What’s your idea of the perfect stitching day? A perfect stitching day right now would be at the beach, sitting under a tree covering paper pieces or hand stitching. Cup of tea, piece of cake and, most of all, some sunshine. I’ve lived this day a few times when my son came back from Australia and when I was holidaying over there, so there are some good stitching memories. And my sewing bag is full of covered hexagons!

Where do you like to do your work – in a studio, in the garden, in an armchair? All three of those, depending on what I’m sewing. When it’s winter in New Zealand, I take to my armchair in front of the fire. It’s where I do all my appliqué in the evening.

How many stitching projects do you think you tackle each year? I have a very long list of ‘to do’ sewing projects. I’d like to think I could do them all, but I just do what I can and enjoy all the different stages as I go.

What are your sewing essentials? Oooh, well … appliqué pins; Roxanne’s glue; Sewline mechanical pencil and glue pen; Bottom Line Thread; templates for hand piecing; straw needles; and a toothpick or three.

What sort of projects do you like to take with you when you are on the move? I take some redwork stitching and some paper templates. Small appliqué projects, too. Even if I don’t get to stitch, it’s still there, just in case.

What sort of projects do you like to take with you when you are on the move? I take some redwork stitching and some paper templates. Small appliqué projects, too. Even if I don’t get to stitch, it’s still there, just in case.

How would you describe your stitching style? I think I’d describe it as a little bit folk art. I love all types of stitching, especially redwork on linen with some appliqué, as well. I love birds on quilts. There’s something restful about them and, as hard as I try not to include them, they always seem to appear.

What’s the largest stitching endeavour you have ever worked on – and the smallest? The largest stitching endeavour was a quilt 105in square. It was my second quilt and had lots of appliqué and tiny hand-quilting stitches with intricate quilting patterns. Today, I go in for the slightly larger stiches! The smallest project is a wool sewing keep that holds a pair of scissors and a packet of needles.