Morris for Afternoon Tea
}“I feel blessed that I have the unique opportunity
to celebrate Morris’s talent in the way I do.”
always been of concern to me, but most of Morris’s designs
lie in the copyright-free zone due to their age.” Michele has
always attempted to adapt his patterns and she finds it
reassuring that Morris recorded, on numerous occasions,
that he too was inspired by old decoration and images. Morris
particularly based a lot of his patterns on 16th century Italian
brocades. “I never use a photocopier and always draw my
designs freehand, often from several sources. I might find a
pattern in one wallpaper and another from a chintz, which is
then put into the one quilt, said Michele.”
These days Michele teaches her appliqué techniques,
and enjoys encouraging others to design their own
appliqué. “It is such a joy to see what students can create,
especially as 99 per cent of students start the day by
saying they can’t draw!” Michele inspires and leads them
by exposing them to old images which are usually safe to
adapt, as well as examining buildings, floors and ceilings –
just waiting to be turned into quilts. “There are numerous
publications full of images that are hundreds of years old.
When you start studying these designs you will find them
turning up in odd places like glassware, wrapping paper
and even serviettes.”
Michele did, finally, succumb to the lure of publishing a
book celebrating her adapted designs, “… writing the book
in 2008 was overwhelming at times and it is definitely not
for the faint-hearted.” It is no secret to those who have
