The New Generation of Quilters

Hi My name is Chantelle Walker and I’m 15 years old.  I live in The Swan Valley Region in WA and am an only child. I have been sewing for 3 years and started my first quilt in June 2013.

Mum thought it would be a good idea for us to sew together and chat about our week. I had attempted to make some clothes but I don’t enjoy it as much as I do when I make quilts and cushions.

I try to sew a couple of hours over the weekend as it is hard after school and now that I have started working a part time job, I can only sew on Sundays or after work.

I first learnt to sew on mums old Elna but then I kept using her Pfaff.  In the end mum and dad purchased me my first real sewing machine, a Pfaff Passport 2.0, I love this machine.

We had seen some posts in a Facebook group asking questions about AccuQuilt and I was interested in it as I don’t like using the rotary cutter, I tried cutting my fingers when I was a toddler.

A friend of mine let me use her AccuQuilt  GO! Baby and the 3 ½ “ HST.  I made a cushion using the die and fell in love with AccuQuilt and HST’s.
I went to a launch of the AccuQuilt GO! Big when it was released and mum and I went along to have a look.

Mum and dad decided that the AccuQuilt GO! Cutter was the one to get for the moment. I have a small collection of dies and have just got the full set of 12” Mix and Match dies.  My favourite 2 dies are the 6 ½” square and 6 ½” HST.

My favourite quilt that I completed in August 2015 was made for my BFF’s mum’s birthday. I used the 6 ½” square and Jennifer Paganelli’s Good Company Range.  The quilt is well used and loved.

I have 2 works in progress at the moment.  One is a Quilt along I started in February this year, Red Sky at Night. I just need to add the sashing on this one.  Again I’m using a Jennifer Paganelli fabric range, Crazy Love.

My other project is made using the 6 ½” HST die. This time the fabric is Caravelle Arcade, you guessed it Jennifer Paganelli fabric. I love all her fabrics they are bright and cheerful. I’m still working on the final layout for this quilt. There are lots of HST’s.

    

The quilts I make are for myself, family and friends.  Here are some of my completed quilts.

 

1. Rosalie by Valerie Wells. My first big quilt started June 2013 and finished July 2014.  It took me a while to do.

 2. Katie’s quilt. I made this quilt for my mum’s cousin who was expecting her first baby.  Started June 2014 and finished November 2014. 3. John’s quilt. This quilt was made for my BFF’s brother.  As she was making her quilt I was making her brother one.  It’s a square in a square. 4. My quilt and my cushions. This one was my insane quilt, lucky for me mum did all the rotary cutting.  I used Joel Dewberry’s Nottinghill range.  Mum had some jelly rolls laying around and she let me use them.  We made the cushions from the scraps. 5. My all-time favourite quilt is a simple rectangle quilt pattern made using Beauty Queen by Jennifer Paganelli. The cushions were made by Emma from Four to Adore. 6. Ombre Cushion, pattern by Sew Today Clean Tomorrow an Australian designer living in Tasmania. 7. Using the 4 ½” square die I have been making these little quilts for Tiny Sparks WA who will distribute to families with babies in NCIU around WA. These are quick and easy to make, plus I get to practise my quilting and binding skills.

I have been lucky to have made a lot of friends and acquaintances through my new found love of fabric and quilting. The encouragement I get from a range of people from Designers to quilters is amazing.  My biggest fans though are mum and dad who both encourage me to try new things and not give up even if my friends think it’s dorky for me to sew.

My family encouraged me to create my Facebook page – Chantelle’s Sewing Adventures so that I could I have place to show my projects and to show that Teenagers can have fun quilting too.