Quilters Companion

Hello dear quilters, here we are, more than halfway through the year, and halfway through winter in Australia. While it’s absolutely wonderful to sit and quilt in winter (assuming you hand quilt — not me!), it is exciting to think that the days are g

The Seam Fix Seam Ripper and Thread Remover features specially formulated plastic material on the top of the lid and bottom of the ripper that grabs and removes excess threads from fabric. We all have to do a little ‘reverse sewing’ from time to time

This quilt has been constructed with basic Log Cabin blocks set into a complex vortex. It was exhibited at the 2018 Houston Quilt Festival, and in March this year it was exhibited at the International Patchwork Festival in Sitges, Spain. Art quiltmak

There isnothing difficult about making this quilt. It is large and impressive, the colours are fabulous, and the design makes use of your machine’s embroidery stitches. Look closely and you will see that the circles in this quilt feature decorative s

Lorraine’s preferredmethod of stitching these days is hand stitching — and this is a perfect pattern for this slow and satisfying process. These shapes could be sourced as papers and used to create the quilt using the English paper piecing method, ho

Internationally known Taiwanese textile artist, Danny Amazonas, began his artistic life as a painter. He had tried his hand at many things including sculpture, floristry and jewellery making, before discovering the joys of working in fabric. Once he

Featuringseven different blocks — each with numerous units — this quilt is not difficult. With patience and attention, and working one block at a time, you will reach the end goal with little trouble. Fabrics are prepared with quick and easy rotary c

The one consistent thing required for any type of patchwork or appliqué is the need to cut out the required shapes before starting to stitch. Initially scissors may have been used, the craft then progressed with the rotary cutter and now we have ‘die

One of the earliest forms of patchwork, the Nine Patch block involves joining nine squares, or patches, of fabric to form a larger square. While ‘Nine Patch’ refers to the simple block, it is also a ‘block type’ that describes the style of the constr

Ajelly roll, strip piecing and cross cutting into squares, simple HST and piecing are the combination for the success of this traditional and classic Ocean Waves quilt. The pattern takes on a distinctly Indonesian feel with the use of a Batik jelly r

New Zealand quilter Sheila Christensen has developed a set of techniques and a ‘language’ that will allow you to play with the 60° shape with ease. If you are familiar with rotary cutting and stitching squares, you will have no trouble cutting your s

At first glance this blocklooks like a nine patch, and indeed it is, but look again. Within the nine patch there are five Square-ina- Square blocks. More recently the name Economy has been attributed to this block. The other obvious pattern is Flying

There are a few basic quilter’s rulers that everyone should have, and then there are a whole lot of specialty rulers. What brand suits you best is up to you, although it is recommended that you buy rulers of the same brand as they interchange more ea

What is the first thing you think of when you are setting up to machine quilt your patchwork tops at home? Answer: the sewing machine. We will therefore start this series of articles with just that. I always say there are at least three ways to quilt

Anita is an accomplished quilting educator who inspires and mentors students around Australia in the art of quilting, on domestic sewing machines, long-arm machines, and everything between. When not travelling with her education business, Hillside Qu

This quilt pattern isbased on a bright Pinwheel Daisy quilt that is part of Deirdre’s collection of antique quilts. The original has pink sashing and green cornerstones and borders. Deirdre didn’t have many plain fabrics in her stash, so she just kep

Cheryl Filby's favourite appliqué technique is fusing the shapes with double-sided fusible web and then machine or hand stitching the shapes in place. Almost all of this quilt has been made with this technique, except for the borders, which are mostl

When travelling to other countries, we seek out many aspects of the places we choose to visit — history, culture, art, modern marvels, architecture and so much more. Just wandering around a new city is an amazing experience, let alone delving into wh