Love Patchwork & Quilting - UK (2020-03)

It goeswithout saying that we all lovequilting.Suzy Williams

explainshowits benefitsreachfarbeyond thecreative joys of

threads and fabric to genuine and long-lasting friendships

Making connections

Quilterslovetotalkaboutquilting.

If I meetsomeoneat a partywho

quilts,wecangoallnighttalking

aboutourfavouritepatterns,

techniquesandquirkytricks.

I knowthisis trueofmany

hobbies,butthereseemstobe

somethingspecialaboutpeople

whohavethepatienceand

dedicationtoquilt.Weare

passionate,maybeevena little

“obsessed”.Andwhenwefindout

someoneelsehasdiscoveredthe

samejoywehave,wehavean

Therearesomanyreasonswhy

peoplestartquilting– whether

it’stocontinueanoldfamily

traditionortakeupa newhobby.

Butthere’sonebigreasonwhy

peoplekeepquilting,andno,it’s

notjustbecausequiltsare

snugglyandgorgeous(although

thatdoesn’thurt!).Wekeep

quiltingbecauseit bringspeople

together.Quiltingis theultimate

community-builder,becauseit

bringspeopletogetherfrombefore

thesewingbegins, until long after it

hasended.

instantbond!In fact,it’snotunusual

fortwoquilterstoexchange

numbersat theendofa

conversationsotheycanmeetup

latertodosomefabricswapping.

Weallknowthatmakingnew

friendscanbehard,especiallylater

in life,butquiltingis oneofthe

greatfriendshipmatchmakers.This

doesn’tjustincludepresent-day

quilters,theactofquiltingalso

connectsustoa longandrichline

ofquilterswhocamebefore us.

Quilt together

Sincewewerejusttalkingabout

parties...doyouwanttoknow

whatthebestkindofpartyis?

A sewingparty!Forthoseofyou

whohaveneverhadthepleasure

ofsewingwitha friend,there’san

amazingandinspiringvirtualsewing

partygoingonallthetimeonsocial

media.ThroughInstagram,YouTube

andFacebookyoucanmake

friends,chatwithothersewersand

getinspiredtoexplorenewkinds of

fabrics,colourpalettesand

patterns!In fact,myclosestsewing

friendshipshaveallbeenforged

throughthefiresofsocialmedia.

Andyes,navigatingthoseplatforms

cansometimesfeeltreacherous,

butthere’ssomuchmoregood

thanbadif youknowwheretolook.

Localquiltguildsareanother

greatwaytomakequiltyfriends.

Theyarewell-organised,meet

regularlyandhavelotsofguest

speakersandteachers.If thereisn’t

one in your area, start a quilting

IN THE KNOW

Quiltin

g

's secret superpower

Wea llkn owt ha tma ki ngn ewfri en dsca nbe

ha rd ,especi a llyla teri nli fe,butqui l ti ngi s on e

of t he greatfriendship matchmakers

Quiltingfairsand

localguildsarea

greatwayto meet

fellow quilters

IN THE KNOW