Lucy Anne - a quilting bio

For 6 years before Lucy Anne’s Studio, I was the Manager of Quilter’s Garden (a quilting store), based in Toronto, Ontario.

I am pleased and proud to report that some of my students have won awards at both local and international levels. In addition to Quilting courses, I also teach Smocking and
Embroidery.

Over the years, I have also restored and repaired many Heritage Quilts, and Family Heirlooms.

Teaching
I have taught in many places and at many different levels:

* Quilting Conferences
International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas
- Simple Accuracy for a Better Quilt
Ontario Quilting Connections, Geneva Park, Ontario
- Quilter’s Carry All Tote

* TV Programs
SUE WARDEN’S CRAFTSCAPES
- Guest teacher on Curved Seams.
This program was aired on LIFE Network as well as HGTV network,
to very favorable reviews.

* Guilds
Quilters Guild of Great Britain, Teachers’ Conference
- Lecture on “Course Content for Beginner Quilters”

* Schools & Institutions

Judging
Since 1981, I have judged numerous quilting shows in England (e.g. Local Women’s Institutes) and Canada (e.g. York Heritage Quilt Guild, Challenge event; Prince Edward County Quilters Guild, Picton Show; York Region Quilters Guild, Newmarket, Ontario). This includes writing a detailed critique for each competitor, regarding appearance, use of colour, workmanship, etc.

Book Collaborations:

“Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt” (1995)

Working with the author (Barbara Smucker) and the publisher (Stoddart-Canada), I was a member of the planning team responsible for the appearance of the books. I hand-pieced,
appliqued and quilted the borders for each of the oil-painting illustrations in the books.

Working with the artist/illustrator (Janet Wilson), I chose the design and fabrics which would eventually complement and frame each of her paintings.

These “framed” paintings were then photographed for inclusion in the books, as full page illustrations to the story.

“Classic Quilts”, by Ruth McKendry (Key Porter Publishing, 1996)

I was responsible for the “HOW TO” section of the book. This entailed choosing the patterns from the photographs used in the book, and then creating the detailed instructions, accurate templates, and fabric requirements for each of ten projects in the book.

The women in my family used their hands, minds and hearts to create beautiful things. From my grandmother I received her love of quilts and quilt making. As a young girl, I was introduced into this artistic collective and noticed that I felt best when I was making things with my hands.

I slept under a quilt every night, and often spent my evening time not reading but instead checking out quilts, and trying to see how they were made. It was exciting to trace the patterns in my mind from beginning to end! The colour and textures of the fabrics became just as interesting as the patterns themselves.

In the early 1980s, my husband’s work took us to the North of England. Apparently in that corner of England quilting was a novelty, and I soon started to teach from our home. The local newspaper took an interest, and published a feature article profiling my work. This initiated many calls and letters from Women’s Institutes to visit, lecture and judge their competitions.

In no time I was teaching several classes a week, and found great joy and satisfaction in “infecting” my students with the same excitement I felt. At this time, I wrote my first “Notebook on Beginners Quilting” as a student aid. The growing interest in this art form prompted me to start a guild, the White Rose Quilters, in York; and then I organized a quilt show for charity, and our guild became very well-known for its workmanship and enthusiasm.

After three years, we returned to Canada. I started my own business, teaching as many as thirteen classes a week, to very eclectic groups. In addition, I was teaching for the Board of Education. Again, because of the interest of my students, I formed a guild, The Yorkshire Rose Quilters Guild of Toronto. I was the Chairperson for the first three years of the guild’s history.