Peta Lowell

My name is Peta Lovell and I have been living in Dubai since 1981 and although I have been a keen needlewoman most of my life, I have only been quilting since October 2000.

I was in the UK in August 2000 for the summer, and with my sister, I went to a sewing/spinning open day and was introduced to whole cloth quilting by a friend of my sister. I decided that was for me so when I returned to Dubai after the summer I took with me many yards of calico and wadding and a Sandy Lush whole cloth quilting pattern for a king size quilt and proceeded from there. On my sons' suggestion I joined the Dubai Quilters Guild and also joined a quilting bee where it was suggested that I learn to do patchwork. I dually signed up for classes with Marianne Sheldon and started by making a candle mat and then a sampler wall hanging which I really enjoyed. My husband gave me a Pfaff 7570 for my birthday in December 2000 and off I went, making patchwork quilts galore for my family and friends but I was also still making whole cloth quilts using Sandy Lush's designs and those baby quilts have been sent all over the world, the latest one went to a little boy called Ben in Providence, Rhode Island in the USA in December 2005. Hand quilting is my first love, I am not very good at machine quilting although I have had a 'go' and have some quite reasonably machine-quilted wall hangings and lap quilts. I do tend to stick to traditonally designed quilts and have many on the go right now. I have got a bit behind with hand quilting several large quilts but will get them finished, there is nothing better or more relaxing than sitting hand quilting, once I get going I can sit and sew for hours and hours.

I have been collecting fabrics since I first started quilting, I visit the shops in Satwa at least once a month and always seem to find something to buy to add to my many stashes. I am now running out of storage space in my sewing room so have started secreting fabrics away in other rooms in the villa but really must be more selective when buying fabrics, I am beginning to panic when I think of returning to the UK for good in the near future and not having anywhere to store my fabrics and sewing things as my sewing room in our UK house is very small. Not to worry, I shall think of something I am sure.

In January 2002 there was a quilt design, The Houston Star Quilt, in Patchwork and Quilting magazine - which my sister sent over to me every month - and I decided to make one of the blocks, Mariners Compass, using the same colours as the designer, Gwenfai Rees Griffiths, and I was so pleased with the finished block I decided to make the complete quilt. I had a wonderful time searching through my stashes for creams and browns and also spent quite a lot of time in the fabric shops in Satwa looking for the right fabrics and although I had to return to the UK in May 2002, I continued to work on the quilt and eventually finished it in October 2002. I was in the UK for 2 years and then returned to Dubai in May 2004 and brought my Houston Star Quilt back with me to show it off. I entered it in the Dubai Quilters Guild show in May 2005 and was extremely fortunate - and very surprised - when my beloved quilt, which I have nicknamed 'Mine, All Mine', was voted Quilters choice and I won a Bernina sewing machine.

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