Pretty Patches - June, 2017

Large quilts are such beautiful items to behold, but I find it remarkable how designs with serious wow factor can sometimes also be relatively simple to create. Here is, of course, a whole lot of time and love still poured into those neatly stitched seams and perfectly placed blocks, whatever the complexity, but quilts such as Lynne Goldsworthy’s Summer Star, which features on this issue’s cover, and Amanda Jean Nyberg’s bright and colourful Donuts design build from basic components into a cohesive whole with incredible impact.

One of the joys of stitching, and a secret we quite rightly tend to keep to ourselves when others admire our handiwork, is that once you’ve mastered a few skills and stocked up on essential kit, fantastic results can often be achieved surprisingly quickly with the right design. And whether it’s a big quilt or a simple little make such as the handy hot mitt, pretty appliqué picture or sweet baby shoes you’ll find in this issue, the creative process behind the project is always rewarding. Quilting is such a versatile and boundless medium that those with talent can also work intricate, breathtaking detail into pieced projects, as the exquisite art quilts of Annabel Rainbow demonstrate. From fascinating textual elements to the characterful expressions of her portrait subjects, Annabel’s work is quite simply extraordinary.

Karen Hollocks, Editor