Great Australian Quilts Issue #10 2019

Welcome to the 10th annual edition of Great Australian Quilts. It is always a joy to celebrate Australian achievements and this magazine does just that each year. There is much in this quilting life to celebrate, from talented, award-winning quilters sharing their projects through to annual awards announcements, a closer look at some of the winning quilts from around the nation and special events. This year we have extended the hand of friendship to our ‘quilting cousins’ in New Zealand. We share some of the winning quilts from the annual Hoffman NZ Challenge and we profile Lois Parish Evans, an Aussie living in New Zealand. Leesa Chandler released her first fabric range — Under the Australian Sun — 10 years ago and we are delighted to share her journey. Back then, finding Australian-themed…

Shining Light This year’s Shining Light awards went to Victorian teens Jessica Layton and Madison Parfuss, in recognition of their achievements as junior quilters. This award encourages junior quilters up to 18 years of age at the time of nomination. Jessica was recognised for her work in providing laundry bags and a quilt for Australia’s armed forces. As part of her school Personal Best project in 2017, she sewed 27 laundry bags and a quilt for Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry Bags, an organisation that then delivered the items to deployed Australian service men and women. Madison started quilting at the age of eight with her grandmother, Megan. She has entered a number of quilts into both primary and secondary divisions of the Victorian Quilters' annual show and has been recognised with prizes…

Victorian Quilters AWARDS * BERNINA Best of Show * Retaining the Tradition * Excellence in Appliqué * Excellence in Hand Quilting (professional) * Wall Quilts (professional) — First VIC Artist’s Statement “Hand needleturned. Original design inspired by the style of John Henry Dearle, who was the master apprentice to William Morris.” Material and techniques: Hand appliqué with silk and batik fabric. Hand quilted with silk thread. Turn to page 34 to find out how Julie designed and made this amazing multi-award-winning quilt. Canberra Quilters AWARDS * BERNINA Best of Show * Best Use of Colour * Modern Quilting * Large Quilt (professional) — First ACT Artists’ Statement “Trevor’s diagnosis of cataracts inspired this design, with blurred edges of objects and diffusion of light as the condition takes effect. Utilised fabrics collected over the years to produce a quilt with a spectrum of colour and light.” Material and techniques: All-cotton fabric,…

Michelle Marvig www.pieceville.com.au Materials • 50cm (⅝yd) black print fabric. Michelle used Corroboree Black by Donna McNamara for MS Textiles• 30cm (⅜yd) blue print fabric (blocks, appliqué and flange)• 15cm (⅛yd) each of lime and orange print fabric (blocks)• 25cm (¼yd) solid black fabric (binding)• 70cm (27in) square of cotton fabric (cushion lining); this fabric will not be seen in your finished quilt, so Michelle suggests using an ugly print from your stash!• 65cm (¾yd) black print fabric (cushion back). Michelle used Body Painting 2 Black by Anna Pitjara for MS Textiles• 70cm (27in) square of batting• 10cm (⅛yd) interfacing• Cardboard• Freezer paper• Cushion insert 51cm (21in) square• Black machine sewing thread (piecing and quilting)• Clear monofilament thread, such as Superior Threads’ MonoPoly (appliqué)• Two white buttons with diameter about 30mm (1¼in) (cushion…

I bought the beautiful red background silk in Adelaide a number of years ago and held onto it until I was sure I had chosen just the right project. I knew I wanted something elegant but had no definite idea about design. A photograph of a silk screen designed by John Henry Dearle, who I believe was the first master apprentice to William Morris, was my inspiration. Although, it seems that the embroidery may very well have been done by May Morris. I then searched for other works designed by Dearle. He had a soft style, often with an integration of leaves and vines behind his major focus, giving the work added dimension. I made the decision to try to create a quilt in a similar style using appliqué and hand quilting…

The Hoffman Challenge is an annual event that challenges quilters to create a quilt that uses a nominated fabric. Using a recognisable amount of the challenge fabric, each entrant must make a wallhanging that is less than a metre squared but it may not be a square or rectangle shape. From those entered, the top 20 will travel around New Zealand for the 12 months following their debut at the 2019 Auckland Quilt Symposium in the first week of October this year. On the next pages we share a few of the winners from the 2018 challenge. A number of prizes are awarded: Best Overall, Best Contemporary, Best Traditional, Best First Time Entry, Viewers’ Choice and Merit Award. This annual event is sponsored by Hoffman California, Tiffanies Treasures, Victorian Textiles and Universal…