Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Friday, April 10, 2026
A generous and beautiful addition to our community fabric sta
At last year’s Sydney Quilt Show we won first prize for our quilt ‘A Map of Memories and Imagination’ in the Group category. Fourteen of us contributed to the quilt, so we decided to use the prize package for further group projects. The prize was in two parts, both donated by sponsors: batting from Mini Jumbuck that has been used in our raffle quilt for our own quilt show in May this year, and a $300 voucher from quilt shop Down Patchwork Lane in Penrith.
This week Hilary and Jill took on the task of visiting the delightful Penrith shop and choosing fabric - tough work, but someone had to do it! We were warmly welcomed by Gail, and had no trouble finding fabric we loved for the community stash. We chose half to one meter cuts of a selection of low volumes, and some brighter colours that will appeal to children. When we told Gail that we were planning to use much of the fabric for children’s quilts she generously donated an extra bundle of five Alexander Henry prints.
The shop is packed with high quality fabric, obviously chosen by experienced and enthusiastic quilters. We could hear a happy class happening in the next room (Gail and Tamara run a full program of classes most days), and the quilts decorating the walls were an excellent reflection of the fabrics on offer and the kits and patterns available. Look at the Down Patchwork Lane website to see all of their services. And if you are visiting the Blue Mountains Quilt Show next weekend (17 - 19 April), visit the Down Patchwork Lane stall, say hello from us, and support a local business.
For new visitors to the shop, it is easy to find in an arcade in one of Penrith’s main streets, there is a parking area directly opposite, it’s also not far from the train station, and Gail will direct to an excellent cafe nearby.
Instagram: @down_patchwork_lane and @down_patchwork_lane_destash
Facebook: Down Patchwork Lane
Many thanks to Gail and Tamara for your generous prize donation, and for an excellent fabric shopping experience.
Friday, April 3, 2026
Some reading and viewing links for the long weekend
QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting event in the world, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild. It is a quilt event full of quilters, makers, artists, vendors … from all around the world!
QuiltCon features a vibrant quilt show full of competition quilts, community outreach quilts, and special exhibits as well as an enticing vendor hall, with all booths curated with the modern quilter in mind.
Handmade quilts bring comfort to palliative care patients
Kaye-Maree Hinton's husband Garry was in end-of-life care with a rare type of brain cancer, when a nurse laid a bright, handmade quilt over his hospital bed.
Ms Hinton, 62, says the simple act of kindness provided a spark of colour and comfort in the stark and sterile hospital environment.
"The fact that somebody cared and thought about him," she said.
"It was so comforting … to cover him with something so beautiful, instead of just hospital sheets and hospital blankets in cold, stark white." Emma Siossian, ABC Mid North Coast, 22 February 2026
3D Landscape Embroidery Captures Colorful Aerial Views of Rural England
…Inspired by aerial views, textile artist Victoria Rose Richards creates colorful, 3D embroiderydesigns based on the rural landscape of her hometown of Plymouth, England. Each highly-detailed piece looks like a textile snapshot taken from the sky … Emma Taggart, My Modern Met, 17 October 2020
In my experience as a textile artist and educator, imperfection is not a flaw in creative work. It is an essential ingredient. It is where movement appears, where decisions become visible, and where the hand leaves a trace that no machine or formula can replicate. Imperfection is not the opposite of skill. It is the evidence of presence … Carolina Oneto, Modern Quilting Blog, 17 February 2026
Many quilters learn technique. Far fewer learn how to critique quilts.
Yet the ability to analyze and articulate what we see is essential for artistic growth. Whether you are attending QuiltCon, visiting a local guild show, or reviewing your own work on the design wall, developing skills in art critique for quilters transforms instinctive reactions into informed evaluation … Carolina Oneto, Modern Quilting Blog, 24 March 2026
Why value contrast matters in quilting
What is most important in quilting? Is it the design, the fabrics, straight/curved/matching seams? Or is it most important that one’s quilt looks unique – or just like the model in the pattern?
All of the above may be important to you, but when you get the basics right in quilt construction, one more thing is key. It is important to have proper value contrast in your quilt … Tilkunviilaaja blog, 1 February 2026
Color Theory and Quilt Background Color Selection
In many traditional quilt designs built from repeated blocks, a motif naturally reads as the foreground, while a single—often neutral—fabric functions as the background or negative space. While this convention doesn’t apply to all of my work as a modern, improvisational quilter, there are times when a clear relationship between foreground and background emerges. That’s the case with this quilt in progress. As I pieced these motifs together, I had a fairly clear vision: I imagined them set against a neutral grey background. From years of hands-on experience and study of color theory, I know that a mid-toned grey can support colorful motifs without competing with them. Unlike white, which can wash colors out, or black, which can create high contrast and visual drama, a mid-tone grey tends to allow colors to relate to one another more naturally. … Claudia Shearer Quilts Blog, 6 February 2026
Friday, March 27, 2026
Latest finishes
 |
| ‘Zoo Dwellers’ is a free fat quarter friendly design by Andy Knowlton that can be downloaded here. The quilt top uses 7 fat quarters and sashing/border fabric Julie’s gentle blue and green version is for a friend of a friend. It was quilted by Sue Olma. |
 |
| Jeni’s log cabin, made with large pieces, is a quick ‘quilt in a weekend’ called ‘Weekend Stripes’ designed by Mel Storey Patchwork. |
 |
| The colour contrast and subtle differences in the prints add interest to the straight forward design. Quilted by Sue Olma. |
 |
| Roslyn chose a colour palette reminiscent of Provence for her ‘Ellenbank’ quilt, designed by Emma Di Stefano from Treehouse Textiles. Choosing fabrics block by block, and hand piecing provided Roslyn with little oases of calm in a busy life and an enjoyable quilting experience. |
 |
| Hand quilting added to the hand piecing experience, with machine quilting by Laura finishing the outer border. |
 |
| The perfect Provençal blue for the backing. |
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Introducing our 2026 Quilt Show vendors: The Makers Stash
Quilt shows are a wonderful opportunity to meet and shop with online shops, and of course to see their stock in real life. We are delighted that The Makers Stash will be one of three vendors at our 2026 Quilt Show on 16 - 17 May:
Leela Gillett, also known as Miss Leela, is the maker and designer behind The Maker’s Stash, a boutique patchwork business devoted to the gentle crafts of English paper piecing and slow stitching. Based in the Blue Mountains, Leela has been stitching for over 20 years and designs patterns, paper templates and curated fabric collections that celebrate mindful, hand-stitched creativity. Through her shop, tutorials and online community, she loves sharing the joy of slow stitching and encouraging makers to embrace beautiful scraps, traditional techniques and the simple pleasure of creating something by hand.
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
April events
 |
| Peppin Heritage Centre Gallery 295 George Street, Deniliquin NSW |
 |
76 Queen Street, Concord West 2138 Open 9 - 4 Monday - Friday; 10 - 2 Saturday and Sunday Closed public holidays |
 |
90 Hunter Street Newcastle 2300 Open 10 - 4 Wednesday - Saturday; 10 - 2 Sunday Closed public holidays |
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Introducing our 2026 Quilt Show vendors: Fabric Garden
We are very pleased to have three local vendors attending our 2026 Quilt Show on 16 and 17 May:
Sue Miller’s Fabric Garden is at
Level 2 Andrews House, 15/185 Military Road,
Neutral Bay 2089 on Sydney’s Lower North Shore,
and online at https://fabricgarden.com.au/
You can follow Fabric Garden on both Instagram and Facebook.
Fabric Garden specialises in modern quilting fabric, keeping up with latest releases, notions, threads, patterns, kits, and a range of crochets and knitting yarns and notions. Also on offer is a wide range of classes, including for beginner quilters, children, and teens. Sue teaches herself and invites guest teachers throughout the year.
This month Fabric Garden is hosting a two day Laura Hein Collage quilting workshop with accredited teacher Maru Sato, on 28 and 29 March. Details and bookings here on the Fabric Garden website.
You will be able to see our raffle quilt, ‘Bespoked’ hanging at Fabric Garden later this month, and to buy raffle tickets there.
We will introduce our other two vendors The Makers Stash and 60 Stitches in future posts.
You will see that there will be lots of fabulous shopping opportunities at the show!
Saturday, March 7, 2026
More new finishes
 |
| A tessellating plus quilt always requires close attention to ensure that the simple square patches actually line up so that they red as plus shapes to the eye. Elaine G’s use of high contrast colour and tone make the quilt vibrant but needed a high level of vigilance in their placement. |
 |
 |
| Elaine has quilted a variable grid to add interest for both the viewer and the quilter. |
 |
| The quilt will be donated to a patient at Westmead Hospital. |
 |
| Elaine’s 15 year old grandson asked her fora new cushion for his bed when the one he’s loved since he was three wore out. He is still a committed cat-lover, so Elaine re-made the very same one, in somewhat more sophisticated colours and prints to coordinate with his grown-up quilt. He loves it - two excellent outcomes for a quilting grandma - a quilted cushion worn out from use, and love for the requested replacement. |
 |
‘Cabin Fever’ is aptly named - during COVID lockdowns Miriam used a stash of scraps from her own collection and into her late mother’s. The long awaited result is a much loved, eclectic mix of prints, replete with memories, stitched into a comfortable and comforting quilt loved by her family. |
 |
Many of the pieces are small, the blocks are a miscellany of house blocks, log cabins, stacks and hearts made from many narrow strips, flying geese and others to be discovered - there is no pattern, but it is a completely cohesive design. |
 |
| You might see this one at the #fairholmequiltshow2026 16 - 17 May - look out for it! |
Sunday, March 1, 2026
More new community quilt finishes
 |
| Daphne likes to experiment with block pattern. This one is cleverly less complicated than it looks. The pattern is ‘Entwined’ from Quilt Expressions, available as a downloadable .pdf file |
 |
| A whimsical ‘Crossroads’ quilt, made for our community collection, by Miriam @sewmiriam. The design is by Emma Di Stefano from Treehouse Textiles |
 |
| Another whimsical community quilt, this one made by Elaine G has a fun summery feel. |
 |
| Elaine W has made numerous quilts with hexagon flowers - this one is a welcome addition to the community collection. |
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
New quilt finishes
 |
| You will be able to see Robyn’s big beautiful quilt up close at our 2026 Quilt Show 16 - 17 May. Robyn particularly enjoys hand stitching and embroidery, and has used both in this quilt. The hand appliquéd circles are all Liberty, and only a few prints are repeated. |
 |
| The centre circles are hand embroidered, with a variety of designs and stitches. |
 |
| The print borders are also a Liberty print, and the sawtooth final border is needle turn appliquéd to the lawn border. |
 |
| Tessellating windmills of bright batiks - a new quilt that Chris’s grandchildren are enjoying. |
 |
| Denise’s big. beautiful ‘Patchwork of the Crosses’, quilt, designed by Lucy Boston reaches to the floor over her queen sized bed. That’s a lot of English paper piecing. Quilted by Laura. |
You can read more about Lucy Boston in
a blog post by The Maker’s Stash.
The Maker’s Stash is a Blue Mountains based business ‘celebrating
the gentle art of English paper piecing and slow stitching’.
They will be one of three vendors at our
Quilt Show 16 - 17 May 2026
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)