About me...

I have lived in Canberra, Australia’s capital for the last 37 years, but spent my formative years in Darwin, Northern Territory.  It was there that I met my husband, had three of our four children and completed my nursing training. The 1974 cyclone which devastated Darwin made the decision to move to Canberra via Alice Springs very easy.

I don't have a sewing background as the hot humid weather of the Northern Territory didn't lend itself to working with a needle and thread and it wasn't until I was in my mid twenties that I decided to enrol in a dressmaking course.

I attempted to make a quilt on my own but my real introduction to patchwork occurred when I attended a beginner class in 1981.  Over time I have tried many techniques but favour the freedom of contemporary piecing and appliqué. 

What started out as a hobby has become a passion and has given me the opportunity to travel and meet many wonderful people.

In 1997 I completed Tertiary studies in commercial screen printing and fabric decoration.  It was during that period that I started to make art quilts and print, paint and dye many of the fabrics I use in my quilts. My other passion is photography and I use my photographs as a design source for many of my quilts.  Sometimes I may only use a single photograph and other times I may collage several photographs to create the design.

My quilts have been juried into many selected exhibitions both nationally and internationally and have won awards in both Australia and the USA. I am one of five Canberra based artists of the tACTile group who have exhibited work both nationally and internationally for the last ten years.  In 2006 I was invited to have a solo exhibition at Artstreet in Moruya NSW and also in 2007 at Erindale Library.

I have been teaching patchwork classes to adults and children since 1991, both in Australia and internationally.  I find teaching very rewarding — to be able to introduce ideas and techniques to students so that they can express themselves creatively.

In 2010 I decided to retire from teaching to concentrate upon developing a business with our daughter Wendy designing patchwork patterns. You can visit our site on www.quiltsbypattern.com.