Janine's Journey - February 2026
Hi Subscriber,
I can't believe it is the last day of summer already. Where is this
year going?
We had a lovely weekend away in Bunbury for the Mirror dinghy State
Championships. It seemed strange being back in a small dinghy after
clipper. We surprised ourselves how well we did coming 5th overall
which is our best ever result. The top 3 boats have all come second or
higher in the World Championships so we had no chance of competing with
them!
So what have I been up to textile wise?
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Go GOSH
After Clipper has been such an important part of my life it is not
surprising that I am going to do a thread painting piece (or more)
inspired by it.
I am starting with a photo taken by Kaidi Sun of kaidiplanet
used with her
permission. Kaidi is going around the world on Qingdao. We had a week
of training with Kaidi and she snapped a great picture of GOSH on our
refresher sail in Portsmouth before the race started.
Naturally I started the process with a sundye. The sky section is very
grey (it is England after all) and the ocean a deep green. The sun dye
bled quite a bit so I will probably have to do something with that but
in the meantime I will see how much gets covered with the sails.
Image 6434151
Image 6434152
Next step create a pattern on freezer paper for the fabric collage.
There is so much detail in the boat that I found it quite overwhelming!
When that happens you just have to focus on a tiny section, focus on
one bit of a time and ignore the rest of the picture. Take the wins -
it may have taken me at least 1 hour but I have finished 1 person!
Image 6434150
Image 6434153
As many of the pieces are so small I have resorted to putting Steam a
Seam 2 lite on the back of the fabric instead of just gluing them in
place. It should control the fraying but I hope I won't regret it when
it comes to the stitching.
Image 6434154
So this is where I have got so far. I plan on thread painting the boat
before I add the sails.
I have got a busy couple of months coming up so I am not sure when I
will get time to do any more work on this. Being realistic it might not
be until June when I am the Artist in Residence at Midland Junction Art
Centre as part of the Stitched and Bound Exhibition.
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Roaring Forties!!
Remember in the last newsletter when I talked about getting stuck in a
wind hole on GOSH as we approached Tasmania. We were in the roaring
forties and it should have been really windy not totally glassy. It was
such a beautiful sunrise and so totally unexpected that I knew I had to
do something inspired by it.
Image 6438542
Image 6434155
I decided to my mosaic technique so I could get some nice colour
graduations that blended together in the soft light. It involves
putting a repositionable fusible web on the back of the fabric and
cutting it into small squares which are the building blocks for the
design. Once you are happy with the design it is ironed to make it
permanent before quilting.
It still needs a bit more work .....
Image 6434157
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Jam Jar Dyeing
I had some fun with jam jar dyeing (or coffee jar!).
I used an old Moconna coffee 200gm jar and it was the perfect size for
4 fat quarters.
The way I did it was soak the fabric in water.
Add about a cup of soda ash solution to the jar and 1/4 tsp of the
first colour of procion dye. I used a lemon yellow.
Wring out the first fat quarter and stuff it in the jar.
Add 1/4 tsp of next dye (turquoise) followed by another fat quarter.
Continue adding layers of dye and fabric to fill the jar. I used maroon
followed by olive.
If needed you can add a bit more soda ash solution. For best result you
want to really stuff the fabric in.
Leave it for several hours or overnight before washing until the water
runs clear.
It doesn't look very exciting in the jar but I think the results are
really scrummy.
Image 6434158
Image 6438541
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Upcoming Events
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From Where I Stand
I went to the opening night of "From where I Stand" and forgot to take
any photos!! It is a lovely exhibition with a range of mediums
including textiles, painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics and glass.
It is on at the Tresillian Centre, 21 Tyrell Street, Nedlands until
March 6 so you still have time to see it!
More info here
Awaiting the Rain
Awaiting the Rain
Hidden Gem
Hidden Gem
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AW9
Image 5722914
AW9 is continuing its journey around the country:
Next stop is
* Coal Face Art Gallery, Moranbah Queensland March 2026
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Upcoming Workshops
If you admire my work and would love to learn how it is done, why not
suggest a workshop to your group or get in touch with me and I will
approach then?
I'm happy to travel for in-person workshops and you might even twist my
arm for a live zoom workshop. Sometimes you just need a push to make
things happen!
You can explore the workshops I currently offer on my website here
but I am
also happy to tailor something specific to your groups needs.
I'm also starting to plan an on-demand workshop, so if there is a
technique or topic you would love to learn in your own time please let
me know.
Your ideas might just shape what I create next.
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Image 6403789
I'm really looking forward to teaching in Harvey in a couple of weeks
time.
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Queensland Quilters
I am delighted to be teaching in Brisbane in May.
I will be teaching three workshops for the Queensland Quilters Inc at
Mount Gravatt.
May 14 Banksia Art Quilt
May 15 Secrets of Scrappy Applique
May 16-17 Intro to Thread Painting
Click here
for
more information and to book
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WA Quilters Association
I am teaching a 2 Day thread painting workshop for WAQA in June on two
consecutive Sundays (21 & 28) at APCH.
Cost is $130 for WAQA members and $180 for non-members.
To book email waqaworkshops@gmail.com
Image 6438595
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It has been really nice to get back into the studio even if I haven't
achieved as much as I had hoped - next month I might even get to the
sewing machine!
Anyway that is it for now
Take care and let me know about workshops
Janine x
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