The Quilt Connection goes digital!

Welcome Intelliquilter!

I don't know if you're aware but I've been hankering after a computer for my quilting machine for some time. I've been humming and hawing, waiting for the dollar to improve, tossing up between this machine and that... You know how it goes.

Eventually I decided on the Intelliquilter and now I have it I'm thrilled with what it offers both me, as the operator, and my customers. In fact I've had it now for about 12 months but I wanted to really run it through its paces and totally get my head around the many ways it has to enhance my creativity before I told you about it.

The image on the left is how Intelliquilter sees the pattern. This one is called Sabrina and is designed by Donna Kleinke of One Song Needle Arts. The image on the right shows the quilted version. Isn't it lovely?

New quilting horizons

The Intelliquilter has so many features but from the point of view of "what's in it for you, my customers" it boils down to the following:

• I can now boast a fast turn-around for pantograph (E2E) quilting - only a couple of weeks


• The fact that I can be attending to other things in my studio while the machine is working for me hands-free, is such a welcome change and allows me to service more customers


• The Intelliquilter produces perfect and exact quilting


• No need for paper patterns anymore. Patterns are digitised and stitched out exactly as the designer intended.

The Intelliquilter gives my creativity full rein so please give me a call on 07 3862 8797 or come and talk to me about the many exciting options I can create for your special quilt.

The Bunbury Classes

The Bunbury Classes
I met Robyn Dall of Quality Quilting of WA at the WA Machine Quilters' Gathering and she drove me down to Bunbury after it. She had arranged for me to give a week of classes and each one was fully booked! The classes I taught included:

• KNOWING THE BASICS
• PANTOGRAPHING
• UNCOMPLICATED MACHINE QUILTING OPTIONS
• NO MARK QUILTING
• SHOW STOPPER STUFF
• TEMPLATING

Victorian Textiles were kind enough to sponsor the classes and supplied batting for the quilting demonstrations. Below is a photo of some of the students who attended the Bunbury Classes and the completed sampler I worked on during the 'Show Stopper' class.

The Bunbury Quilt Show

On the weekend I visited the Bunbury Quilters’ Quilt Show. What an absolutely fabulous show... Take a look at the Raffle Quilt photos below. This gorgeous quilt was quilted Susan Campbell of Rowdy Flat Quilting, Yackandandah.



There were so many inspiring quilts and lots of very creative machine quilting. I also had the chance to view the Bunbury Challenge and I have to say I was ‘gob smacked’ by the standard of entries from all over the world. I bought a challenge pack for 2010 (but alas I didn’t get an entry in).

Relaxing in Bunbury

My relaxation was to take several strolls along the long beach just down from Robyn’s home. I love to walk along the beach, I find it's good for the soul.

My WA Resolution...

I’ll be happy to go and teach in WA anytime! The girls were great, they were like machine quilting sponges, just soaking up any information I could give them. They were all so appreciative of me making the trip and made me feel really welcome. Only thing I swear never to do again is to travel home on that ghastly ‘red eye’!!!!

WA Machine Quilting Workshops

WA Machine Quilting Workshops

Robyn Dall of Bunbury, WA sent me the following heartfelt plea...

"Poor WA is very isolated far away from the east coast of Australia where most machine quilting training opportunities happen. Now that the Machine Quilting Conferences that were run by the Gammill dealers at Mittagong NSW, have discontinued, there are even less opportunities. Us WA people need to create our own opportunities for skill development. So wondering if you would be interested in running classes here at my quilting room in Bunbury"

I just couldn't refuse! So started my jaunt to WA! I had a wonderful time and met some really lovely people and committed machine quilters.

The Perth Section of the Trip

What a wonderful welcome! I was met at the airport by Greg Camden - a very accomplished male quilter and WA Agent for Superior Threads - of House of Quilts. Greg and Gayle gave me a very nice dinner and put me up in style despite never having met me before.

Thanks so much Greg and Gayle, I'm looking forward to returning the favour when you visit Queensland.

The next day we gathered at Jo Northcott’s home (Jo Northcott Quilting in Sorrento) for the Machine

Quilters' Gathering which was very well attended. It was great to meet so many quilters. The Gathering was a real hive of activity and discussion and it was good to see networking in WA is in fine form.

There were lots of products on display including backing fabrics from Widebacks Australia and threads from Superior Threads and a scrumptious lunch! So much food!

Stay tuned for the Bunbury Section of my WA trip...

Catching up and the AMQA website

Catching up...

Life has been so hectic the last 12 months that I just turned around and a whole 18 months flew by. Well, I'm hoping to be able to be more regular in my postings from now on but I thought first I'd bring you up-to-date on what has happened in the last 18 months, so here goes...

The AMQA website

The committee of the Australian Machine Quilting Association (AMQA) decided in 2009 that the Association needed a new website to be a more effective focal point for all aspects of machine quilting. A place where quilters and their customers and potential customers could go for relevant, up-to-date information.

Setting up this website and briefing the designer were my final tasks as the founding member of AMQA. After four years of putting strong foundations in place I felt satisfied that the association had made good progress so I resigned as President of AMQA to refocus on my own business and my family.

The new website looks fabulous and provides AMQA the means to grow and prosper to the benefit of everyone involved or associated with the machine quilting industry.

As I said in my President’s report (AGM August 2009), “I am proud of what has been achieved and... I resigned from the Presidency earlier this year. In the belief of the AMQA vision, I felt I should step aside and provide the opportunity for the new membership to step-up and broaden the culture of the organisation, give it a new horizon to pursue, whilst carrying forward the strong principles on which AMQA was founded”.

Since then I have been focussing on my own family and business but I continue to watch AMQA grow with great excitement.