Sheena Norquay is a bit of an Aurifil hero. She is incredibly talented, always looking for new ways to showcase Aurifil thread with that talent. She is the star of the show at every Festival of Quilts, drawing attendees in and making them feel as though anything is possible with needle and thread!
When we first met Sheena, we were immediately taken with her artistry, her vision, and her undeniable quilting genius. That sense of awe that we feel when we see each new piece never really leaves.
Sheena is adventurous in her work, always up for trying something new, while remaining meticulous and measured in her experimentation. Every time she creates something, she sends along thoughts on that piece… what she tried and why, which threads were used, and what she thought about the process. We always love reading about her process and have a sneaking suspicion that you might feel the same way.
Today, we’re delighted to share a conversation with Sheena, to introduce her latest collection, and to share her thoughts on work created with those featured threads. In case this is your first time meeting Sheena, we’d encourage you to check out her original 2017 interview HERE and scroll through some of our previous posts to really experience the range of her work.
Sheena’s latest Aurifil collection is Wild Grasses.
“This collection was inspired by photos I took during the lockdown in 2020 of wild grasses growing beside the Caledonian Canal near Inverness and also of photos taken of wild grasses in Orkney several years ago. I remember my late mother’s love of wild grasses and have a photo of her sitting among a tall clump of grasses on the family farm in Orkney. Her appreciation of them has influenced my attraction to their subtle colours and graceful movements.”
– Sheena Norquay
Wild Grasses is an arrangement of 10 subtle hues of Aurifil’s 28wt thread, perfect for thread painting with definition. As always, Sheena shows off the thread’s luminescence through her remarkable free motion quilting.
We’re so delighted that you’re able to chat with us a bit today! We know you’re just back from Festival of Quilts, so let’s start there. We know that it’s annual event for you and festival attendees can always find you at the Aurifil stand. What do you love about the event and the opportunity it provides to share your craft?
I love having the opportunity to tell quilters about all your wonderful threads as well as explaining what to use them for. I also love catching up with quilters I have met before and finding out about what they have been making. It is also a great opportunity to share my latest work with like minded people.
You always have a variety of artworks on display – are you constantly making and creating and do you have a new range of pieces for each event?
Yes I am constantly making and creating. I am frequently asked where I get all my ideas from. I remember once reading that if you do nothing you will create nothing. Once you start making, the ideas start to flow. I usually have several machine and hand projects on the go at once. Machine work is usually done in the morning, I go for a long walk in the afternoon and hand sewing in the evening. Challenges are good in that they make you consider a theme or technique you would not normally do. I think most of us are drawn to recurring themes or images, mine being seascapes, patterns for free motion quilting, birds and flowers.
This year, we had the pleasure of launching your new collection, Wild Grasses, at the event. Can you tell us a bit more about your inspiration for the collection colors?
My attraction to the colours of wild grasses was influenced by my late mother’s love of wild grasses on the family farm. During the pandemic I went for long walks down the Caledonian Canal and River Ness and took lots of photos of the different grasses. I also collected samples and did observational drawings and colour studies in my sketchbook. I noticed all the subtle colours and how they changed during the summer into autumn. Using the Aurifil colour chart, I matched the thread colours to the grasses and eventually reduced the number to ten for the collection.
The collections features Aurifil 28wt, which is a new focus weight for you. What drew you to work with this thread weight and what did you love most about working with it?
The shapes of the grasses cried out to be machine embroidered. I wanted bold lines and thought the 28wt would be ideal. I had not tried it before but now I am hooked! It is such a versatile thread and is great for machine and hand embroidery and quilting.
What tips would you share with prospective textile illustrators looking to incorporate 28wt into their art?
For machine embroidery, I used a 90/14 needle as 28wt is a thicker thread but I had 50wt in the bobbin. I also stabilised the fabric with either Stitch-n-Tear or Vlieselene 13 for the machine embroidery and inserted my work in an embroidery ring when using Stitch-n-Tear. I did not use an embroidery ring when using the Vlieselene 13 as it is a firmer stabiliser.
For hand quilting the borders of two of the samples I used a size 7 long darning needle instead of a between needle and a quilting hoop. The longer needle means you can have more stitches on the needle before pulling it through the fabric and so there is less wear on the thread. It also means your stitches are more even than if you take one or two at a time and the quilting is much faster!
For hand embroidery, I thought I would try using more than one thread on the needle just as I do with the cotton floss and it worked just fine. I used a chenille needle size 24 but you can use a finer size 26 for one thread.
We’re always fishing for sneak peeks – what are you working on now and where can we find you throughout the coming year?
At the moment I am finishing off UFO’s, creating wall hangings using scraps combined with free motion quilting and making samples for a possible new thread collection. During the coming year I will be at home most of the time but the next show which I will attend will be The Glasgow Quilt Show 2 – 3 March, followed by The Festival of Quilts next August.
BLOWING IN THE WIND
Finished at 53 x 33cm (20.5 x 13 inches)
Sheena J Norquay, copyright 23.7.21 – 30.7.21
Total Time: 12 hours 40 minutes
Inspired by a photo of wild grasses growing along the edge of the Caledonian Canal, Inverness. I was attracted to the contrast in colour of the light coloured grasses against the dark water and also to the graceful movement of the grass. This was my first attempt at free machine embroidering using Aurifil no. 28 cotton threads. I used a size 14 machine quilting needle and put no. 50 thread in the bobbin. Background was machine pieced. Stitch and Tear was tacked behind the fabric before embroidering the grasses. 80/20 cotton/polyester wadding and backing were added before free motion quilting the outlines of the grasses and creating water patterns using Aurifil cotton no. 50 threads. When quilting the border fabric, I followed the design of the print.
Colours used – 6001, 2886, 2026, 2840, 5016, 2843, 2568, 2566
WILD GRASSES
Finished at 43 x 21cm (17 x 10.5 inches)
Sheena J Norquay, copyright 18.7.21 – 2.8.21
Total time: 14 hours 35 minutes
Inspired by a photo of wild grasses growing along the edge of the Caledonian Canal, Inverness. I was attracted to the contrast in colour of the light coloured grasses against the dark water and also to the graceful movement of the grass. This was my first attempt at free machine embroidering using Aurifil no. 28 cotton threads. I used a size 14 machine quilting needle and put no. 50 thread in the bobbin. Background was machine pieced. Stitch and Tear was tacked behind the fabric before embroidering the grasses. 80/20 cotton/polyester wadding and backing were added before free motion quilting the outlines of the grasses and creating water patterns using Aurifil cotton no. 50 threads. When quilting the border fabric, I followed the design of the print.
Colours used – 6001, 2886, 2026, 2840, 5016, 2843, 2568, 2566
BLOWING IN THE WIND II
Finished at 48.5cm x 31.5cm (19.25 x 12.25 inches)
Sheena J Norquay, copyright 20.9.21 – 27.9.21
Total time: 13 hours
This is a similar piece to Blowing in the Wind I except the grasses are being blown in the opposite direction. It was inspired by a photo taken in 2019 of wild grasses growing along the edge of the River Ness in Inverness.
I pieced three fabrics for the background then tacked Stitch and Tear to the back before free machine embroidering the grasses with Aurifil no. 28 threads from the Wild Grasses Collection. Borders were added then tacked to 80/20 cotton/polyester wadding and backing before free motion quilting around the grasses using navy and two green Aurifil cotton no. 50 threads. Borders were free motion quilted using cream no. 28 thread following the patterns on the white on white fabric.
MAUVE AND CREAM GRASSES
Finished at 22 X 28cm (8.5 x 11in)
Sheena J Norquay, copyright 17.11.21 – 26.11.21
Total time: 12 hours
Inspired by a photo I took of wild grasses in Orkney several years ago. Vliseline S13 was tacked behind the fabric for stabiliser as I thought it might not distort as much as Stitch and Tear (used on sample 12) but it was not much better and not as easy to iron flat after periods of stitching. It also resulted in thicker seams.
I marked a few main lines on the green fabric using a chalk pencil but looked at the photo for information as I was free machine embroidering. I used Aurifil no 28 threads from the Wild Grasses Collection and a size 14/90 machine quilting needle before trimming and adding pinkish purple borders. Some of the grass heads have 2 colours on the left and right which gives them a softer, more 3d effect. Some of the pink/mauve grasses are shaded from top to bottom.
The seams on the embroidered section were pressed outwards. The outside edge of this ridge on the pink border was hand quilted using no. 28 thread whereas the inside edge was quilted with no. 50 thread in dark green. I quilted lines on the border using no. 28 thread and the walking foot and then added more hand quilted lines before binding. I had to take small tacking stitches about an eighth of an inch around the outside edge to prevent the top fabric being dragged as I stitched on the binding. I decided to use no. 1 foot instead of the quarter inch foot and set the needle position one to the right which is the equivalent of a quarter inch. This foot seems to hold the fabric in place better.
LOST IN THE GRASS
Finished at 22.5 X 28cm (8.75 X 11in)
Sheena J Norquay, copyright 17.11 21 – 26.11 21
Total time: 8 hours 35 minutes
Inspired by a photo taken of wild grasses in Orkney several years ago. I love the variety of shapes and colours. The more you look, the more you see. Centre section had Stitch and Tear tacked on reverse for stabiliser. Grasses were free machine embroidered using Aurifil no. 28 threads and a size 90/14 machine quilting needle. I had to iron the piece a few times during stitching to flatten it. Outlining some of the pale grasses with a darker green took away the sharp points of the seeds. Using a finer thread may have been better for this on this scale.
After completing the embroidery, the centre section was trimmed and a pale green border added and pressed inwards. It was hand quilted with Aurifil no. 50 thread in a dark green whereas the border was quilted with no. 28 thread using the walking foot and a size 90/14 machine quilting needle.
ABOUT SHEENA
Website — Facebook
Sheena Norquay was born on the Orkney Islands, just off the Northern tip of Scotland. Though she began sewing as a child, it wasn’t until attending University in Aberdeen to gain a B.Ed degree that she immersed herself into the world of sewing, quilting, and textiles. The degree included 2-dimensional design in textiles which inspired her interest in exploring the artistic potential of threads and fabrics.
Having been a Primary School teacher in Inverness for 30 years, Sheena is now a freelance quilting teacher and teaches workshops locally, all over the UK, and sometimes abroad. She also writes articles for magazines and her quilts have been featured in several books.
Sheena’s work has been exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally since 1981 and she has won many awards in competitive quilt shows. She sells her work, cards and postcards of her work, and also accept commissions. In 2019, Sheena self published her first book with the help of Philippa Adams from Crafty Retreats which explains how to use Aurifil’s stranded cotton floss. “Colour Blending – Embroidery using Stranded Cotton Floss.” (available from The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles on line bookshop)
Yikes! I almost deleted this! So glad I didn’t. Love your work. I am saving this piost as I would love to learn how to stitch those lovely grasses.