Sew Inspirational

Narelle Grieve

Growing up, there was always a sewing machine ready to use and in spite of the awful needlework classes in High School, I am amazed that I still loved sewing. Already a member of the Embroiderers’ Guild for some ten years before moving to the United States with my family in 1981, it was there that I discovered patchwork and quilting, and from the first lesson, realised that this was what I wanted to do.

A long time lover of fabric, in patchwork the medium was found to use all the fabric I had saved over the years, not really knowing what I would ever do with it. As a member of Main Line Quilters in Berwyn PA, I attended many classes and workshops. I began teaching and gained Teacher Accreditation with the National Quilting Association in the United States.

Upon my return to Australia in l986 I began teaching privately and was also asked by shops and quilting groups to teach. As Vice President and President of The Quilters’ Guild of NSW, I introduced judged quilt shows in Australia, and instigated a Teacher Accreditation Programme for the Guild. I also organised the first Australia wide meeting of all Australian quilting Guilds, which has now grown to become the Australian Council of Quilters. I have been a Valuer with the Guild for over twenty years.

As Consulting Editor of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Magazine from its beginning in 1993 until 2008, I wrote a regular column for the magazine answering questions from readers regarding patchwork and quilting.

I have judged or taught in all States of Australia and New Zealand. A regular entrant in the Quilters’ Guild of NSW Exhibition, I have won prizes for a number of quilts and my quilts have also been accepted into quilt shows in the United States. Usually I am known for whole cloth and traditional quilts, with lots of hand quilting.

I was made a Life Member of The Quilters’ Guild of NSW in 2004, and in 2005 at the Australasian Quilt Convention, in Melbourne, was the recipient of the inaugural “Rajah Award” which is given ‘For Outstanding Contribution to Australian Quilting”.

I am very lucky to have a wonderful, supportive husband and family, with three daughters and seven grandchildren, and am excited to become a member of the Sew Inspirational team.

Caroline Sharkey

Raising the Profile of Textiles

Caroline Sharkey is becoming well known on the textile scene in Australia. Her dream was to create a business doing what she loves…sewing!

And Caroline’s dream has been coming true now for 10 Years.

Raising the profile of textiles and quilting is part of what Caroline is about and travelling to exhibit and teach is how she helps show people her artworks and quilts. She has been a judge at the Sydney Quilt Show, is an award winning quilter and has had many solo exhibitions at galleries throughout NSW and interstate.

As a regular Artist in Residence with Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru, over the past eight years, Caroline is well known in this Outback region. She also sells her artwork at the Uluru Cultural Centre and exhibits in Alice Springs. Caroline has been able to develop her skills with the selling of her textile artwork and this interaction with clients has seen her work collected by many overseas visitors and Australians.

Caroline especially enjoys the time she gets to spend with people in workshops, “To inspire them to step outside their comfort zone is really rewarding. I love that exciting time at the end of class when we all see how clever we have been. It is good for the sole!”

Many friendships are made in the process and Caroline says she is really in awe of the woman she comes into contact with, their life stories and experiences. Next year Caroline will be teaching in Fiji and demonstrating, on the Bernina stand, at the New Zealand Symposium in Wellington.

A Highlight for Caroline was to become a ‘Friend of Bernina’ in 2000. “The support and friendship I have received from the crew at Bernina is very special and as I already had a Bernina sewing machine before they met me the business relationship is very solid”

Caroline uses fabric and threads as her medium instead of paper and paint… and a sewing machine instead of a brush. The texture, colour and prints of fabrics thrown together with threads are fascinating and often give her inspiration for a new design.

She very seldom draws out a design and lets the fabrics and textures determine the next step. While working towards an idea Caroline try’s to avoid any definite image of the completed piece, because the fabric often reveals surprises that give unexpected changes of direction and exciting results.

Barbara Aquilina

Barbara Aquilina lives in a little piece of heaven in Wahroonga, Sydney NSW. Her studio is on the lower level of her home overlocking a bush reserve. From this idyllic spot, she set up, in 1997, what is now a thriving business called the Baraque School of Sewing and Style. In fact it is more than just one business; she has integrated five businesses into one.

Barbara has been an image consultant with the well-known Australian Image Co, (founded by Ann Reinten) since 1999. Through this branch of her business Barbara conducts style and colour consultations for both women and men. In conjunction with this she runs workshops such as Wardrobe Organization, and Accessory Magic plus How to Look Ten Years Younger Without Plastic Surgery. As Barbara is a trained counsellor she has the ability to listen to her clients and find solutions to their particular needs. Another of the workshops she conducts is Presentation for Job Interviews. But for this pocket-sized dynamo, sewing has always been her love and she sees beautifully fitted clothes as paramount for any dressmaker, so in 2001 she became a certified Palmer/Pletsch fit educator and now teaches ladies how to fit paper patterns to their own individual body shape. Barbara also offers her clients the opportunity to purchase books and products relevant to the services she provides. One of the most popular products she offers to the New Zealand and Australian sewing industry is a very sturdy foldaway cardboard cutting table 150cm x 80cm x 88cm high, with a grid and measurements marked on the tabletop. (click here for more information)

Baraque School of Sewing and Style
77g Roland Avenue, Wahroonga NSW 2067
Ph: 02 9487 1177  Fax: 02 9487 1177  E: baraque@iprimus.com.au
W: www.foldawaycuttingtable.com or www.baraque.com.au