RHONDA Leith has always had a passion for quilting. For the past 12 years the Werribee resident has run a patchwork and quilting store with two friends and has been a regular at the Australian Quilt Convention.
Ms Leith will again show off her quilting skills at this year’s convention, which is being held at the Royal Exhibition Building next week.
Ms Leith says she fell in love with quilting after her first lesson 20 years ago, admiring the way it tested her mathematical and creative sides.
“I enjoyed the design element and the logic of the quilt interested me.
“I was always interested in maths at school and putting the quilt together was like maths, but it also gives your creative side licence,” she says.
“I love everything about it.”
Over the years, Ms Leith has designed many quilts.
But her favourite is the last quilt she worked on with her friend Rona, who died three years ago. “It is called Every Loving Deed. It took five weeks to make and had over 200 hours of embroidery in the borders alone.”
Ms Leith says she enjoys working with ideas that remind her of the country. She likes to create quilts with soft pinks, greens, blue and whites.
“A lot of the time, the first step to designing a quilt can be thinking about the colour. Before you can even draw the design, you need to be thinking about what colour to use.”
The convention is April 12-15. Details: aqc.com.au.
