Textile Artist and Longarm Specialist

Based in Christchurch, New Zealand, Cherie Gurney is a premier textile artist and longarm quilter who has been honing her quilting skills since 2008. Drawing on over forty years of experience working with fabric, Cherie possesses a masterly understanding of fabric behavior, which she uses to push the boundaries of modern quilting. Her signature style integrates computerised longarm designs with dye, paint, and fabric manipulation, focusing on "stitch as texture" to tell unique visual stories.

Cherie’s technical prowess has earned her significant acclaim at the highest levels of the craft. Most recently, at the 2025 Great NZ Quilt Show, she achieved the prestigious title of Winner of Best in Show and Best Modern Quilt for her work, Tic Tac Toe, while also taking home an award for Excellence in Machine Quilting for The Golden Hour.

This success follows a consistent history of excellence within the Capital Quilters exhibitions. In 2024, she was named Best Art Quilter and received the award for Best Original Design. In 2022, her work earned the title of Best Art Quilt along with a Highly Commended for Best Longarm Machine Quilting. Earlier accolades include winning Best Machine Quilting and the President’s Challenge in 2020, as well as a Merit for Original Design in 2018. Her journey of public recognition began in 2014, when she was awarded the Viewer’s Choice at Stonestead Outdoor Quilt Festival.

Cherie’s award-winning work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally at art galleries, NZ Quilt Symposiums, and the World Quilt Show. Beyond her own practice, she is a dedicated educator, sharing her joy of creation by teaching workshops through, guilds, quilt shops and at her quilt studio to small groups.

When she isn’t teaching, Cherie operates a professional longarm quilting business from her home-based studio. She is highly proficient in freehand, ruler work, and computerised quilting, bringing the same award-winning precision to her clients' projects as she does to her own art. Cherie continues to innovate across all textile disciplines, and you can follow her latest artistic ventures on her social media pages.