About Kim Mclean
I became a ‘quilter’ as soon as I did my first beginner class at the Quilting Bee in Sydney in the early 1990’s – hooked from the start! Before that however I was always a craft-oriented person, dabbling in needlepoint, cross stitch, beading, knitting, crochet and smocking little girls’ Liberty dresses. I still do all of that now (except for the smocking as my ‘little girl’ is not so little anymore!), however my main passion is now quilting.
In the early days I designed and made quite a few quilts based on the antique ones I saw, using the reproduction fabrics available at the time. That all changed when I discovered the Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. Although my quilt designs still have the antique feel to it, they are done in these bright, cheery, happy fabrics that I love. My quilts now are mostly applique and mainly primitive in style; you can find some of my quilt patterns are published and sold by Glorious Color on their website.
My latest interest is a foray into the needlepoint realm and I have recently produced 5 tapestry canvases which have been printed in the UK. The canvas is of #10 mesh and I’ve used DMC Tapestry Wool to stitch the cushion fronts. The finished size of the completed design is 18” x 18”, they are easy to stitch without any shading work. These canvases are available from The Crewel Gobelin and they can also supply the yarns required to complete the project.
I hope you enjoy my website!
You can also find me on Facebook and Instragram for more photos and various tips!
Awards
1990
1991
- “A Tisket a Tasket, Fill Up Casey’s Basket” – Best of Show, Sydney Quilt Show
- “A Tisket a Tasket, Fill Up Casey’s Basket” – 1st in Pieced Quilt Category, Sydney Quilt Show
1992
- “A Tisket a Tasket, Fill Up Casey’s Basket” – honourable mention award at American Quilt Society, Paducah Kentucky
- “Baltimore Quilt” – 1st prize in Appliqué section, Sydney Quilt show
- “Casey, Santa, The Beach – It Must Be Christmas” – Best of Show, Sydney Quilt Show
- “Casey, Santa, The Beach – It Must Be Christmas” – 1st in Pieced Quilt Category, Sydney Quilt Show
- “The Orchid Wreath” – 2nd Prize in Appliqué, Sydney Quilt Show
1993
- “The Orchid Wreath” – Viewer’s Choice, Quilters Heritage Exhibition (Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA)
2002
- “Roebuck Quilt Redone” – Founder’s Award, International Quilter Association (Houston, Texas USA)
2003
- “Hexagon Stars” – 2nd prize Traditional Quilt, International Quilter Association (Houston, Texas USA)
2004
- “Turkish Tiles” – Judges Choice, International Quilter Association (Houston, Texas USA)
Other Achievements
- Cover of “Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine” in USA on 4 occasions & also their 2005 calendar cover.
- Exhibited at the MAQS (Museum of American Quilt Society) at Paducah, Kentucky USA 18 June to 19 September 2005 as part of “Contemporary Quilts from Australia”
- 3 quilts, ‘A Tisket a Tasket, Fill Up Casey’s Basket’, ‘Orchid Wreath’ & ‘Casey, Santa, the Beach, it Must Be Christmas’, were featured in the book “The Quilt – Beauty in Fabric and Thread” by Marie Salazar 1997 published by Michael Friedman/ Fairfax.
- Various articles and projects in “Australian Patchwork and Quilting“, “Downunder Quilt“, “Quiltmania” and “Quilt & Zo” (Netherlands) magazines.
- “Fabric of Society – Australia’s Quilt Heritage from convict times to 1960” was co-authored with Annette Gero – I wrote the instructions for 29 quilts in the book.
- Featured quilt project in Kaffe Fassett’s book “Quilt Romance” 2009.
- 5 quilts – ‘Basket Medallion’, ‘Pandemonium’, ‘Princess Feathers’, ‘Roseville Album’ and ‘The Flower Garden’ – appeared in Karey Patterson Bresenhan book “500 Traditional Quilts” 2014. Four of the quilts were exhibited at Houston, Texas at the same time and then travelled throughout the USA for a couple of years.