I started crafting as a child. My Mother always sewed, knitted and crocheted so, consequently, I was drawn to those crafts as well. We did crafts at school and did Domestic Science which included sewing and cooking. I made my own clothes for some time and then for my child when he was young. I then went through a period of not doing much in that regard and, in 1996, a friend convinced me to accompany her to a week-end workshop in Sydney, ... Read Full Bio »

I started crafting as a child. My Mother always sewed, knitted and crocheted so, consequently, I was drawn to those crafts as well. We did crafts at school and did Domestic Science which included sewing and cooking. I made my own clothes for some time and then for my child when he was young. I then went through a period of not doing much in that regard and, in 1996, a friend convinced me to accompany her to a week-end workshop in Sydney, Australia, where we lived. Well, that was it! I was hooked on patchwork! From then on, I collected fabric, made a few quilts, not many, and also found that I loved wool and silk embroidery, and made some baby blankets. I attended classes and was always inspired to do more. In 2004, after having moved from Sydney to the Gold Coast in Queensland, I joined the Gold Coast Quilters Guild Inc. It is a Guild of approximately 200 members, about 100 of which meet once a month and enjoy each other's company, enjoy chatting, morning tea, showing and discussing quilts, and spending money at our visiting "shop". I attended a workshop here by Sue Spargo from USA using mainly woollen fabrics and embroidery. I loved it so much and completed a small project called "Playing with Leaves". From that, I realised that I loved the attention to embellishment rather than doing actual patchwork and so was drawn to Stupendous Stitching and Stitch and Slash. Like quilts, these projects can be as small or as large as you like, but I find that there is an excitement created by not really knowing how the project will evolve. At first, I found that aspect a little confronting, as I usually like to know what lies ahead. But I found it liberating that I could just work along in the project and feel so self-satisfied with the result. I've enjoyed exploring my decorative stitches on my Pfaff machine, as well as standing for more time than perhaps is warranted in the embellishment aisles of craft stores. I look forward to sharing my work in the near future.