It has been announced who will be the judges for this years Island Quilts
They are as follows:
- Pam Holland (Mainland Judge)
- Fran Bowden (Tasmanian Judge)
- Linda Stillman (Tasmanian Judge)
- Suzanne Macdonald (Student Judge)
I have included the CV’s for all our Judges
Our Judges CV’s
Pam Holland
“I love designing new genre’s to share with my students.”
✤ Tutor
✤ Author
✤ Illustrator
✤ Photographer
✤ Lecturer
✤ Designer
After a career as a photographer, and fashion designer Pam has been working in the quilting industry for over 25 years. Her experiences in teaching and travel have been the inspiration for most of her quilts and has given
her the reputation of shaping something new from the already established
Drawing, writing and filming while she travels form the basic plans that she uses to create quilts when she’s home in the studio.
Winner of the Jewel Pearce Patterson for International Quilt Teachers. She has been awarded Best of Show in Houston and many other Quilt Shows. She is supporting artist to Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson in the Ricky Tims super Quilting Seminars and been nominated as ‘Teacher of the Year” 2014.
Fran Bowden’s quilting journey
My quilting journey began in earnest in 1986, but my textile journey began when I was in primary school, when I made clothes for my dolls, and embroidered doilies and table cloths.
We were living in Papua New Guinea when our first child was born, and I attempted to make my first quilt – a hexagon cot quilt – with scraps gathered from other expats, and certainly they weren’t all cotton! Needless to say I didn’t get very far with it.
Like many quilters I know, my serious starting point was in 1987 when I enrolled in an Adult Education course with Joy Pratt from “American Patchworks”. This consisted of 10 weekly lessons, where Joy provided the pattern for the block, and the students would cut with scissors and then hand piece. I had never heard of a rotary cutter and cutting mat back then; I dare say not many of us had! After I had made 10 blocks, I was, as they say in the classics, hooked! That quilt, though faded, is still on the bed today.
Over the years I have made well over 100 quilts ranging from postcard size to queen bed, and everything in between. I have made many bed and cot quilts for my grandchildren and friends of my children as well as wall hangings. Not much wall space left in our house now! If I had to define my quilting “style”, I guess it would lean towards the traditional, but latterly with a modern twist.
I joined the Tasmanian Quilting Guild in 2001, and was a member of the “Island Quilts” Committee for 5 years. I have also been a member of the Tasmanian Modern Quilting Guild for nearly 3 years. I have attended the Australasian Quilt Convention (AQC) in Melbourne several times, and have been inspired by the workshops I have done.
The culmination of my journey so far is winning 2 first prizes in “Island Quilts” in 2016, and winning the Bernina Award of Excellence for Best Amateur Quilt. It was thrilling to see this quilt hanging with the “Bet of the Best” at AQC this year.
Of course my journey is not over yet, and I look forward to new and exciting developments in my quilting word.
My Quilting Journey – Linda Stillman
My quilting journey started around 1972 and I made quilts for many years without getting really serious about it and then as time became more available as the kids grew up and my sewing rooms grew larger I became more serious about it. By 1984 I had a big room with lots of storage, picture window overlooking the valley below, room for a large cutting table and plenty of books to answer any quilty questions….I was ready to really run with it. Around this time I also taught quilting for the Adult Education System and in my studio for those wanting private lessons.
Over the years I’ve enjoyed many quilt exhibitions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the States. I’ve attended many workshops and taken many courses in valuing and judging. This is all a natural progression. I believe nothing sets you up better for judging than seeing as many quilts as possible and learning to appraise/value them. In any case I am now proud to say that I’m on the TQG Valuation Team and on the National List of Quilt Judges. The latter has given me the opportunity to judge some big shows on the mainland. Best of all, I get to actually handle and examine some amazing quilts. A huge thrill. I’m so proud of the work Tasmanian and other Australian Quilters do, our work is certainly competitive with the rest of the world.
A few years ago I had the immense pleasure of gathering and curating a Quilt Exhibition in Hobart for the CWA World Conference where delegates from all over the world Oooohed! and were awed by the wonderful exhibition. As a listed CWA Craft and Home Industries Judge I worked at lots of Agricultural Shows around Tasmania judging locally made quilts.
My husband says I should tell you about “The Mistake Quilt” for which I developed a explanatory program. It shows what we must remember to “Do it right”. The quilt and notes have been borrowed by groups around the state and are still available for loan if your group is interested.
Mark and I have a large family which increased by nine with the grandchildren; now they’re marrying and starting their own families which have increased the count by another nine with number ten only a couple of months away. LOTS of quilts to make for them..one new baby quilt, then a cot quilt, single bed, 18th birthday, wedding, 40th birthday…..
I’m very aware of the work the Exhibition Committee Members and all TQG Exhibition Helpers put in over the years having been able to help in many areas as an Exhibition Committee member scribing, hanging, etc. Thank you all so very much, without you we would not be able to mount our Exhibition and that would be such a loss. Much appreciated by everyone I’m sure.
A word of warning, one thing I’ve learned…..quilting makes the time go so quickly. Before you know it, suddenly you can’t get as much quilting done as you thought you would.
Thanks to my Guardian Angel for sending me to Quilting, it has given me so much pleasure.
Suzanne McDonald
I have been a quilter for over thirty five years. My first three large quilts were all hand pieced in the English paper piecing style as the only books I could find on quilting were all English. Then I learnt the American way and I haven’t stopped since, except for a few breaks here and there because of work and family illness.
I have been a member of the Tasmanian Quilter’s Guild for over twenty five years and a valuer for about fifteen years.
I am a dressmaker having trained with TAFE in N.S.W. in the 80’s. For the fifteen years or so before I retired six years ago I ran a dressmaking and alteration business from my home.
In the 90’s I completed an Associate Diploma in Fine Art majoring in Textiles at the University of Tasmania where I
developed many of the techniques I use today in my work such as free machine embroidery and applique.
I taught patchwork and quilting for about thirteen years on the West Tamar and at Adult Education and it is a great satisfaction to me knowing that so many women have learnt to love quilting from my classes.
There isn’t much that I haven’t tried over the years but my first love is still my favourite and that is scrap quilting and the bold use of colour. I like to hand piece and machine piece, free motion embroidery and machine quilt. I have learnt so much about what makes a good quilt from being a valuer. I am not a competitive person and most of my quilts have been given away or are in use in my home. I have lost count of the quilts, cushions, wall hangings, bags and table runners that I have made.
I only wish that I had more time to quilt as my family, travel and my garden take a lot of my time. Now that’s a familiar problem for most of us!