Get to know The Guild better by meeting our talented members! We have interesting and inspiring members all over the country doing amazing sewing and we want you to be able to share their work. We are asking Members to tell us a bit about their sewing life using five simple questions. At the end of the interview each member suggests another to interview. This way we hope to bring you a wide range of makers from all corners of The Guild over the next weeks and months. If you know an inspiring quilter who we should feature, get in touch digital@quiltersguild.org.uk and we’ll send out a copy of our questionnaire.

Meet Sarah Hibbert from Region 7

What are you working on now?

The quilt I am working on has been pieced using hand dyed fabric by farbStoff – Heidi Stoll-Weber mixed in with pops of colour taken from favourite scraps I have had for several years, either Japanese silk, indigo circles or pieces from quilts I have made in the past.  Due to the delicate fabric I have decided to slowly hand quilt with various blue silk threads.  I am not worried that these stitches are irregular due to either quilting when I’m happy or quilting when I am tired as this adds into the memory of the quilt. As this is a very much a pick up and quilt when free there is no time pressure to complete.

Whilst having this project on the side I have also just completed a quilt using the drunkard’s path block made irregular with additional stashing and turning the blocks. I so enjoyed using Japanese Linen with a mixture of neutral Essex Linens. This began with only 3 or 4 blocks but really grew quickly when I couldn’t choose which fabrics to use – I wanted to use them all…. It is a straight line quilted which is a preference to me together with a face binding.

What’s your favourite quilt that you’ve made?

This must be my log cabin quilt, a pattern I have always loved right from the start. Even though I didn’t make one until 2010 – it was always a pattern I would make eventually but I wanted to find the right fabric. I visited the Amish community and the marvellous The Old Country Store and promptly fell in love with the lush hand dyed fabrics. I purchased, what I thought, would be enough but unfortunately, I was wrong. I telephoned through an order and waited and waited… they sent my package by surface mail! So, this quilt was quite a long time in the making.

For the backing I used cheater fabric for foundation piecing a log cabin, even though I didn’t use it to make the front I thought this would be fun.  It was hand quilted using perle cotton.

Who are your quilting heroes?

There have been many quilt heroes for me during my time as quilter, these vary from either friends or tutors who have really inspired and helped me on my path. But if I had to pick the first which lit that spark it must be Denyse Schmidt (USA). I read an article about her in Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine in the late 1990s and wow she was making such simple but colour packed quilts that really spoke to me for their design and timeless qualities.  I was lucky enough to attend one of her lectures 3 years ago in Denver and she is still up there with the most unique quilters of our generation. Modern quilting is definitely the area of quilts I find myself most comfortable in.

Can you recommend a good quilting read?

Right from the beginning of quilting I have adored quilt books and magazines – but the first real ‘how to’ book I purchased was Linda Steward’s Patchwork, Quilting and Applique. This is still the book I recommend to any new quilter who asks ‘How to…’ as it has such clear instructions and lots of ideas as a basis to create your own quilts. I find now after quilting for so many years I have fallen into my style, so I don’t buy as many pattern books, but I enjoy books on the history of quilts and design process such as Clues in Calico by Barbara Brackman and also Liberated Quilt Making by Gwen Marston.

What do you love about The Guild?

I have been a member for just over 30 years and continue to support The Guild and everything it offers especially now with the new digital path it is taking, especially the Instagram daily entries. It encourages members to take part in the hashtags, also with constant posting it will be popping up in feeds around the world showing that The Guild it active and inspiring. I really enjoy the sense of community within the Regional and Areas days I attend in Region 7 – every member is always so enthusiastic and encouraging at these events, wherever their expertise falls, there is a common ground of great interest and learning. I am also a member of the Modern Group and Contemporary Group; these specialist groups bring new ideas and challenges which I very much enjoy as it pushes my comfort zones out a little in a good way.

 

A huge thank you to all of our members who have been featured in our Meet a Member profiles. We love to read about your quilting lives, your work in progress and favourite quilty reads. It’s great to hear about your quilt heroes and we’re always inspired by the amazing quilts that you all make. Follow us on social media Instagram @thequiltersguild or The Quilters’ Guild on Facebook to see lots more of our talented members sewing every day!