quiltingoctopus

about

Hi, I’m Melissa. I was making lovely patchwork quilt tops and found it really challenging to wrestle with them on a domestic machine. Life’s just too short for that! By 2015 I’d been hand guiding a longarm for a few years but I really got excited when I switched to a computerised system in 2019.

I don’t have a favourite quilting “style” but I do like utility quilts for that cuddly feeling, so favour a softer, less dense look. I’ll happily oblige if denser quilting is your thing, though.

My piecing genre started with wanting to be as accurate as possible, and slowly drifted into improvisational work. I’ve taught improv piecing and won Best Modern Quilt at the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in 2023. I designed that quilting pattern myself!

I really enjoy seeing people get a sense of achievement and joy when they can take a finished quilt to show and tell, when it’s a special gift for a loved one, or completion of a well deserved “me” quilt.  

"Calm and Chaos" won Best Modern Quilt at the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in 2023. Original design. Copyright Melissa Gelder.
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