Chris Timmins

One of my favourite photos from past retreats is of Chris in the swimming pool with glass of wine, giving instructions to a student who is bending over their quilt beside the pool (it’s shown below). Not that you should get the impression that she doesn’t take her teaching seriously – she is an exceptionally dedicated tutor – but she also believes that a retreat of this sort should be enjoyed to its utmost. So come and jump in with her, and enjoy her enthusiastic embrace of every aspect of the week. This will be the third time Chris has taught workshops in Fiji, and it’s a great workshop for all levels.

The Course

Patchwork and quilting have always been her passion and she is well known for her vibrant bargello designs. The design Twisted Bargello was the start of her journey to designing, tutoring and selling patterns. The pattern for Twisted Bargello is one of Chris’s most popular patterns, selling especially well in the USA and Canada.

Chris uses a variety of rulers and has developed quick easy methods to create exciting designs for many quilts. As an ex teacher she is well trained in teaching a number of students several different projects and so she is capable and happy to teach a variety of quilts in her workshops.

Hunters Star

During the week in Fiji, you can create one of the many designs that she has developed using a variety of rulers. Moroccan Tile and Water Wheel are made using the Jewel Gem ruler. The Civil War Stars uses the Rapid Hunter Star ruler. The X Block ruler can be used to design many different exciting quilts.

You may also like to create one of the exciting Bargello quilts or her Take 6 design. The choice of quilt you can make is endless.

To view the many designs you can select to make go to Chris’s website www.christimmins.com – and have a look at her brief descriptions of each one below.

Take Six

Chris Timmins

Chris started off her quilting as a teacher of textiles to High School students, and has influenced many quilt makers. Since retiring from school teaching, Chris’ life has taken a new direction and she now travels around Australia teaching the rich array of designs she has developed. Her greatest pleasure is that she has introduced so many people, especially teenagers, to the art of quilt making.

Chris is also involved in the Misty Mountain Getaway held in Dorrigo each year in September. “I have taught students aged from 10 years old to 85 and I realise that, no matter how old you are, being creative and producing a finished quilt is an achievement. The excitement of my students’ faces brings me a lot of pride in their achievements.”

Some of the quilts

Bargello

Bargello: Bargello is a simple strip piecing patchwork technique that can be used to create exciting, spectacular designs from a range of colours or shades to produce a gradual colour value change of exciting patterns. Students will learn to design their own Bargello quilt or can complete the design featured. Some preparation is required prior to the workshop.

Rapid Hunter Star: This quilt s made using Deb Tuckers Rapid Hunters Star Ruler system. It is great way of using up scraps or special feature fabrics.
Each block consists of two triangles, two trapezoids and four star points.

Jewel Gem : A new workshop using rulers designed by Cheryl Phillips from USA that Chris has been given permission to teach. Using pentagons and decagon create a centre circle (115cm), which can be used to make a larger quilt. Many designs available. All participants will need to purchase the rulers.
A fun exciting quilt.

X Block: The X-block tool can be used to make dynamic quilt designs. The designs start with nine blocks or strips of fabric and can produce a variety of different designs.

Take 6: Create a strip quilt using just 6 fabrics. Many great designs can be created from

Take 6

sewing the strips into sets, and then by cutting triangles, squares or 60-degree sections. Quick fast quilt top, which could be finished in a day. Some preparation is required prior to the workshop.

Programme

The programme is structured around morning workshops with afternoon excursions or free time to relax, swim have a spa massage or simply continue quilting. We may alter the programme in response to the weather or the interest of the group.
Sat Jun 9
Arrive Fiji.
Overnight in Nadi.

Sun Jun 10
Fly to Savusavu.You will be greeted with a traditional Fijian welcoming ceremony.
Morning / early afternoon workshop: an introduction to the week.
Late afternoon: free to relax.
7.30 Dinner

Mon Jun 11
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
After lunch you will have some free time for snorkelling, swimming and relaxing. Or there’s an optional visit to town, visiting the geothermal hot springs, local market and shops.
7.30 Dinner

Tue Jun 12
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
2.00 Tapa (decorate bark cloth) making demonstration.
7.30 Dinner

Wed Jun 13
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
In the afternoon we will have a boat or beach outing.

Chris giving instruction to Jenny from the pool

7.30 Dinner

Thu Jun 14
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
Afternoon free
7.30 Dinner

Fri Jun 15
Morning workshop.
12.30 Lunch
7.30 Dinner
Finish individual projects; end with show and tell. Afternoon visit to Vivili village for traditional meke (dance)
Final lovo dinner.

Sat Jun 16 Leave Savusavu and on to international flights.

Costs:

AUD $2,980.00 twin share including flights ex-Sydney / Brisbane
Single supplement: $350
Non-painting partners: $1050 (international flight not included)

Program Includes
Return international flights from Sydney / Brisbane.
Return domestic flight from Nadi to Savusavu.
Return airport transfers from Savusavu to Daku Resort.
7 nights accommodation at Daku Resort in traditional bures with private facilities.
Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are provided.
Course fees.
Lectures and excursions as indicated.

Program Excludes
Comprehensive Travel Insurance.
Optional activities not listed on the program.
Costs of a personal nature such as laundry, massages, private trips.
Meals taken in transit at the airport.

Lessa has been entranced by the symmetry and balance of traditional quilts since she began making them. She plays with different blends of colours and experiments with background space within the boundaries of the mariners compass design, and her fractured circles are a fabulous mixture of whirling colours.

Her workshops are lively mixtures of technique, creative discussion and of course the sheer joy of sharing stories over a quilt. She will help you grasp the intricacies of each design with ease. Her many years of experience as a teacher has led her to develop a multitude of tips to achieve accuracy when piecing leading to easier assembly of pieced blocks in the final quilt. Students are invariably encouraged to achieve higher than their expectations through her patient and trusting approach. Her aim is for a stress free workshop which is fun while learning something new.

The course:
Lessa will teach traditional machine piecing for Fractured Circles and paper foundation piecing for the Mariner’s Compass. Students have a choice of one of these classes. Notes will be provided to both help during the course and when home to complete anything not finished. You will need to bring basic sewing supplies, fabric and a sewing machine (a very basic one is all that is needed – maybe even consider finding a second hand one). You will receive a list of materials to bring along with you.

Lessa Siegele is from Adelaide SA and has been actively involved in the Quilters Guild of South Australia since its inception in 1984 and is a Life Member. Her desire to spread the joy of quilting as widely as possible led her to establish Quilt Encounter an annual 6 day live in conference, which has been fully booked each year. In a voluntary capacity she has successfully managed this conference which features up to14 tutors from differing quilting disciplines for the past 19 years since its inception. As a well known quilt maker, teacher and judge she regularly travels throughout Australia teaching machine-piecing and traditional quilting. She has also taught in the USA and New Zealand.

Lessa was awarded an OAM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2002 for services to the art of quilt making as a teacher and to the community through fund-raising. This award recognizes her enthusiasm to organize and involve as many people as possible in furthering the art and craft of quiltmaking and her long involvement in coordinating highly successful fundraising activities for various charitable institutions in South Australia. Lessa was also presented with the Rajah Award at the Australian Quilt Convention in Melbourne in February 2007 for her Outstanding Contribution to Australian Quilting.

Programme
The programme is structured around morning workshops with afternoon excursions or free time to relax, swim have a spa massage or simply continue quilting. We may alter the programme in response to the weather or the interest of the group.

Saturday 2 June
Arrive Fiji – overnight in Nadi

Sunday 3  June
Fly to Savusavu.
You will be greeted with a traditional Fijian welcoming ceremony.
Morning / early afternoon workshop: an introduction to the week.
Late afternoon: free to relax.
7.30pm: Dinner

Monday 4 June
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
After lunch you will have some free time for snorkelling, swimming and relaxing. Or there’s an optional visit to town, visiting the geothermal hot springs, local market and shops.
7.30pm: Dinner

Tuesday 5 June
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
2.00pm: Tapa (decorate bark cloth) making demonstration.
7.30pm: Dinner

Wednesday 6 June
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
In the afternoon we will have a boat or beach outing.
7.30pm: Dinner

Thursday 7 June
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
Afternoon free
7.30pm: Dinner

Friday 8 June
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
7.30pm: Dinner
Finish individual projects; end with show and tell. Afternoon visit to Vivili village for traditional meke (dance).
Final lovo dinner.

Saturday 9 June
Leave Savusavu and on to international flights.

Cost: $2980 twin share.
Includes flights ex Sydney / Brisbane, domestic flight Nadi – Savusavu, airport transfers fro Savusavu airport, 7 nights’ accommodation, all meals, course fees and excursions as listed.
$350 single supplement.

If you wish to book your own flights to Nadi, the course is $2180 twin share.
Partners welcome: $1050 (not including international flight)

Make a Booking

Gloria Loughman teaches Light up your Landscape : a class that is easy to master and of interest to quilters of all abilities. Light is one of the most powerful tools that an artist can use in a composition. Fusing small squares, rectangles or diamonds of fabric, students can build up a landscape background that is full of light, contrasts and drama.

Over the week, Gloria will show you how to choose the subject, what aspect to focus on, how to make it come alive, and where to begin. She will then guide you through the process, looking at how to translate what you see into an image in textiles.

Design principles including perspective and focal point will be outlined and a variety of ways of choosing colour schemes will be discussed.  Techniques including fusing, invisible machine appliqué, free motion stitching and quilting techniques will be included.

You will need to bring basic sewing supplies and a sewing machine, and she will supply hand dyed fabrics, fabrics to paint and the paint.

Gloria Loughman lives by the sea, on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria.

She has been teaching patchwork classes for many years and enjoys sharing her knowledge and skills with others. She likes to challenge students to design their own quilts but is also happy to provide patterns for those less confident. Her classes are very popular with lots of students coming back.. She has also travelled extensively overseas teaching classes in New Zealand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa, and Japan.

Over the years she has dabbled in many areas including strip piecing, bargello, colourwash, fabric dyeing and painting, and machine embroidery After completing some studies in design and colour as part of a Diploma of Art in 1996, she began to make her large vivid landscape quilts depicting the Australian bush. Most of the textiles used have been hand dyed or painted and feature extensive machine embroidery. These quilts have won many major awards in Australia, Europe, Japan and the United States. Her quilt ‘Kimberley Mystique’ was the winner of Australia’s most prestigious national quilting award in 2003.

She has also curated eight exhibitions of Australian quilts to the United States and have had the privilege of judging at many major shows. She has had a number of solo exhibitions, including an invitation to exhibit at the prestigious NEC Show in Birmingham, UK. Her book, Luminous Landscapes, was released by C&T in January 2007, and her second book, Quilted Symphony, came out in January 2010.

Programme
The programme is structured around morning workshops with afternoon excursions or free time to relax, swim have a spa massage or simply continue quilting. We may alter the programme in response to the weather or the interest of the group.
Saturday 11 August
Arrive Fiji.
Overnight in Nadi.

Sunday 12 August
Fly to Savusavu. You will be greeted with a traditional Fijian welcoming ceremony.
Morning / early afternoon workshop: an introduction to the week.
Late afternoon: free to relax.
7.30pm: Dinner

Monday 13 August
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
After lunch you will have some free time for snorkelling, swimming and relaxing. Or there’s an optional visit to town, visiting the geothermal hot springs, local market and shops.
7.30pm: Dinner

Tuesday 14 August
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
2.00pm: Tapa (decorate bark cloth) making demonstration.
7.30pm: Dinner

Wednesday 15 August
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
In the afternoon we will have a boat or beach outing.
7.30pm: Dinner

Thursday 16 August
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
Afternoon free
7.30pm: Dinner

Friday 17 August
Morning workshop.
12.30pm: Lunch
7.30pm: Dinner
Finish individual projects; end with show and tell.
Afternoon visit to Vivili village for traditional meke (dance)
Final lovo dinner.

Saturday 18 August
Leave Savusavu and on to international flights.

Cost: $2980 twin share.
Includes flights ex Sydney / Brisbane, domestic flight Nadi – Savusavu, airport transfers from Savusavu airport, 7 nights’ accommodation, all meals, course fees and excursions as listed.
$350 single supplement.

If you wish to book your own flights to Nadi, the course is $2180 twin share.

Partners welcome: $1050 (not including international flight)

Program Excludes

Comprehensive Travel Insurance.

Optional activities not listed on the program.

Costs of a personal nature such as laundry, massages, private trips.

Meals taken in transit at the airport.

» Make a Booking

Read more about Gloria’s last quilt retreat at Daku Resort, plus pictures of work created by some quilters, at our blog. Daku Resort Blog »

More of Gloria’s work
Click on the picture to see a larger image.