Crazed Diamonds: Show and Tell Friday

Another Successful and Fascinating Royal Adelaide Show

The Royal Adelaide Show is our State’s largest agricultural and horticultural show. It is also our biggest annual carnival with all the rides and show games. I’m a country girl by childhood, so I love the animal and farming parts of the show. I am also a crowd-hater, so the games and rides end of the showgrounds are not for me if I can help it. I really would prefer to pick my way through cow dung than buy fairy floss. Anyday.

But it is really the handicraft displays and other competitive arts that make me buy a ticket to The Show. Especially since I usually compete in the quilting and embroidery sections. I went to the Adelaide Show yesterday, and as always, I was taken with so many brilliant things. And I finally got some photos of my Crazed Diamonds quilt. Want to see?

But first the Chameleon offers his Excuses….

The Chameleon was accused on Tuesday of slacking and being AWOL from his post. He says “Not so. Rather, he was super busy, being awesome at The Show”. He is, of course, lying like a lizard. But since his self-portrait placed Second in the open Original Design embroidery section, we are going to speak of his absence no more. Kathleen was kind enough to say that she missed him on Tuesday and he was so chuffed that he has promised to come back and be good.

The Chameleon’s self-portrait had an upgrade for entry into the Adelaide Show to a professional frame.

Here’s the adorable exhibit that placed First in his Class. A 3D fish hanging on a stand, made by Sarah Johnson. Love it!

In the Quilting Section…..

This year I entered three quilts into the Royal Show. Pond Life, Always Choose Tropical (which at the time of entry was a sketch on a napkin), and Crazed Diamonds. Crazed Diamonds was only slightly better off as a finished flimsy at the time of entry, but it had been always been made with the thought that it would meet the criteria for the Show Challenge. This year the theme was “The Queen Victoria Challenge – make something in tribute to the Victorian era to celebrate the bicentenary of Queen Victoria’s birth”. Every year the Adelaide Show quilt competition has a challenge theme, but this year the challenge was extended to many of the Handicrafts sections. It seemed like a much bigger deal than usual; I guess it is the ROYAL Adelaide Show, after all.

My Victorian Tribute Idea: Crazed Diamonds

In March, the Island Batik Ambassadors had the Vintage Reimagined Challenge. Always one for killing two birds with one stone, I carefully chose Victorian inspiration to reimagine.

What I made was a crazy-patch diamond medallion quilt of Island Batik fabrics and embellished with found ribbons and lace. I didn’t purchase any supplies, rather I raided all the strange bits and bobs that I’ve inherited and collected over time. But knowing that I wanted to show this quilt delayed the quilting. I needed time to have a good think about what to put on it. That, and a whole raft of other pressing deadlines got in the way.

I revisited this quilt a few times, but in the end I madly finished it in August, just before the submission date. I keep promising myself that won’t happen again. But it does. It’s really not that fun!

I initially quilted the crazy-patch areas by stitching in the ditch around the diamond blocks. Then I added random quilting within the crazy patches as the mood took me, as well as along some of the seam lines to give a modern representation of the crazy embellishment of Victorian-era quilts.

I used HOBBS pure wool batting, given to me as an Island Batik Ambassador for this quilt. The white rayon thread on the grey is a Madeira, the variegated rayon thread is a Wonderfil Mirage and the background matchstick quilting is a Rasant poly-cotton (all purchased by me).

I quilted the grey areas with my interpretation of some Victorian Lace (you can read more about that here). And finished it off with a few “pearls”. The ivory-coloured pearlescent beads were given to me from a friend’s mother’s craft stash years ago. The cream pearls were beads from a broken necklace I rescued from a late relative’s costume jewellery collection even earlier. Pearls combined with lace scream Victorian period to me. Queen Victoria was apparently a renowned pearl-lover.

This was the result of my frantic labours. It’s quite different to what I normally make, but I love it. And I think my FMQ skills are coming along now too!

Not to forget, Pond Life and Always Choose Tropical

Pond Life and Always Choose Tropical also performed well at The Show. They placed in the same positions as in our Guild Show, which I must say has never happened to me before. Third and First, respectively. Happy Days!

Here are some of the other quilt entries. Clicking on the galleries will lead you to slideshows with larger pictures.

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Other Fun at the Show

I know some of you like seeing what else is on show as I do, so here’s a few of my favourites. Some are amazing technically. Others are just too much fun. Some are both. Enjoy!

Cake Decorating and related arts

The cake decorating and sugar art sections were as competitive as ever! Yes, everything in the following gallery is edible. With the exception of the plastic doll, the decorations are all food, regardless of what your brain is trying to tell you! Whether you should consume that food colouring is another matter entirely.

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Floral Art

Here are some pictures from the real flower and foliage displays:

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Handicrafts

Lots of beautiful things in Handicrafts!

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And some things from the Queen Victoria Challenge in particular. I was a little surprised that there was no other crazy quilts, although the dresden quilt had crazy-quilt style embroidery on it.

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I spent hours looking, looking, looking! It’s my annual craft admiration binge. Of course the photos here are only the tip of the iceberg.

And a taste of the outside activities

I spent some time in my lunch break, and also while waiting for the train home, watching the horse showing. Here are the Champion Clydesdales.

I also saw the Shetland ponies in some sort of trotting rig. And the latest event in the Australian World Cup horse show jumping. Apparently anyone jumping clear in the first Round of yesterday’s event got credit towards their Tokyo Olympics qualifying. I might have been watching future medallists! Only one horse had gone clear by the time I had to go home.

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I didn’t know until yesterday that the Australian World Cup Jumping comes to our show. I just wandered outside to see whatever was on, and to escape the inside crowds for a bit.

Before the jumping got started, I naively thought perhaps it was a minor competition, for young riders. From the stand, the riders pacing the course looked so small against the jumps. I am a horse competition ignoramus, obviously. Because when the public were invited onto the ground to inspect the jumps, I took up the offer. And it turns out the jumps are insanely large. The top bars are at my chin height! (I am approx. 5’5″).

The horses are insanely large too. And the riders are definitely full sized. It was fun to find out so many new things, even though I am not a “horsey” person.

I hope you have enjoyed your brief annual window into our Agricultural and Horticultural Show.

That concludes the Australian quilt showing season for me for 2019. Time to put my head down and get some other projects done!

The Chameleon turns rainbow with pleasure when he hears from you. I am more reserved, so I will respond in gratitude by email instead. Now that it’s your turn…. Scroll right to the end, leave me a comment and tell me, what do you think? Thanks for connecting!

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