Irene MacWilliam

Life Goes On


In 1985 I went to a talk about appliqué in the Northern Ireland Patchwork Guild. I decided that I would have a go. I was not interested in reproducing traditional patterns so my early work was machine appliqué.

I use a lot of free machining and other decorative techniques Many pieces incorporate text, often almost hidden.

Since 1986 I have been making Events of the Year quilts see Year Quilts. From this page you can access 21 images of individual year quilts covering 1986-2006. I am working on 2007.

In 2004 the Year and the Peace Quilts were Exhibited at the Festival of Quilts at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. They were shown in Armagh Museum, Northern Ireland in 2005 together with a retrospective show of my work.

I have produced many 3 dimensional pieces that satisfy the criteria of a quilt as they consist of 3 layers but equally well would be accepted as embroidery or sculpture. A miscellaneous selection of my work can be seen from Galleriesaa

I am a freelance lecturer and teacher. Details of my talks and workshops can be seen on the Lectures + Workshops page. My career details may be seen on CV

CDs
A CD of all the Year Hangings plus 4 details from each year together with 3 Peace Quilts is available for £6.00 which includes P&P (UK). email for details

A CD of all 27 Fish and Water works (53 high qualtiy images) is available for £6.00 which includes P&P (UK). email for details