Toowoomba, Qld
Since discovering quilting over ten years ago Bev McClune has become a professional machine quilter, a tutor of domestic machine quilting and a partner in a patchwork and quilting business – Country Fabrics and Quilters of Toowoomba, Queensland.
Bev won first prize at the 2006 NSW Quilters Guild Exhibition in Sydney, for her entry into the Domestic Machine Quilt category. The Sydney Quilt Show is the biggest quilt show in Australia, confirming Bev is one of the best in Australia at her craft. Bev’s passion and talent in domestic machine quilting makes her one of the most popular tutors in this field.
When Bev was first learning about patchwork and quilting, she found it slow and frustrating. It took her days to get one 12-inch block pieced together. No longer interested, Bev decided that quilt making was not for her. A friend encouraged her to give it another chance and showed Bev how to use the cutting board, ruler and rotary cutter. Bev went from disillusioned to addict. Being able to make nine 12-inch blocks in one day was much more satisfying!
Bev keeps the memory of her frustration close by when she is teaching. She loves to pass on the many skills she has learned, along with a lot of encouragement. Bev is dedicated to making the learning process as easy as possible, because she has not forgotten how intimidating and clumsy it felt trying to quilt for the first time.
Bev finds patchwork and quilting a wonderful respite from all the demands of every day. She loves the craft so much that she has challenged herself to – “learn how to sleep faster so that I can quilt longer”.