Wouldn’t you know it! After we had sold some of our ‘Expanse’ quilts, Katanning Regional Gallery sent a request to exhibit the Expanse set. We always have plenty of ideas so, with a little more stitching, we will rebuild a 16 piece quilt set for the Gallery. We will advertise the dates of the exhibit, when firm, via this blog. In the meantime, here is some eye candy.
Conical Hill, Lake Ballard by Roberta Chantler
As covid has disrupted our exhibition plan, we have decided to make quilts from the Expanse set available for sale via the web. Inquiries to wainspiredquilters@gmail.com
Prices include postage within Australia. We will run a series of ‘for sale’ posts, one for each of our members. Scroll down to see the entire quilt set – you are welcome to inquire about any
Indian Ocean/Ningaloo Reef, by Pat Forster, each piece 78cm x 38cm, the pair $200. 
Our Expanse quilts were deinstalled from City of Perth Library last week. The quilt set was to be exhibited in Katanning Regional Gallery for May/June, but that has been put on hold. So, the best we can offer you is a slide show of the quilts.
Some of the quilts are for sale. Contact wainspiredquilters@gmail.com if you are interested. Prices $120-$650. Sold quilts are identified on the slides. When quilts sell, they are replaced in the set with quilts of other landscapes.
Single click on any image to enlarge and start the slide show. Under the Expanse tab, there is a downloadable booklet on the quilts.
Our ‘Expanse’ quilts are looking great in the City of Perth Library–till the end of March. You can catch a glimpse at the back right of the photo. The larger than life slide-show which features photos of the ‘Expanse’ landscapes, with sections of the quilts overlaid, is very eye-catching. Thanks to Stella and Roberta for installing the quilts and to Liz and Meg for creating the slide show.
Our latest quilt set ‘Expanse, Western Australian Landscapes with Aboriginal History’ will be on display in the City of Perth Library, Hay St, Perth from February 11-March 30, library hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm; Saturday, 10am to 4pm; Sunday, 12pm to 4pm; Public holidays, closed. The quilts will be in the library foyer display cabinets. We are also mounting a slide show for the huge screen above the library counter–with photos of the real landscapes to which the quilts relate. Our booklet that documents Aboriginal history for each landscape will be available for perusal. We hope you enjoy the display.
Rabbit Proof Fence by Hilary Arber
The slides below are from a conference talk, in September 2019, on the Inspiration and Influences enjoyed by our group. Notes in a small font have been added to the slides that were used at the talk, for clarification. Click on any slide to start the slide show.
The pink of Hutt Lagoon near Port Gregory, WA attracts tourists by the busload! The colour is due to algae dunaliella salina which are farmed as a source of beta-carotene, along with brine shrimp for aquaculture. Denise Mallon has captured the colouration in her ‘Hutt Lagoon’ quilt for the Expanse set. Materials include hand dyed and commercial fabrics, cotton gauze, silk, bobbin work, hand embroidery, machine quilted.
We were lucky to be allocated generous hanging space at the NZ Quilt Symposium Oct 1-6, and were kept busy talking with visitors. Many had visited Western Australia, or intend to now! The intense colours, the techniques, the real-life landscape photographs and the Aboriginal connections drew positive responses.
Three of our WA Inspired Group (Hilary, Stephanie and Pat) are heading off to NZ to present our latest quilt set ‘Expanse, Western Australian Landscapes with Aboriginal History’. We are looking forward to the fun.
Coastal Track by Stephanie Knudsen: This quilt is inspired by an overhead drone photo taken by my nephew Richard Young who lives in Broome, Western Australia. It depicts the vivid colours of the water, the rocks and cliff face and a muddy track winding through the vegetation along the coast.
Cable Camels by Stephanie Knudsen: Riding camels on Cable Beach in Broome is such a Western Australian icon, enjoyed by overseas visitors as well as locals.
A Night Outback by Stella King: “I love the boab trees that are common in the Kimberley region. They remind me of the part of Africa that I grew up in. This work is inspired by the amazing photography of Benjamin James Kapinski and Mark Wassell as well as many awesome photographs of the Milky Way that can be found on the internet. ‘Emu in the Sky’ is depicted, formed by black spaces in the Milky Way, with the Southern Cross in front of its head. It is a common subject of Aboriginal narratives”.
Venus Appears over Kandimalal (Wolfe Creek Crater) by Roberta Chantler: ‘While living under canvas in the Kimberley, I was fully aware of the surrounding environment. Camped at Kandimalal (Wolfe Creek Crater), I watched each afternoon for the appearance of the Evening Star (Venus) shortly after sunset, marvelling at the splendour of the Universe, my place within it, knowing hundreds of generations star gazing before me have had the same experience’.
