Profile of Marilyn Pretorius

Ever since I can remember, I was intrigued by sewing and I always watched my mom busy at the sewing machine. It was a very proud moment for me when I made a dress for her when I was about 14!   I was over the moon with my 21st birthday present from my parents - an 807 Bernina Minimatic! What a wonderful machine! This little machine has been described as an “extension of my arm” and is still going after 36 years…

I started quilting in 1984, initially doing all the traditional techniques by hand. I began teaching patchwork, applique, quilting and embroidery from home in 1988, mainly to make new friends when we were transferred to another town due to my husband’s job. I have no formal art training, but learnt by trial and error! I started designing my own quilts in 1989. I attended one workshop to date, Madeira Machine Embroidery by Lorraine Steenberg in 1994. This opened a whole new world for me as it introduced me to free motion work.

I started dabbling with Ndebele designs in 1992 as I needed a new challenge – soon I was invited to participate in a joint art exhibition with a well known artist in East London which completely changed the course of my quilting career as it took my work into the world of the fine artists, an art gallery!

I taught a workshop and entered a quilt into the competition at National level for the first time at the 1994 National Quilt Festival in Cape Town. I was overwhelmed when I won a second prize in Innovative Small Applique Category as well as two Highly Commended Awards for the same quilt, African Heritage or commonly known as the Protea Quilt.

We moved to Port Elizabeth in 1996 and I became involved in Quilters Guild Committees, firstly on the Festival Committee for the 1998 National Festival which was held in Port Elizabeth, then on the Dias Quilters’ Guild Committee and served as Chairlady from 1998 - 2000 of the Dias Quilters’ Guild in Port Elizabeth. It was also an honour to serve a term of office as the President of the South African Quilters’ Guild from 2002 - 2004. After that, I was the Chairlady of the organizing committee of the 2006 National Festival held in Port Elizabeth.

In between Committee work, I exhibited at Nederburg Knysna Arts Festival, entered a piece in the 1997 FNB Vita Craft Now in Johannesburg, had quilts in group exhibitions of South African quilts in Val ‘d Argent, France in 2003 and 2004, also a quilt Avian Grace at the World Quilt Carnival at Nagoya, Japan in March 2004. Many geometric quilts reflecting Ndebele mural art found homes overseas, sold at local craft shops. I also do work on commission – the most notable was for 14 geometric style wallhangings for chalets at the Kariega Game Reserve at Kenton-on-Sea in 2002, a project that took almost 3 years to complete.