A step back in time .....

Robyn (from Healesville, Vic) wrote this as a comment to my last posting

"Anni you & Pete must be exhausted Your stand looked great, when you 1st began designing did you ever think you'd have a stand full of; sooooo many beautiful designs & your own (Petes)wool. What was your 1st design????? And how long ago did you start"

so thought I should respond with a little bit of history.....

I started to do patchwork 15 years ago and had no idea when I first started I would be doing what I do now. If a fortune teller told me I would be working with my husband in the patchwork world, own a patchwork shop and be traveling all over the world and designing books etc, I think I would have scoffed and told her she was barking mad.

Pete and I started our working careers in Brisbane - Pete as a scientist at St Lucia University, and me as a Graphic Designer in an engineering company. We both decided after about 5 years of work that city life wasn't for us, so Pete studied to be a maths/science teacher with the thought of moving to a country town. His first posting was Coonamble, a great albeit HOT town in Western NSW. With no job prospects of my own, I decided to join up to the local TAFE to meet people and learn more about patchwork and other bits and pieces. It was there that my world opened up.

I had ALWAYS sewn but had only briefly touched on patchwork. At TAFE we made sheets, covered chairs, made lamp shades etc etc. When the patchwork component of the course began I remember going home and drafting up a pattern - I don't remember there being too many patterns back then - not that I had access to anyway. A group of us then drove to Dubbo (2 hours away) to buy supplies - woo hoo - the start of my fabric stash!!! I wanted my quilt to look old and for some reason thought that if I bought certain colours, they would fade over time and it would be just what I wanted. Very strange I now realise! The colours haven't faded a bit, even with constant washing and wear and tear! My first quilt I ever made was queen size as I thought I may never make another quilt, and decided to make one that I could use all the time. I later released it as a pattern, simply as one of my friends wanted to make it. This all happened about 15 years ago and here it is....

This quilt was called Day in the Country, and surprisingly it sits quite flat - I will give Tracey Jung, my TAFE teacher, the credit for that ha ha. It was machine pieced, and hand appliqued and quilted.

After my first attempt, I found a book called 'Little Quilts'. I made the main quilt in the book and did all of the wrong things. I quilted this by machine using no walking foot and white thread - yeeeeuuuck! It is great to look back on though and see what has changed. There are still some of my favourite fabrics in this quilt, even if they aren't particularly placed very cleverly....

This quilt sits on my chair in my bedroom.

Tracey Jung hooked me up with Carey Gollege who back then owned Honeysuckle Cottage which was run on a farm about 30 minutes drive from Coonamble.  Carey was after someone to design exclusively for her, and Tracey thought that Graphic Design and Patchwork could be a good combination! I owe everything to her and Carey for taking me under their wings. They taught me everything I needed to know to get started. My earlier quilts were influenced by the techniques in the quilt above, with images that were pieced rather than appliqued. I guess things have changed a bit since then.....

It wasn't until I moved to Oberon that it all started to become a real business. I had been designing and sewing and writing up patterns for about 3 or 4 years for Carey, then decided to send some photos in to some magazines. What a buzz to have the editor of Aust Patchwork and Quilting phone me, followed up by Handmade and Country Threads! I remember getting my first order in the post for a kit and thought I had made it!!

So that's how I started. I hope you didn't fall asleep reading all this........ WAKE UP!

Comments

[Danyell Bruton]

You are truelly inspirational Annie. So much so, that for my first ever quilting retreat, I am travelling from Adelaide to Toowoomba so I can go to one that you will be at!

[Leisa]

Thank you for sharing the story of your beginnings!! My family has just been for a "roadtrip" and your beautiful store was a major highlight of the trip for me. I enjoyed a lovely time in your shop while the boys "completed some laps of the track"!!!! Congratulations on your beautiful designs and lovely shop - a wonderful success story!

[Sylvia]

It is great to hear your "stitching" story. The "Little Quilts" book was one of the first books I bought too and I made a few of the projects out of it as well. I am so glad you design such beautiful patterns as I have so enjoyed making lots of them. I have just completed another block of the Gardener's journal quilt this afternoon!

[leeanne]

No I didn't fall asleep, that was great to see how you started and EVERYONE starts somewhere.Thankyou for sharing.

['Robyn' of Robyn's Nest]

Thanks Anni for taking the time to tell your story,thank googness for you & Pete got sick of city life,(thanks to Tracey & Carey too) I wonder how different your life would be & where you'd be living now if you hadn't taken that initial 1st step

[Chookyblue]

only the best people get to live in Coonamble...........lol.........and Tracey is still teaching people patchwork/sewing.......shame Honeysuckle Cottage was sold and moved.......still have to drive to far to get to a patchwork shop.........you and Pete have worked hard and deserve to be where your at in life.........ENJOY..........

[SandyN]

Anni,

Thanks for sharing your story... it didn't make me fall to sleep. It is always interesting to find out how talented designers like yourself started..

Now look at your great designs.. as you know I LOVE them all.

Sandy

[Terry]

How nice to read about how you got started! Your older quilts are still lovely! I especially like the second one! :0)

[Bronwyn]

What a great blog read.Thanks for the slice of history, Annie.Ha Ha Pete the mad scientist!!

[Annie]

No falling asleep at all. What a great story I loved reading about how you started out with quilting and how your lives have evolved. Thanks

[Nay from Nays Place]

Thanks for the sharing Annie - an inspiration to us all. Makes us realise that somewhere, we a lot of love and understanding our dreams can come true.

[susan]

You know the number of fans you have all over the world!!!
I love your designs and feel really happy reading how all started.
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards from Spain

[Sue Spargo]

It was great to hear the history. Looking forward to seeing you and Pete soon.
Sue

[audrey]

Hi Anni, I have always wondered how you got to where you are today, so thank you EVER so much for enlightening us with your story! Very, very interesting and no falling asleep reading it! Hope to visit you again soon at the shop (in the meantime I am busily beavering away on all the kits I bought from you in Sydney!) Smiles X

[lyn lindsay]

NO Anni didn't fall asleep and am enjoying constructing the Boys Cot Quilt for my grandson, having fun and glad you kept moving on and developing, good story...I look forward to all you have planned for the future, from one sew-er to another.
Lyn

[Erica K]

That was great! I'm so glad you decided to share! :D

[Claire]

Hey Anni & Pete, missed you in Sydney but are looking forward to seeing you both at the Trade Show in Melb. Loved the history of your foray into patchwork. Looking forward to another book(?) to be launched at the Melb Trade Show. Currently in Katherine and heading to WA in 2 days for about 3 months, will be home in time for the trade show, I will be the most relaxed person there!!
Love Claire

[Bec OhSewBusy]

Thanks for sharing this Anni, it was lovely to read how you started off.
I have to say that your first quilt design 'Day in the Country' has always reminded me of the Amish with the brighter, more plain fabrics in it.