Julianna Prior

Julianna is a long standing member of MPQ joining in 2014. She bought an embroidery machine in 2012 and took lessons at Zigzag where she learnt to applique as her first attempts at quilting.

In 2013 Julianna met Louise Brown-Thomas where she learnt about foundation piecing and this was when she was definitely hooked on quilting and joined MPQ.
Julianna has attended several workshops outside of MPQ with other well-known tutors, Lisa Walton in Sydney and Helen Godden.

In 2016 Julianna met Brenda Burgess and became intrigued by her templates, Flip-la-K. Brenda lives just outside Dungog, designs her templates and has a laser printer to make the templates herself. In 2018 Brenda invited Julianna to become one of her testers, so we know that the templates are user friendly. She has a wonderful time playing with the new templates. Julianna also has Brenda’s permission to teach her work. Later this year, Brenda has been invited to Houston to show her Flip-la-K wares and explain the technique.

Julianna’s workshop is a basic introduction to Flip-La-K. You will make blocks using the templates to be able to construct table runners, quilts, wall hangings.

Margaret Sampson George aka MSG

Marg is a great friend of Maitland Patchwork Quilters. Marg teaches workshops for us every July. Her style is interesting, eye catching, original, quirky & inspiring. Marg is a wonderful teacher who shares her prodigious ideas and knowledge generously and she is just the nicest lady to boot.

Appliqué, broderie perse, paper piecing and hand piecing are her forte.

Photos of Marg’s book (in our Library), quilt (George Dodecagen), and Christabella Pattern.

Kathy Doughty

Kathy is a renowned quilter and author, and owner of Material Obsession… a place where creativity is the norm...and now a Figo Fabrics designer
@materialobsession.

We are delighted to welcome Kathy to MPQ for the 1st time!

Kathy began making quilts over 20 years ago after moving to Australia. She opened her quilting shop, Material Obsession (Sydney) in 2003 and has developed a creative, modern and unique style of quilting.

Kathy will be offering a class on organic applique – combining a mix of traditional with modern creative. This will be a fun and popular workshop.

You can follow Kathy on Instagram @matobsgirl and her website https://www.materialobsession.com.au.

Quilts made by Kathy and her latest book.

Karen Styles

Karen Styles is welcomed back for a 2nd year running with request from the members who participated in Karen’s workshop in December 2023.

Karen co-owns Somerset Patchwork and Quilting with her husband, Paul. Karen designs her own quilts based on reproductions from the Civil War period of the 1800’s and more recently from the collection of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles. More recently, Karen has been designing fabrics based on the 1800’s genre.

This is great workshop to hone those traditional applique and EPP skills and techniques and is aimed at quilters of all levels of experience.

Karen can be found on Instagram as @karenatsomerset and has a website https://www.somersetpatchwork.com.au/

Samples of Karen’s quilts she has made and her most recent book.

Miriam Jones - SEWMIRIAM

MPQ welcomes back the lovely Miriam Jones. We all know Miriam as sewmiriam and her lovely, zippered bags. This time Miriam is offering something a little bit different in this workshop!

Though this class is not what we think of as traditional quilting, Miriam will teach you how to embellish your work to create a stunning piece of embroidery.

The workshop encourages you to explore simple stitches, threads, textures, colour, pattern, and design.

You might like to make a piece of embroidery which you can feature on one of Miriam’s bags in your own time.

Miriam’s work can be found on Instagram as @sewmiriam.

Jenny Rofe

I have been stitching in one form or another for over 60 years, beginning with my grandmother’s loving guidance before I started school. Even though my grandmother has been gone for many years now, her influence is still apparent in many of my designs today. I have been teaching embroidery and patchwork/quilting since the late 1980’s.

My husband’s work led us to travelling and living in different areas of Australia for a number of years early in our marriage. Throughout my travels over these years, I dabbled in many styles of sewing and different crafts, with my favourites being embroidery, applique and patchwork and quilting, especially applique.

My first quilts were made in the 1970’s in the wagga style, by machine, from dressmaking scraps and backed with old curtains. Today, I prefer hand work, particularly applique with embroidery. To me, these go hand in hand and it is common now for my quilts to include some embroidery on them. My quilt designs are often inspired by the Australian environments where I’ve lived, or my love for traditional embroidery styles and designs, or my love of gardening.

In 1993, I achieved the Advanced Certificate in Commercial Needlecraft with Distinction and in 1999 passed Practical Teaching Skills with the Embroiderers Guild of NSW with High Distinction. This was followed up in 2000 and 2005 with further accreditations in the field of Applique and Applique, Collage with Embroidery and Other Media.

Over the years my quilts have provided me with some wonderful opportunities and experiences. I have met so many amazing people, won some lovely awards, had some fun articles and projects published, had some incredible judging experiences and some quilts have represented Australian quilting overseas. After almost 35 years, I still enjoy designing and teaching.

Michelle Yeo

Michelle Yeo, Michelle Yeo’s Quilt Designs

Michelle Yeo is a passionate & highly sought after patchwork & quilting designer and teacher who has been quilting since 1984. Michelle’s designs are primarily traditional, using reproduction fabrics for a timeless appeal. Michelle designs and creates challenging quilts inspired by antique quilts. She designs the majority of her work on a computer and uses contemporary piecing techniques to achieve accurate results. She also hand pieces or appliqué’s quilts with traditional techniques. A range of acrylic templates are available to accompany her designs allowing for faster and more accurate quilting.

Michelle’s quilting designs have been featured a number of world renowned quilt magazines in Australia and internationally. In 2015 her book, ‘Of Needle, Thimble and Thread’, which features 18 of her beautiful designs, was published by renowned French publishing company, Quiltmania. Her quilts have also been exhibited at the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

Judy Newman

"It is an incomplete day for me if I have not spent some time in my studio"

Judy grew up in bayside Melbourne has always been drawn to fabric and haberdashery.

After the birth of her children she was looking for something to do with her creative urges.

One day she walked into a little patchwork shop called Primarily Patchwork owned by Di Ford Hall. It was a turning point for her. She booked into a class with Di. Many years later she began teaching. She discovered her love of teaching. Judy had found her niche.

Judy designs patterns and gets her inspiration from many places. She loves scrappy quilts using both modern & vintage fabrics.

Judy has had one book published by Quiltmania called "Quilts for life made with love" - 2016 with a second book set for release mid December 2020.

The techniques she uses include hand piecing, machine piecing, paper piecing and appliqué.

Christine Lethlean

Like many women of my era I was introduced to sewing at a young age at school and by my mother who crafted and created with simple resources in the home. To this day the highlight of the Narembeen Annual Flower Show, where the finest and best crafts by the local women of my community were on display, brings back strong memories of how inspired I was to “create just like those ladies”. During my adult life and in my travels, I have attained elements of formal art training and qualification, however as with most artists my creative evolution has been guided by experimentation, exploration and what I refer to as artistic intuition. I count myself fortunate that I could retire from a career as a health professional and now in a position to work as artist, designer, and tutor based in the quaint historic village of Clunes, in rural Victoria, Australia.

Strong accent colours, tactile textures and all things to do with stitching have long captivated my interest in the visual arts. With a healthy dose of imagination and patience to experiment, I have now forged a style of working that almost by providence has given me a creative niche that suits both my philosophy ‘on life’ and my aesthetic leanings and I couldn't be more content.

Fibres, textiles and threads are the main ingredients for my work; however, I like to test mixed media where I can and love to delve into surface design methods to create the layers that is paramount to the work I create. I must confess I’m also an avid collector and gather all sorts of pre-loved and discarded resources to work with to help me interpret the flow of creative ideas.

Appliqué, patch work, hand stitching, thread-sketching, and thread painting are the techniques I prefer. Creating art with these components is a very organic process and what I appreciate most is the 'unknown quantity' of the unexpected. Not really knowing how each piece is going to evolve when the techniques are bought together still excites me with each artwork. The movement of the fabric, the texture of the threads, the intended and accidental mark making that occurs with stitch, paint and dyes and the odd coffee spill is what keeps me going, forging new and exciting ways of working with these mediums.

My inspiration comes from a variety of sources including my immediate garden, the landscape around me, colours, shades, shapes and lines. I have a natural tendency to find beauty in the discarded and unloved. I love history and storylines and will often create pieces that have a narrative that is meaningful to me. I grew up on 'Tinellen' farm in Narembeen in the Eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia and to this day my memories of our simple home and life on the land have a significant influence in my creative work.

Dorothy Clee

Dorothy Clee – Thread Painter and Art Quilter
Dorothy’s passion for the past 30 years has been Thread Painting and Art Quilting. Dorothy has an Advanced Diploma in Commercial Needlework and has taught Thread Painting and Business Admin at TAFE NSW. She has been an organiser and a tutor on cruising retreats, both overseas and in Australia. Dorothy loves stitching Thread Paintings and creating Art Quilts based on photos of landscapes, which often include animals. She is continually exploring the many ways of creating Art quilts and how to incorporate thread painting into them. With her friend and fellow art quilter, Christine Dowell, she has staged two successful exhibitions.

Susan Smith

"For me, quilting has always been a coming together of things I love – stitching, fibre and drawing. I don’t remember a time in life when I did not want to "make", whether it be doll clothes, dolls, knitting, embroidery, lace making, quilting or cooking.

It became a passion to create.

I seriously began making quilts in the 1970’s and in 1980 I was asked to make some quilts for a tv series about the gold rush.

This was the beginning of something that I have loved doing for almost 40 years.

The quilts that I always loved were the appliqué quilts on white backgrounds and British quilts."

Excerpts from Susan’s book. Susan specializes in designing quilts, needle turn appliqué, embroidery and hand piecing on pale backgrounds.

Please note that the images may not all be Susan’s work but they are images of her designs.

Karen Cunningham

"I have been quilting for approximately 27 years and teaching for 12 years. I grew up In the North of England which explains my love of English style quilts, however living in Australia has also introduced a lovely pallet of colours. I teach in quilt shops all over N.S.W and can honestly say I am one of the lucky few who love their job."

Karen specialises in appliqué & hand piecing.

Excerpt from Karen’s blog. Images of Karen’s designs below.

Lisa Walton

"Creating art with beautiful textiles has been my life for over 25 years. Starting with traditional quilt techniques over 25 years ago, I quite quickly developed the urge to break the rules.

My fascination with dyeing started about 18 years ago. Our hand dyed and painted fabrics are available through our online store "Dyed & Gone To Heaven".

I have a passion for sharing my knowledge and teaching. My first book "Beautiful Building Block Quilts" was published in 2013 by C&T Publishing.

I also have a range of online virtual workshops & lectures available."

Here are just a few examples of Lisa’s work.

Rhonda Pearce

Twenty years ago Rhonda Pearce noticed the local post office building at Glenbrook was to be auctioned the next day. She began to dream of a patchwork shop. Rhonda and her husband, Bruce, made a successful offer. Rhonda happily fitted out the shop, bought 89 bolts of fabric and set her dreams in motion.

Over the ensuing years Rhonda has developed many patterns and produced many outstanding quilts, including First Place in The NSW Quilters' Guild’s "Professional, Traditional and Viewers' Choice 2007" category for her "Insanity" quilt, which has attracted a huge following, both in Australia and overseas.

More recently, she took out First Place in the "Traditional Appliqué" category of the International Quilt Association's "2013 Winners in Quilts: A World of Beauty" in Houston, Texas with her entry "Baltimore Classic".

Rhonda specialises in appliqué and hand piecing.