All journeys have a beginning. Mine was in 1969 and started with the discovery of English Patchwork, in hexagons, over papers. It wasn't even a quilt, I didn't understand that it needed to have 3 layers - but I liked the symetry and the quietly repetative always growing activity. At this stage there was any design in it, it grew, like topsy, until it covered my bed!
Later I really understood what I wanted to do when I found "The Perfect Patchwork Primer" by Beth Gudgeon. Her tuition got me started with traditional designs and in the ditch quilting which I stuck with for a long time.
The next eye-opener was meeting Suzi Corke and spending 2 years being tutored by her in night classes. Her quilts were just mind boggling to a beginner but what a great teacher! She got me back to regular sewing, my job had taken over my life for a lot of years! Now I was designing and drawing ideas (badly)and I began to collect fabrics. Colour was the thing that drew me in and still is.
Wednesday
The next key development was my good fortune to enjoy a 2 day course with Lonni Rossi creating our own printed fabrics. What an eye opener! We learned to use Thermofax screens and I've been hooked since, just so easy to be able to prepare fabric just as you want it (on a good day). The fabric lay on a shelf for a while until I joined a day a month class with Brenda Boardman at The Bramblepatch - Explore your creative potential. A brilliant way to be "encouraged" out ones comfort zone, I learned so much and also gained the self confidence to try something different. Brenda helped me use my Lonni Rossi fabrics and I was thrilled with my 1st non traditional quilt, so much so that I had the temerity to enter it for Festival of Quilts. That too was a good learning experience - it made me quite dissatisfied with my efforts and it has spurred me on to do better.
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