An Opportunity To Develop Creatively

Clare Allison

Over the years, I’ve dabbled in various crafts from crocheting to quilting.  I have always wanted to expand my creativity, however, as for many of us, the demands of life often left me with little time or energy to pursue these interests.  This changed when my children went off to university and I suddenly found myself with spare time.  I decided to enrol with the School of Stitched Textiles on the City and Guilds Patchwork and Quilting Skill Stage 2 course, as I wanted to start from the basics.

My motivation for signing up was to develop my patchwork and quilting skills (which were previously limited to making simple quilts of patchwork squares for the dog to lie on!) and to learn new techniques; I had the idea of making aesthetically pleasing yet functional items for the home, for family and friends.

Studying Patchwork & Quilting

After a lot of research, I chose the School of Stitched Textiles accredited course for its well-structured and comprehensive curriculum (which appealed to my teaching background!), covering the entire process from researching and planning to designing and making unique patchwork and quilting pieces.  

Initially, I was looking for an ‘in-person’ course to provide me with that ‘hands-on’ support to sort out the inevitable problems that would occur when learning to quilt, but what particularly attracted me to the School of Stitched Textiles course was the robust support system – which included access to knowledgeable tutors, instructive videos for elements of the module, example PowerPoints and a private Facebook group for peer support.

An Opportunity to Develop Creatively

Completing a distance learning course gave me the freedom to work at my own pace and spend more time on the content that really interested me.  An added bonus has been having access to a wider range of resources about textile art; I have really enjoyed listening to the Textile Talk podcasts and being inspired by the student gallery.

As a relative beginner, I did feel slightly in awe and overwhelmed by some of the other graduates’ amazing work; however, this course has given me the skills, know-how and confidence to realise that with enthusiasm and practice, I too, can design and create some super pieces!

The most helpful part of the course has been an opportunity to develop creatively, not just through learning new patchwork and quilting techniques but through working through the whole design process from researching different artists, learning about the elements of art, to going out to take photos to manipulate into my own designs. 

Advice to New Students

My advice to new students would be to map out a schedule to work through the modules – I gave myself additional time to try techniques in several colour schemes and sizes, and to explore particular elements of the module that I was really interested in.  Remembering to take photos of all stages of your work rather than getting carried away wanting to see the end result is also important!

Future Plans

Since finishing the course in October 2023 I have enjoyed revisiting the different techniques the course taught me and making different pieces from them; I had an industrious pre-Xmas gift making session of hot chocolate mug mats and a comfort of cushions!  After being inspired by the ‘Textile Talk’ podcast with Carolyn Forster in June 2023, I’m currently making blocks from scraps. I’m very interested in the history behind these types of quilting and keen to try different ‘Quilting as you go’ techniques.  

This Spring I’m launching my own small business venture ‘Green Patchwork’ featuring my own patchwork and quilting designs.   When the time is right I will be signing up for the intermediate Patchwork and Quilting course. This includes looking at marketing and business plans which will develop my skills and business further.