around each embroidery or
appliqué, worked free-motion
leafy swirls over the pieced areas
and straight-line quilting in the
borders.74
Trim the excess batting and
backing fabric ¼in outside
the raw edges of the wallhanging.75
Cut the ends of the binding
strips at a 45-degree angle.
Join the strips end to end to make
one length and press the seams
open. Fold the strip in half, wrong
sides together and long edges
matching, and press. With raw
edges together, stitch the binding
to the edge of the wallhanging
with a ¼in seam, mitring the
corners as you go and referring
to the diagrams on page 86 for
the details.76
Turn the binding over and
stitch it by hand to the back
of the wallhanging.For contact details for Véronique
Diligent, of Wattlebird Designs,
turn to Stockists at the back of
the magazine.VÉRONIQUE DILIGENT
How would you describe your style? Bright and
colourful. I guess, coming from Switzerland, I see
things a bit diff erently from other quilters. And
having lived in France, I like to incorporate some
embroidery into my quilts.
Why this particular craft? I love the feel of the
fabrics as well as the colours.
Have you tried plenty of other crafts? Oh, yes!
I’ve made teddy bears, and I’ve done knitting, crochet,
bobbin lace, folk art and embroidery.
Any embarrassing botch-ups along the way? Ye p,
a few. The biggest was a big mystery quilt that looked
like a dog’s dinner and ended up as a dog’s blanket.
If you weren’t doing this, what would occupy your
time? Probably a lot of gardening and having aperfectly manicured garden and a vegie patch- without any weeds, of course.
Who taught you your crafting skills? My mum was
always sewing our clothes and mending, but it was
my neighbour who taught me the first steps of
patchwork. Then I took a couple of classes. But what
really pushed me was that I taught patchwork at
my local neighbourhood house in France, and those
ladies were very quick learners, so I always had
to be one step ahead.
What are your favourite materials to work with?
I love cotton but I also like playing with silks.
Do you ever see yourself stopping or diversifying?
I still have a lot to learn, and maybe when I have
found an extra 12 hours in a day, I’ll be diversifying.
Any wacky stories from your teaching? I’ve been
teaching quilting on domestic sewing machines for
about six years. The students bring their own
machines with them. Once, a woman turned up for
class with a treadle machine without the treadle!
The machine had a motor, but it took pliers, some
oil and a lot of brute strength to get it working.
Unfortunately, the belt broke after half an hour, and
that was that. But all the ladies had a good laugh,
including the one with the treadle machine. She
turned up the following week with a standard
sewing machine that she’d borrowed from a friend.
Where do you live and work? I live in the Yarra
Valley with my husband, two children (teenagers),
two dogs, one cat, five chickens and one Siamese
fighting fish. I’m lucky to have a whole room (the
ex formal lounge room) to work in.
What is your advice for beginners? Start with
something you really want to do and enjoy the
journey of making it. It’s not a race.
Gett ing to know ...
Homespun 115