|
|
|
|
The story behind Anjii’S ANGLES ©
Patchwork and Quilting entered my life in 1987, after seeing a display in Willunga, South Australia, just 4 years after my marriage. With my husband Ken’s immense support and encouragement from Natalie who taught me, I quickly became hooked, joined quilt groups and within a couple of years, became confident enough to begin to teach others including Ken “Out of self-defence and to inherit my stash” he says. 1989 found us moving to the Riverland of South Australia, 250 kms NE of Adelaide, where a new range of teaching challenges lay ahead of me. Initially, from our little hot kitchen, I taught many classes in the basics of hand piecing and quilting, and not surprisingly, most of my students became hooked also. Over the next 5 years, the venues changed a few times leading to a local hall (with air-conditioning – thank goodness) and my level of teaching began to include machine piecing and hand appliqué. A strong bond of friendship brought most of my students to form quilting groups of their own!! All this time, I entered quilts into exhibitions in Adelaide, Judged Quilt Challenges through the SA Quilters Guild, and was instrumental in getting Bi-Annual Quilt shows started in the Riverland. In the mid to late 1990’s life became tough with a string of medical and personal traumas which took its toll on my health. Whilst coping with these as best I could, I slipped into a deep physical and mental depression. My escape was to the only stress-free haven I had.... my quilting room, and there I slowly began my journey of rejuvenation. Two big events were about to happen that would change my life. On September 11, 2000, I started an online quilt group through Yahoo Groups called Quilting Down Under. This event has enriched my life beyond belief and has been one of the best things I’ve done with my life. The 650 plus members are all safe in the knowledge that sharing any aspect of their life is not only OK but is encouraged. This brings out many wonderful stories and funny jokes, just like it should be if you were sitting around at your own local quilt group. The next biggie occurred in mid 2001. There were some Half Square Triangles on my ironing board which were left over from a Mystery Quilt. These caught on the sleeve of my ‘ever so comfy’ pink towelling dressing gown (that I was known to still be wearing late in the afternoon). The rest as they say is history! I now had a reason to get out of bed. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months experimenting and designing quilts with this discovery. From there I began creating some of the projects within my book “Anjii’s Angles” which is for sale here. I tested my theory with a scrappy version on two local quilt groups, with positive feedback and this version is one of the projects in the book – Just Charming. With my technique confirmed as being a fun, creative workshop, I taught it through the Quilters Guild of South Australia. Over the years since 1987, even through the rough times, I never waivered from my desire to be more involved in quilting in Australia and overseas and to revive my love of teaching and meeting quilters. First and foremost, I love to see my students have fun in my workshops and because Anjii’s Angles© isn’t ‘Rocket Science’ and has a ‘BIG Forgiveness Factor’ built in, this happens very easily. Check out my Classes page to see the range of designs on offer at the moment. This page will change every month or so with new quilts added, so add me to your favourites and check back regularly. The design potential of Anjii’s Angles© is only limited by your imagination. So many designs are possible with this technique. The enthusiasm I hold for my Angles is infectious and when you see the variety of quilts made using this simple technique, I know you’ll be enthused too. I’ve been told more than once that this technique is very addictive – I’ll let you be the judge. Ken and I share our home with our two four-legged children. ‘Maddie’ our 10 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and ‘Trubble’ the 18 month old Maltese cross Shitzhu. If you would like to join a free emailing list to have any questions answered about anything from your book, see Works in Progress or see the quilts from other addicted Anglers etc - Join here. I am available through this group to answer any questions you may have about your Angles quilt, however, this group is not a teaching outlet to learn the technique. Thanks for your understanding. |
|
|
