When I have time to stop and create, I look for Genres that I love but I’ve not had the time to work through.

I have two new books that have given me some inspiration. The are the first to arrive out of 6 new interests.

Slow Stitch by Clare Wellesley Smith and Stitch and Structure by Jean Draper.

Slow stitch is a fascinating book. I’ve actually worked quite a lot in this genre, but it was  some time ago. Now its time to re-visit. I’ve been collecting vintage and antique textiles for many years now. Its time to use them.

This book is beautifully presented and it has some stunning images. I love Kantha Quilting, and I over a dozen vintage Kantha quilts. In reality, this is similar. use old fabrics and make something useful and new.

At an event once I showed a very old vintage quilt that I had purchased and a lady down the front put her hand over her mouth and said “She must be blind”

Well, I guess we all see beauty and use in the things that interest us. My favourite quilt find is a very old quilt filled with raw cotton and made from bright orange fabric and feed sacks. I actually put a new border of vintage feed sacks on it to make it last just a little longer. I sit under it every day.  Maybe I am blind, but I adore that old quilt.

I bought 3 sets of these sleeves that have been cut from Hmong costumes. They simply cut the sleeves off and sell them. Its sad, but great for me. I have several trunks of them.

I bought these in Chiang Mai this year. These are the wonderful textiles I will share with you on our next tour to Thailand.

They are stitched and coloured by hand and the cross stitch is minute. I just love them.

The other book is Stitch and Structure and the technique is very similar to the exhibition of Baskets at Art Gallery of South Australia, Taranathi  a contemporary Aboriginal Experience. I’m not sure I can do it, but its a wonderful book.

RIVERLAND: YVONNE KOOLMATRIE

I’m creating a quilt using found fabrics from Guatemala.

The girl is one of my photos printed on fabric. The background fabric is hand woven, and dyed in Antigua.

Today I sandwiched the quilt and began to stitch the portrait.

Now I  can begin some of the hand quilting and adding the other small pieces of Textile Art I’ve already completed.