Ugly Duckling Quilt

What’s your idea of the perfect stitching day? I think any day is prefect for stitching. Stitching with friends is nice, but then so is stitching alone. Just give me my stitching, and I am happy whatever day it is.

Where do you like to do your work – in a studio, in the garden, in an armchair? I have an extremely messy and overcrowded room known as ‘the sewing room’ in my house. This is where my machine lives so it is where most of my sewing takes place. I don’t have enough empty floor space in my sewing room (that could be partly due to all of the stuff that I have in there), so if I need to lay a quilt out, it generally happens on the lounge-room floor or on my bed. This necessitates regularly walking backwards and forwards between these rooms and the sewing room but the exercise is good for me. A lot of my quilts have some hand sewing on them, which I do either in front of the TV in the family room or ensconced in a comfy armchair in the lounge room. I like to move around, so all of this suits me well.

What’s your favourite time of day to sew? I tend to sew in the afternoon and at night. I get so involved in what I’m doing at night that I don’t notice the time slipping away. I don’t feel tired until I look at my watch and see that it is midnight when I was sure it was only about eight. When I see how late it is, I feel tired and have to turn the machine off and go to bed. A lot of my designing is done while lying in bed thinking about what I am making and how to tackle it the next day.

How long can you spend browsing in a patchwork store? I’m not really a shopper. I’m more of a go in, get what you want and get out type of person. I do enjoy a look around a patchwork shop but I don’t take very long over it. The exception is when I am with friends; it can be a bit of a slow mooch around then.

How would you describe your stitching style? My quilts are generally bright, bold and fun, but sometimes I’ll make something totally different. It often depends on what fabric is in the cupboard that I decided has been there too long and needs to be used. I like to play with colour and with a design that’s simple but effective. My quilts often look a lot more complicated than they are. I mainly make scrap quilts, so maybe my style is scrappy.

What are your favourite projects to do? I like to make quilts that are happy - quilts that make people smile. A quilt is my first choice for a project, but I also enjoy making bags, cushions, runners, hangings, etc. Really, I just like sewing and creating with my hands.