MEET JUDY NEWMAN

What is it that you love about being a quilter?

Apart from the fabric, obviously…..I just love the wonderful friends and the companionship I have found in the quilting world. It is such a sharing hobby, it brings groups of women together of all ages and backgrounds and binds them together with the creativity and love of the quilts we make, in a way it feels like being enveloped in a warm cosy quilt when we are together. We support each other in the ups and downs of life and we laugh hysterically at the smallest thing. We share our treasured fabrics with each other, even the very precious ones and play for hours with designs, never tiring of the creative joy it brings.

What made you start selling patterns?

I began teaching at first, so I needed to design a sampler quilt pattern in order to teach it. After that, I continued making quilt after quilt, as is quite normal for the early addicted quilter and it seemed like my head was spinning with ideas. I think it was inevitable that I would start to design patterns when realized that people wanted to make what I had made.

What gives you the most joy from working in the quilting industry?

I would have to say teaching this amazing craft to others. It is so rewarding to see a tentative new quilter come to class, unsure as to whether or not they will be able to manage and create anything at all. Then to teach and guide and also, especially, to encourage the instinct of the student when it comes to colour and design so that they will have their own journey ahead of them.