Eloise was a beautiful, talented and independent young woman who was blessed with creative genius and leaves a significant legacy through her art and dance. Eloise tragically left this world far too young and is honoured here in this quilt, as is her mum, Catherine.

“3 women of great importance to me” norma Elaine, my mother robyn Elaine my sister and Anne Genevieve my ex sister-in-law. 3 women like most people ordinary women, great women are people like Marie Curie and Florence Nightingale. Yes, Norma and. Robyn and Ann were ordinary women but their attributes and beliefs were never ordinary.. They had a true sense of altruism, kindness and caring to all people in their life. 3 strong, women to be admired. “

Ko Josie Te Rauaroha Murray tōku ingoa.
He ngākau nui ia
Kei mokemome au i tōku māmā, ia rā, ia rā.

(My mum is Josie Rauaroha Murray.
She has a big heart.
 I miss my mum, everyday.)

This embroidery is a tribute to my late mother, Marie. Using her handwriting from a favourite cookbook, it includes 59 beads for each year she lived, highlighting key moments. Despite facing early challenges, Marie embraced them, defying odds by living beyond the age of 14. She sculpted a legacy as a fashion designer, seamstress, and the heart of our family of seven. Her life was a testament to joy, sparing in taking, generous in giving. Tenacity, independence, and compassion defined her. Above all, she championed kindness, a beacon that guided her and continues to light our way 29 years after her passing.
 

My panel is for my sister PETRA. I wanted to create something that captured her a bit: brave and sometimes explosive but also playful, sweet and sentimental. She is the coolest person I know but also one of the daggiest which I think makes her all round wonderful. She also has synaesthesia with colour/letter association. And though I know these aren’t the colours she sees in these letters, I like to think it evokes her impression that all names (and words) have a distinct variegated colour representation

Bella my Gran was a WW1 bride. She came to South Australia after a short courtship, leaving Scotland to settle on the edge of the desert. Bella raised 7 children, was always cheerful and never complained.

Bridget (Brandon) was born in New Zealand but lived much of her adult life in Sydney, Australia. She was a skilful and loved teacher to many, of clown, mask and improvisation, as well as life writing. She hated pretention (except in clown!) and loved the ocean and the bush. I feel like I struck gold when I met her 40 years ago. She taught me how to play and not to be afraid to chart my own course in life. From my teacher she soon became a dear friend. She was compassionate, generous, and hilarious, a talented potter, and passionate about the arts. I miss her terribly, but when I think of her I smile

This patch was sewn for my dear sister Adèle who made her way to the Absolute on the 29th of February 2024. She was humble, loving, wise, hilarious, kind, a brilliant writer, schizophrenic, lesbian, tetraplegic, omnireligous and an all round human miracle, who lived a huge life in tiny never ending circles which encompassed another universe. She will be eternally missed.

May was my grandmother I never got to meet, she died of breast cancer two days before her eldest grandchild was born. Dearly loved by my mother and aunt, I feel connected to her. May is also a name that has been carried down on both sides of my family as my fathers mum, mine and my nieces middle name.

Shelia Colleen Joy Smith or Nan, as she was always known to me, was a little legend, a dynamo, the proverbial Aussie battler with a heart of gold who would give you shirt off her back. People mattered to Nan above all else. Family, friends, neighbours or acquaintances were forever coming to her house in Killcare to collect something or to drop something off. Nan was a voracious communicator and a social animal. She simply loved people. The phone was always ringing with Nan answering in her singsong “60 15 23”.  And if the phone wasn’t ringing, she would be making a phone call. And someone wasn’t visiting she would be writing letters. Nan would receive letters that were addressed with bare minimum of “Colleen. Killcare” 
After Nan had a stroke she could only speak gibberish, getting stuck on the same syllable, like a record in a grove. Yet, about a week after her stroke, I was visiting her in hospital and amongst the gibberish, she said to me, as clear as day “you make me happy”. Nan loved me dearly and I loved her. I wouldn't be the person I am without her.

Waimatao - a fierce woman who I love causing trouble with.

Lily - my longest friendship with the strongest woman, who has continually beaten all the crazy things life has thrown at her.

I survived on my own when going through difficulties and if ok I would love to honour myself ✨🙏❣️

This is in honour of my Mum who died in 1999 at the age of 53, but whose spirit is still very much alive in all of us who knew her. She was a fun loving, kind and compassionate woman who had time for everyone. She was also brutally honest and her wicked sense of humour cut through any bullshit. Noelene was the life of the party and we all miss her terribly.

Marilu’, my dear Mami, was an avid embroiderer.

She patiently taught me how to thread a needle and cross-stitch at a very young age. She was annoyingly neat, the back of her work as tidy as the front.

To celebrate Mami I’ve embroidered Marilu’ in her handwriting style. 

Bright blue thread, like her deeply-knowing eyes, a silver filament nodding to her sparkling enthusiasm for life.

A delicate chain stitch, taught to me by Mami - a reminder that we’re all linked together, our loves and our losses; we are one in this experience called life.

The base cloth, a cotton jacquard remnant from the flower girl dress I recently made for my granddaughter Noa. Originally a favourite Armani skirt, I’ve treasured the fabric from when I lived in Milan oh so long ago, before becoming a mother myself. 

Flo is my late mother who was head of the Craft/Art Department in the iconic John Martins Department Store in Adelaide. She sewed, embroidered, handmade many things but most evenings she was surrounded by a myriad of glorious coloured wools passionately stitching her detailed tapestries. She taught me a love of colour & textiles resulting in me creating my arty clothes as a teenager until today & led to my degrees in Fine  Art followed by a career as a textile artist specializing in embroidery. 

This is for Carole, my brave, adventurous and beautiful Mum. She passed
away eleven years ago but I still talk to her every day. She inspires
everything I do. On sad days I make apple pie the way she taught me and
on exciting days I can hear her being excited too. She was brave even
when she was shy or scared and always pushed us to be brave too.

My Sister

My Mother 

Oh Mum!

My patch is embroidered with my mother’s name, Margaret. It’s based on memory of kindness and learning. I was bedridden for 5 weeks with an illness as a child and my mother asked me if there was something I wanted to do that could help me keep busy. I thought some embroidery threads and felt would be good! It gave her an opportunity to pass on some skills that she had learned and helped me to focus on something apart from my health.

Mavis was my grandmother, who did non-stop crafts (mostly knitting, crochet, and painting the woedon puzzles my grandad would make). She also had severe rhumatoid arthritis in all of her joints, with many fingers pointing in a variety of directions. I've based the image of her name on the left-leaning slant her writing had due to her swollen fingers. She was always grumpy and I remember her so fondly - I loved spending time with her and have been sewing on her old sewing machine for years now as well. The silver thread I used was also from her collection of random things I inherited from her.

I call Rita, Yaiyai Rita short for Margarita or Margaret. She is my inspiration and best friend. 

I called my beautiful grandmother Nano for many years, now I call her Nan. She’s my inspiration and my best friend.