FOTW 25th February 2013

I'm guilty of not posting this FOTW sooner....I thought I'd already used all the ones I had up my sleeve, until Debra saw my Friend of the week (FOTW) post last week, and thankfully she contacted me to remind me about hers, so thank you Debra, muchly appreciated....I think all this heat we've had in SA of late has caused my brain to be even foggier than usual.

Anyhoo, enough about that, and onto the excitement of getting to know Friend of AHQ, Debra S

Who are you and where do you live – if not in a house in suburbia please share some more info – farm etc. 

I live in Roma Qld in a normal suburban home with hubby, 2 boys, 2 dogs & 3 fish.  

Tell us a bit about you – family, occupation, other hobbies.

I am a stay at home mum & part time Admin assistant for the local mortgage broker.  I have dabbled in most crafts and fell fully into patchwork about 12 years ago.

How far to the local shops and how far to the nearest quilt shop  

The local shops are ‘just down the road (1km ish) and our nearing “quilt” shop is in town, however it is a shop that does not fit any usual quilt shop criteria.  Some folks from SE Qld come to Roma just to ‘experience’ Ace Drapers.  It sells EVERYTHING.  90% of the time you can’t get to the quilt fabric you have to ask for what you want.  Even scarier, he knows where everything is.  (I would include photos, but I don’t want to scare anyone)

Favourite local quilt shop 

My LQS is 1 hour away on a farm in Dulacca, Qld.  Cow Paddocks Patchwork.  Owned and run by Julie & Jeff Latcham it is a ‘granny flat’ behind their house.  It is homey and Julie will source whatever we need as well as stocking many of the latest MODA ranges and Accucutter.

(Colleen D of Blackbutt, Debra S of Roma, Sue P of Injune)

Favourite online fabric shop

Now that’s a hard one.  Probably whoever has the best sale (ha, ha) but seriously, I do shop where I can find what I need.  Wrapped inFabric  & IddyBiddy Cottage  probably take most of my money,

Where you got your last fabric bargain (and what it was)  

My last fabric bargain was over the Christmas holidays while visiting family.  I happened to be in Spotlight for a 30% off day & purchased some end of bolts of Aussie Fabric, when the lady asked what it was for & I told her Aussie Hero Quilts, she ‘threw’ some in for me for free and the rest was at drastically reduced price.

Whether you machine or hand sew binding

For AHQ I machine sew, for myself I hand sew my bindings.

How long have you been sewing for AHQ

12 months.  I discovered AHQ not long after it started.

How did you find out about us?

 I honestly don’t remember.

Do you have any connection to the services

I am the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran and have a cousin currently in the Navy, based in Perth doing submarine training.

What are some of the things you have sewn for AHQ 

When I started I would only sew quilts (I was scared of the laundry bag pattern), however, now I sew both.  So far 4 quilts and 8 laundry bags

 

Why do you sew for AHQ

I wanted to sew for a cause that didn’t require you to be ‘sick’.  (I have nothing against making quilts for sick people, but I wanted to make a quilt to give hope in another way).  It is a great way to demonstrate patriotism to my boys and to let those soldiers know that we care.

Do you have any clever or useful tips to pass on?

• Have fun with it.  If you don’t like deadlines, make your quilts and then tell Jan-Maree you have them ready to go, then you are not panicking to finish the quilt, it is already done.

• Ask non-sewing friends who want to assist to donate fabric or funds for fabric – my parents decided this was a way they could help me to make quilts.

  
Thank you so much Debra, it was great reading about you....and you have a few tips there that we could all put into practice.....such as the deadlines, or getting non-sewing friends to donate some fabric.

Until next time, stay safe and happy
Hugs
Naomi