and this was thought to be a great way to reach quilters right across the country to let them know on a weekly basis what is happening.  While we are just getting started we have some big plans for this blog, so sign up now to get in at the ground floor! 


Our Conference blog, as mentioned above will keep you right up to date on our yearly quilt conferences that happen around the country.   Here you will be able to get information on where the next conference is, teachers and their workshops, all the concurrent quilt shows, lodging suggestions and the most current news on the conference.


So please hit the follow button and enjoy the ride Canada!

QUILT BC 2013 UPDATE

Hi!

Just wanted to jump in and tell you we have added a new page to our blog.   One you have all been waiting for, The Day at a Glance for Quilt BC 2013!  This page is so helpful as it gives you an overview of the whole conference.

More super exciting news, we have just released who the teachers are and what fabulous workshops they are teaching at the conference.     You are going to want to check it out, so you can start thinking what you would like to take when registration opens!

By Laine Canivet.

This piece won 'Viewers' Choice' at the local quilt store. Everyone was given a different tin can to use as their inspiration for a fabric piece.