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We were thrilled when Australian Quilters Companion magazine offered to write an article on AMQA Inc. In case you missed it we have been allowed to reproduce it right here..... It was in the July 2007 issue if you are able to get your hands on this great magazine!

We feel machine quilting is very strong in Australia and it continues to grow. When I bought my first long arm machine there were only a few machine quilting professionals servicing the needs of patch workers here in Brisbane. In the last several years the number has quadrupled and the number of machine quilting services is increasing both locally and nationally. We are all kept pretty busy. Women, and some men too, all over Australia are devoted to their craft of quilt making. In fact, I think I could go so far as to say that they are passionate about it. Patchwork is such a diverse medium; there is a technique, a style, a design, or a fabric to satisfy every individual’s creative need. We all know the great pleasure that comes from creating a beautiful quilt. I also think most of us know the thrill of giving one of our treasures to a loved one or donating it to a worthy cause. I guess that’s it isn’t it? There is so much emotion in making a quilt that we strive to make more and more and there is the added bonus of knowing that a practical, very usable and forever lasting item has been created.

There are two main aspects of putting a quilt together; there is the ‘topping’ stage and the ‘quilting’ stage. Most machine quilting professionals were ‘toppers’ to start with and so we share this passion with our customers. I think I would be safe to say it was when we reached the ‘quilting’ stage that we often hit the brick wall. In today’s world, balancing family and work commitments is very difficult and leaves little time for other interests. People need to feel good about themselves though and deriving pleasure from a hobby or other interest is one way we can achieve that added feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. So whilst people are making the time to create their quilt tops, the reality of life, today, often prevents people from completing them. (I can speak first hand on that, ironically, my UFO bin is overflowing.) That’s when the ‘topper’ will make the call to their local machine quilting service. 

There are many ingenious people out there who have ‘answered the call’ and come up with new and exciting timesaving tools and techniques to speed up the designing and piecing of a quilt top. Today’s ‘topper’ can easily put a quilt top together in a day or less. Whilst the tradition of quiltmaking is being retained in many ways, not too many quilters today want to spend what spare time they have developing the skill of hand quilting and whilst many quilters would otherwise be keen to machine quilt their own quilts using their own domestic sewing machine, many don’t have the physical ability to do so. Personally, I believe that if our ancestors had access to a long arm or short arm machine quilting system, they would have been keen to use it. 

So I think machine quilting is here to stay and the demand for machine quilting services is on the increase.

This growing demand has effectively generated a whole new industry, the Machine Quilting Industry.

There is more to running a machine quilting service than purchasing a quilting machine and hanging up a shingle, though. Apart from basic business skills such as financial management, time management and customer relations, a successful machine quilter needs to have a good understanding of machine function and maintenance as well as proficiencies in actually using a machine quilting system. They also need skills in all aspects of quilting the quilt, namely fabric and thread selection, choice of quilting pattern and customising the overall quilting plan to suit the design of the quit top whilst at the same time ensuring it meets the client’s expectations.

To date, machine quilting professionals have sought to gain this knowledge and skill development by attending the biennial Australasian Machine Quilting Conference which was held in rural NSW and convened by a prominent equipment supplier. The convenor did a superb job attracting extremely well qualified Australian and International tutors and speakers who passed on valuable expertise to the conference delegates. The last conference was held in 2005 and was attended by over 200 machine quilters. As a consequence of these meetings, gatherings of machine quilters were organised in the various States of Australia as a means of continuing the networking and information sharing process that began at conference. There are no future plans for a biennial conference.

Whilst there is opportunity for information sharing and networking at the State gatherings, due to there being no formal structure or organisation for these meetings, the principle reason for machine quilting professionals attending is perhaps not realised.  The germination of the idea of forming an association came from this realisation and it was after several discussions at the Queensland gatherings that a steering committee was directed to investigate the forming of a national body. After studying all the legal requirements of incorporating an association, deliberating over and writing the Rules, Objectives, a Membership Criteria and a Code of Conduct, the steering committee announced the formation of the Australian Machine Quilting Association Inc (AMQA Inc) in Queensland in October 2006. The announcement was then broadcast nationally via the Professional Machine Quilters’ Yahoo Group, which is a previously established mechanism for networking and information sharing. 

For the AMQA Inc to have foundation and substance it was necessary to produce several basic documents to outline the principles under which the organisation could operate and thrive. These documents are its Objectives and Code of Conduct. The AMQA Inc aims to provide services to three major stakeholders namely, The Machine Quilting Professionals, the Machine Quilting Customers, and the Machine Quilting Industry. 

For example, the AMQA Inc is currently developing a Mentoring Program for its Individual Members. The Mentor Program Co-ordinator is building a bank of accumulated expertise by individual, which will enable the AMQA Inc to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from the experienced to the less experienced.  

The AMQA Inc has an overall philosophy to encourage high standards of behaviour and those who choose to become members of the association should be prepared to aim for standards of excellence and provide services which meet the expectation of the client. All members of the AMQA Inc are required to sign the Code of Conduct and have a duty to ensure that the Code operates effectively thus projecting a highly professional image of the industry to the wider community. 

The AMQA Inc wants to provide representation for its members in contact with their State Guilds, if members request it, on subjects of mutual interest. We would like to play a participatory role in the decision-making processes and development of matters relevant to our industry. Subjects such as valuations, quilt show categories, quilt show judging criteria, etc should be open for discussion by all interested parties. 

The AMQA Inc is delighted to learn that the Victorian Quilters Guild is presenting the first Australian Machine Quilting Exhibition in Melbourne in July this year and the AMQA Inc will be proud to be one of the major official sponsors for that event. Another of the AMQA Inc medium term goals is to stage an annual machine quilting judged showcase. As the AMQA Inc is still very young it is not in a position to run such a showcase on its own and therefore the opportunity to support the Victorian Guild and our members, goes along way to meet that stated goal.

Since the time we announced the AMQA Inc much progress has been made, over the next twelve months the organisation will embark on an extensive publicity campaign to maximise the awareness of the AMQA Inc to its potential constituent members and to members of the general quilting community. We want ‘toppers’ to rest assured that should they choose to engage the services of a member of the Australian Machine Quilting Association Inc, they will be taking their much treasured work to a professional who is bound by a Code of Conduct based on principles of honesty, integrity and responsibility and as a member has agreed to remain informed of new technologies, practices and standards to be able to provide special skills and advice to their customers. 

Membership in the Australian Machine Quilting Association Inc is open to people directly involved in the machine quilting industry, people who support and are friends of the machine quilting industry and businesses supplying products and services to the machine quilting industry. More information about membership eligibility and an application for membership form is available at the AMQA Inc website www.amqa.com.au . 

The AMQA Inc aims to provide the machine quilting customer with more and more helpful advice about machine quilting. Articles titled, ‘About Machine Quilting’ and ‘How to Attach Borders’ are already available at our website as is a list of members, members profiles and photos of completed work. 

Barbara Cowan

President, Australian Machine Quilting Association Inc

Last updated October 22, 2007

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