About Us
Country Fabrics and Quilters and the Patchwork and Quilting
Academy
Patchwork is basically, bits of fabric pieced together.
A quilt consists of three layers - the quilt top, batting
or wadding and the backing. Then there is the quilting,
the stitching that joins the three layers. Country
Fabrics and Quilters is a lot like the patchwork and
quilting that it endeavours to promote. There are many pieces
that form the larger creation, and a few different layers,
not all obvious.
One of the brighter bits that make up the fabric of Country
Fabrics and Quilters is Pauline
Rogers. Like most proprietors of Patchwork and Quilting
shops Pauline is an avid quilter.
Her life would have woven a much different pattern if she
hadn't accompanied some girlfriends to a quilting class
years ago. Back than she didn't really have time for hobbies
and had never picked up a needle and thread. When she did
find some free time she borrowed a friends sewing machine,
purchased some fabrics and began dabbling in quilt making.
She quite enjoyed this pastime she had happened upon and
was pleasantly surprised when she was asked to tutor some
local quilting classes.
When the Queensland Arts Council commissioned her as a
teacher of quilting, patchwork and quilting went from hobby
to career. Pauline spent a few years traveling around Queensland
teaching on behalf of the Arts Council.
As she loved teaching workshops and didn't want to stop,
her husband Rob decided to join her on the road. Quilters
know that a quilt top, no matter how beautiful, is better
with the addition of backing fabric. Rob became the backing
fabric - providing Pauline with the support she needed while
they spent 12 years crisscrossing the country, funded by
a mobile "quilt shop" run from their caravan.
In 1996, they chose to settle down in Toowoomba, and there
they established Country Fabrics and Quilters Store. From
that time ten years ago, the shop has grown, much like a
quilt that begins with the intention of being for a cot
and ends up on a queen size bed.
Nowadays, Country Fabrics and Quilters is an award winning
Patchwork and Quilting shop located in Toowoomba, Queensland,
Australia - but it is much more than just a store. Pauline
wanted more than a shop that sold fabrics and quilting supplies;
she wanted to create a community for quilters.
Pauline had begun this "patchwork project" as
a tutor. It is the sharing and promoting of the art of patchwork
and quilting that she loves. Country Fabrics and Quilters
became a hub for a community of creativity. Along with patchwork
and quilting classes and the shop, there were many events
held to help promote the craft. The Quilter's Outback Tour
takes quilters from around the world to meet quilter's throughout
the outback, Quiltfest, sees a gathering of patchwork and
quilting enthusiasts annually in Toowoomba to learn, create
and inspire, the Quilter's Trail which promotes co-operation
amongst quilt shops, and Quilter's Getaways and Gatherings
featuring guest tutors and lecturers. With all this activity,
Pauline still makes occasional trips to country Queensland
to hold workshops and she has been an integral part in the
creation of numerous community quilts.
Pauline also developed a national quilting challenge, "Margie's
Quilts of Hope" in 2004, to raise funds for the National
Breast Cancer Foundation. Quilters around Australia were
encouraged to make a block or mini quilt, which was than
donated to MQH. The quilts raise funds for the National
Breast Cancer Foundation, through raffles and auctions.
So far, MQH has risen over $45,000 to assist in ensuring
the future health and well being of women. In November 2005,
Pauline accepted, on "behalf of all quilters who have
participated in the challenge", the National Breast
Cancer Foundation's "Pink Ribbon Award for Community
Involvement".
Now sewing a large size quilt is an undertaking that is
always easier when other quilters lend a helping hand. Along
the way, there have been many, but one in particular became
an integral part - Bev
McClune. Bev had made her first quilt top in a class
under the tutelage of Pauline. It was also Pauline, who
showed Bev some basic machine quilting. Mastering this skill
she than began quilting other people's quilts.
Like Pauline, Bev began teaching to help others learn the
craft she loved. To share her knowledge, Bev became a tutor
with the Patchwork
and Quilting Academy. The academy is the educational
section of Country Fabrics and Quilters, and provides a
full educational program, teaching all levels of patchwork
and quilting. Wanting to bring their love of patchwork and
quilting to as many folks as possible, Pauline and Bev,
along with tutors Kay Meale
and Ruth Bloomfield,
produced a series of patchwork and quilting tutorials on
DVD's.
Bev is much like the beautiful quilting stitches that she
adds to quilts - there are quilts without it but it really
can turn a quilt into something extra special. Bev joined
Country Fabric and Quilters as partner in early 2006, sewing
up the design that is CFAQ.
Not everyone realises what quilters know - that in between
the backing and the quilt top is another layer - the batting.
Country Fabrics and Quilters do have their batting - he
isn't always seen but does plump up the whole project. That
would be Ritchie Hale the fourth partner, who isn't a quilter
but a business consultant.
So Country Fabrics and Quilters has the multifaceted Pauline
Rogers on top, Robert who's not always seen because he's
in back, Ritchie who is essentially the stuff underneath
and Bev, who holds things together beautifully. And to top
off this elaborate quilt are some embellishments that are
more than just decorative, but enhance the whole creation
- the staff who bring their creativity and skills to CFAQ
ensuring you enjoy creating your quilts.
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