Luke Haynes Lecture

Last night our guild hosted it's first event, and what an event to start with!

We were so lucky to have Luke Haynes come and talk to us about his work and show us some of his amazing quilts.

Luke was an excellent speaker, very funny, charming, and really fascinating. He is a true artist who's just bursting with original ideas.

He's also a very skilled quilter. You can see Fiona and Lucy below, getting up close and personal with his quilts!

Luke was so generous in sharing his techniques and knowledge with us and answering all our questions, and afterwards he chatted to everybody over tea and cake. I think Pauline may have commissioned her own quilt before the night had ended!

I managed to get some photos of the quilts laid out on the table. I couldn't take photos of them being held up as I was holding one of the corners!
One of the most interesting things about Luke's quilts is that he only uses recycled clothes, so they are made from a huge mix of textures, as you can see by the furry areas above.

This is one of Luke's small, self portraits. You can see his straight line heavy quilting here which he does himself on a long-arm. He also likes to use a different coloured bobbin thread which gives a fantastic effect on the back of the quilt.

More recycled clothes, you can see a Gap label in the piece above. These smaller pieces are used for his workshops, which are about de-constructing clothes.

Here's Luke, clearly having fun during the refreshments.
It really was a fabulous night and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I for one was bowled over by Luke and his art.

Thanks so much to Pauline, Fiona and Anne for making the delicious cake - I managed 2 pieces!

And a HUGE thank you to Pauline's husband Craig who, like a knight in shining armour, totally saved the whole event by rushing around with a spare laptop and helping us hook it up after a problem with the projector cable. The whole event may not have gone ahead without him!

And lastly here's to many more EMQG events!

A few more photos added by Lucy - thanks Lucy!