Rhonda Leith knows the magic that goes into beautiful hand-made quilts.
The Hoppers Crossing resident has dedicated the past 16 years of her life designing and sharing patchwork patterns through her business, Blue Willow Cottage, and will share some of the secrets behind the craft this month at an Australasian quilting convention.
Ms Leith and two partners started Blue Willow Cottage in 2000, the business running out of a cottage at Duncans Road.
She was left to run the business on her own after one of the partners died and the other left the business in 2012.
Today, Ms Leith and her daughter Briony run the business, which designs and sells its own range of patterns and sells quilts, bags, purses and other bits and bobs.
“I’ve got a mathematical background … there’s a lot of maths in quilting,” Ms Leith said. “It’s not just about sewing a little bit of fabric together.
“When writing the pattern, you have to be certain of what you’re writing down otherwise you’ll get lots of phone calls telling you you’re wrong.
“Briony’s just started designing … it took her a little while to get that confidence. But she’s always had an art bent and her drawings are amazing.”
Ms Leith got the patchwork bug when she began working at a fabric shop in Prahran.
“You could say I was a fabric-aholic,” she said. “I love fabric, it speaks to me.”
