I grew up in New Zealand and upon marrying moved to Western Australia to live on a sheep station near the isolated mining town of Mount Magnet. After our five children gradually finished correspondence and completed their education in Perth I found time to further my long held aspirations to work in textiles.
The outback provides me with an abundance of visual stimulation and is responsible for many of my creative inspirations. I enjoy designing my own quilts and in challenging myself to recreate in fabric the many textures I see around me. This has led me to experiment with dyeing, dye painting, machine and hand embroidery and embellishment techniques.
I love people and enjoy teaching. It involves me in an active trade of ideas, knowledge and techniques and it is most rewarding to open doors for others and see them create their own masterpieces.
In 1996 I received my accreditation as a teacher from the WA Quilters Association. I am available to provide workshops throughout the state and "live in" workshops at Yoweragabbie Station. Accommodation is available in the shearers' quarters upon request.
I also undertake commissions, including bed quilts, one of a kind clothing and contemporary wall quilts.
I enjoy teaching people a wide range of techniques so that they can create unique and contemporary quilts. I aim to develop students creativity by providing lots of samples and explore alternatives for their work. My workshops have a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in which students receive individual attention.
In this workshop you will learn some of the basics of machine quilting including straight line quilting, background techniques, freehand quilting, continuous pattern quilting and twin needle techniques. You will use different threads and I will show you ideal tensions for each thread. We will discuss how to sandwich and machine a large quilt.
This workshop builds on the skills outlined in Introduction to Machine Quilting. I will introduce you to machine embroidery and go into detail about:
| free style techniques such as stippling, etc; |
| surface texture such as couching thick decorative threads and winding decorative threads on the bobbin; |
| trapunto by machine; and |
| invisible applique. |
Design your own watercolour quilt using a picture that inspires you. Through the process you will learn:
| about colour and value; |
| how to recognise pure colour tints and shades; and |
| how you can obtain luminosity and reflection in your quilts. |
This is an exciting workshop in which you design your own scene, based on drawing a simple curve. There is a minimum of machine work and you will learn to use either hand or machine applique. We will discuss embellishment techniques to complete your landscape. Dyed fabrics are especially suitable to work with.
Based on the book of the same name, this is a challenging workshop designed to give you more creative openings. You will cut out, vliesofix and machine applique your underwater study. I will teach you embellishment techniques to enrich your scene including machine embroidered fish, coral, seaweed, cording and creating a sponge.
Using either cotton or silk we explore the exciting world of dyeing. Procion dyes are used and we will explore the cold water method with soda ash solution, microwave dyeing, dye painting and finally how to bleach out colour to give wondrous effects.
Come to this workshop and make a scrap quilt which will become a family heirloom. Be prepared to swap a piece of your fabric with another student. The workshop is a great way to learn about colour, mixing scale of fabrics, tone and intensity.
I enjoy creating either vests, jackets or coats using many different embellishment techniques including ruching; soft edge applique, Suffolk puffs, twisted cords, three dimensional embroidery, bobbin work and many more techniques. The style and design of the garment can be decided before the workshop with the students.
Catherine does not have email access at present. Please write to:
Catherine Jensen, TextuRed, Yoweragabbie Station, PO Box 61 Mount Magnet, Western Australia, 6638 or Phone/Fax +61 (08) 99635 839.
Information supplied by Cathy October, 1997.
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