Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Healthy New Year
It has been a year full of ups and downs for me. I think the most surprising moment was winning the National Quilt Championships at Sandown, in June, with my christening gown. When Vicky from Grosvenor telephoned me to tell me, you could have knocked me down with a feather. Nick and I had a great day at Sandown Racecourse when he escorted me to pick up the trophies and a brand new Bernina sewing machine, which is now my pride and joy.
The most satisfying of all the prizes I was lucky enough to be awarded this year, was the Visitors' Choice Award for my wallhanging ('Wax Lyrical') at 'Quilts in the Garden' which had been moved to the Uttoxeter Racecourse at the last minute. I had no idea that I had won anything until the parcel arrived back home, slightly larger than usual. It revealed a silver salver and an envelope containing a cheque from the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers, one of the sponsors of the exhibition. What an amazing surprise and one that I am sure every quilter would love to win - the approval of their peers.
Unfortunately, not all has gone well as the book I was writing, is no more. Sadly, Country Bumpkin Publications, as it was, went into liquidation earlier in the year and although it has been bought out by a member of the existing staff and the two magazines are still being published, there are no current plans to publish a book on the scale of mine. All my work has been returned, apart from a couple of projects which will appear in future editions of Inspirations magazine. I wish them well for the future and hope that some time soon, they will be able to expand a little more to include some book titles.
My health hasn't been too good either. In fact there was a short period when I did wonder if I would ever quilt again, as I watched my fingers curl up and loose all their strength. Fortunately, I was quickly diagnosed with a form of arthritis, which is now being kept under control with medication and my quilting stitches have returned to normal. I have no idea what the future holds, so I am just enjoying doing my own thing and making some different and unusual projects which just interest me.
Next year looks to be an exciting one. I have several workshops and talks, both locally and in the London area, in the Spring and then in June, I will be teaching at the Quilters' Guild Region 13 Residential Weekend at Stirling University. I have also just received confirmation that I will be teaching an Academy workshop at the Festival of Quilts on Sunday 14th August (keep an eye on the Twisted Thread website http://www.twistedthread.com/ ) for details.
There will be several articles coming out in 'Workbox' magazine over the year and one or two projects in 'Fabrications' magazine, one of which is a feminine version of the 'Out of the Shadows...' waistcoat, which was so admired when it was on show at the Grosvenor Autumn Shows. Thank you to all those who took the trouble to write to me to let me know how much they like it.
I wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and look forward to meeting up with many more of you next year.
Jacquie
The most satisfying of all the prizes I was lucky enough to be awarded this year, was the Visitors' Choice Award for my wallhanging ('Wax Lyrical') at 'Quilts in the Garden' which had been moved to the Uttoxeter Racecourse at the last minute. I had no idea that I had won anything until the parcel arrived back home, slightly larger than usual. It revealed a silver salver and an envelope containing a cheque from the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers, one of the sponsors of the exhibition. What an amazing surprise and one that I am sure every quilter would love to win - the approval of their peers.
Unfortunately, not all has gone well as the book I was writing, is no more. Sadly, Country Bumpkin Publications, as it was, went into liquidation earlier in the year and although it has been bought out by a member of the existing staff and the two magazines are still being published, there are no current plans to publish a book on the scale of mine. All my work has been returned, apart from a couple of projects which will appear in future editions of Inspirations magazine. I wish them well for the future and hope that some time soon, they will be able to expand a little more to include some book titles.
My health hasn't been too good either. In fact there was a short period when I did wonder if I would ever quilt again, as I watched my fingers curl up and loose all their strength. Fortunately, I was quickly diagnosed with a form of arthritis, which is now being kept under control with medication and my quilting stitches have returned to normal. I have no idea what the future holds, so I am just enjoying doing my own thing and making some different and unusual projects which just interest me.
Next year looks to be an exciting one. I have several workshops and talks, both locally and in the London area, in the Spring and then in June, I will be teaching at the Quilters' Guild Region 13 Residential Weekend at Stirling University. I have also just received confirmation that I will be teaching an Academy workshop at the Festival of Quilts on Sunday 14th August (keep an eye on the Twisted Thread website http://www.twistedthread.com/ ) for details.
There will be several articles coming out in 'Workbox' magazine over the year and one or two projects in 'Fabrications' magazine, one of which is a feminine version of the 'Out of the Shadows...' waistcoat, which was so admired when it was on show at the Grosvenor Autumn Shows. Thank you to all those who took the trouble to write to me to let me know how much they like it.
I wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and look forward to meeting up with many more of you next year.
Jacquie
