New to the community quilts collection

 

Fresh blues, greens, white - a winner! Made by Elaine G -
one block, two orientations for visual interest.

All the fabrics work well, together, especially the
 large scale blue print. 

Blue chambray backing!

Lynette used a very appealing palette for her
on point nine patch blocks …

… cleverly paired with stylised flowers whose backgrounds
look like sashing from a distance.

This one is a favourite design for Lynette who has
made it with several different highlight colours.

Her black and white stash is not yet exhausted!

A clever idea, generously shared

We were very interested in  @glory.allan’s recent Instagram post (2 September 2026) about his design for the Cookie Tin Organiser, a 3D printed set of inserts for the ubiquitous Danish cookie tin to help needleworkers organise their notions, since that’s what *everyone* uses the tin for.  Not only did he demonstrate his design, but he has made the instructions free to download from his website. 

Janet knew someone with a 3D printer who would love to try it out - and she is delighted with the result! Check out the original post for a full demonstration. You could find a lot of other interesting and entertaining sewing related content on @glory.allan’s IG account. Website link for the Cookie Tin Organiser: https://www.gloryallan.com/products/cookie-tin-sewing-organizer

New community quilts - quilted by Janet

Janet very generously volunteers to quilt many of our community quilt tops made by others on her long arm machine, and sometimes she makes community quilts from start to finish!

This community quilt is an appealing mix of colour and small
scale prints made by Noelle from her own stash.
The wide border picks up the mix of  coolers in the blocks,
 and is an excellent pair for the smiley faced
flower stripe backing.

Another one beautifully quilted by Janet.

Janet says there is no chance of her scrap stash running out
 any time soon. This one is a Bonnie Hunter leader-ender
challenge design from 2022, called Triple Treat.
Janet’s use of tiny low volume squares for the Irish chain
element is a great foil for the scrappy colours. She went
against her own advice with the final border of 1” squares,
giving herself a quilting challenge. 

The design is available as a free .pdf pattern linked from this blog post: https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2022/07/leader-ender-challenge-11-triple-treat.html

A recent donation included all the fabric for this quilt,
and one completed bloc, but no pattern. Janet volunteered
to draft and make the remaining blocks and quilt it
for our community quilts collection.

Each block centre is cut from a house print, and is
complimented by terracotta shades and florals.

November - December 2026 events

Nulla Nulla Regional Gallery
490 Macleay Valley Way
South Kempsey, 2440

Wild Things at Risk
By Jane Theau and Jo Mellor-Stuart
Exhibition dates: 23 October - 17 November 2026

This exhibition is about beauty and wildness, and loss and 
longing. It brings together two artists whose practices celebrate 
the majesty of the wild world and worry over its disappearance. 

Gallery 76

76 Queen Street, Concord West 2138

Open 9 - 4 Monday - Friday; 10 - 2 Saturday and Sunday

Closed public holidays

Becoming Now 
By Barbara Dawson
22 October - 16 November 2026

Plants form the central language of this exhibition, acting as vessels
for the human journey to explore endurance, presence, and
emotional resonance. Working across stylised charcoal drawings,
stitched textiles, and stitched photographic silk pieces,
Barbara examines the tension between strength and vulnerability.

Gallery 76

76 Queen Street, Concord West 2138

Open 9 - 4 Monday - Friday; 10 - 2 Saturday and Sunday

Closed public holidays

 Timeless Textiles Gallery

90 Hunter Street Newcastle 2300

Open 10 - 4 Wednesday - Saturday

10 - 2 Sunday

Closed public holidays

Full exhibition details here

New community quilt finishes

Hilary paired a whimsical house panel with a collection of
little house blocks and some landscape prints.

The small blocks were donated - thank you Janine!

And it has one of the best striped bindings. Quilted by Janet.

Miriam’s stars are made wth squares and half square triangles …

… and a bundle of complimentary prints and colours.

Elaine G is a frequent contributor to our community quilts
collection. We are very happy to help her work through her stash !

Thanks you for your generosity Elaine.

Fairholme Quilters at Sydney Quilt Show

Congratulations to Fairholme Quilters Miriam Jones and Susan Kelly on having their quilts hung in last month’s Sydney Quilt Showpresented by QuiltNSW.

Miriam’s quilt is the Denver Art Museum Quilt
designed by Brigitte Giblin, hand quilted by Miriam.
The quit will remain with Miriam’s family as a much loved heirloom.

Susan’s quilt is Florida Bound, made using block patterns
from the Quilt Builder Card Deck and was quilted by
Jayne Ronnie of Quilting Finesse. It is one of a pair
heading to young relatives in Florida.

Dates for the 2027 Sydney Quilt Show have been released by QuiltNSW:

Thursday 16 - Saturday 18 September 2026

Rosehill Racecourse 

Long weekend reading and viewing links

Quilting As An Affordable Hobby

One day, Melissa Marginet overheard a quilter discouraging her friend from taking up this hobby – inside a quilt store!

“Don’t start,” the woman said. “It’s too expensive.”

“That’s just not right,” she thought to herself. Since then, Melissa has set out to disprove this myth so more people can enjoy affordable sewing and quilting. … Lois Tuffin,  Canadian Quilter, 27 July 2-26

 

Mary Jane Hannaford Quilts

Mary Jane Hannaford was an English immigrant from here in Devon, arriving with her parents and brother in Australia in 1842, aged just 2 … Mary Jane did not start making quilts until she was in her eighties (1920's). All her quilts have an authenticity about them, paying homage to her life and journey. I love her use of free form appliqué telling stories about patriotism, religious faith, and the love of Australian wildlife and flowers. Feels rebellious by nature, not picture perfect and pulls on my outsider art heartstrings … Rebecca Robin Studios

 

Using your stash to make scrappy quilts 

Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle of Modern Quilt Studio post videos here to help quilters learn new skills, gain confidence and learn more about making modern quilts.

We've been designing and making modern quilts since 1999. In addition to publishing Modern Quilts Illustrated, we also design fabric and host online quilting events. On the first day of each month we host the Quilts First! livestream on the Modern Quilt Studio Facebook page. The recording is uploaded to YouTube later in the day … Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle,  Modern Quilt Studio 1 July 2026

7 Artists on Soft Sculptures: Why Artists Turn to Textile

With so many hard things that we touch and live in, we’re crying for softness.” Sheila Hicks, Nick Cave, Kaarina Kaikkonen, and four other acclaimed artists reflect on how working with textiles has shaped their practice. “Every knot has a breath,” says Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, whose immersive sculptures in cotton invite a sensory escape from everyday reality. American artist Nick Cave describes his work as “figurative sculptural,” where textiles and discarded materials suggest a “second skin” that conceals gender, race, and class … Louisiana Channel, May 2026

Give your quilt the wow factor

Take a look at my Beaumont Square Quilt - it’s a mix of red, orange, pink and a few pops of yellow. They all lie next to each other on the colour wheel. And while the quilt would have been gorgeous and mellow with this colour palette, I thought it needed a pop of something else to make it interesting. Enter the brilliant green linen … Mel Storey, Patch Me Blog, 10 April 2026

And this one shows the police evicting me: the fabulous fabric visions of Elizabeth Allen

Elizabeth Allen lived at the end of a steep, muddy track in a dilapidated hut with a notice on the door that read: “Knock very loudly.” One day in the winter of 1965, the artist Patrick Heron did just that – and overnight Allen, then in her 80s, became lauded as a luminary of the art world … One of Allen’s pieces, 1966’s The Great Swan Song, … features a black bird stitched into a cobalt-blue pond fringed by brown-leafed trees. The bird’s red eyes are gazing up at a vermilion sky, while a patchwork piece of bright green striped cloth seems to represent Allen’s hut … Joanna Moorhead, The Guardian, 13 April 2026

How to Use a Design Wall in Quilting: Turning Your Wall into a Composition Laboratory

…  the real purpose of a design wall is not storage. It is composition. In serious quilt design practice, the design wall becomes a thinking tool — a space to evaluate structure, value, movement, and hierarchy before sewing permanently. If used intentionally, the design wall transforms the modern quilting design process … Carolina Oneto, Modern Quilting Blog, 20 April 2026

 National Quilt Museum Online 

You can explore 700+ quilts from the National Quilt Museum – all online. Dive into insights from the artists, images and more details that bring each piece to life. Start exploring here.

Slow-stitching workshop - finished pieces 1

Each quilter started with a basic kit put together by Christine, and added embellishments of their own, exchanged with others, and/or from the shared baskets.

Made by Denise

Made by Robyn 

Robyn (3) = hand embroidered butterfly, Robyn’s design.

Made by Robyn - reverse

Made by Susan Mack

Made by Susan - reverse

Made by Hilary

Hilary found the Dorset button in an op-shop.