TIRELESS TEACHER
Natalie Murdoch shares her quilt haven with Norma Slabbert of NZ Quilter
While many quilters just dream of swapping city life for that country cottage on the hill where you can quilt all day, Natalie has actually done it. Six years ago. The city, Auckland; the country cottage, in Mangatarata, on the Hauraki Plains.
In a brave effort to move forward in life and with a clear plan in mind, Natalie was looking for a property that was different. “Something on a crossroads because that was where I was in my life.”
She found an old brick church – sans spire, bell tower or stained glass windows – near the Firth of Thames. The cross, high walls, and great location cast a spell and she moved in. After living in Auckland for 35 years, “It was something of a home-coming.”
The old church became her living and working space while the builders sandwiched a cottage to the church. All Natalie’s dreams came together in a cottage with dusky Parisian pink wood panelling. The cottage was purpose built for retreats and the loggia that connects it to the church is a good place to eat, relax, or for al fresco sewing.
Once the cottage was finished, Natalie established Wholly Quilts – a venture that could never have been called anything else. Conveniently halfway between Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga, Wholly Quilts offers quilt retreats, workshops, as well as quilt get-togethers in the old church that also houses Natalie’s quilt collection, shop, studio, and classroom.
Natalie plans the retreats and designs the classes and meals to suit individual needs. Accommodation is on the upper floor of the cottage with a view over gentle rolling hills and green pasture land. And the bedding: her colourful quilts.
The church is open to visitors when Natalie is at home, or by appointment. And while visitors may enter as guests of past generations, the quilts carpeting the walls are contemporary and permit full colour dreams and aspirations. However, you soon realise that Natalie does not show her quilts to shine. It is all about teaching.
A born teacher, Natalie has been on the teaching faculty of the past six (nine with a gap for Auck as I was it’s convenor?) national symposia. “I don’t know any other way of sharing. What is the use of all the knowledge I have garnered over the years if not to share?”
Her favourite part of teaching is, “Watching the light come on as they (the students) get a handle on the technique, colour, or pattern.” During a gallery tour, Natalie switches on the lights. No, she does not wash all new fabrics. No, less is not more; more fabric creates depth of colour and cover weak spots. No, the stipple (I don’t like this word cos it denotes squiggles and I don’t do that style or suggest it to students) quilting came first and then the appliqué. Yes, she uses zigzag stitches to appliqué, because it is more forgiving than satin stitch. And no, she does not fold or roll a quilt before storage; she bundles it in her arms, gives it a firm hug, and pushes it into a bulging cupboard. No, it’s not sloppy; it prevents permanent folds.
When she talks about individual quilts, she skips the fluff and talks technique; the essence that defines her as a teacher. Most of her classes grew out of her love of scrap quilts and she says, “It is easier to make a truly scrappy quilt with more, rather than less, fabric choices.” Bright Eyes confirms this. “Scraps again, using paper base and the sew-and-flip method of string-piecing. Use the phone book because the light weight paper is easy to remove.”
Bloomin’ Nine Patch is a simple colour wash quilt, using only seven fabrics. The mottled fabrics blend into each other and create a subtle and nuanced contrast. Natalie says the secret is to choose fabrics that bleed into the next one. She has permission from Blanche Young – original designer of the Blooming Nine Patch – to teach this class in New Zealand.
Bush Shapes refers to Natalie’s previous life in a native bush block. The quilt celebrates New Zealand natives with many techniques including; curved piecing, appliqué, raw-edged weaving, trapunto, and free-motion quilting.
Climate Change showcases three different types of appliqué including three dimensional leaves that were sewn on a base of tulle.
In The Campbells are Coming Natalie replicates the woven grid of tartans or plaids. She full stops it with a thistle and says, “Most New Zealanders have a Scottish link.”
Deco Décor was inspired by an old 1920s cut velvet cushion cover. In deep plum the quilt confirms Natalie’s love of pink – from baby to burgundy – and all the shades in between. A love that extends to her house and her feminine vintage bedroom where she displays a sumptuous rose, olive green, and pale blue wall quilt in silk, velvet, satin, jacquard, and merino jersey.
Natalie made the quilt blocks while her friends and family embellished it with embroidery, lace, ribbon, and gold trinkets – to celebrate her 60th birthday. The heirloom quilt reveals that Natalie was born on Christmas Day and that her true passions are needlework and gardening.
In contrast, a small army of bright blue and red toy soldiers and nutcrackers guard the bedroom. The soldiers come from all over the world, and Natalie says, “Well I could say I always fancied a man in uniform…” The collection highlights a playful wit and whimsy side – often seen in Natalie’s quilts such as Fisher Boy. In delightful colouring book style, the quilt is appliquéd with her signature small black zigzag stitches and then coloured with a black fabric pen for definition.
Autumn on Highway 6 is a striking batik quilt with unique quilting. “The glorious colours of autumn. As I walked along part of this road to take the initial photographs, I noticed a hubcap on the side of the road. The form inspired the shapes.” Natalie quilts the word, hubcaps, repeatedly all over the quilt with free-motion stitching. Remember doing lines at school?
Pursuing autumn colours is nothing new to Natalie. She grew up in Nelson with three siblings, a father who was a professional photographer, and a mother who made bridal gowns.
Always in search of the perfect photograph, the family chased autumn colours and water reflections around the South Island. “All done on black and white film, but the colour created great grey scale and depth.” Something that still informs Natalie’s work.
She learnt to take notice of her surroundings during these sometimes epic journeys and her father encouraged her to express it in words and to start a career as a journalist cadet on the Evening Post in Wellington. She progressed to manager of Newsbrief in Auckland before she retired.
Natalie’s love of words grew from her father and her career. Her Wholly Quilts newsletter and blog entertains and informs. It sings the joy of a self sufficient country life, shares some recipes, and paints an accurate picture of a packed pantry with jams, jellies, dried produce - tomatoes, berries, pickled onions, persimmons, feijoas, figs, tamarillos, mushrooms, chillies and orange, lime, and lemon marmalades. The result of Natalie’s passionate edible gardening in the Pumpkin Patch.
While she modestly says, “Wholly Quilts has enabled me to bring all my passions together in one place – quilting, teaching, writing, gardening, and cooking”, Natalie actually makes a powerful statement on dreams, choices, resilience, self- reliance, life-long learning, a creative life, and quilting as a career. In addition, she reclaims the right to be feminine with her pink house.
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