Committee

The committee is elected bi-ennally by postal vote. Nominations are due on 1 February 2012. Download election information and the nomination form.

Our AGM is usually held in September each year.

The 2011 committee is:

President: Catherine McDonald
Treasurer: Josie Willis
Secretary: Mary Transom
Membership: Mary Napper
Newsletter: Paula Cole
Committee: Rachel Cadwaller, Debra De Lorenzo, Janet Ryan

PRESIDENT – CATHERINE McDONALD

Quilting gives to me a fellowship, creativity and a connection to the feminine world. Having grown up only with older brothers and having two wonderful sons, my quilts tend to be more masculine than pretty.

I love all forms of quilting but find that it is the artistic quilts that I want to make. I find inspiration sometimes from the fabric I produce but more and more from personal feelings. The ANZAC series I am currently working on, came from the Remarkable Symposium challenge but it’s the fact that my father was wounded at Monte Cassino in WWII and that I have a son in the army, that made this a very personal connection for me.

Treasurer – Josie Willis

I use quilting as a means of self-expression, of attempting to communicate a strongly held idea. For me, the inspiration to translate an idea into a quilt is a combination of the verbal and the visual.

Often, an overheard phrase or lines from a song will resonate with some that I have been thinking about and the idea starts to grow and take hold. I will know what I want my quilt to say.

The mental image acquires shape and colour when I see a physical object, such as a funky piece of jewellery or glass, which echoes and embodies the idea. The challenge then becomes to express that image in fabric.

Secretary – Mary Transom

I am inspired by the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe, JoAnne Hook, and Nancy Tichborne, and quilts by Velda Newman and Jane Sassman.

Attending art exhibitions and reading about art are helpful to me.  We have a very prestigious annual art competition here in Whakatane, the “Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Exhibition”; seeing the work of the painters is always thrilling.  Sometimes fibre art is included too!

Working with other quilters is inspiring too, especially the students in my classes, and I am constantly amazed at their creativity with colours and interpretation of my patterns.

Membership – Mary Napper

Foundation member of NANZQ.  I have been quilting for many years although latterly I have had little spare time to spend  with my fabric stash and stable of Bernina machines.

I am inspired by the lines and curves I see around me in trees, how light moves, views from my fifth floor office and the beach where I spend my Sunday’s.

I have recently become involved in making postcards and am enjoying making these small masterpieces which fit well with my frantic lifestyle.

Committee – Rachel Cadwallader

As the proprietor of a quilt shop I am committed to helping others to discover the pleasure and satisfaction that being creative with fabric can bring. My background has always been people centered and creative, so I bring a wealth of life experiences to my business and its customers.

I have been a keen sewer and had a passion for fabric and quilts since childhood and have been more fully involved in patchwork and quilting since 1995.

I make mostly traditional quilts but like to branch out a bit and try different ideas as in my quilt “Waste Not Want Not” which is made from selvedges.

Committee – Debra DeLorenzo

I have been quilting for 18 years. My favourite styles are scrappy traditional, like log cabins and pineapples, but I also love experimental artistic quilts. I very rarely hand quilt as there are always more quilts to be made than time available.

I love all sorts of fabric and will often use non cottons. Recently in Japan I bought silks and brocades for my ever growing stash.

I am a member of the T.O.W.R.A.G.S quilt group whose driving philosophy is that fun, quilting and craziness all go together in equal parts.

During my brief time as a quilter I have been privileged to have quilts tour internationally and was part of the Best of the Fringe 2010 Show, “The Princess and the Many Quilts”.

Committee – Janet Ryan

I have been quilting for nearly 30 years starting with traditional quilts made with templates and scissors. No speed piecing, no wide quilting rulers! My latest quilts use a variety of ‘strange’ quilting fabrics, knits, polyesters, and stuff that will burn! No templates, just wide rulers and olfa cutters.

I am inspired by nature and the colours of our world. I am inspired by my travels  and was fascinated by the old crumbly stone buildings and ruins in Ireland and the trees in Canada. My latest quilts consist of layers of fabric which can be burnt back to reveal more layers .

My dyeing is inspired by nature, the sea, sky, trees, bark etc. and the dyes left at the bottom of the pot!!!

Committee – Paula Cole

Quiltmaking – talking about this passion brings some wonderful memories. For me it’s not about the quilts I have made. It is about the people I have met, places I have been, quilts I have seen and the stories I can tell. Memories of a tour to the USA and Canada with Kathy Furlong in 1998, staying with Joen Wolfrom on Fox Island and sleeping under the quilt pictured on the cover of one of her books.

Symposia – the wonderful gatherings of friends you meet year after year. From my local Waitara Tuesday Nighters, Taranaki Patchworkers & Quilters, the New Plymouth Symposium, NANZQ Quilts Aotearoa and now to Aotearoa Quilters, I enjoy making a contribution and being inspired by all the creative quiltmakers whose paths have crossed my path.