In the Studio with designer Leslie Edwards
Leslie Edwards may just become the most envied quilter in all of Australia, with not one, but two studios. by Caroline Adams
Growing up in the USA, Leslie Edwardsbegan her stitching journey at the very young age of eight when her mother taught her embroidery. “At 10 she sent me to a sewing class in the summer to learn how to make clothing. Both embroidery and sewing clothes became an important part of my life, until I discovered quilting. When I look back on it now, I see that mum made us learn to sew so that she didn’t have to make our clothes!” recalls Leslie Edwards.
A trip through East Africa as a young lady is what kindled an interest in quilting for Leslie Edwards; she had never tried the craft previously. This trip saw her stay in Africa until her funds ran out after nearly five-and-a-half months. The journey really ignited her passion for African history, culture — and fabric — and she is still passionate about those things today.
Her stash expanded radically during another trip through West Africa. “The colours and patterns on the African wax fabric were so luscious I couldn’t resist them, and I came home with over 80 yards of fabric,” she remembers. It was on this trip through West Africa where another love of Leslie’s life appeared, in the form of her Australian husband Glen. Within a year they were married and Leslie Edwards— and her stash — moved to Melbourne. That was 25 years ago.
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This exciting time in Leslie’s life was also when her passion for quilting really began. “My first quilt was all hand-sewn. I didn’t know much about rotary cutting and all of the quick techniques one could use. Shortly after that first class, I took a block-of-the-month class with Julie Wallace at her barn. That hooked me as I learnt how to paper piece, rotary cut, and quick piecing techniques.
“In some ways my style has changed and in some ways it is still the same. The thing that drew me to quilting — African fabric — has remained a passion and I use a lot of colour in my quilts,” says Leslie. “I have, however, become more intuitive and improvisational in my technique. I am also passionate about creating my own textiles through various types of dyeing, painting, printing etc.”
Leslie, Glen and their two cheeky cats, Coco and Ruby, live in the Melbourne suburb of Kensington in a three-story townhouse. “My husband is very patient as I take up most of the third-storey loft space with my quilting. My Sweet Sixteen lives in this studio so all of my serious quilting is done here,” she explains.
Her second studio is at their holiday house, which they built with their own hands in Mansfield, Victoria (the High Country). Leslie tells me that Glen built most of the house by himself, and that he would educate himself on the required building techniques along the way. Glen closed in the area between the large garage and the house to create Leslie’s studio.
“I’m so fortunate to have two studios and it’s all due to having the best husband in the world,” enthuses Leslie Edwards. “He built my studio to give me a creative space where I could hang my quilts and scatter all of my creativity around me. Mansfield is where I do all of my textile creation, as I have access to seven acres of land to mess around with, although most of my stash lives in my Kensington studio. When we go to Mansfield I usually take a few project boxes along to work on, but I do sometimes miss having my stash travel with me. Fortunately, if I am desperate enough for a colour, I can step outside and make it.”
Leslie Edwards is in her studio almost daily. Time will vary depending on other commitments, but a typical day will see her spending five to six hours quilting and maybe two hours on something quilting related, whether it be writing or social media. Both studios have a Bernina sewing machine, a large cutting table, iron and ironing board and a design wall made by her husband to her specifications.
“I have my work on the walls of my studios to remind me of my journey. In Kensington, I also have a large piece of African fabric stretched across a frame. It is one of two pieces I couldn’t bear to cut.”
Having this studio in Mansfield also allows Leslie to study, practise and teach another of her passions, textile arts, in particular eco-dyeing. Her love of the outdoors also plays a big part in this. “In particular, colour in the outdoors is a huge influence. I have become heavily involved in eco-dyeing, which transfers the natural colour of plant material onto fabric,” she adds.
The Mansfield studio allows Leslie Edwards the space to spread out and get messy with her fabric dyeing, with large sinks and a small water tank at her disposal. She spent many years reading about fabric dyeing, then decided to just start doing it. She began experimenting with different processes and now prefers ice dyeing with Procion powders, low- and high-immersion dyeing and, most of all, eco-dyeing. Her eco-dyeing “is so much fun as I can source from the property”. Leslie has become an avid leaf collector and uses leaves to print with.
She first wets the silk or wool with a vinegar solution, dips the leaves in an iron solution, lays the leaves on the fabric, rolls it up and steams it. This gives beautiful shapes and colours of the leaves. Different types of leaves, dead or alive leaves or even young or old leaves produce such a different outcome. For instance, young eucalypt leaves, picked from the tree, add a rust colour, while old eucalypt leaves give a gray, almost black look. Autumn and spring are best for finding the right leaves, but Leslie Edwards suggests freezing the leaves until you are ready to use them.
On the property, Leslie Edwards and Glen have planted a berry patch where the leaves are for dyeing and the berries for eating. But plans are afoot for planting a garden especially for dyeing purposes. Leslie Edwards intends to grow rhubarb, dahlias, St John’s Wort, golden grevilleas and even peonies, purely for their dyeing possibilities.
Leslie Edwards runs workshops from this studio specifically in eco-dyeing. “In my workshops, I take the group around my seven acres to collect material for their pieces. They always seem to find something I haven’t seen,” explains Leslie Edwards. Her next workshops are in October, November and in February, when it’s not so cold at the property. Students use silk to make a scarf, or perhaps dye a piece of raw silk for a wallhanging.
So has being able to dye fabric any colour you want stopped Leslie Edwards buying fabric? “Unfortunately no — I still buy heaps of fabric. It’s something of an illness!” she admits. Her favourite colour, mustard, is quite difficult to achieve with eco-dyeing but she is still experimenting. Mustard is used in most of her quilts; “can’t quilt without it!” she says adamantly.
Leslie’s adds that her stash is full of colour. “I still have yards of African fabric left over from my time in West Africa. I also import it to sell when I do markets at quilting events. Since I started making my own textiles, I also have stacks of hand-dyed fabric.”
Leslie’s love of African wax print fabric sees her selling fabric which she has imported from Holland in fat-quarter, half-yard and one-yard lengths, perfect quantities for quilters. She also sells her own textiles, which she has ice-dyed. Leslie Edwards speaks at quilt shows and events, mostly about her journey. She also talks about her beloved African prints and the history of these textiles; with a major in African history, Leslie Edwards is very knowledgeable about this subject.
Leslie Edwards attends regular quilt expos and has recently attended QuiltCon. “I thought the show was a little disappointing,” she says, “in that there were not a great number of vendors compared with other shows I have attended in America.” She will be going back to America in October to attend the Houston Market and Festival. Turtle Hand Batik (hand-dyed Malaysian batiks) is featuring her quilt patterns using their fabric and Leslie will be at their stall to answer questions.
She is currently working on a commission for the company and doing an improvisational piece to be shown at their stand in Houston. “I am also hand-stitching an eco-dyed piece to sell at an upcoming market. I have a new pattern on the Sweet Sixteen and just for my own pleasure, I am working on a red quilt using some silk pieces I bought a few years ago,” she adds. Leslie Edwards always has several things going at once as she is not a quilter who can work on one project at a time. Her mind is much too full for that.
She has also been president of the Patchworkers and Quilters Guild of Victoria for the past two years — “a lovely group of ladies; I enjoy being a part of their community. Since I became active with the committee, we have started an art group which meets once a month to explore different art techniques. I have made a small group of close friends that I am very grateful for. We speak and meet frequently.”
Leslie Edwards is certainly a very busy quilter, and also a very lucky one!
You can see more of Leslie’s work on her website www.quiltingfabrications.com, Instagram: quiltingfabrications and she can be contacted by email at quiltingfabrications@gmail.com.
