I began stitching with my Mother and Grandmother as a little girl and over all those years, have never lost my interest in fabric, thread, colour and texture, or lost the pleasure of creating embroidery and textile work with my own hands. I mainly work in hand embroidery but recently have begun to explore and enjoy the techniques of machine embroidery. I studied City and Guilds Embroidery and Textiles Parts 1 and 2 in the 1980s and then passed an Adult Education Teaching Certificate at Norwich City College. I have been teaching locally since then and am also a keen member of the Embroiderers’ Guild in Norwich, as well as being involved with other groups, teaching workshop, exhibiting my work, and exploring new mediums and contemporary techniques. I take my inspiration from the wonderful Norfolk we live in, and I am also very interested in historical embroidery, particularly the Tudor and Stuart periods. I find the ancient designs of the Celtic people fascinating and like nothing better than to wander round a ruined abbey or fortress with my camera and notebook. For me, stitching is a pleasure which has lasted a life time.
Dragonfly – beaded body on a silk background with some surface stitchery. The wings made from fused organza, with wired edges and stitched to the body to give a 3 dimensional effect. Needlelace Flower – 5 petals and a leaf worked in needlelace using DMC Special Dentelle threads, wired round the edges and applied to a silk background, with additional crewel work.
Fish & Fruit – this panel uses Kantha stitch techniques to interpret a painting by the artist Mary Feddon, and was taught by Libby Smith at one of her wonderfully creative workshops Triple Moon – panel worked using discharge paste and bleach on black fabric, then decorated with hand stitch and beading, during a very enjoyable workshop with Mary McIntosh.
Mushrooms – this is worked in Calico Garden hand embroidery techniques, with a minimum colour palette, using raised and padded work to create shape and texture. Camel – a stump work technique panel, using raised and padding to give a 3 dimensional appearance to the camel, with added embellishments. Little Blue House – all machine embroidered panel, worked at a very enjoyable workshop with Wendy Dolan. Mother Julian – hand embroidered panel based on the stained glass window in Norwich Cathedral using mostly stem stitch.