Feature AN EMERGING
QUILTING TALENT IN NORTHERN IRELAND,
SANDRA MONTGOMERY HAS EXHIBITED
AND SOLD WORK IN CONTEMPORARY GALLERIES, BEEN
PART OF NORTHERN IRELAND TOURISM IN
NEW YORK PROMOTING TRADITIONAL SKILLS
OF THE NORTH WEST, AND HAS ENJOYED A METEORIC RISE FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER IN THREE SHORT YEARS. IT’S NO
EXAGGERATION TO SAY SHE IS ONE OF MISSION
HALL QUILTS’ PROUDEST SUCCESS STORIES
IN THEIR DERRY/ LONDONDERRY QUILT SHOP.
Sandra and I met one wintry January afternoon to discuss how she came to quilting and how it’s become the career she thought she’d never have.
Curiosity and The Quilt Shop So, how did it all start? “It was back when Mission Hall Quilts was on Carlyle Road, maybe August of 2007? It can’t have been opened very long.” (In fact, it was the summer the shop originally opened.) Sandra was attracted to the window display in the seemingly quaint and old-fashioned looking shop. Once inside, she discovered an Aladdin’s cave of colour. Never a fan of fabric before, Sandra responded to shop founder Margaret Lee’s enthusiasm for quilting and all its possibilities and she signed up for a class “then and there”. Tis was to be the start of a long, colourful road of quilting adventures. Also pivotal for Sandra was Mary Good, a Mission Hall Quilts tutor who would prove to not only be an inspiration, but also a friend and something of a quilting ‘journeyman’ for Sandra.
A casual question one day of how Mary became a quilting teacher led Sandra to sign up for the City and Guild’s qualification which she completes in February 2011. “It’s really stretched me and made me think about the possibilities of designing.” As a result of this course,
Sandra’s speciality has become machine quilting techniques on the domestic machine, a subject about which she is both innovative and passionate. Sandra is teaching her techniques in Mission Hall Quilts in Spring 2011.
Internet Inspiration and Teaching When asked about her inspiration and quilting influences, Sandra is quick to enthuse about the internet. “I subscribe to two shows online, Eleanor Burns on ‘QNNtv’ and ‘Te Quilt Show.’ Tese are great for tips and learning techniques.” Sandra is also a fan of author Kim Diehl, whose book ‘Simple Traditions’ kick started Sandra’s own obsession with scrappy quilts.
Sandra’s first self-designed quilt was for the first class she ever taught: a beginner’s baby quilt for the charity Project Linus at Mission Hall Quilts. Built on basic squares and borders, it’s an ideal starting point for beginners, and “teaches everything you need to know to get started in quilting, from quarter-inch seams to mitred corners”. Watch for Sandra’s kit in Mission Hall Quilts coming soon.
Another of Sandra’s early teaching quilts ‘Reach for the Stars’ was based on Eleanor Burns ‘Buck-Eyed
Volume 2 Issue 6 | Irish Quilting 59
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