Great Australian Quilts

Great Australian Quilts is a one-off magazine that highlights five award-winning Australian quilters to showcase their projects. Each project illustrates the quilters' unique style and technique, inviting readers an inside look into the different tips and experiences that they have to share in their quilt-making process. Great Australian Quilts gives readers the chance to practice these artisans work with the sample projects available in the magazine.

From the editor

Great Australian Quilts

Kathy Doughty 2024 Hall of Fame Award winner • Kathy Doughty is a talented internationally renowned quiltmaker, pattern creator, fabric designer, teacher, author and owner of patchwork store Material Obsession. We caught up with her to discover how she began her colourful quilting journey and what she enjoys about teaching, designing and quiltmaking.

AQC Awards • One of the highlights of the Australasian Quilt Convention are the awards presented by Expertise Events each year at the AQC Gala Dinner, recognising achievement in the quilting community. They are designed to acknowledge the talents and service of people who have made an outstanding contribution or achievement in the area of quilting. Nominations for these awards can be accepted from any individual or group. Congratulations to the 2025 award winners!

Stash Building Club

Dots and Dashes • Bubbling with colour and vitality, this design by Margot Kitchen combines strip piecing, inset seams and delightful curves in spectacular fashion.

International Success Stories • The work of Australian quilters has been celebrated on the world stage for many years. For a nation located so far from the ‘big shows’ in the USA and Europe, we applaud Aussie quiltmakers who have entered quilt shows — often juried — and gone on to enjoy the successes of recognition and awards. Here is a special selection of recent international achievements of Australian quiltmakers’ entries for you to explore.

Quilt National ’25

IMPROVISATIONAL PIECING with Jess Wheelahan • Jess Wheelahan is an internationally renowned author, teacher and quiltmaker, and you can learn her fun and simple improvisational techniques right here! Jess has created this colourful Allsorts quilt especially for Great Australian Quilts for you to make, sharing her thoughts on fabric choices and revealing notions on composition and auditioning fabrics, as well as separating the steps and techniques into easy bite-size pieces. If you’ve ever considered trying improvisational piecing, then this is the perfect first 'improv' quilt. And if you’re an experienced improv quilter, this is one very compelling project!

Allsorts

Joanne Johnson • Joanne Johnson is a Queensland quilter who has been making quilts for more than 20 years. Her quilts, designs and techniques stop quilt show visitors in their tracks. Joanne’s pieced and appliquéd quilts are more than the sum of their parts — they’re glorious examples of how beautiful handmade quilts can be.

The Australian Quilt Show

Ancient Forest • How might you piece a patchwork forest? To find out, Ruth Buchanan used Australian indigenous fabrics and batiks with clever, original design and simple techniques.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT BATTING A handy guide to a great finish

2025 AQC Challenge ‘On the Map!’

THREAD PAINTING with Dorothy Clee • Thread painting — also known as free machine embroidery — is a creative art form using a sewing machine to draw pictures in thread. Most fabrics, including cotton and silk, and quality cotton and polyester machine threads, can be used for thread painting. Colour is the key consideration when choosing which threads to use and an embroidery hoop can be useful to keep the work as flat as possible.

Best of Show Winners' Gallery • Many Australian quiltmakers are state quilt...