About Sallieann
The first thing Sallieann ever made was a cotton bikini top from her mums cast off work when she was 9!
After leaving school Sallieann flitted from “number” based jobs in insurance, banking, and tax (she wasn’t bad with numbers!). She married in the 80s and had two boys in the 90s. Then, the big change in her life came in 2000 when we moved to the USA for a three-year period so that her hubby could work on a military base.
It was there in New Bern, North Carolina that Sallieann found her very first Patchwork and Quilting Store. She walked in and was totally bowled over and knew this is what she needed in her life! She started with classes, mentoring from the incredible Shelly May of the “Raspberry Rabbits,” then some teaching, and by the time she left the USA, Sallieann was a prize-winning exhibitor!
When Sallieann and family moved back to the UK, she taught private Patchwork & Quilting, classes, as well as little gigs here and there for John Lewis and the American Museum in Bath. By 2016, she was designing for magazines, exhibiting more widely and started to work with Denman WI College teaching residential courses.
In 2018, Sallieann joined Sewing Quarter TV. One of the things that she loved about the Sewing Quarter was the genuine sense of community with the channel and feedback on the fan page, adding: “when people posted pictures of what they made following one of my shows, or what they made from my pattern, I can’t help but do a ‘Happy dance’!!”
Sallieann enjoys traditional quilting techniques and has won several quilt show awards both in the UK and USA.
Signature Technique
Felted wool appliqué on a sewing machine using speciality threads
Top Tips
- Run dental floss through your machine to get wool fluff out.
- To get a “touchy feely” vintage effect dip and tea dye the piece then tumble dry.
- Unpick seams with a Wahl trimmer. Works like a charm!
Videos
Patterns
Posts
Finding Ruby – the author of antique patchwork squares
By Jonathan Brown – Yorkshire Evening Post
Published on Wednesday 2 May 2012 06:30 A patchwork of people is piecing together craft mementos from a bygone era. Around 15 craft-loving volunteers have tasked themselves with stitching together 30 quilt squares, made in the 1930s, and finding out more about the women who signed them. The group came together after designer Jules Caton, from Ilkley, stumbled across the squares in a second hand shop in the Texan frontier town of Smithville last November.
Filming with Mary Gamester
We had a lovely day in the studio filming and meeting with Mary Gamester.
Mary is well known for her work with transfer paints and she was kind enough to do a short workshop for us using a snowflake template. We also took the opportunity to see lots more of Mary’s work, which she teaches not only at her own studio
https://www.the-gamesters.co.uk/MaryG/index.htm
but also around the country and she is part of the Missenden Abbey Summer School programme – so you can join her there.