This was my very first log cabin quilt. It was made for an art show to celebrate the opening of a new visitors' centre in Yellowknife. The theme for the show was ‘Old Town Yellowknife’. The ‘Wildcat Café’ is an old log cabin building and I loved the idea of having a log cabin in a log cabin quilt. I made the wildcat graphic using batik (a wax resist process) and pieced it into the log cabin quilt. It was hand quilted.

Departure

Aurora I

This was one of those happy accidents. I had no idea I was making an aurora but as the ’blocks’ went up on the design wall, that is what it said. At first my intention was to leave the aurora alone in the abstract, but I decided to add a landscape and a polar bear for context. I’m glad I did, the bear has become one of my favourites. In 2003 the Grand National Quilt Show was held in Kitchener Waterloo for the first time. I received an email from Kathy Bissett, one of the show curators, she said the theme of the show was ‘Reflections of Canada’ and she said, -we need something to represent Nunavut, please could you send us something? I sent the bear and called it Aurora I because now there is a whole series of auroras.

Japanese Lady Reads the Guardian

Another accident, but I love the combination of a somewhat traditional arrangement of a non-traditional block that is arranged with the free flowing form of the Japanese lady. She is painted, stitched and her garment is partly made of a sheet of newspaper, from ‘The Guardian’. Notice the change of scale that takes place in the block element.

Douglas Firs

My first Vancouver Island landscapes executed in the style of a fractured landscape. I took a photograph in Cathedral grove and shafts of light coming through the trees on my own property suggested the fracture pattern for this piece.

Snowy Owl Meets West Coast Totems

My Snowy Owl has travelled the world but it lives at home with me.

•  Do you have a favorite sewing machine?

Yes, my Bernina Artista 170 is my workhorse.

•  How many machines do you have?

I have three machines set up in my studio; Bernina Artista 170, an old Bernina 830 (mechanical not computerized) and a Pfaff 1471. They each have their strengths and I will move from one to another as I work on a project. I have other machines that are kept mainly for their sentimental value but are rarely used these days. One is a very small Elna Lotus. In 1990 I received an Arts Council Grant to make 3 quilted wall hangings, they were all made with my Elna Lotus, the only machine that I owned at the time. The largest piece was ‘Four Seasons of Great Slave’ measuring 106” x 65”, not a mean feat for such a small machine.

•  Which instructors or workshops have most inspired you? 

Nancy Crow, I like her work ethic, attention to detail and her courage. We owe a lot to Nancy, she has opened a lot of doors, but she can be a bitch of an instructor.

Judy Blaydon. I have taken a number of classes with Judy and have learned a lot especially about colour and value. She is an excellent teacher, organized, demanding and she sure makes you think.

Ruth MacDowell has my admiration. I love her work, the floorless technique, her quirky fabric choices and her designs that distill the very essence of something and her sense of humour. I took a Penrose tile class with Ruth. I love her landscapes but knew that I would never construct one using her piecing technique.

• What other things inspire you to teach and quilt?

 Ideas just pop into my head, then I research a lot before I actually get to the design process. I enjoy teaching and people ask me to do it.

•  Whom is on your ‘instructor/quilter wish list’ to meet and why?

 Pauline Burbidge. I have met her but I have not taken a class with her. If I won the lottery I would buy a piece of her work. I love it. She lives in Scotland and teaches workshops in Italy.

Yoshiko Jinzenji. I was spell bound by her exhibition at the Festival of Quilts at NEC, Birmingham, many years ago. Her book ‘Quilt Artistry’ is one of my favourites and she has a new book being published in February 2011. Her studio is in Bali, need I say more.

•  What would you like other quilters to know about you?

I am very connected to my quilts. They are original designs that may or may not draw on traditional elements. Most of my quilts have a backstory and many have very long gestation periods.

I tell everyone that my quilts travel more than I do these days, when they are requested for international shows. I still travel quite a bit to teach but not as much as I used to, I have cut back on travel. More people are coming to me now, which is nice. Teaching gigs at conferences or quilt festivals are usually booked two years in advance but I like to leave room for local stuff. I do teach in quilt shops on the island and I teach classes by request, at my studio, for small groups. I have summer school classes at my studio in June and July. The emphasis for summer school is dyeing, painting and surface design.

•  What determines your Thread choices in your projects?

Good quality threads that produce as little lint as possible. Generally I use gray thread for construction and black on black and white on white. I usually use a 50wt for construction with a 60 needle. For landscape and fabric collage work I use a light weight neutral thread that blends with my fabric so I don’t have to keep changing it. The colour choices come later for topstitching, embellishing and quilting. My choice of thread depends on the kind of stitching that I am doing. Blended or variegated threads can be useful but I think solid colours give more impact. A good rule for colour choice is match or go to the compliment.

Studio visits can be arranged by appointment. 

Bring your satellite group for a field trip!

Contact info:

Judy Farrow

Little Mountain Studio

911 Little Mountain Road, Parksville, BC. V9P 2C3

250 954 3797

judyfarrow@shaw.ca

*Your messages and comments for Judy Farrow are welcomed below...Cinderella

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Cindy Scraba (cindysthreadworks.com)