Our first Quilt Show, in 2015, was based around the theme of "Our Spaces".... those special places that each of us choose to be inspired, work on our creativity, and sew!!!!
Margaret Baxter – Quilting space: My Craft/Sewing Room
This is a small room which started out as the fourth bedroom named by my grand-daughters as “the children’s ward”.
I enjoy my time in this room - the tranquillity of looking out the window at the cows grazing in the paddocks and the beautiful Capertee Valley escarpment makes it a magic place to spend time sewing. In this room I have my sewing machine, two cupboards for material and my cutting board on a table with extended legs so I don’t experience back ache when cutting material for patchwork.
Liz Burlington – Quilting space: Quits
I have been sewing since I was in primary school but the desire to have my “Own Space” didn’t arise until I became a mum, however.
About 35 years later down the track I told my husband, “it was only fair that I have a shed for my stuff as he had a big shed for all his stuff”. So we organised the building of my shed on the proviso that I call it quits on spending money once the building was finished – SO I called it “Quits”.
When I’m working in Quits I have a deep sense of peace and serenity. Hanging on the walls are lots of artworks and other handmade items that have been crafted for me by family and friends and this helps create the atmosphere in the room. Most of my quilts are given away to people as an expression of my love toward them.
Barbara Clark – Quilting space: The Lounge Room
Barb’s space is the lounge room of a beautiful cottage on the magnificent property Dabee in Rylstone. In this brightly lit space many ideas were developed into beautiful quilts. Barb has a real ability to mix and match a broad range of fabrics into fashionable home decorations such as cushions, place mats and quilts of course. Barb is presently living in New Zealand due to family circumstances, and we all miss her input into the Bogee Crafters workshops.
Glenda Dixon – Quilting space: Atelier
When we bought our property there was an existing stone building called “The Stable” which was quickly converted into my sewing studio. Aware of my love of all things French, a very dear friend gave me a nameplate for the door, and my studio became “Atelier”.... the French word for “artist’s workshop or studio”.
My space is large and light and I have beautiful views of the Capertee Valley and the Wollemi National Park from every window. These views inspired my all-time favourite, and most challenging at the time, quilt named “Stormy Sunrise at GlenErin”. This friendship quilt was made from a collection of fabrics contributed by all members of the Bogee Crafters group.
I love being able to simply close the door at the end of the day, and come back to my work whenever. It gets out of control with fabrics being dragged out from every nook and cranny searching for inspiration, but a big clean-up at the completion of each quilt soon gets it back in order... until the next time.
Mary Leask – Quilting space: The Sheila Shed
Most men on farms have sheds to “work” in, so this sheila needed a shed too!
The Sheila Shed - A place to escape into a world of creativity, colour, fabric, a place to relax and be messy when I want to, a place where time evaporates when I am totally engrossed in my patchwork and quilting, a place for likeminded friends to visit for a few hours. There is an armchair for my husband when he comes to see what I am up to, but the Sheila Shed is my special place where I spend many happy hours sewing for my grandchildren and working on special projects with the Bogee Crafters.
The Sheila Shed – my happy place!
Di Page – Quilting space: The Old Nursery
This space came about because it was a quiet place where I could work on my projects without interruption and where I could walk away without having to do a big pack up. When I’m working in The Old Nursery, I feel a sense of calm and freedom. My project work gets my full attention and time passes very quickly.
The Old Nursery is so named because it was the Children’s Nursery at Brymair. The children who were raised there have been back to visit and asked - What had become of the space? Of course it is, at times, very messy but it remains a lovely place for creating. Quilting for me evolved through our friendship group in our tiny community, and our little group of quilters have been a constant source of support and encouragement.
Margaret Skropeta – Quilting space: The Sewing Room
The sewing room at one end of the house has large windows letting in light all year around. Looking out the window is a view of Bogee Bridge with the beautiful escarpment of the Capertee Valley in the background. A combustion heater heats the room on cold winter days.
Along under the window is a day bed, the cutting table is in the middle of the room directly in front of the window – the sewing machine takes pride of place in many different positions on this table, a second cutting table is along the adjacent wall, which is mainly used for storage. The linen chest in the corner holds the fabric stash and the book case holds craft books and DVDs and selected parts of the fabric stash.
I love my sewing room. The greatest value of the sewing room is that I can walk away from what I am doing without putting everything away or cleaning up until I have completed my current quilt.
Blanche Wilson – The Golden Friend of the Bogee Crafters
Blanche is the golden friend of the ALL the BogeeCrafters. Through her generosity of spirit she has supported the development of friendship amongst the group. She has taught many of us country ways and encouraged all to be independent and thought right in our beliefs. She dabbles in a range of crafts such as knitting and patchwork and one of her pet projects was the design and making of “bridge table cloths” which were sold as a fund raiser throughout her broader friendship groups.
The visits the Bogee Crafters make to Blanche’s place, always commence with a great morning tea often followed by a fantastic lunch or a visit to a local winery or two depending upon the time of year. Blanche’s ideas and contribution to the Bogee Crafters group is greatly valued and appreciated by ALL.