Back in Australia, I joined a local quilting group
after being introduced to the art by my neighbour, Joc, in 1985. She had spent some time in the US and her
house was brimming with crafty things we only ever saw in magazines (if we were
lucky enough to find a bookstore that stocked them!). She hosted a group of avid stitchers who were
later to become the Fort Queenscliff Quilters.
I happily joined in, wanting to demystify the secrets of stitching
perfect fans. After all, I’d been
battling with my silk creation for over 2 years now.
We all have to start somewhere and my
quiltmaking apprenticeship began in 1986 by learning to hand quilt a cushion,
front and back. The front was a cheater
panel (of course) and the back became a lesson in marking up a pretty feather
wreath. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy
this less than creative activity although managed to add 80’s crafty excesses
to it before giving it away to my MIL for Christmas that same year. Meanwhile, I battled on with the GMF (Grandmother's Fan) adding
more embroidery.
Ideas for stitches came slowly, until I found Dorothy
Bond’s (1981) book, Crazy Quilt Stitches.
Meanwhile, there were so many other tempting things to do! So the GMF was more or less abandoned for
“another day”. There you have it – the
start of a serious quilt addiction, a reason to add even more textiles to my
stash and a growing collection of books & magazines for patterns and ideas.
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| Just sew 80's |
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| Starting the hard way - still it was finished fairly quickly |
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| So good you can still buy it from bookstores |
