Lina Patchwork - by Erica

This months meeting saw everyone gather in the hall for an inspiring and engaging talk by Nancy Adamek from Lina Patchwork. We’d also been promised a little retail therapy - which is always exciting. Attendees were not disappointed on either front.

Nancy currently runs Lina Patchwork - a business that specializes in accurate, pre-cut paper templates for English Paper Piecing. However hand sewing hasn’t always been Nancy’s passion and she took us on the journey of how Lina Patchwork came to be.

Nancy explained how the seeds for her patchworking future were being sown as far back as her parents decision to emigrate to Canada. Nancy’s parents eventually returned to Germany but they kept an appreciation for travel and supported each of their daughters to visit the USA and Canada at the end of their studies. On a family trip to the USA with her mum, Nancy came across a patchwork quilt and announced that she would buy it – to which her mum replied those infamous words that I’m sure are all familiar with – ‘don’t buy it, I can make that!’

Wisely Nancy still bought the quilt (which, through experience, is the action that I recommend!), but once back home in Germany Nancy’s mum set about teaching herself to patchwork. Nancy watched her go quickly from mistakes and mismatched make-do fabrics to teaching classes and having her own exhibitions. This is how patchwork took root in Nancy’s life. However, it wasn’t until the boredom of a work trip to the USA that Nancy eventually took up the craft herself. Despite a slightly over-ambitious start (deciding on a king-size New York Beauty as her first quilt…) the bug had bitten and it wasn’t long before she was making time to wake earlier in the morning to squeeze in an extra hour of stitching before work (what a great way to start the day).

Nancy was adamant that she would never swap her sewing machine for hand piecing, however she found herself with few other options during a period of house renovations. Her sewing machine was packed away and her itchy fingers needed something to work on. At the cajoling of her mum, Nancy reluctantly started her first paper pieced hexagon quilt. What she created was an ombre-effect hexi lap quilt in pinks and reds, finished off with a lush velvet border. 

Despite the years that had passed since their first exposure to quilts in the American quilt shop, Nancy still hadn’t been gifted a quilt made for her by her mum, so she turned the tables and did some cajoling of her own - challenging her mum to make a red and white paper pieced quilt for her. This quilt turned into a shared project between the two of them, nursing them both through some challenging times. Sadly, Nancy’s mum passed away before the top was a completed flimsy but in time Nancy had the strength and talent to finish it herself. It was an honour to see the final completed piece with its columns of twinkling red and white stars, especially knowing the love and memories that had been stitched into every seam. It reminded me of how our quilts can be a memory marker of certain times and experiences in our lives.

When the time was right Nancy continued her quilting, using her Mums stash as inspiration and working her way through different UFO’s or orphaned blocks that she found – some results satisfied her more than others – which is another good point that Nancy makes – it is okay to make the quilt just to enjoy the process or to try the experiment – there is something to learn from everything that we make, better that we make it and learn the lesson than to never learn the lesson at all.

Up until now quilting had only been a hobby for Nancy, but during a period of career-reassessment she started to toy with the idea of whether it would be possible to make a living from her hobby. Perhaps she could have an online fabric shop? ‘That will never work’ replied a naive boyfriend… Eventually, and thankfully for us, Nancy settled on the genius idea of making accurately cut paper pieces. She set about researching different paper types, different cutting techniques and which range of shapes to make. Three months later she was at her first show.

Though she noted areas for improvement, overall her first show was promising. What followed was a rush of making sample quilts – most made by Nancy but some special ones contributed by friends. This allowed shoppers to see how the array of different shapes could be used in different combinations and for different effects. The more she played with the shapes the more ideas came flooding in - daisies, pointy hexagon stars, a double wedding ring quilt, Christmas tree skirts and a breathtaking ‘Stargate’ lone star quilt - and we had the pleasure of viewing them all. There was also a grandmothers garden quilt that had matured in the cupboard for 4 years until the right background fabric was found and the inspiration arrived for a border of flowers arranged in garlands. These garlands were accented with green appliquéd leaves and butterfly quilting. This shows us that things aren’t always right the first time. When we recognize that we are stuck it is okay to put a project aside for a while and trust that the inspiration will come. 

Nancy’s advice for those of us considering English Paper Piecing for the first time is to have the right tools – fine needles, good thread (50wt or 80wt) and the right papers - but the most important thing is to actually HAVE A GO! I think this advice sums up the lesson that I took from Nancy talk this evening. The important thing is that we have a go at a new technique or colour combination (or even starting a new business venture!) – it might be the pleasing effect that we were aiming for, or the masterpiece that we had in our minds eye, or it might not be. Regardless of the outcome though we still will have learnt something. ‘Don’t ever think that you can’t do it’ is Nancy’s wise advice for us, and I will certainly try to remember this next time I am staring down an irresistible but seemingly impossible quilt pattern.

Thank you for an entertaining and inspiring evening Nancy.