As though five days of classes from 9am until 4.30pm wasn't enough to fill in your days, Symposium also offered lectures during lunch times and in the evenings. I attended three lectures and they were all great. First up was Luke Haynes from USA. He explained how he's made 50 black, white and red log cabin quilts from recycled textiles / clothing! Each one is different, and they form part of a study he's put together. Luke loves using recycled textiles for his quilts. This is Luke's quilt in the Tutors' Exhibition. Although Luke didn't bring his Bernie Sanders quilt along, it is probably my favourite quilt of his. I love the blue background and how it moves before my eyes. It's interesting to now know that the background is made from recycled fabrics. (I've started saving my husband's old shirts for future quilts.) Luke's technique of putting images of people on quilts is very clever. Sometimes he plays with vanishing points and the images of people seem to rise up as you walk in front of the quilt. I also went to hear my lovely friend Michele Hill speak about how she came to design quilts and write a book about Beatrix Potter. Michele is so humble, and so grateful for all the good things that have come her way in life. It's such a pity she has to give up teaching for health reasons. Finally I went to Jacquie Gering's lecture. I was quite surprised to hear that Jacquie has only been quilting for 10 years. Although she's been a "maker" all her life, she only started quilting relatively recently. These photos aren't very good, but they give you an idea of the types of quilts that Jacquie makes. I did note that she uses black alot - like me! Jacquie is best know as a modern quilter, and chair of the Modern Quilt Guild. She has recently written a great book called "Walk - Master machine quilting with your walking foot". After seeing the samples my friends made in Jacquie's classes at symposium, and listening to her lecture, I came home and got out Jacquie's book again for another read. It means so much more once you've met the author and heard them talk about their quilting. So, three great lectures from inspirational quilters.
