Janet enjoys quilting, dressmaking, knitting, painting, drawing, gardening, baking and reading. She likes to be creative every day and loves being in her studio with her thrifted and hand-me down treasures.

With over 25 years as a textile designer and teacher, Janet regularly hosts talks and workshops, focusing on the design process and creative techniques she uses.

So far, she has written five books (with no plans to stop!) and created a range of quilt & stitchery patterns, and she has designed eleven fabric collections in collaboration with Moda.

You will often find Janet posting on Instagram and Pinterest. These platforms help keep her in touch with the wonderful world-wide community of quilters and designers.

Signature Technique:

Drawing with your sewing machine, and free motion machine appliqué.

Top Tips:

– Breathe life and energy into your appliqué with free motion machine quilting.
– When free motion quilting, make sure to use a new sharp needle (it skips stitches otherwise) and use thread in a contrasting colour to your appliqué.
– Remember that the machine is going fast, but you do not have to as well! If you move the fabric quickly your stitches will be large and if you move the fabric slowly your stitches will be small.
– If you stitch in the same place at the beginning and end, you shouldn’t need to secure the thread ends, just take them to the back and cut them.
– Machine drawing can be unpicked- but is absolutely no fun, so if it all goes wrong (and it does sometimes), throw it away, pretend it never happened and start again.
– When cutting, move your fabric not your scissors.