Quilting makes feelings tangible and dreams reality

In an old nineteenth century schoolhouse at Fernside, Canterbury is a woman and her quilting studio providing consolation, celebration and inspiration for fellow New Zealanders and overseas clients. Patchworks, quilts, bags and special commissions all jostle for Verina Thirlwell’s passionate attention. The rhythmic clonk and whirr of the Bernina sewing machine is stitching together thoughts, feelings and hopes in a way that heals, excites and creates community.

She listens to others people’s hurt and needs and allows her creativity to guide her in creating unique stitched items that give joy. It’s a magical place.

Patchwork and quilting are increasingly popular in New Zealand but few quilters achieve the results Verina does.

Patchwork is a work, such as a blanket, composed of many different colours and shapes, sewn together to make an interesting whole.

Quilting is patterned stitching creating bed coverings, art wall hangings, clothing, and a variety of textile products. It can be done by hand, via a sewing machine, or by a specialized long-arm quilting system.

The process

Fabric, or patchworks, brought to Verina’s quilting studio is laid out on the work bench and there follows a discussion on quilting styles, patterns and variables. The client usually chooses the backing they want. Verina then sketches up a design and provides a timeframe. Most clients leave the creative process to her and are then presented with the finished work of art.

Layers are built up while seeking balance in the composition. Where memory quilts are concerned, rather than bed quilts, she adds trims or decorative stitches. She adds depth and texture to the work by adding in hand embroidery or hand quilting. This can emphasise a special piece that has major importance as the eye is drawn to the detail.

What she enjoys the most is being given free rein on the style of quilting but it is the joy on a client’s face that is the most satisfying aspect for Verina.

“That’s exactly what I wanted. You’ve done the impossible- turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse,” enthused a happy client.

Another said “I wanted a stitchery. Verina’s talent adds value to my work. She’s consistent, reliable and she makes sure her quilting never takes over my stitchery.”

Sometimes she receives special commissions where she has to create the patchwork and then quilt it. Her service might extend to going shopping with clients to find suitable materials that they like but 95% of the time clients bring in their own patchworks to be quilted.

Clients come mostly from Canterbury, but also further afield from Marlborough/Nelson, the North Island and even Indonesia.

Making memorial cushions

These very special, unique designs are constructed from elements supplied by customers, which are sentimental and hold great meaning, often being representative of loved ones who have died.

Firstly, Verina lays out the fabrics, trims, buttons, beads and any other materials to cover a foundation fabric. She usually collects the materials first before thinking of the design. If the cushion is a collaboration between her and the client, they discuss the collection of elements and their significance and importance they have. She then sketches a design and provides a timeframe. Verina employs her creative processes and later presents them as the finished work.

Quite a number of clients appreciate the tactile connection they gain through hugging memorial cushions. The fabrics used all have special meaning; designs can recall past happy times, and personal embellishments such as beads and jewellery bring memories of the departed back into everyday life.

Men enjoy receiving a personalised cushion for birthdays or retirements, or perhaps recognising a special achievement.

A haven of tranquillity

The studio has been described as a refuge and retreat for those who have had trauma in their lives. A calm atmosphere pervades there that has nothing to do with Verina. No doubt it’s the rural setting, the sense of history and continuation which seeps from the walls of the old Springbank schoolhouse.

There’s even a pair of chairs and an art deco daybed near the gas fire, intended as an area to sit and host clients but often the space is filled with works in progress or completed items awaiting collection.

Confidentiality is important and clients know that they can be open and free to say what they want, without judgement. Verina’s empathy encourages clients to open up about what matters to them in each commission, large or small. Sometimes grief takes time to evolve to a point where clients feel ready to have clothing from the departed made into a quilt. The finished quilt can turn grief into joy and celebration of a life well-lived and person well-loved.

The studio is also the venue for quilting classes. Twice weekly 6-8 students learn the art of quilting. The trusty Bernina sewing machine is always ready to go and there’s plenty of space on the large cutting table. Some students consider their lessons life-savers. The meetings give members something to look forward to, therapy and good company.

The schoolhouse was also the venue for a group of volunteers who, led by Verina, gave of their time and money to produce a great many charity patchwork quilts to give to the families of the Mosque attack victims in Christchurch 2019. Waltham School distributed them.

The quilting studio is the main focus of the business but Verina also enjoys the more creative side of using old clothes, doilies, laces and trims to make something beautiful; be it a cushion, sewing case, or to decorate an item of clothing. The latter work is fiddly and will probably never supersede the quilting but she’ll take on almost anything.

Creative challenges

Recently she accepted a new challenge: working on a large tapestry from France. It had been unmounted, dry-cleaned and posted to NZ, which had pulled it out of shape. It needed to be turned into a wall hanging in a French-styled house in Canterbury. Verina went so far as to pin it to the carpet in her dining room, blocked out as squarely as possible, while it dried back into shape. It was then lined and made ready to take pride of place in the client’s home, reminding her of her love of France and French history.

This talented seamstress created a teddy bear for a young girl, from the girl’s departed grandmother’s dressing gown. She added photographs on fabric of the girl and her grandma to the paw pads for a special touch. The finished result impressed the girl’s parents and moved the little girl emotionally as now she can cuddle and talk to the bear in a spiritual connection with her Grandma.

Verina once made a teddy bear for a wedding that was made from scraps of the wedding dress she had made for a client. Beaded and embroidered, he sat on the back shelf of the bridal car and then on the cake table.

Quilts can be very happy celebrations too

The birth of a new baby, or a birthday or wedding anniversary can be the inspiration for a new quilt.

Quilts are also made to be read, to inspire and to express feelings: handwritten comments can be added to the fabric. Bags are quilted and beaded for weddings or special anniversaries. Verina even created a unique quilt for herself to celebrate her own 50^th birthday. She requested family and friends to send her a patchwork block or piece of fabric rather than a card or present. The resulting memories sewn into the quilt remind her how blessed she is to have such lovely people in her life. The range of fabrics, blocks and feelings were as varied as her friends and continue to give her great delight.

Perhaps we should all have a memories box where we can put special objects away, and when we have enough, send them off to be turned into wonderful remembrances as quilts, bags, table linen and clothing. It puts a new turn on reuse or recycle but these beautiful objects can become family or personal heirlooms and give joy for decades to come.

Verina’s journey

Verina made her first patchwork when she was just 12 years old. Maybe it was encouragement from her granny who was a tailoress. She started with English paper piercing which consists of hexagonal paper templates and is very traditional. Nowadays almost anything goes.

Her work evolved into patchwork shapes to make a ‘block’. Blocks are repeating patterns, like tiles. What she once did with hand stitching is now done by machine.

Verina trained as an early Childhood Educator and spent 35 years mostly helping special needs children. She was quilting part time but eventually she left teaching and its mountain of paperwork to spend more time exploring her creative talents. She invested in an old quilting machine and has never looked back.

https://www.facebook.com/Just4youquilting/

 

Photographs courtesy of Frances Harrison and Verina Thirlwell