Happy New Year!!!  I hope you’re having a wonderful summer filled with family, food and laughter… and managed to get some quality “quilty” time in too.  At the time of writing this I have great plans of making excellent progress on my summer quilt along.  I’m not one for the heat – I’m happy in my studio and only come out when the day is cooler!  That does mean I take on very nocturnal gardening activities in the summery months.

My quilting journey started over 30 years ago – Yvonne Roberts QSM is my Aunt and she taught me patchwork just after they moved to Picton.  Even though I had been sewing my own clothes since a teenager – cutting and sewing in a straight line was harder than I thought!!!

In the early 2010’s I discovered quilting.  Until that point I’d been quilting by hand but in early 2010’s I migrated into free motion quilting on my domestic machine… which I thrashed!!  It became pretty clear that I was going to have to upsize and I brought my first long arm.

This quilting road has upped to another level since then…. nearly two years ago we brought a paddock off the family farm in the Wairarapa.  I now have an old classroom as my quilting studio and two long arms.  I’m a huge advocate for quilting of any kind.  My work is all free motion; however, I recognise the value all quilting brings and can wax on for hours on this topic!!!   I teach quilting and think of myself as a cheerleader for the quilters – encouraging all and every aspect of quilting regardless of machine or method.

There are times when I hit the quilting wall – physically and mentally.   Not one to sit still for long, my husband and I have a massive project restoring our “house-plonked-in-a-paddock” back into the gracious grand lady she is.

I’m new to the AQ committee… yet to find out what my “job” is going to be… but I’m coming with a trailer load of professional knowledge and tools.  I’m hoping to expand my “quilty” world a little further.

Kind regards
Suzanne Sage

This is Suzanne’s lovely spacious sewing room