Aotearoa Quilters relies on volunteers who generously give their time and use their skills to facilitate the association, build membership, organise events and encourage creativity amongst the quilting community.
You can contact the committee via email – Click on CONTACT AQ
The current committee is:
Valda Sutton – President
Sheryl Madigan – Vice President, Members Challenges, Publicity, Newsletter
Nita Harding – Secretary, Publicity, Newsletter
Heather Craig – Treasurer
Jenny Ayden – Regional Funding
Cindy Dobbin – Touring Exhibitions
Jill Bowman – Membership Secretary, Website backup
Judie Wert – Website, Social Media
Kelly Elliott – no duties assigned as yet
Suzanne Sage – no duties assigned as yet
Valda Sutton – President
In my professional life I was a Fabric Technology teacher in Hamilton. We retired to Thames in 2010 where we ran a B&B for 7 years. I now work as a volunteer/trainer for Citizens Advice and also volunteer for St John in the Emergency Dept at the hospital. I enjoy both jobs as I like working with people and it is great to be able to help people in these distressing times.
When time allows I love to create my quilts/ wall hangings from images I collect from overseas travels. As president of our local Patchwork Club ( Patchwork Unlimited) I enjoy working with others and consider myself a good team player who listens to others, but is also able to make decisions. I have enjoyed watching AQ develop, with lots of new activities, challenges and growth in membership and look froward to being part of that team, sharing my skills and knowledge.
Sheryl Madigan – Vice President, Members Challenges
Nita Harding – Secretary
I am interested in contributing more to Aotearoa Quilters as I have got so much out of my involvement with the group since joining. I am relatively new to patchwork and quilting and keen to learn as much as possible. I have been a sewer and knitter since childhood, and also dabbled in fibre crafts such as spinning, weaving and felting, so this is an extension of these interests.
I have been involved in a range of organisations and often served on their committees over the years. These range from groups such as the local Plunket committee, swimming club, spinners and weavers, and committees related to work activities. Generally, my role was to support other committee members, secretarial duties, or run an aspect of the committee work such as organising an event.
Heather Craig – Treasurer
My mother taught me to sew as a child making clothing and I started quilting in 2002. After joining Christchurch Quilters in 2009, I spent 4 years on the committee organising workshops, retreats and was President in 2016 & 2017. In 2016, I joined the main committee as Tutors’ Convenor for the National Quilting Symposium Christchurch 2017. I have attended many varied workshops with tutors from our own club and other parts of New Zealand, Australia, USA and South Africa. I have learnt lots of skills and techniques ie traditional and foundation piecing, applique, thread painting, fabric design using paints and inks with stamps and stencils for art quilts. I have won prizes with my quilts in local exhibitions with a couple of these travelling to Antarctica for an exhibition which were featured in the NZ Quilter magazine. I like to do pictorial quilts working from photos taken on walks.
I worked in administration, accounts and payroll then retired early in 2016 to enjoy life. I love gardening, walking, swimming, mountain biking as well as quilting.
Cindy Dobbin – Events Calendar and Travelling exhibitions
Having been an educationalist for 43 years makes me believe I can bring a raft of skills to AQ’s committee and engage members in welcoming and meaningful ways. I have been Quilting since I discovered it while in Auckland during the period 1971-3.
I live on a small farmlet in Opunake with husband Murray and dog Tia. I have two sons with four grandchildren between them.
Jenny Ayden – Regional Funding
My patchwork and quilting journey began around 1990, when a colleague asked if I would go to a Patchwork night class with her. I became a member of the Auckland Quilters Guild which continued until I moved out of Auckland 2 years ago. I joined Manukau Quilters Guild when it began and spent more than 10 years on the committee including two terms as the President. During my time as President there were weekend retreats and quilt shows which needed organising. I enjoyed my time on the committee. However, I believe that for Guilds to continue to grow there needs to be new ideas and new people to keep it moving.
When I retired two years ago I moved to Thames and am enjoying becoming involved in local patchwork and craft groups.
Jill Bowman – Website backup
I am a retired researcher/policy adviser and now spend my time creating textile art and playing pickleball.
I started quilting more than 30 years ago after being signed up for a couple of classes by a colleague whose sampler quilt I had admired. I started with quilts made from traditional patterns using floral fabrics, but quickly moved to designing my own quilts, experimenting with techniques, dyeing my own colourful fabrics, and incorporating hand stitching into my work.
We spent two years in Japan in the early 2000s where I enjoyed exploring Tokyo’s many fabric shops and stitching Japanese-inspired quilts. I particularly loved indigo fabrics, travelling to the island of Shikoku where indigo is grown, to visit nationally recognised artisans, and to try dyeing.
Many of my quilts record a time or place, my environment, or a theme that is special to me. I volunteered at Arohata Prison for 11 years, as part of the shut-in-stitchers programme, and recorded in fabric the difficult lives of the strong women I worked with.
Photos from an amazing safari in Africa became a stitched wall hanging, and I combined textiles collected from around the world in a quilt interspersed with ice-dyed fabrics.
Many of my quilts feature the native birds that spill over into our garden from Zealandia, Wellington’s ecosanctuary. My dog walks around the hills of Wellington have inspired other pieces.
After completing an on-line course with inspirational English textile artist Claire Benn, I started working with earth pigments mixed with soya milk to create art, finished with hand stitch. It’s an interesting medium with lots of opportunities for experimentation and, again, I’ve turned to nature for inspiration – Wellington’s wild south coast, our beautiful beaches and our unique bush.
I am Wellington’s regional co-ordinator. As a new committee member, I’m looking forward to becoming more involved in organising the challenging and fun activities of Aotearoa Quilters.
Judie Wert – Website, Social Media
I started quilting in 1995 while I was living in Hamilton. I attended my first quilting class run by Donna Ward in 1996. I also joined the Waikato Patchwork & Quilters guild either that year or early in the next year. Over the years, I’ve made well over 200 quilts of various sizes. I discovered early on that hand quilting was not my thing. In 2007, I moved to Christchurch and joined both the Canterbury Patchwork & Quilting guild and Christchurch Quilters. I also re-joined Aotearoa Quilters about then as well. In 2014 I bought a long arm quilting machine. I still feel like I’m learning how to use it. At the end of 2021 we retired and moved up to Katikati. Since our house here is was too small for the long arm, I’ve changed to a sit down Bernina Q20. I’ve joined the Waihi Beach Quilters and, now that my mother is finally in a rest home, I hope to be able to at least visit some of the other quilt groups in the area. I have been a committee member in most of the quilting groups that I have belonged to, so I feel it is about time I volunteered to be on the Aotearoa Quilters committee.
Kelly Elliott
I’m Kelly, from the West Coast of the South Island. I made my first quilt 15 years ago for my new baby boy, and I’m now addicted to anything about quilting and growing all the skills I can. My focus is on designing E2E patterns for computerised long-arm quilting machines, and finishing my Wanders wife top. I’m excited to join the Aotearoa Quilters community and contribute – Kiwi quilt makers are so inspiring!
Suzanne Sage
I’m a quilter located in the Wairarapa and belong to Kapiti Coast Quilters, Rose City and Wairarapa Quilters. I’m still working part time on my professional life and since 2018 the other part of the part-time has been offering professional quilting services. I feel very fortunate to have great balance between the commercial world and creative world.
I started my quilting journey over 30 years ago which has been on and off again at various times while life twisted and turned, but since our return to New Zealand early 2000’s it’s really taken off. From about 2010 – I discovered free motion quilting and I’ve been hooked ever since… my passion now is quilting, and patchworking has become a means to get something to quilt (although a blank or painted piece of fabric works equally as well). I’m keen to push my quilting as far as I can, happy to muck things up and experiment with my long arm.
When I’m not in the studio, my husband and I can be found skiing on any available strip of snow (nationally or internationally), reinvigorating old homes – or asleep – dreaming of quilting motifs!!