From Our Sewing Rooms: Meet Nancy from Watsonia North

Welcome to our brand new blog series, From Our Sewing Rooms! 
In this series, we’re shining a spotlight on the most important members of our community – our readers! You’re the ones who support our work, cheer us on, and make the Make Modern community the BEST place to be on the internet.

Each post will introduce you to a different quilter from our global community, sharing their story, their sewing space, their favourite projects, and a peek into their creative lives.

We’re thrilled to kick things with long-term reader Nancy, who has been quilting for nearly four decades. Nancy has stitched her way through trends, techniques, and a whole lot of fabric. Based in Watsonia North, Victoria, she’s a passionate maker whose sewing room tells its own story – part workspace, part fabric haven, and fully devoted to the craft she loves.

Nancy’s sewing room has a special story. Once the formal lounge/dining area in her family home, it was transformed into her creative sanctuary after her triplet sons took over the rumpus room. These days, the space hums with activity, filled with her beloved machines: a Bernina, two commercial embroidery machines, an overlocker, and a long arm quilting machine. (Yes, she’s serious about her stitching.)

Her favourite? “My new Bernina,” she says — though the long arm runs a close second.

Nancy is quick to name her go-to quilting tools: a quick unpick, seam guide, and a mini iron stationed right next to her machine. Her fabric stash is a colourful testament to 38 years of quilting joy. Picture this: a 16-cube unit with each colour tucked into its own tub, plus a wall-mounted unit just for fat quarters — constantly changing, constantly inspiring.

She’s drawn to vibrant designers like Tula Pink and Kaffe Fassett, and fabrics from Riley Blake. Her quilting style? “All of the above,” she says. “Modern, scrappy, improv — I love it all.”

At the time of our chat, Nancy was about to dive into the Moon Diamond sew-along, and had just finished a Quiltworx pattern that was “on the quilt table being custom quilted.” It’s her favourite so far. “The bright colours just make me happy!”

Nancy stitches solo and with others – whether that’s local sewing friends or a retreat she attends every year in Queenscliff. She also plans holidays around events like Craft Alive, because of course she does. (We love her commitment.)

When she’s not quilting, you’ll find her walking or baking, or multitasking her sewing sessions with TV, podcasts, audiobooks, or music, depending on her mood.

Nancy also runs two quilting-related ventures, both close to her heart:

• Nancy’s Creations is her small, home-based embroidery business, which supports her quilting addiction, and
• Inspirational Quilts is a long-running charity she started 20 years ago, which donates quilts to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne … with an impressive count of 5,670 quilts donated to date!

If you’d like to connect with Nancy, you can reach her at inspirationalquilts@gmail.com.

Nancy has been with us since the early days. “I signed up about a year after Make Modern started,” she says, “and I purchased all the back issues too!”

When asked what she loves most about the magazine? “Everything! Great patterns, great tips, colourful — just everything.”

And yes, she’s made several quilts from Make Modern patterns.

Her message to anyone thinking about subscribing?

• Go-to quilt shops: GJ’s Discount Fabrics in Fairfield (her fave!), The Cutting Cloth in Alphington, and Jemima’s in Craigieburn. She hits up Spotlight only when she needs large backings.
• Brands she loves: Matilda’s Own, Tula Pink, Kaffe Fassett, Riley Blake, and Birch.
• Fabric splurges? “All of the above!”
• Bucket list quilting destination? Japan, with a fellow quilter. (But how to choose just one? She knows too many!)

Thank you Nancy – we’re so grateful to have you in our Make Modern community!

💌 Want to share your story and be featured in the From Our Sewing Rooms series?

We’d love to hear your quilting story! If you’re a Make Modern reader and would like to be one of our featured quilters, email our team, or reply to one of our newsletters. We can’t wait to share more stories from the amazing makers who make up our community!

New to Make Modern and want to know more about us?

For over a decade, Make Modern has inspired quilters in 70+ countries around the globe. Independently published by a team of dedicated Australian women, each issue of our magazine is a treasure trove of patterns with step-by-step instructions, tips and techniques to improve your skills, interviews with the most inspiring quilters, and more! With over 600 quilt patterns in our database, you’re sure to find the perfect project for you. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced quilter, we have something for every skill level, covering every technique. Accessible digitally, read on-the-go, on holidays, and reference patterns while fabric shopping! With no physical storage needed, we won’t take up any precious fabric storage space, you’ll be able to easily find patterns and articles, and we’re environmentally friendly. Win-win-win! Subscribe today and make quilts you and your family will love!