New community quilt finishes

Another very appealing quilt for a child, made by
our friend Chris, donated to our community collection,
and quilted by Lynette. All those cars, trucks, planes,
traffic signs, road, bright, saturated colours will spark little
 imaginations. Thank you for your generous donation Chris.

Graphic black and white, disrupted by turquoise
and pink strips, made by Jill.

Lynette found the star blocks in her sewing room,
and paired them with sixteen patches in complementary tones.

Susan Mack had many half square triangles that were the
off cuts from another quilt, so of course she used them
in counter panes to her clevetly pieced aeroplane blocks!

And she found just the right backing!

Gallery 76 events October- November

 The following five events are at

GALLERY 76

EMBROIDERERS GUILD OF NSW

76 Queen Street, Concord West 2138

Gallery hours: Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm 

Weekends 10am to 2pm (public holidays excluded)

Sale session: Saturday 25 October, 11am - 1pm

Fairholme Quilt Show 2026!

 

For your 2026 diary! 

Join us in May 2026 at Thornleigh Community Centre 

(in Sydney’s northern suburbs). 

All details will be released on our Instagram account, 

on our Facebook page, and here.

#fairholmequiltshow2026

A little online reading, listening, viewing

We have a long weekend here in NSW on the first weekend in October -more time for quilting perhaps, or watching the NRL Grand Final, adjusting to the start of daylight saving, enjoy the beautiful spring weather … or to catch up on some listening, viewing or reading about quilts and quilting. Here are a few links to get started:

A film about men quilting in a Missouri prison has 'overwhelmed' the system with donations

A Netflix documentary about men quilting in a Missouri prison has prompted an outpouring of fabric and yarn donations, to the point that the state Department of Corrections is asking people to slow down and think about giving money instead … Torryionna Miller, Columbia Missourian, 11 June 2025

If you haven’t seen it yet ‘The Quilters’ is streaming on Netflix in Australia.

Interview with Jenifer McShane - ‘The Quilters’ film maker

The Quilter on Fire podcast 4 December 2024. 1 hr 52m

Reviving Rocking Stitch and Saving Wholecloth Quilting
… Hand quilting in a frame is being placed on the Red List of Endangered Crafts by the Heritage Crafts Council as the number of elderly practitioners of this skill, mainly in Wales, Northern England and the Scottish Borders continues to dwindle and quilting frames disappear.

But here we talk to two quilters who are seeking to reverse that by recognising, protecting, and reviving whole cloth quilting, and the tools needed to carry it out … Haptic and Hue podcast, 3 July 2025

The Witches of Scotland: How a New Tartan Became a Living Memorial
… The Witches of Scotland Tartan sold out long before it went into production after its registration was spotted by an eagle-eyed American, testament to the fact that the tragedy of the witchcraft trials spread to America with the colonists of the 1600s. It also speaks volumes for the power of textiles that the two determined women, who have been campaigning for a pardon for all those accused of witchcraft in Scotland, have chosen a fabric that can be worn by all as a living memorial to those who lost their lives, rather than a statue or a fixed monument … Haptic and Hue podcast, 11 June 2025

 

Quilt Conservation – National Quilt Museum

The National Quilt Museum’s Collection comprises nearly 700 quilts. In this video, Laura Hendrickson, Director of Collections and Registrar, illustrates how quilts are cared for at the museum. For more tips on quilt conservation, see the article below by Gerald E. Roy of the Pilgrim Roy Collection.

Let's Talk Quilts

So, you've poured your heart and soul into piecing a beautiful quilt top. Congratulations! Now comes the exciting part – envisioning how it will look after being longarm quilted. As longarm quilters, we're just as excited as you are to bring your vision to life. However, sometimes, before we load your masterpiece onto our machines, we might spot a few little quirks in the piecing that are worth a quick chat about. Think of it as a pre-quilting pep talk to ensure the best possible outcome for your treasured project! …

Tracey Browning Constantin Quilts

Book Review: Improv Quilting by Irene Roderick

… while quilting has long balanced on that fine line between tradition and innovation, Improv Quilting steps proudly into the realm of improvisation. These are quilts that are made without any specific intention, breaking the boundaries of tradition while allowing the freedom to explore and experiment.

For some, quilting is a world of carefully measured patterns, precise piecing and historical techniques, but here, it’s a playground of possibility and opportunity … Cathy Jack Coupland, Stitch Safari, September 2025

 

New finishes

Susan K designed these tiny rabbits, made a template and
taught Julie how to make them. They can be stuffed with
lavender or cloves, to keep clothes or linen fresh.

Julie has made many of them - at one stage ran out of room
 for them along the back of her long couch.

Val continues to work through her stash, making colourful,
quilts of great style.

A sound eye for colour and great design skills are evident even
in Val’s fabrics, and her quilts have wide appeal.

Lyn is nearly done with a collection of quilts for all her great
 nieces and nephews.These appliqued puppies will be popular!

Laura wanted to evoke a marine environment with this pieced
quilt. The batik feature fabrics are very effectively the water … 

… and the carefully chosen quilting design of seaweed
ribbons and bubbles adds a delightful underwater note.

October events

 

One-of-a-kind fabrics 

 Yarn, patterns and haberdashery 

Bargains you won’t find anywhere else 

The Sewing Basket is powered by Achieve Australia - 

your purchases support meaningful employment 

for people with disability 

Get your FREE tickets here: 

https://events.humanitix.com/the-sewing-basket-big-basket-sale-2025

There is always a craft section!

‘A map of memories + imagination’

Our quilt won first prize in the Group/Collaborative Quilt category at the 2025 Sydney Quilt Show yesterday!

‘A Map of Memories + Imagination’ is the work of fourteen members of Fairholme Quilters. Thirteen quilters pieced and/appliqued one block each of the on point quilt centre. Each represents a map of an urban area (from village to city streets) from the makers’ memories or imaginations, making a new imaginary improv map of a rural/ coastal town and its surrounds. It was long-arm machine quilted by Laura Ujhazy, another Fairholme member. The majority of the work is machine pieced. 

The project was initiated and coordinated by Jill O’Connor who did that her proposed map quilt would be more interesting if it included memories and imagination from sr real people rather than just her own. Jill put the blocks together and made the setting triangles, in consultation with the whole group. The other twelve contributing quilters were Roslyn Pullen, Jo-Ann Phillips, Elaine Gregory, Elaine Bright, Margaret Weir, Patricia Nerlich, Noelle Sona, Susan Kelly, Hilary Flynn, Susan Mackintosh, Val Nadin and Nerida Williams

The design was inspired by the many map quilts of real and imaginary locations made by quilters all over the world, that have been shared on social media, and our own memories and imaginations.

Our thanks to Quilt NSW for presenting and hosting the Sydney Quilt Show, and to the generous sponsors of our award, Down Patchwork Lane in Penrith.

The Sydney Quilt Show 2025 is at Rosehill Race Course 18 - 20 September 2025.

Roslyn accepted the award at yesterday’s presentation,
on behalf of us all.

A little hand embellishment was added after this
photograph was taken for the quilt entry.

The quilting design represents clouds above the bird’s eye view, the 
curves a gentle contrast to the angles and straight lines of the blocks.

Fairholme quilt at Sydney Quilt Show

We will have a group quilt hanging in the Sydney Quilt Show - fourteen of our members contributed to its making. And we’ve won a prize - we’ll find out what it is for and what it is, at the awards presentation on Thursday! Photos then.

New community quilt finishes

 We had a bumper show and tell of new community quilts last week!

This lovely butterfly quilt top was generously donated by
Janine Thomson, and quilted by Laura.

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Some of the hexagons in Elaine’s new community quilt
have had a long life, starting with Jill who made about 250
for a quilt that didn’t ever finish itself. The whole collection
was passed to Hilary who made a bag and a padded top
for a round keepsake box. Many hexies remained and were
passed to Elaine. It wasn’t enough by then for a whole quilt
but Elaine had complementary fabrics and made a finished
quilt, making more hexies and providing all the backgrounds,
borders, backing and binding. All of this took several years.

There might be some hexies left over, but we’re not
talking about that yet.

Lynette rediscovered these blocks in her stash, and finished
them into a quilt, several years after they were made

Sue C aimed for a simply appealing quilt, using
a coordinated collection of donated fabric.
A great result.

Lynette coordinated a workshop utilizing 2 1/2” fabric strips.
She collected up the leftover strips, and found she
had a good sized collection of pinks, for a fresh small quilt.

She’s now thinking about what other one or two
coloured checker board designs she might extract
from her extensive stash …

A much loved Afghani quilt

Val has a long history as an award winning quilter and teacher, and a very valued founding member and a Life Member of Fairholme. Currently she is decluttering and tidying in her sewing room. Some things are being dispersed (including some generous donations to our community quilts collection), but some are definitely staying put. This quilt is a keeper.  It was bought as an authentic vintage textile work hand made by Afghani women, several years ago at the now closed Afghan Interiors in Newtown that Val and Roslyn liked to check in on from time to time. Val recently brought it in for us all to see - it is spectacular, and very large!

The top was complete right to its finished edge, but had no
backing or batting. Its original purpose is not known.
The block fabrics are silks and velvets, and the patterns
are realised through both patchwork and embroidery.

Val added batting and a complementary cotton backing,
and hand quilted it, echoing the block designs.
 The hand quilting was a major undertaking for such a large, 
quite heavy quilt, but honours its hand-made construction.

Some of the silk patches are showing a little wear,
 but it is still a much loved quilt that decorates a
favourite chair and is regularly  used.

Some of the tiny triangle block borders are pieced,
others are embroidered. The tiny nine patches are
embroidered in braid-like strips.

The little stars are embroidered.

The quilted motifs on the wide red borders were chosen
from reference works on traditional Afghan designs.