A class with Sarah Fielke

I spent five glorious hours on Saturday at Patchwork Orange in a class with Sarah Fielke. We had a wonderful day that passed far too quickly, blissfully absorbing Sarah's knowledge, and talking about this, that and everything. We covered everything from needle threaders & thimbles, needleturn applique and hand-piecing to bullying, Japanese culture, and education in Brethren schools! Thank you to Lucy, the owner of Patchwork Orange for organising a great day.

A highlight of classes with Sarah is that she brings many of her divine quilts. I love seeing these quilts up close. They are even more stunning in real life! 

On this trip, Sarah brought:

'The Night Garden', a beautiful little quilt, with light fabrics sparkling vibrantly across a deep blue and green background.

And the 'Wing and a Prayer' quilt. This quilt won the 'Best Reproduction Quilt Inspired by an Antique Quilt' award at the The Sydney Quilt Show in June 2011. It is technically excellent and visually stunning.

Sarah spoiled us with a peek at some pre-release fat quarters of her new fabric range, St Ives. It was very special to see this range before it hits the shops. The story behind this range is personal to Sarah, being a representation of many things from her childhood and a tribute to her mother. You can share the story at this post over at True Up. Oooh, and we each got to keep a little piece of St Ives to take home. This was my choice:

Sarah also brought her first quilt made from St Ives. This is 'Made in Cherry' and is available as a free pattern at Lecien. Sarah made four of these for Market, one in each colourway of her new range - impressive! 

So did I actually do anything other than talk and drool over quilts? Well, no, not much. But I was keen to have Sarah show me how to hand-piece the block from her 'Jazz Hands' quilt.

I know I've sung Sarah's praises before, but I feel I need to do it again. She is a most inspiring quilter, with a brilliant knack for paying homage to traditional quilt designs, while catapulting them into the 21st century with her unique and fun flair. She is wonderfully generous with her knowledge. And for the quilting superstar that she is, she is so refreshingly understated about her work and achievements. Hmmm, this is starting to sound like a school report comment :) 
Signed: Ms Bloom x