Hi, I would like to introduce myself, my name is Michelle de Groot, I Iive in rural Victoria near Ballarat on a 70 acre hobby farm. I have a studio to work in which is 14 x 14mt in length and width.

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I have been sewing since I was a child, all sorts of projects from latch hook rugs to tapestries and cross stitches, at school and at home I was taught how to sew clothing and make my own clothes from patterns and home made patterns that my mother and I had changed to suit my height, being 6 foot tall has its disadvantages when growing up :)

Then I progressed to creating with flowers and art and crafts in my younger years by becoming a florist and business owner.  I was very busy making wedding arrangements and bouquets for many years.  This was a wonderful career but with marriage and a child I decided I needed something to keep me home a little more and less physically aggressive.

While in town I saw a  patchwork shop and walked in amazed at the lovely quilts on display and thought straight away, “I can do this”. And I did.  I started like most people with the basics, early on sewing my quilts together by hand piecing and hand quilting.  I then progressed to machined sewing as I realised I wasn't going to live long enough to make all the wonderful things I wanted to make.

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After realising I had found a new love and addiction, I then wondered how I was going to quilt them, hadn't tried that part of it at that point!  So I started taking classes and practiced a lot at home and after 4 years of constant practice I began to quilt my own quilts, saving me a fortune!

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Once this was achieved, me being the forever wanting a challenge, I decided to try my hand at textile arts. And WOW did I love that! I then set about learning and learning and learning, making sure I didn't miss anything, always striving to be better at what I was doing. Once I found myself at a point where I had found my niche I then decided, after many people asking me to teach them to do what I did, that it was time to start teaching what I had learnt over many years.

And here I am today, a textile artist, professional quilter, artist and tutor in my own right.  I have won a few awards in small country shows as I always shied away form the big shows, but you will hopefully start seeing me there too more often. Here are some pics of some of my work for you to enjoy. I hope to hear from you soon.

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Feel free to contact me on 0439005301 at Michelle's Patchwork for any enquiries that you have.

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Regards

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Michelle de Groot