My enthusiasm for patchwork took off around 1976 with ‘The Perfect Patchwork Primer’, a book by Beth Gutcheon. ‘The most complete book of patchwork instruction ever published’, it had a chapter on design. In black and white, and with a lot of line drawings, it showed how patterns emerged as blocks went together, how different colour choices could change a design, and encouraged varying blocks by adding, removing or rearranging the pieces to suit. The possibilities were suddenly endless. I still love the way care with blocks can produce serendipitous results.

Since that time, the range of material, equipment and techniques has improved beyond recognition. Attending Pat Archibald’s design class and getting together with the other members of Freewheeling has introduced me to new ideas and allowed my quilt making to proceed with more focus. I even manage to finish some pieces now!