About Rachelle
Before quilting Rachelle worked as a florist, but was also keen dressmaker, embroiderer and dabbled in many other handcrafts. Her quilting journey began in 2001, when her eldest daughter was 18 months old. She enrolled in a beginner’s sampler class and was hooked very quickly. Rachelle started designing her own quilts and patterns almost immediately.
Over the next four years Rachelle’s family increased with two more children but she continued to design and make many quilts and had some of her patterns published in Australian quilting magazines
In 2005 Rachelle entered her first judged quilt show and won her first ever award. Rachelle loved the challenge of creating a quilt to the best of her ability and since that first ribbon she has been very fortunate to win well over sixty awards both Nationally and Internationally for her quilts.
Some of the highlights include
World of Beauty Award in Houston 2010
Five Best of Show Awards within Australia
The Bernina Best of Australia Award 2012 and 2016.
Free motion quilting is her true passion and her show quilts are designed to showcase this, From 2007 - 2019 Rachelle's work is all done on a Brother domestic sewing machine. In 2019 Rachelle switched to Bernina after purchasing a Bernina Q20 sit down machine, loving the extra throat space but still quilting hands on.
Rachelle started teaching in 2005 and teaches regularly within South Australia at local shops, The Quilters Guild of SA and quilting groups within Australia. Her classes include machine quilting, machine appliqué, and beginners. Most of her Patterns are designed as classes and then produced commercially for sale.
Rachelle loves to pass on the techniques and knowledge she has gained through her quilting experiences so students then have the skills and confidence to create their own masterpieces.