Australian Homespun - February 2016_

to the family, and I LOVE that.

Whether it be a cot quilt one

keeps to hand down or a memory

quilt made from baby clothes or

a treasured loved-one’s shirts,

I feel very privileged to be

entrusted with the design and

creation of such family treasures.

Is it hard to find time to do your

crafting or is it a profession?

A family of six is always chaotic

and busy, but I always find time

at night to create. I’d love to turn

it into a profession, though.

Do you think of your craft as a

passion or a spare-time filler?

Definitely a PASSION! I can be

completely absorbed in my own

world and forget the busyness

of life while creating a quilt top

or free-motion quilting. I definitely

spend more time quilting and

designing than cleaning, cooking

or sometimes even sleeping!

From where do you draw

inspiration? There are so many

areas to draw inspiration from,

starting with my children,

kids’ crafts/drawings and even

adult colouring books that are

popular at present. I have my

favourite quilting bloggers who

are amazing, Pinterest boards

that give so many ideas and,

of course, my ever-growing

fabric stash. I may see a pattern

somewhere or an idea that

instantly resonates with me and

I know exactly which colours and

fabrics to use. At other times,

I’ll combine many ideas into one

to produce a design.

Why this skill – and this style?

Quilting is an amazing skill.

I still find it incredible that two

individuals can use the same

pattern, but, by using diff erent

fabrics and threads, they create

results that are COMPLETELY

diff erent. I love designing and

colouring my ideas onto graph

paper and then seeing the final

result. It’s like the drawing

has come to life – and that is

inspirational in itself.

Do you ever see yourself

stopping or diversifying? At

present I love quilting and can’t

see myself diversifying. I’d love

to learn how to quilt on a

long-arm machine. I’m in awe

of the designs and techniques

long-arm quilters use.

Do you teach your skill to

others? My beautiful daughter

and niece love their crafts. Due

to everyone’s busy schedules,

teaching sewing/quilting is left

till the school holidays. My niece

and I created a stunning fox

cushion from one of Elizabeth

Hartman’s patterns last holidays

• next on our list is a cat cushion
  to match. Can’t wait!
  How would describe your style?
  What makes it unique? Modern,
  fresh and bold. I love to give
  traditional quilting blocks, such
  as the Economy block, a fresh,
  contemporary look with bold
  vibrant colours and designs.
  Any embarrassing botch-ups
  along the way? Ummm ... of
  course, there have been many
  botch-ups along the way – which
  is why my unpicker and I are
  such good friends! Zippers are
  my worst for me – I often cut
  them too short or cut the ends
  off without making sure the
  ‘pully thing’ is on the right side
  of the cut. Grrrrr ...
  What’s your family structure?
  I have an amazingly supportive
  family that puts up with threads
  and fabrics everywhere and the
  ironing board constantly present
  in the kitchen. Craig and I have
  been married for 15 years and
  have four gorgeous children
  under 12 years, who keep us busy
  and on our toes. Our family time
  revolves around having fun,
  reading, walking and the
  children’s sports and activities.
  Where do you live and work?
  We live in the eastern suburbs of
  Melbourne, within an hour’s drive
  of the snow in winter and the
  beach in summer. My true sewing
  space is a small area within the
  kitchen, but really my endeavours
  take over the entire house.
  What is your advice for
  beginners?


• Give anything a go.
  Perseverance is the key.


• Listen to those who have been
  quilting for 30 years – they know
  what they’re doing and have so
  many great stories to tell.


• Don’t get too distressed about
  any non-perfect points –
  imperfections can add
  personality to your quilt and,
  most of the time, you’re the only
  one who notices them.


• Don’t stress over fabric
  selection. Just try it. There are
  no rules. If you like it – go for it.

the selvedges and sew the

two pieces together, side by

side. Press the seam open.

30

The quilt top, batting

and backing are

ready to take to a long-arm

quilter as they are. If you’re

doing the quilting yourself,

smooth the backing fabric

on the floor, right side down,

and secure it with masking

tape. Lay the batting on top,

ensuring it is smooth. After

pressing the quilt top, lay it

on top of the batting, right

side facing up. Baste the

three layers together with

safety pins (or thread if

hand quilting).

31

Quilt as desired.

Leanne machine

quilted unevenly spaced

parallel lines lengthwise

over her whole quilt, using

assorted threads and the

walking foot on the machine.

32

Trim the excess

backing fabric and

batting^11 ⁄ 4 in outside the

raw edges of the quilt.

33

Join the 2^1 ⁄ 2 in dark

pink tone-on-tone

print binding strips with

diagonal seams to make one

long length. Trim the seams

and press them open. Fold

the strip in half, wrong

sides together and long

edges matching, and press.

34

With raw edges

together, stitch the

binding to the edge of the

quilt with a^1 ⁄ 4 in seam,

mitring the corners as you

go and referring to the

Binding Diagrams on page

102 for details.

35

Turn the binding over

and stitch it by hand

to the back of the quilt.

Label and date your quilt.

For contact details for

Leanne Benson, of Sewn

by Leanne, turn to Stockists

at the back of the magazine.

Placement guide for Leanne’s quilt

21 13

26 12

16 35

(^1423)
(^2028)
(^326)
(^1917)
(^216)
(^1333)
(^1227)
(^1136)
(^108)
(^1025)
(^229)
(^1530)
(^1831)
(^535)
(^434)
(^932)
(^167)
(^266)
(^324)
(^345)
(^352)
(^3111)
2 30
1 1 14 21 32 35 31 30 33 24 27 17 28 23 31
34 35 826
35 8 6 30
35 17 19 18
30 22027
18 22 13 7
19 20 14 5
3 7 11 15
32 32 25 24
24 22 8 2
6 26 51
13 3 6 19
19 1 22 4
28 35 36 16
31 31 33 13
13 16 1 17
23 25 11 7
17 20 11 10
30 31 25 32
30 31 36 23
34 30 62
29 3 12 25
8 6 27 27
9 23 22 5
15913
28 26 22 17 6192116 41817 0 1 393
35 32 35 25
34 35 29 25
33 24 9 14
5 91819
14 15 25 20
17 11 12 6
4 8 12 16
25 23 31 13
32 3 30 6
12 13 14 12
15 19 26 9
621139
29 24 5 30
29 29 34 35
30 10 23 16
8 18 19 15
24 10 12 20
18 4 14 7
32 24 32 17
27 34 8 4
8 21 11 26
1923 28
7 3 16 2
2 6 10 14
(^3013)
(^2919)
9 34
26 9
1 30
Homespun 73
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