I live by the sea, on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria.

Married with three daughters, I am a trained secondary teacher having worked mainly in the literacy and special education faculties. My initiation into the world of patchwork occurred approximately 20 years ago when I was recovering from a course of chemotherapy.

Over the years I have dabbled in many areas including strip piecing, bargello, colourwash, fabric dyeing and painting, and machine embroidery After completing some studies in design and color as part of a Diploma of Art in 1996, I began to make my large vivid landscape quilts depicting the Australian bush. Having the opportunity to travel to many unique and fascinating parts of our continent, I am continually challenged to reproduce these images in fabric. Most of the textiles used have been hand dyed or painted and feature extensive machine embroidery. These quilts have won many major awards in Australia, Europe, Japan and the United States. My quilt ‘Kimberley Mystique’ was the winner of Australia’s most prestigious national quilting award in 2003.

I have been teaching patchwork classes for many years and I really enjoy sharing my knowledge and skills with others. I like to challenge my students to design their own quilts but I am also happy to provide patterns for those less confident. My classes have proved to be very popular with lots of students coming back for a second or third class. I have traveled to many states in Australia running workshops for small groups of country quilters as well as teaching classes for larger guilds in the major cities. I have also traveled extensively overseas teaching classes in New Zealand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa, and Japan.

As well as being in demand as a teacher, I have curated seven exhibitions of Australian quilts to the United States and have had the privilege of judging at many major shows. I have had a number of solo exhibitions, including an invitation to exhibit at the prestigious NEC Show in Birmingham, UK. My book, Luminous Landscapes, was released by C&T in January 2007 and is proving to be very popular.

What began as a therapy has developed into a passion and has given me the opportunity to travel the world exhibiting my quilts, teaching classes and meeting lots of wonderful people.