Judy's Gallery

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2. Click here to visit our Pleatmaker Online Classes Students Gallery
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4. Click here to visit our Westalee Mystery Quilt Online Classes Gallery
5. Click here to visit our Westalee Ruler Foot Online Classes Gallery

Rina Stols commenced making a tablecloth but ended up with a magnificent wallhanging which she is kindly sharing with us all. Rina said "I used cross stitch designs which do take a long time to sew, each border design (34 of them) took 2 hours to sew on my embroidery machine and the 4 middle designs 6 hours plus the main middle design 4 hours, not to mention the amount of thread; but the end result is so perfect and beautiful that it was a joy to stitch. I used my Stencil Burner (purchased from Judy)to complete all the borders which would've been impossible without this little gem of a tool. It certainly would've been impossible without using my Stencil Burner. Real Indian Silk was chosen as the fabric and the middle design is an Indian Design Embellishment. Took me a month to complete but if you want to do something, do it properly."Well, Rina, you've impressed me and I'm sure our readers will agree, it is superb and will be treasured for years as a family heirloom.

 Eileen McNamara has made two of Joan's Own Creations up and has kindly sent them to me for us to share. Village Shops and Step by Step are from an applique range that excites everyone with the fine detail and embellishments used. Eileen said "I enjoyed making both these projects but especially Step by Step. My husband loved the Village Shops so much that he had it framed and it sits proudly on our dining room.

  

 Radical Roosters patterns by Florine Johnson Designs. 
   Jo Lomax wrote that "I designed the layout - I only had 6 Rooster blocks to work with.
 I and five of my friends made the quilt; we are all members of Coorparoo Quilters.
 Surprise surprise !!!!!!! I won it. I was in Sydney hubby rang me and played the message on the answering machine from the Cancer foundation. Amazing I got the quilt back, I still think how did I win it with all the tickets we sold?
 The quilt was donated by Coorparoo Quilters to the Queensland Cancer Fund, it raised around $5,000.00."

Judy's Note: I, too, had tickets in this raffle but wasn't so lucky - you ALL know how I adore Roosters!

Simone Mitchell wrote
I made this kaleidoscope quilt using Marti Michell's Small Kaleido Ruler when recovering after an operation. I have always wanted to do one and this is gave me the perfect excuse. I made it for my Dr who saw a lot of me in the first 3 months after the op. She loves colours and I cannot confine myself to just a few the extra colours keep creeping in. Started in April of 2006 and completed in August 2006 it has been one of the fastest quilts I have made. Machine pieced and hand quilted. My Dr. has her quilt and loves it too, now I just hope she uses it. Please find attached 2 of the photos. I have enough fabric cut for another one. and I will probably do a mini but not this year. 

 Ruth's Quilt Wallhanging
 Appearing in Burda Patchwork Magazine E 918 (France)is a very elegant masterpiece Quilt Wallhanging, designed and made by Ruth Muller from Switzerland. Ruth used our Pleat Makers for the textured effects as well as other fabric manipulation ideas from Jennie Rayment's books.
 I am just so delighted and proud for our Pleaters to be published in an European magazine and congratulate Ruth for her expertise and artistry. Ruth has been selling and teaching the use of our Pleat Makers in France and Switzerland for some time now. I look forward to meeting her and Burda staff when I travel to France later in 2006.

Joanne's Purse Joanne Wells attended one of our Machine Embroidery Retreats in 2005 and was inspired by Rowena Charlton's cross-stitch designed bags embellished with Hot-Fix Swarovski Crystals that she produced exclusively for Punch with Judy.
 Using Yenmet Twilight Gold Black Metallic Thread on black cotton velvet for the purse, I am sure you will agree that this little gem is the most delightful little evening bag you could wish for. Joanne used LS88 Gold Purse Frame and the finished size of the purse is 5 x 7 inches.
 CD is available for $19.95 and from our Show Stands only as is one of our "exclusive to the shows" products by agreement with Rowena.

Bev's Memory Wallhanging
 At a recent Brisbane Show, Joan Maciejewski from Qld. showed me her memory wallhanging she made for her sister Bev and I asked her if she wouldn't mind sharing it with you. Bev said "the background was done with just simple blocks and the photos were placed in a sequential order form the top left and appliqued in place. The horizontal sashes are from left over pieces of pintucked silk from her daughter's Christening Gown from 1973 and the flowers from a dressmaking job during the 1980's. I made the tatting which surrounds the central panel and I placed a small Swarovski Crystal in Bev's hand. This was for Bev's 70th birthday and she was very happy and surprised to receive it and dutifully showed it of to everyone in her patchwork group."
 Well, Bev, we all envy you!

Framed Embroideries
 Jo Davies from Cowra in country N.S.W. has a beautiful gallery of framed embroidery featuring many designs from Sue Box Creations. Isn't this a lovely way to brighten any child's bedroom and allow them to have magical dreams of fantasy and far away places?
 Thank you Jo for being so generous in sharing your idea. 

"Ties of the Blood"
 Fay Davies from Crookwell in country N.S.W. showed me her latest project of tracing her family tree for which she used Bubble Jet Set 2000. Fay has this tribute hanging in her home but knew that her family may not be as fussed on hanging it in their home "down the track", so she had to think up a way of having all that history preserved yet shown. So, rather than a quilt or a large wall hanging, Fay has achieved the same effect by sewing the family tree in sections that can be folded up into a much smaller project, something like a book, to be opened when needed. 

Fay said:- "It may be interesting to know that some of the photos were rather large portraits in somewhat poor condition. They were too big to scan so I took a photo of them with my digital camera and adjusted them in Adobe Photoshop. Other photos were quite small (Box Brownie size) and I scanned them at hight resolution than usual and again adjusted then in the software. There were no photographs or portraits of two of my convict ancestors and so I found maps of the area that they lived in before transportation to our lovely colony! One portrait was on glass and is really quite precious so scanning was done VERY CAREFULLY before packing it away very carefully.
 The actual process of printing photos on fabric is really quite simple with the products available but the scanning and manipulation of the images prior to going to Print is a time consuming one at times requiring much patience and a reasonable knowledge of the photographic software. I have found that some "students" are rather reluctant to put the time into learning how to use their software." 

Congratulations Fay on your "Ties of the Blood" Wall Hanging and thank you for allowing me to share this with others.
 Click here to view the full quilt (front view) and (back view)

"Out of the Darkness"
Joan Grimes from Banana, west of Rockhampton in Qld. has completed her "Out of the Darkness" Quilt from Pam Bono Designs Block of the Month. Quite an achievement Joan and I'm sure everyone will agree how wonderful it looks done on a dark blue background. 

I taught "my Banana Patch girls" Pam's method of easy patchwork when I last visited them and always enjoy their friendliness and eagerness to learn more, more, more! 

Fire Engine Quilt
Here is a lovely quilt made by a very doting Grandma (and who isn't?) for Thomas who obviously is really "into" Fire Engines. 

 Edna Winter wrote to me "I was very ambitious with my grandson's Christmas present this year. He is very big on fire engines and all to do with them. His father is a volunteer fire fighter with the CFA so I decided to make him a quilt on the theme. I also had a photo of my grandson which I edited and used the head and shoulders, then dressed him in firemen's uniform and appliqued several of them on to the quilt. The centre was an applique of their local fire station. I used Bubble Jet Set 2000 for the photos of Thomas' face and many of the other photos attaching the treated fabric to the used Freezer Paper Sheets." Edna chuckled when Thomas decided it was very cold on Christmas Day (even though it was a scorcher) so he had to snuggle into his new love and wouldn't be parted from it. That would've been reward enough for any Grandma, don't you agree?

Woodland Treasures Wallhanging
 Denise Fiddes from Victoria has impressed us all with her first project made with her new embroidery machine. Using Sue Box's "Woodland Treasures" CD, Denise began this "small wallhanging" for a new member of the family, but she admitted it tended to grow and grow because she just adored ALL the critters on the CD.
 Thought you may have liked to see it too and maybe gain some more ideas for projects for the little folk. Thank you Denise for allowing us to share your talent.

Photo Wallhanging
 When Liz Colledge attended one of our Machine Embroidery Retreats, she kindly brought some Show & Tell projects. All the students appreciated Liz's Photo Wallhanging, so I asked her if I could share the idea with you. Those who don't care for tackling a memorabilia quilt because of the size may very well be inspired to make one of these.
 Liz said "I was looking for something different to do as I had not long finished another quilt, the 5th in 3-4 years. My daughters thought they were nice but not "their thing" so ideas were needed. One day in my local Janome store I saw a wallhanging on display that sent the mind into action. I took the basic idea and made one for myself using photos from my eldest daughter and her family. When I showed the finished wallhanging to my daughters they both immediately wanted one in different colours and from there it has snowballed. I printed my photos on fabric treated with "Bubble Jet Set 2000" and used the frames from the Sue Box Collection CD called "Floral Illusion". For the square frames I used a satin stitch. I had lots of fun making these wallhangings and it's great when you see something you have made and given being used or displayed. That's the best reward!"

Double Wedding Ring Anniversary Quilt

In January, 2004, my own sister and husband celebrated their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary. A family reunion as a tremendous surprise gathering brought together family and friends from three States and brought back some relatives who now live overseas. We had a fabulous day and they did too. There were friends brought together who hadn't seen each other for years and years. Lorraine & Bruce were married in 1954, so if you look hard enough at the quilt, you will even see "MOI" as a little blonde flower girl.

The quilt was made using June Tailor's Colourfast Printer Fabric by a clever quilter from Cambodia where Lorraine's daughter lives and she commissioned this beautiful heirloom memorabilia quilt to be made after I supplied the pre-treated fabric sheets. The Double Wedding Ring design lends itself superbly to an Anniversary Quilt but don't the colours and fabrics just look so regal?

First Prize - Best of Show

This is becoming a habit - but Lois Brooker has again taken the honours at the 2004 Royal Easter Show in Sydney. This year Lois made the Feathered Star Medallion Quilt from the Marti Michell range of patterns using Perfect Patchwork Templates Sets A & P. Doesn't it look great? Congratulations Lois from all of us.
 Second year in a row, will she make it a Trifecta? 

Quiltsmart Quilts

The range of Quiltsmart's Fusible Interfacing designs has delighted many newcomers to the world of quilting as well as "seasoned" quilters. Jean Freeman from Nerang, Qld. sent me this absolutely superb photo of her Medley Opus Quilt from the Quiltsmart range that she made early this year whilst recovering from a hip replacement operation. Jean has named her quilt "Summertime - and the living is easy!" Her colour choices are great and it's just a shame that this photo possibly doesn't give it the full credit the actual quilt deserves. Congratulations Jean! I received a real boost in receiving your letter and thank you for allowing me to share it with others. 

One of my regular Show Helpers, Jasmine McDonald from Castlemaine, Vic. made this extraordinary Lone Star Quilt using the Quiltsmart Fusible Interfacing Lone Star Quick Kit. Made entirely from left over scraps, Jasmine very cunningly used the same coloured fabrics for each "round" of diamonds, thus giving it the desired continuity of colour needed. Isn't it fantastic? 

Made so quickly and easily by simply ironing the diamond shapes onto the fusible side of the printed Quiltsmart interfacing, folding and stitching upon the lines indicated. Thank you Jasmine for allowing me to display how clever the idea is and how clever you are! 

Pam Bono Quilt

Every now and then, I get a real thrill when someone achieves their final goal and tells me all about it. I received this letter - "Hi Judy! Remember me? It seems a lifetime since I started on the quilt. The good news is that I finally finished!!! You would be proud of me! I am astonished at how lovely it looks and can hardly believe I really did it. This is the first major work I have done and I thank you for encouraging me. Regards Claire."
 I replied and asked if we could all share in Claire's achievement and Bob replied.

"Dear Judy, I'll start by introducing myself as Bob, Claire's husband. It's really great to have your praise for her work and I think your encouragement along the way was very helpful. Everyone who has seen the quilt here has been full of congratulations but there is a problem, namely, where do I now go for an afternoon nap? Probably on a rug on the floor!!. I always read your newsletters and admire the friendliness you have built up with your clients. Congratulations and best wishes Bob"

Claire wrote "My interest in quilts began after I saw an exhibition of Amish Quilts in San Francisco and then at the New Zealand National Quilt display.
 I enrolled in a beginner's class at the local sewing centre in Bendigo and made the standard sampler quilt in the 5 lessons, then went home and with the aid of a "how to" magazine, quilted it myself.
 Wanting to make a quilt for our bed, I searched for a suitable pattern and found what I wanted on your web site, Judy. The Pam Bono design seemed to be just what I wanted.
 I decided to make it a block of the month project and nearly gave up on the first block, when Bob, who is geometrically inclined and a perfectionist, pointed out a minute fault in an acute angle!!! After cooling off, I laboriously unpicked and corrected the fault, a procedure that was repeated often.
 I made a pact with myself, that this would not be a UFO and did not start any other project, until the finished quilt went to be quilted.
 As we live out of town, I am used to teaching myself from books, so found that the instructions set out by Pam Bono were easy to follow. I sure got a lot of practice in cutting and accurate measuring. I learned to make bias strips and lots of techniques new to me and tackled each new step as it arrived in the mail from you.
 Thank you Judy, for all your help and encouragement. End of story."
Claire & Bob Georgeson are from Tasmania. 

Punch Embroidery

This is just the most wonderful story that literally broke me up when I read it. 

Jeff Hitchin from Toronto, N.S.W. has a very special reason for making this quilt and "hopes it will inspire a few other mere males to have a go at this wonderful craft. Maybe even some mere females too." Reckons if he can do it so can anybody. His story....
 "In 1997 I was an underground coal miner and my luck ran out. I got caught in a coal fall and my chest is in pieces. The Doctors say I should be dead and won't try to put it back together and I like my chest just the way it is thank you! I can't lift and do things like that so my five granddaughters have learned they must climb up for a cuddle. I am an artist and paint with oils, but for some reason I couldn't paint for the first two years of my injury. Something happened in my head that put me straight into panic mode as soon as I touched a brush. I noticed the punch embroidery at one of the shows but didn't buy it. I think it took another couple of shows for me to pluck up enough courage to give it a go. I LOVE it. Little Lillian is the reason for making this cot quilt. I find that the punch embroidery is like painting with a needle and thread. Much less messy wouldn't you say? Thank you for showing me this great craft in the first place, as I feel it has helped me a lot in the healing process over the years." 

Punchneedle Quilt
Bonnie Giorgi told me I saved her sanity when she was bedridden then housebound for some time recently due to health. Bonnie had been a student of mine in a hands-on workshop for Igolochkoy™Punchneedle Embroidery, so when she had to "stay-put" she found great solace in exploring the world of punch embroidery. She simply punched away numerous designs then put them altogether in this wonderful quilt for the youngsters. What a great idea? She made my day when she relayed how I had helped her make it through a very difficult time. Congratulations Bonnie, you are the one who deserves the accolades. 

Anniversary Quilt
 Joy Eastham made a memorable "Anniversary Quilt" for relatives who were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Joy used June Tailor's Colourfast Printer Fabric after reading a review of that product in a recent issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Magazine. She thought her prayers had been answered and marvelled at the ease of use and the beautiful replicas she was able to obtain printing her family photos directly onto the pre-treated fabric sheets.
 Made of Hearts, each child and grandchild has a photo and a heart with their special interest featured. Imagine the delight when this Anniversary Memory Quilt was presented to Joan and her husband when the family organized a wonderful surprise party for them! Great to have such a generous and thoughtful rellie like you Joy!  

Our Memories Quilt by Fay Davey
Fay made this beautiful quilt depicting a life full of memories.
 Fay said: "Most of the pictures were printed on white homespun which I discovered was
 not really a close enough weave to get A1 prints. I also used some Canon fabric sheets (too expensive and definitely no better than Percale cotton sheeting using BubbleJet Set 2000)
 I hope you enjoy viewing the resulting "quilt".

We DID and we hope you are inspired too. Thank you Fay for sharing this achievement.

CONGRATULATIONS Again!
 Lois Brooker deserved her 1st Place for "Traditional Wall Hanging" in the 2003 Royal Agricultural Show, Sydney, with her Sunburst Quilt made with Marti Michell's Perfect Patchwork Template Set F. Lois said she wasn't 100% happy with it because she had to rush at the last moment (sounds familiar) to complete it. When visiting the Show, she couldn't see her entry displayed, so thought to herself, "that'd be right, it wasn't even good enough to deserve a space!" Imagine her surprise when she entered the main section to find her Wall Hanging displayed under Glass in the Best of Show section! She shed a few tears of joy. Wouldn't you? Lois teaches at Singleton, N.S.W. if any wish to join her classes.

Memory Quilt by Anne Burrows 

A very touching and sad story accompanies this magnificent "true life story". Anne Burrows lost her husband earlier than expected and didn't want photographic memories of their family life tucked away in a drawer. So, Anne made this fitting tribute to her husband's very full life and holidays shared which now hangs in the living area of their home for her and the family to feel he is still with them.

The front of the quilt depicts his very challenging life full of accomplishments in his work, leisure time, holidays, schooldays and family life. All photos transferred to the fabric with our Photo Transfer Paper because Anne said it was the only one she found that gave true to the original reproduction colourwise.

Each photo is surrounded by a log cabin design. On the reverse side of the quilt, the squares are made from his shirts and many have stories relating to the corresponding photo on the other side. These anecdotes are like a diary and often humorous. They were done on the computer and transferred to fabric using the Bubble Jet Set method. 

Anne said it gave her tremendous satisfaction and enabled her to work through the tough times following his death and allowed her to work off her anger. 

When she asked me would I like a loan of the quilt for the recent Stitches & Craft Show in Melbourne, I felt so honoured that I was trusted with it. When I showed it in my seminars and related the above story, there were several teary eyes in the audience.

What do you think? I feel very humble and wish I had've been to half the places they seemed to have travelled outback to and certainly lived life to the fullest.

Quilt by Dorothy Knox 

We have a range of patterns from The Designer's Workshop that are foundation paper piecing floral designs. Dorothy Knox liked the Waterlilies one but decided she preferred to applique it. She kindly sent me these photos of her achievement to demonstrate that often designs are utilized in many different ways and wanted to share with you this great idea.

Dorothy said it was more than a challenge adapting the pattern to applique but she persevered. A bigger challenge though was that she didn't have sufficient fabric as she had bought the fabric with something else in mind from a shop that had since closed. "I sure was doing patchwork out of patches of material in the end," said Dorothy.

Well, the staff here and I really like the result and hope you are inspired too.