Meet Our Designers

Ruth Blanchet: Ruth was born in Nelson, a small city located at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. Her passion for quilt making has taken her into the world of professionalism. She has always been keen on crafts of all kinds, entering her first embroidery in a contest at the age of six. For the past thirty-five years, she has concentrated mainly on quilting and designing patterns. Read more...

Anita Eaton: Anita started sewing at the age of 3 and began quilting at 7 thanks to her grandmothers who taught her to sew, embroider, and quilt. Since then she has continued to sew and quilt as well as study a couple of hundred quilting books and work in a quilt store. Read more...

Deborah Cohen: Deborah began sewing as a pre-schooler - her mother still has a piece of her cross stitch. During her teens she did a lot of dressmaking, being the sewer among 4 sisters. She also did some embroidery and small patchworks. In her 20's, her family went to live in Arnhem land - a remote area of Australia with the main access by plane or barge. Read more...

Emma McFarland: Emma had a flare for fashion and color at a very young age. Having a mother and grandmother who quilted they brought her attention to making quilts. All this took place at the tender age of 4 and started blossoming at 10. Read more...

Jan Blanchet: Jan started quilting in 1982 and teaching it in 1983, having a teaching background she enjoys this part very much. She has taught in many of the New Zealand national symposiums as well as all around New Zealand. Read more...

Jennifer Houlden: One day a quilt shop opened up in Jennifer's Arctic hometown and she signed up for a quilting class. She became completely engrossed from the beginning with quilting and loved all the fabrics, tools and creative processes. Her mother was a seamstress so it is not a surprise that she would eventually end up at a sewing machine. Quilting allows her to be creative and to challenge herself. Read more...

Stephanie Senior: "I stepped into the quilt store and saw all the changes, methods and opportunities and I was hooked. I Bought my first embroidery machine and found what my creative spirit was craving. It wasn't interior decorating, stained glass, or oil painting though I would say all of those things have influenced my quilting. It was the way quilting had evolved and I loved what I saw." Read more...