WoodPatch Quilters: October 2025

Welcome to our photo reel from the Woodpatch Quilters 40th year Anniversary Exhibition: "Threads of Friendship".

Held on 20/21 September 2025 in the Verdun hall where the group first met back in 1985, some 300+ visitors were treated to quilts and textile articles from traditional hand pieced and hand quilted to very modern machine pieced and quilted in the rich array of fabrics we have available to us today and articles ranging from thread painting to bags.

Our judging competition during the exhibition was a Viewers Choice voting system and viewers were certainly spoiled for choice across the 73 items on display. We had 3 main sections of Large quilt, Small quilt and Other Article.

We also held voting for our "Living in the 80's" Challenge where 13 brave participants created a small piece no larger than 16"x 16" using a provided square of red fabric. If you can't recall much of the 80's, judging by many of the small pieces, music, hair and lycra were big!!

Another treat was a static display of quilts and articles by several members including group Founder Judy Butcher, long standing member Jan Porter and a few others.

Over this year, the group also ran a raffle to be drawn at the end of the Exhibition with first prize being a lovely applique quilt made by several members and quilted by Tricia Owen, second prize a huge basket of goodies donated by local business and members and third prize a lovely runner made by Barb and Tricia in William Morris fabrics plus a bundle of fabrics. The charity to receive the proceeds of the raffle was voted upon by members and the group chosen is the Eastern Adelaide Domestic Violence Service. This is a specialist service in partnership with the Womens Safety Services SA.

Our sincere thanks to everyone who sold and bought tickets over the year.

Congratulations go to the Exhibition Committee of Barb, Chris and Heather who have worked tirelessly over the last year to organise the Exhibition and raffle ticket sales. Thanks to group members who supported the Exhibition with articles to display, morning tea items and for volunteering over the two days.

Now, to the photos. *Note that some are not in numerical order, but they are numbered as they appeared in the Exhibition. Grab a very big cuppa and Enjoy!!

Long standing member Jan Porter (L) and Founder of the group Judy Butcher (R)

WELCOME!

EXHIBITION QUILTS AND OTHER ARTICLES

1. Scrappy bird embroidered to an existing sewing bag by Chris Adley

2. Embroidered bag by by Chris Butler

3. Round in Circles bag by Chris Butler (2nd place in Other Article section)

4. Fish Art Bag by Chris Adley. Used to transport her gear to art classes.

5. My Love of The Bush by Lee McHugh.

A very personal piece that Lee made for the very small house she and her husband built on their land after the 2019 bushfire took their home.

6. Hanging Gardens by Merlyn Clark. Because Merlyn loves a challenge.

8. Stitch A Long by Annette Pethick. From a live weekly stitch along using colours she loves.

9. My Friend's Garden bag by Susan Fowler from fabric given to me by a friend.

10. Pineapple Surprise by Annette Smith. Made for a friend's 70th.

11. Ginko Leaf and Japanese Flowers by Jill Watson. Jill's own design using fabrics she loves.

12. Christmas Tree by Glenda Parkinson. Glenda has used shiny gold thread to highlight many of the objects in this panel that brings back thoughts of happy times at Christmas for her.

13. Rose Trellis by Faye Wade. Machine pieced and hand quilted (extensively) over 4 years with fabric bought from America just waiting for the right pattern.

7. Grace and Dignity by Helen Cook. Named because that is the feeling evoked in the eyes of the maker, by the woman in the piece. From a Quilt Encounter workshop in 2010. Machine pieced and Free Motion quilted by Helen.

16. Vietnam by Annette Smith. Made for her older brother, a Vietnam Vet. Poppy borders added to enlarge the panel with all over machine quilting using poppy flowers and leaves.

18. Heartstrings by Jenni Harrison from a pattern by Birdhouse Designs, this quilt has extensive tiny hand embroidery stitches in colours Jenni loves.

14. I Love my Blooming Scraps by Merlyn Clark. Merlyn just loves scraps.

15. Year of the Dragon 2024 by Els McElwaine. Inspired by Okan Arts (USA) with perfect Sashiko stitching in circles all over the quilt.

22. Japanese Elegance by Chris Butler using a panel featuring a Geisha found in an Op Shop. "Dressed" with Japanese fabrics and ribbon embroidery.

21. Modern Poppy by Helen Cook. Made for her daughter in law Kate's 40th birthday. King size. The minimal pattern and colours reflect Kate's style and the extensive Free Motion Quilting in poppy flowers, buds and leaves pays respect to the Stoma (named Poppy due to it's shape and red colour) that Kate received thanks to life saving ileostomy surgery 5 years earlier. Quilting by Helen.

23. Taste by Sue Royal. English Crewel Embroidery from 'The Lady & the Unicorn' tapestries, Cluny Museum, Paris.

31. Clamshells by Tricia Owen. Hand pieced using 4" clamshell papers over a few years. Machine quilted.

30. Pie and Tarts by Sharon Hockley from a Sue Daly English Paper Piecing pattern. Hand applique and extensive hand quilting.

29. Black work cushion by Annette Pethick. No 1 of a 4 pattern set. 3 to go!

28. Wall Hanging by Glenda Parkinson featuring hand appliqued and machined baskets with hand stitcheries that Glenda found a bit of a challenge at times.

26. Sashiko with a Twist by Francene Hollow incorporating beads in the pattern for something different.

27. The Betrothal by Sue Royal in English Crewel work from Duc De.....

20. Flower Garden by Julie Stevens from a partly completed kit using flannel.

19. Sylvia's Robots by Barbara Day-Brinkley. A gift for her daughter in law who loves bright colours and all things space.

25. All the Sea by Gaile Jackson. A fibre art interpretation of the sea.

24. Uluru at Sunset by Sharon Hockley. From a Caroline Sharkey workshop in fibre art technique at Uluru in 2025.

33. Bibalot by Sharon Hockley from a pattern by Miss Rosie Quilt Co. Machine pieced and quilted.

34. Teddies with Love by Annette Pethick made with her mum. A 'sort of Log Cabin' that mum wanted to learn with the Teddies that Annette loves.

36. Scraps and Yoyos by Barbara Day-Brinkley. A magazine pattern with wishful thinking of using up all her scraps. Hand sewn yoyos, machine pieced blocks.

32. Japanese Garden by Gaile Jackson. A whim to make some hexagons using mostly Japanese fabrics. Makers own design, all hand sewn.

35. Thought Bubbles by Chris Butler.

2nd prize Small Quilt category.

From a pattern by Wendy Williams embroidered and quilted by Chris. A gift for her grand-daughter.

37. Scrappy Happy by Chris Adley. Hand appliqued feature shapes sewn over many a Wednesday Woodpatch Quilt session using scraps to reduce the stash. Blocks machine pieced and quilted. At Exhibition this quilt was the subject of much intrigue as to how it was put together!

38. Gardens of Japan by Jill Watson using fabrics collected over many years and pieced over many 'Retreat' weekends.

39. I Spy by Sonia McCarthy. A 'kaleidoscope' quilt using a bright jungle print with vibrant flowers and birds and cheetahs. This quilt also had viewers wondering how it was pieced. Sonia cleverly used a large piece of the fabric in the backing to help tell the story.

40. Kasey's Passion Cars by Patricia Little. Using machine embroidery blocks from motor vehicles special to their family, this is the first quilt Patricia has made for her grandson.

41. Bungalow by Sharon Hockley from a pattern by Miss Rosie Quilt Co.

42. Cotton and Crochet Fusion by Tricia Owen. Idea from Pintrest where a cotton square is blanket stitched on the outside then joined together with crochet. Tricia's first go at this sort of stitchery.

43. Butterfly Two by Barbara Day-Brinkley. Second butterfly quilt made by Barb. The first for her husband was given to a visiting Spanish friend who just loved it so this is the replacement for hubby. Backed with calico flour and other product bags recycled by Barb. Hand applique butterflies, machine quilted.

44. Oriental Tea in Gardens by Annette Pethick who was looking for a challenge and succeeded! Made with hand made templates and Annette's own design for the layout using her much loved Japanese fabrics.

45. 40 Shades of Grey by Kerry Philcox. From a Wendy Williams design using strip, foundation and paper piecing and needle turn applique and embroidery. This challenging and complicated quilt is dedicated to her friend Michelle who has undergone multiple health challenges and complications and is now looking forward to getting on with life.

46. Scrappy Log Cabin by Heather Rutschack who loves scrappy quilts and wanted to put a dent in her scraps. Using 11/4" strips she split light and dark into separate bags and just took the lucky dip approach. Machine pieced and hand quilted.

47. Townsville memories by Gaile Jackson. Made using two of Gaile's fabrics; William Morris and batiks. Created over the best part of a year and many locations as the hexagon shapes were portable and could be sewn almost anywhere. An interesting mix of formal William Morris & fluid batiks that works.

48. Splendid Hues by Sue Medlow. Made from a kit.

49. Bali Wedding Star by Chris Butler Judy Newman pattern.

50. Japanese Waterfall by Gaile Jackson. Fibre art of a building and waterfall over the mountains.

51. William and May Sampler by Joan Pearce.

1st place Small Quilt

Joan made this pattern for her daughter and loved it so much she made this one for herself! Hand appliqued, machine quilted.

52. Bluey by Chris Butler

1st place Other Article

Bluey is thread painted with machine piecing and applique. Made for her grand-daughter as a birthday gift.

61. Oriental Wanderings by Bronwyn Stopford made for a friend's birthday using Japanese fabrics and vibrant variegated thread in the machine quilting.

60. New Zealand Travels by Jill Watson. A trip to Russell in the Bay of Islands resulted in a nice haul of 'Kiwi' fabrics. Bought in 2018 and finished in 2019.

59. Memories of Egypt by Chris Butler. Starting with a piece of Egyptian fabric found in an Op Shop, this quilt was built to it's finished size using lots of complimentary border fabric. Shimmery gold thread was used in the black panel drawing the viewer into the pyramid.

58. Kirsty's Kaleidoscope by Chris Butler. Made for her daughter who loved the fabric.

57. Scrappy flowers by Chris Adley. Another scrap buster using strips and solids to create the flowers which are hand appliqued onto blocks. Designed by Chris.

56. Sashiko Squares by Dianne Schwartz. The Japanese fabrics were gifted from members and this became a lockdown project. Completed by hand.

72. Dance of the Dragonfly by Roseanne Bullock

2nd place Large Quilt

Pattern and background central panel by JoAnn Hoffman. During construction Roseanne felt something was not right and after many a long glance realized a wing had been put on upside down! Once rectified this quilt was free motion quilted by Rosanne.

55. Longevity by Barbara Day-Brinkley from a pattern purchased on a bus trip with the group. Hand appliqued and quilted using some extra fabrics to finish.

54. Serenity Stitching by Merlyn Clark from a Sue Daly pattern. Paper pieced. Another opportunity to reduce those scraps.

53. My "F" Quilt by Roseanne Bullock. A Valori Wells pattern named Rosalie.

(From the Editor: This quilt is a testimony to resilience.)

From Roseanne, a very abridged story:

This quilt was pinned ready for quilting when we were evacuated during the 2019 Cudlee Creek fire. Over the coming weeks we were flooded, I fractured an ankle, our fish perished from toxic shock from the first 2 fs and we were broken into. The first 'F's; fire, flood, fracture, fish, felony, frustrated.

The quilt was eventually quilted by Tricia Owen. Next 'F's; fabulously, finally finished.

This quilt is certainly going to become a family history quilt, as we had help recovering by family from Adelaide and Queensland.

(From the Editor after reading Roseanne's story: The most important f of all; Family.)

62. Lachlan's Guitar by Tricia Owen from 'Rock On' pattern by Debbie Vincent. Made for daughter's fiance who plays bass in a band using left over jelly roll strips.

63. Hearts and Flowers by Annette Smith. From a pattern bought at a fair. The seller suggested it would be difficult for me to do, but I knew I could. I'm proud of this quilt as I did do it! Machine pieced, hand applique and embroidery.

64. Sunday Best by Sharon Hockley. My first quilt made at a Mannum Retreat with my Woodpatch friends. Machine pieced and quilted.

66. Water Lilies with Fish by Francene Hollow from a pattern in an old magazine. I added fish because they seemed to suit.

65. American Scenes by Sue Medlow using fabrics purchased on a West Coast USA trip in 2018. A reminder of all the interesting places we visited. The back is pieced using disappearing 9 patch with even more fabrics bought on this trip.

67. Thousand Pyramids by Bronwyn Stopford. Hand pieced and hand quilted. Many viewers commented on the accurate points on this quilt.

68. Jelly Roll Tied by Dianne Slater. Fence Rail pattern with a jelly roll that I loved. As I'm not much of a hand quilter I decided to tie it at the block corners.

69. So Power by Helen Cook. Made for my grandson Lachlan's 18th birthday. I wanted a graphic feel to the quilt and found this Labyrinth pattern on a Jordan Fabrics video that helped with how to construct it. As he is a Port Power supporter, choosing fabric colours was pretty easy. Machine pieced and quilted by me to enhance the strong graphic feel. Circles just wasn't going to cut it with this one.

70. Wattle Brush Mandala by Dianne Schwartz.

1st place Large Quilt

From a pattern purchased on a bus trip. Raw edge applique using my own fabrics. Machine quilted by Tricia.

71. On the Blue Line by Helen Cook. I found this quilt on Pinterst, made by teaginny Designs from an original pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. Visually this is so strong vertically and so linear, I wanted to soften that, so opted for a wavy line for the quilting. Machine pieced and free motion quilted by myself.

73. Nanna's Garden by Francene Hollow. I found two plaques in Nanna's garden that had these sayings on them. I Ioved them so much I used them in this quilt and added some pretty embroidered flowers.