As of this week, Eastwood Patchwork Quilters has a new meeting place. You will now find us at the West Ryde Anglican Church Hall at our usual meeting times (which you can see in the Membership tab at the top of the page).
New members are always welcome, to be put in touch with a convenor use the Contact Us tab above.
Scrolling through Instagram recently, I spotted a lot of chat about a great new publication from Express Magazines. the cover caused me some interest as I recognised the quilt as being made by an EPQ member.
Congratulations to Maureen Teager on being the front cover girl for this new magazine/book Inspired by Vintage Quilts. Maureen’s stunning quilt Tribute to Gilly’s Find is published in beautiful colour and with full instructions.
You should be able to pick up a copy at your local newsagency or a digital copy online from Zinio.
Click here to visit the group’s website.
Quilts in the Barn have released their flyer for the 2014 event. Special guests are Brenda Papadakis (Dear Jane) and Patty Harants (the Wickersham Signature Quilt)
If you are interested, you will need to register quickly for their workshops.
The Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair is on this year July 9-13 at a new venue, Sydney Exhibition Centre at Glebe Island.
Some quilters have been asking about the new venue and how it will work. Here’s the latest from Expertise Events:
News on Darling Harbour Redevelopment
In 2014 Expertise Events will be moving their events previously held at Darling Harbour to the NEW Sydney Expo site at Glebe Island whilst the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is redeveloped over the next three years.
The specially designed temporary venue at Glebe Island will allow us to create a whole new opportunity to deliver our events in a brand new premium harbourside setting!
There is some great news for visitors; who will have the option of free public transport from various city locations, loads more parking onsite and it will be cheaper!
Fast facts:
Some dates to add to your diary, for more information go to Expertise Events
The Creative Textile Show in Canberra on May2-4 is a new one this year and is a welcome replacement for the textile art show that was previously in Brisbane. An easy drive to Canberra from Sydney!
Have you been watching the Winter Olympics in Sochi? The bravery and skill of the athletes amazes me, no way would you catch me hurtling down a mountain head first on what looks like a travel ironing board!
But, I am really loving seeing patchwork everywhere through the games. On the banners, the competitor’s vests and all types of signage. 
The designs are, of course, based on a patchwork quilt. The designers, Bosco, wanted a design that would reflect the traditions of the Russian culture and reflect the ideals of the Olympic Games.
They stated “they had a wealth of choices to represent Russia’s rich diversity, but in the end we settled on something familiar, warm and welcoming: the patchwork quilt”. Patterns in the quilt pieces were taken from fabrics, ceramics, folk art painting and clothing.
Its fantastic to see quilts being used in such a high profile way, maybe it will encourage a few others to take up this traditional art form.
The official Sochi.ru website shows the patterns that were used to derive the designs, there is a sliding bar that links with images of the patterns that link to information about each pattern and photos showing the location of the patterns in the banners. Its well worth a look. Click here to be taken to the site. Then click on Look of the Games.
You may remember the previous post on Karen Nyberg, the NASA astronaut who took her patchwork into space with her. 
Karen has now issued a challenge to quilters worldwide to create a star block to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the Houston International Quilt Festival.
To read more about Karen’s challenges trying to stitch in space, follow this link. There is a great YouTube clip of Karen talking about her difficulties completing her 9×9 block.
Eastwood Patchwork Quilters Inc. 