A Gunnedah woman has placed second in the Canberra Quilters Annual Members Exhibition.
Therese Rankmore entered an original design in the large quilt professional category in August and was presented with a certificate and ribbon in Canberra last week.
There were 10 other entries vying for placings with Ms Rankmore’s chosen for “the appeal, the look”.
“They [judge on] wow factor, worksmanship, the presentation, the colours and the quilting,” she said.
“It was the fact that I did matching sews on the curves as well.”
The quilt is 200cm square, features multiple fabrics and took several months to complete.
“My sisters went to Japan a few years ago and they brought back seven fabrics for me to use in quilting, and basically said, ‘Do something’, so I did,” she said.
She said the concept was curves, which “a lot of people shy away from”.
“It’s all original. It’s my own design,” she said.
“Everything I do and everything I’ve taught my girls to do is original – we don’t use patterns.”
Ms Rankmore said she has “sewn all my life” but learnt patchwork when she was teaching at Gunnedah TAFE in 1985.
“As a teacher I was asked to take a patchwork class and that was it for me, I was hooked,” she said.
“There’s an inspiration in everything and I want to transform that into a quilt.
“It might be a fabric that triggers me off, it might be something I see, or an idea in my head and I work it out.”
Ms Rankmore taught two of her granddaughters to sew and they both received a highly commended in the children’s section of the exhibition. She also teaches locally through her business Gumnut Gear, which she set up at home in 1992.
