Folk Art Quilting Techniques with Sue Spargo and Wendy Morris

They were armed with a suitcase full of vibrant fabrics, ribbons, buttons and beads and years of quilting and workshop facilitation experience. Sue Spargo, a celebrated American folk art quilt and products’ designer, and her sister, Wendy Morris, a jeweller and professional textile dyer, were ready to put their skills into action.

The two day workshop in October saw the Ho Chi Minh City shop buzzing with creative energy and enthusiasm. All of the group leaders and one quilter from each of our nine quilting groups travelled vast distances to be taught a range of hand applique and embellishment techniques.

Sue is passionate about her work, and her skill and expertise is vast. With assistance from Wendy, Sue showed our quilters how to incorporate hand-dyed wool and cotton, raw silk and velvet into exquisite hand-sewn textile pieces. The women were also treated to a range of stitching and beading techniques, new skills in which they eagerly incorporated in to their works.

Sue was impressed by the enthusiasm and creative approach of the quilters. On the second day of the workshop, she commented that “Without any prompting, (the women) had started some new applique blocks, incorporating their own ideas. Most people I run workshops for are very timid when it comes to expressing a creative idea, but these women just went with it.”

The workshop was a very exciting opportunity for our quilters to learn from a skilled and highly respected artist in her field. Motivated and enthusiastic, the women learnt some useful new skills which they will now incorporate into a new product range for next year, including wall hangings, cushion covers, wallets, bags and business card holders.

Sue recently commented on her Blog Spot: “At the end of the day we pinned up every ones block. Each person shared what they had learned, along with why they had chosen certain colors and embellishments. I was amazed at how much knowledge they had translated into their work.” The decorative fabric panels resulting from the workshop will be combined into a single wall hanging which will be displayed at the Vietnam Quilts shop in Ho Chi Minh City in the future.

The visit by Sue and Wendy’s continues to have an impact. It inspired a competition between each of the quilting groups where all of the members produced a small and large appliqued block. An esteemed panel of judges (workers at the store in Ho Chi Minh City) selected three of the best panels from each of the nine groups. These will also be incorporated into some exciting products in the not too distant future.

It was through the generous support of Vietnam Quilts supporter, Della Quimby, that the workshop was made possible. Della runs a bags and accessories business in the United States, with products inspired by the vibrant colors and rich textures of Vietnam. As a result of her business-related travels throughout the country, she came across Vietnam Quilts and was impressed by the opportunities it provided to rural women and the positive impact it had on the local communities where the women live. Della expressed that “It’s important for me to give back to the world in some way” and hence, a relationship was formed.

Last year, Della donated three embroidery machines and funded the training the women required in order to use them. When she asked what assistance Vietnam Quilts needed for this year, “more training” was the resounding reply. Della invited Sue and Wendy to run the workshops in techniques the quilters were not familiar with. Della paid for the transportation costs, food and incidentals of the quilters while they stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for the two days. Sue and Wendy self-funded their trip to Vietnam and have promised to return to run workshops next year on fabric dyeing. We wait in eager anticipation to see what the next workshop brings. Stay posted…

Lisa Owen