Textile Talk

Amanda Cobbett is an award-winning textile artist with over 25 years' experience. Inspired by nature in all its forms, Amanda's 3-dimensional, papier-mâché and free machine-embroidered sculptures are created from her studio in the Surrey Hills. She scours the understorey of the forest floor seeking its hidden treasures. Over time, she has honed an inherent ability to locate intriguing flora in the most unexpected of places.Amanda's 3 Dimensional embroidered sculptures appear to float in their Perspex cases and have the feeling of just being collected from the forest for display, very much a modern version of a Victorian plant hunter's specimen case. ‘I like to think that my pieces could trick the eye into thinking that what you are seeing might be real. I am also passionate about highlighting and preserving specimens from the forest that could, without care, become red listed. If we are not aware that they exist, how will we know when they have disappeared? By recreating an embroidered sculpture of a natural object and displaying it in a case in a gallery, it brings our natural world into another dimension, we then might look for that specimen in nature, and care about its existence.Amanda grid references her original finds and offers that information with the embroidered artwork, further giving it an authenticity.School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/Amanda Cobbett's website https://www.amandacobbett.com/

Karen L. Miller, owner of Redbird Quilt Co., is Master Educator for Aurifil USA, an Aurifilosopher, author, and passionate advocate for free motion quilting. Her quilting journey began in 2007 when her sister invited her to join a simple block of the month program. Karen quickly fell in love with hand appliqué and free motion machine quilting, sparking a passion that would shape her career.As Karen's enthusiasm for learning and developing her quilting skills grew, she naturally gravitated towards Aurifil's 100% Egyptian cotton threads. The exceptional quality and impressive range of weights and colors captivated her, aligning perfectly with her creative vision. In 2019, Karen's expertise and passion led her to join forces with Milan-based Aurifil, becoming their Master Educator and launching the innovative thread education program called "Aurifilosophy". Her work with Aurifil thread focuses on educating quilters about how these high-quality threads can elevate projects from simply finished to artistically extraordinary, unlocking new creative possibilities.Karen's versatility shines through her love for both hand and machine creations. She continually designs and experiments with all weights of Aurifil thread, generously sharing her knowledge and experience with the broader quilting community. Her commitment to education and inspiration has made her a respected figure in the quilting world, known for her ability to instill confidence and creativity in quilters of all skill levels.School of Stitched Textiles: View her work here https://www.sofst.org/textile-talk-with-karen-miller/ Aurifil Website: https://aurifil.com/Aurifil USA Shopping: https://shopaurifil.com/Aurifil Blog:https://auribuzz.com/Aurifil Thread Education Program: https://www.aurifil.com/aurifilosophyAurifil Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurifilthread/Aurifil Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurifil.quilt.threadAurifil Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/aurifil/Aurifil Newsletter Subscription: http://eepurl.com/M6vOnAurifil Resources: Thread Reference and Product Guides can be found here: https://www.aurifil.com/auriworld/resources

Gail is a Canadian who resided for 20 years in Britain, until returning t the US in 1995. She moved to Britain in 1976 with her American husband and family. She studied art in Canada, England and Scotland. She completed both parts 1 and 2 (Diploma) of the City & Guilds Design and Embroidery course, achieving a distinction in both parts. She was awarded the Senior Award of Licentiateship (LCGI)by the City & Guilds Institute. Gail has previously taught City & Guilds Embroidery courses and was for many years, a City & Guilds External Verifier for various colleges in the UK. She has authored five books in Embroidery. Since moving to the US she has directed and taught at the Arts Centre she founded in Washington State - Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts. She has taught Certificate and Diploma Courses in Design and Embroidery to hundreds of students from all parts of North America. She says that living and working in the UK was the single most important contributor to her labour of love as a designer and embroiderer that continues to lead her on a lifelong journey of discovery!LinksSchool of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/ Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts Blog: https://gailcreativestudies.wordpress.com/Center's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gailcreativestudiesWebsite: https://gailcreativestudies.com

Lorraine has been creating with fiber since she was a young girl. As a child she would while away the hours sewing, crocheting, and working with crewelwork. She learned to sew garments at the side of her mother and paternal grandmother who were both gifted seamstress'. She is a self-taught artist. She began quilting in 1997 and immediately was intrigued with the design elements of the quilt. Thus, began her exploration of color, repetition, design, and texture. Soon Lorraine began to experiment with a more contemporary approach to textiles and developed her own artistic voice. Her creative roots are firmly embedded in the traditional needle arts and this is reflected in her current body of work. Inspired by her Faith, her travels and the natural world, she employs layers of both hand and machine stitches together with various surface design techniques. This unique approach allows her to successfully captures the depth, color, contrast, and texture of her subject matter. Since 1993 Lorraine had lived in the Ithaca area of the Finger Lakes Region in Central New York until 2019 when she relocated to The Villages, Florida. She recently retired from a career in nursing. She enjoys the support of her husband, their children, and grandchildren. Lorraine is an exhibiting textile artist and has won several awards for her fiber art.She owns and operates The Tangled Thread, a longarm quilting business; gives presentations and teaches classes focused on mixed media and stitched art. These days, she dedicates her energy to facilitating a group of twenty-five local artists, who meet twice a month to share and explore their common love for textile art. Lorraine also enjoys writing poetry and painting with acrylics and watercolor. School of Stitched Textiles MP Programme https://www.sofst.org/courses/masters-courses/Contact Information:Lorraine Benjaminweb https://lorrainebenjamin.com/email lorisue28@hotmail.comfacebook https://www.facebook.com/Lorisue28instagram https://www.instagram.com/lorisue28/

Lucy Martin from Hand and Lock grew up in the Peak District, where her love for stitching began as she helped her mother make wedding dresses from age three. Her talent led her to work with renowned brands like Alexander McQueen, Burberry, and Catherine Walker. A classically trained embroiderer with a first-class honours degree, Lucy joined Hand & Lock in 2022 as Head of Education. Since then, she has transformed the school into an internationally recognized centre for contemporary embroidery, building a supportive community for students of all levels.Lucy's role involves designing and implementing a dynamic educational program, organizing diverse classes with guest tutors, and collaborating with venues like The National Portrait Gallery and Kew Gardens for private courses. Her responsibilities also include hosting embroidery retreats worldwide, sharing her passion and dedication to preserving this craft.Currently, Lucy is teaching the Hand & Lock Diploma in Contemporary Embroidery, a rigorous program combining traditional and modern techniques. Her goal is to guide students in mastering technical skills while encouraging them to find their artistic voices, fostering the evolution of contemporary embroidery. Lucy's commitment ensures that each student's learning experience is challenging and couture-focused, leaving a lasting impact on the craft's future. Links: @handandlocklondon https://www.handembroideryshop.com/ @lucymartinembroidery https://lucymartinembroidery.com/ School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Annegret is a German American fiber artist who divides her time between Chapel Hill, a university town, and Kill Devil Hills, a town on the North Atlantic coast. Born in Germany and now residing in North Carolina, she lived in Ghana, France, Great Britain, and Australia before moving to the United States in 2001. Together with travels to countries as varied as Italy and India, these different cultural frameworks have shaped both her life and her art. The shores of the Albemarle Sound, near Kill Devil Hills on North Carolina's Outer Banks, have become the inspiration for her recent work which explores the fragile ecosystems of the seaboard, where the impacts of global warming, human expansion, and nature's resilience create a beautiful albeit precarious environment. Both the colors of the seashore and the use of earth pigments shape her palette, and photography serves as visual inspiration. Her journey as an artist started almost thirty years ago as a traditional, self-taught quilter. After taking numerous in-person and online workshops, she decided that it was necessary to acquire a more formal education. Between 2018 and 2020, she completed an advanced (Level 4) City and Guild accredited course with the School of Stitched Textiles, followed by its two-year Master Practitioner Course which emphasized design skills and artistic development. She is active in the Studio Art Quilts Associates – both in the European and Middle Eastern region and the one covering North Carolina and Virginia. Her work has been exhibited in Europe and the United States, and she has her first solo exhibition coming up in May. School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/Annegret's website https:/www.afauser.com Instagram @annegretfauser

Sophie is a British wildlife artist who has lived in Africa for 22 years. She now lives in Dorset, England. She is moving to Costa Rica in the new year, where a whole new array of wildlife inspirations await!Sophie produces her artworks by combining a collage of appliquéd fabrics with free motion embroidery. The details of the animals are sewn over the top of the appliqué collage; there is no pen or paint used.She uses a heavyweight cotton ground fabric which is painted or dyed with botanical printing.For the appliqué, Sophie mostly uses cotton fabrics from Liberty of London and the Kaffe Fassett Collective (Philip Jacobs, Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably). Her sewing threads are 100% cotton and made by Aurifil of Italy. Sophie produces work up to 1.5 meters long, and a single piece of art this size can contain 3000 meters of thread.Sophie also teaches online and in person. Details of her online courses can be found on her website. In person workshops are advertised via her instagram and Facebook pages. She has taught in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England and the USA.Her next teaching tour with be in the U.K June/July 2025…..dates and venues to be finalised.

Althea's Crome is an Indiana based fiber artist who has chosen a very niche art form to express her artistic ideas and challenge her own skills as a technician. Crome is a micro-knitter and has been developing her techniques for over 20 years. Using very fine silk threads and needles that she makes herself from surgical stainless steel, she can achieve a gauge of 80 stitches per inch. With so many stitches to the inch, Crome has been able to achieve incredible details in a minute scale. Her tiny pieces of knitting are intended as stand alone, sculptural pieces of art which she often refers to as “sweaterscapes.” Some of her pieces tell autobiographical stories, others are romantic pastoral scenes and many are inspired by the art and artists she admires. Crome's work has been featured around the world in shows, galleries, museums books and even on the silver screen in the movie Coraline.www.altheacrome.comwww.sofst.org

UK based textile artist Anne Kelly is an award-winning artist, author and tutor. Her multi-layered and densely stitched textiles have been described as ‘small worlds'. Trained in Canada and at Goldsmiths College in London, she creates wall hangings and objects using a mixture of mixed media collage and hand and machine embroidery. Her inspirations are taken from travel, memory, nature and especially folk art. Anne tutors and teaches fine art and textiles to a variety of groups in the UK and abroad. and is a member of the Embroiderers Guild UK, the Crafts Council Directory and the Society for Embroidered Work. She also exhibits and curates group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Her four books for Batsford are widely collected and studied by students of all ages around the world.Anne's website https://annekellytextiles.com/School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Holly Guertin is a contemporary fiber artist and textile designer in the Philadelphia, PA area. In her work, she explores the interconnectedness of the human person and invites her viewers to look at sheep and their wool as if in a mirror. In an increasingly disconnected, disembodied, and virtual world, her process-intense work grounds the viewer to the tactile and the real, showing the human experience as a marvel and a wonder. Holly graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a BFA in Fibers in 2011 and has been working in textiles and fiber arts ever since. Aside from her fiber artwork, she also creates textile designs for fashion brands. Her artwork has been featured in publications like Colossal, Business of Home, Frankie Magazine, and Knit Wit Magazine, among others. Her artwork has been displayed through SCAD's Permanent Collection in Atlanta, Savannah, Hong Kong, and France. In 2019, she collaborated with Anthropologie for two collections, Fall and Holiday, inspired by her artworks. As a mother to four young sons, she explores themes of connection, passage of time, dignity of labor and the human body, and feminine tradition in textiles. Holly on Instagram @hollyguertinartHolly on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hollyguertinart/Holly's website http://hollyguertin.com/School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Alison is a self-taught artist who works primarily with textiles, often incorporating mixed media elements into her work to enhance their compositions. She began her journey into textile art in her mid-forties, and since then, her work has continually evolved as she experiments with new techniques and ideas. Her work is a celebration of the natural world, captured through this tactile and versatile medium.Drawing inspiration from the ever-changing seascapes and landscapes around her, Alison seeks to capture the beauty and tranquillity of nature in each piece she creates. She skilfully combines new and reclaimed fabrics, using meticulous layering and stitching to create two distinct styles: one that is richly textured and abstract, and the other that embodies a representational, painterly quality. Her work has been featured in notable exhibitions, including the ING Discerning Eye exhibition and the Royal Society of Marine Artists' exhibition. She also took part in series 9 of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year. She is a member of the Society for Embroidered Work, the Visual Artists Association and the Devon Artists Network.She has now written her first book entitles ‘Textile Seascapes' which is published by Crowood Press. It takes readers through the essential skills and techniques needed to create stunning textile seascapes. This comprehensive resource equips both beginners and seasoned artists with the knowledge to craft beautiful textile pieces.Alison's site https://alisonwhateleydesign.co.uk/ School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/ Amazon link to Alison's book https://amzn.to/3Up7cHU

Jude is a practising mixed media artist and tutor. She currently teaches small groups of 1 or 2 from her own studio, and also larger groups in both the UK and across Europe. She has also exhibited both individually and as part of groups in the UK and in Europe. Jude has taught Masterclasses at Festival of Quilts and worked as the Studio Manager with Leslie Morgan at Committed to Cloth.Coming from a creative family, she has been ‘making' for as long as she can recall. Jude has travelled extensively around the world and lived in several different countries. This has all shaped and enhanced her artistic practice. Excited by all forms of fibre, her creative journey has included quilt making, dyeing, hand and machine stitching.Jude's current practice focuses on Japanese Shibori techniques with Indigo dyeing. She also uses origami techniques with vintage maps, paper and cloth. Botanical printing on both fabric and paper is also an area of focus for her practice and teaching. Hand stitching will always be her first love and sometimes it feels like her hands have an in built memory! The outcome of her practice takes the form of wall art, books and vessels. Jude's site is at https://judekingshott.co.uk/home-1School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

The Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate Convention Centre runs from the 21st to 24th November 2024, And here's an exclusive offer just for you: Use the discount code SST when you book to save on your tickets. Simply head over to theknittingandstitchingshow.com/harrogate/sst to secure your spot.Artist Salley Mavor has spent over 4 decades honing her signature style and working methods, carving out her own niche within the children's book world and the fiber art community. She creates 3-dimensional hand-stitched artwork with fabric, found objects and a unique combination of embroidery techniques she's developed during her career. A combination of storytelling imagery, extra attention to detail, fervent craftsmanship, and the use of familiar, yet intriguing materials set it apart. Her pieces are presented as tableaus, like miniature shallow stage sets, with scenery, props and characters assembled in shadow-box frames. Her scenes have been used as children's book illustrations, social commentary, and stop-motion animation.As an illustration student at the Rhode Island School of Design in the 1970's, Salley left traditional mediums behind, preferring to communicate her ideas with sculptural needlework. Salley has illustrated 11 picture books using her distinctive blend of materials and hand-stitching techniques, including Pocketful of Posies, which won the 2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Her popular how-to book, Felt Wee Folk is in its 2nd edition, inspiring creativity in all ages. The picture book, My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep around the World is her most recent publication. She works in her home studio in Falmouth, Massachusetts.Links Website: www.weefolkstudio.comShop: https://salleymavor.etsy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/salleymavor/Facebook:

Dr. Jack Roberts, aka JPR Stitch is a fine artist whose primary medium is freehand machine embroidery. His art is formed from simple organic flowing abstract shapes, but is constructed from a dense and complex web of stitch. His stitchings are a reflection of the calmness, tranquillity and contentedness that he feels when sitting at the sewing machine and creating. Sewing is his meditation and the art emerges from this experience. “The experience is important to me, it rebalances me, but this sense of balance flows into the art. The colour and pattern have impact, it draws you in. As you get closer you see the complex web of stitch, your field of vision becomes filled with the dense, detailed and overlapping labyrinth of stitch - you get lost in the detail. You might begin to try and visually ‘unpick' the stitches, following the threads as they loop and weave through the fabric and each other. I hope my stitchings gives others the space in a busy world to find a sense of balance, tranquillity and calmness.”Part of his ‘process' has become the sharing of the story – Instagram is his sketchbook, journal and diary. He uses this space to talk about his art, share the making process and explore ideas. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jpr_stitch/Website - https://www.jprstitch.com/Email - hello@jprstitch.comSchool of Stitched Textiles - https://www.sofst.org

Helen moved from Art to Art Quilting in 2004 and has enjoyed many international awards for her unique approach to machine quilting and creating art quilts. In 16 years of quilting, Helen has won 16 awards at Houston including the inaugural A World of Beauty and Master of Innovative Artistry. Helen's work is predominately pictorial, with strong design and exciting play with colour. She uses her painting and design skills and creates whole cloth painted surface and then with her sewing machine, adds movement and detail into the design with her free-motion machine quilting. Helen literally draws with her sewing machine bringing her painted images to life. Combining her teaching degree and her Art experience, she teaches from a slightly different angle and enjoys helping even the most traditional of machine sewers to find new direction in free-motion machine quilting and opening up new avenues for their creative potential. Helen has taught all over Australia and the world including Dubai, China, South Africa, UK, New Zealand, Canada and USA including teaching at the Houston Quilt Festival for the past 10 years. During Covid with so much time at home, Helen created a 6.5 m long quilt which is all painted with dye and free- motion quilted whole cloth and is the longest quilt in the world made by 1 person and 1 piece of fabric. Since Covid Helen also teaches extensively online as well as enjoying face to face teaching.https://helengodden.com/ https://www.sofst.org/

Sarah de Rousset-Hall is a hand embroidery artist and teacher, she works as a tutor for the Royal School of Needlework and runs her own embroidery business, Sarah Stitches.Sarah came to embroidery as a second career, but has been embroidering as long as she can remember. Following on from a cancer diagnosis at 30, she returned to being a student a few years later to turn her hobby into a profession. Sarah graduated from the RSN's Future Tutor Programme in 2020, and has been working as a professional embroiderer ever since, teaching, developing kits and working on art pieces and commissions. In 2021 she became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers and a Freeman of the City of London. In 2022 Sarah exhibited three art pieces at Broderers' Exhibition: The Art of Embroidery at the Bankside Gallery in London, and she is currently working on pieces for their next exhibition in 2025. In 2023, Sarah was honoured to be part of the Embroidery Studio team at the Royal School of Needlework who worked on a number of items for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including The Queen's Robe of Estate, the Anointing Screen and the Stole Royal. Sarah lives in West Sussex with her husband and two cats (who occasionally make featured appearances in her online classes).www.sarah-stitches.comwww.sofst.org

Scottish artist Jo Hamilton moved to Portland, Oregon in the early 1990s, after earning her BFA from the Glasgow School of Art. Her technique combines years of fine art practice with the craft of crochet which she learned as a child from her Gran, rendering traditional categories, which include portraiture, landscape and nudes in a contemporary light. Her work has been widely shown in the U.S. and Europe as well as in Beijing, Australia and South Korea, and belongs to museums and private collections in the US and worldwide.johamiltonart.comfacebook.com/johamilton4rtinstagram.com/johamiltonartwww.sofst.org

Jamie Chalmers, aka Mr X Stitch, aka the Kingpin of Contemporary Embroidery, took up cross stitching fifteen years ago and he's never looked back. Since establishing the Mr X Stitch website in 2008, he has been showcasing new talent in the world of needlework and textile art and has curated a number of stitch-based exhibitions in the UK and Ireland. He is the curator of PUSH Stitchery and the author of the Mr X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch. He is the founder of XStitch, the game-changing cross stitch design magazine and the host of NeedleXChange, a podcast dedicated to conversations on the Art of Thread. Jamie is a thought leader in the online stitch community and what he has dubbed ‘the new embroidery movement' and is active on various social networking platforms. He loves introducing new people to the benefits of embroidery from a creative and wellbeing standpoint and is proud to be an ambassador for this ubiquitous craft.https://www.mrxstitch.com/www.sofst.org

Northern Yarn is an independent wool shop, situated in the historic city of Lancaster, with a stong focus on locally sourced British wool, including their own line produced from the fleeces of local flocks of sheep. Owner Kate Makin works together with local farmers, paying a higher price for good quality fleeces - then follows the process from sheep to skein creating a completely traceable product, using a renewable, local resource. The unique nature of the shop not only attracts visitors from all over the UK, but from visitors worldwide. Kate also organises local events promoting British wool and the women that work with it; shepherds, farmers and specialists, encouraging people to switch from acrylic - to natural fibres. www.northernyarn.co.ukwww.sofst.org IG - northern_yarnFB - NorthernYarn

Zoë is a freelance artist, designer & illustrator based in Edinburgh, Scotland.She has an honours degree in industrial design for textiles (print) and enjoyed a career in graphic design & the creative arts spanning over twenty years. Zoë now focuses on illustration commissions and personal work.Zoë loves travelling, trying new foods and enjoys lifting weights in the gym. In her work, nature is Zoë's main source of inspiration and she uses a range of techniques in her work both traditional and digital.Represented by her US agent, Lilla Rogers Studio, Zoë has happily been with the agency since 2013 when she won representation with her agent in a global competition.You'll find Zoë's work on fabric, stationery, greeting cards, magazines, books and home décor products. Zoë is also the author of “Oh, My Gouache!” and “Drawing for the Soul” published by David and Charles.http://www.zoeingram.comhttp://www.instagram.com/zoeingram.illustrationhttp://www.instagram.com/zoeingramsplaygroundwww.sofst.org

Gail chats with Debbie and Di from Appletons Wools. Appletons brand of crewel and tapestry wool has been used for nearly 200 years across the globe in some of the most prestigious tapestries and embroideries in cathedrals, stately homes, and government buildings.Founded in 1835 by Thomas Appleton, Appletons is just as evangelical about British wool today as he was back then. All 425 colours are dyed and spun in Yorkshire and the wool is 100% British.The range, which is available in crewel, 2 ply and tapestry, 4 ply yarn still incorporates all the William Morris shades as well as featuring a contemporary colour palette. the wool is used by modern and traditional designers, stitchers, weavers, needlework schools and rug restorers throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America.More recently Appletons has also worked with needlepoint designers to launch a range of tapestry and embroidery kits under the Appletons brand, all hand assembled in Buckinghamshire.Today, Appletons prides itself on the quality and consistency of the wool they produce and on creating distinctive, beautiful kits to encourage others in the mindful, therapeutic, and creative art of stitching.https://www.appletons.org.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/appletons_wool/sales@appletons.org.ukhttps://www.sofst.org/

Cas Holmes is a British artist, author and tutor of Romani heritage specialising in textile work with found materials. She trained in fine art and is interested in interdisciplinary projects in community and gallery settings to demonstrate the accessibility of mixed media textile processes. Her practice centres on the use of sustainable materials and themes surrounding issues of identity and place. Research in traditional paper and textile crafts in Japan and India continue to inform her practice and writing (Winston Churchill Fellowship, Japan Foundation Fellowship and Arts Council England Professional Development Award). She collaborates with organisations and projects on curatorial and community events including the Romani Cultural + Arts Company as a recipient of Gypsy Maker Award and with Craft Scotland on a collaborative exhibition Places, Spaces, Traces; an exploration of the concept of ‘place' and our understanding of the importance of heritage; how our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture can impact upon our identities and the space we call ‘home'. This touring exhibition was launched on Light Vessel 21 in Gravesend and with Anna 3 in Antwerp Her work and projects are reflected in her publications for Batsford the most recent is Embroidering the Everyday (2021)She is an exhibiting artist with Art Textiles Made in Britain and a member of the Embroiderers Guild UK and the Society for Embroidered Work. The stories and imagery to be found in the everyday and commonplace are a constant source of inspiration for projects and collaborationsLinks:http://www.casholmes.co.ukhttps://www.facebook.com/casholmestextiles/https://www.sofst.org/

The Nettle Dress is a modern fairy tale about the healing power of nature and craft directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Dylan Howitt, released by Dartmouth Films in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from September 15. Textile artist Allan Brown spends seven years making a dress from scratch, using 14,400 feet of thread made from the fibre of locally foraged stinging nettles. In doing so, he relearns ancient crafts of foraging, spinning, weaving, cutting and sewing. Making a dress this way becomes devotional, helping Allan to survive the death of his wife, which leaves him and their four children bereft.@nettledressfilm@hedgerow.couture (Allan's Instagram)https://www.nettledress.org/https://www.contemporaryhempery.com/https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowcouture/ http://www.nettlesfortextiles.org.uk/wp/ https://www.sofst.org/

Meredith Woolnough is a professional artist working out of her studio in Newcastle Australia. She is best known for her sculptural embroideries which are an exploration of art, science and nature. The embroideries are created using a unique freehand embroidery technique that utilises a domestic sewing machine and a fabric that dissolves in water. The work explores the beauty and fragility of nature, sparking a sense of wonder and appreciation of the natural world. Meredith believes that the deeper our appreciation for the aesthetics of nature the more eager we are to immerse ourselves in it and conserve it. Meredith holds a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from the University of New South Wales, a Masters of Teaching from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Natural History illustration for the University of Newcastle. She has exhibited and sold her work worldwide, is the author of two books ‘Organic Embroidery' (2018) and ‘The 100 Embroideries Project (2023) and teaches both in person and online classes.Website www.meredithwoolnough.com.auBlog: https://meredithwoolnough.com.au/blog Facebook https://www.facebook.com/meredithwoolnoughartist Instagram https://www.instagram.com/meredithwoolnough/

Christen Brown was born in Manhattan Beach, California. She first became interested in fiber arts via making clothing for her dolls as a child. After graduating from high school, she continued her education at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, California, where she graduated with an associate in arts in fashion design. Christen began her career in the wearable art field in 1986. Her work has been shown in galleries and fashion shows all over the world. She has been invited to participate in both the Fairfield and BERNINA Fashion Shows. Christen began teaching and presenting her work in 1991, for quilt stores, and quilt and fiber art guilds on the West Coast. She has been invited to teach nationally for Road to California, American Quilter's Society, and Quilt Festival Houston. Christen has written articles for Michael's Arts & Crafts magazine, Threads Magazine, and Piecework Magazine. She began writing books for C&T Publishing in 2011. She has authored seven books, designed 3 sets of embroidery stencils, and 2 additional products.Christen continues to be interested in craft and fine art. She experiments and learns all that she can, specifically concentrating on design and the techniques of embroidery, quilting, ribbonwork, mixed media, and beadwork. Her goal and wish through this journey, is to continually be surprised, inspired, creative, and necessary. Website https://christenbrown.com/ Blog: christenbrown.com/blog/Facebook /christenjbrownSchool of Stitched Textiles site is at www.sofst.orgChristen's books and products are listed below;Ribbonwork GardensEmbroidered and EmbellishedRibbonwork FlowersThe Embroidery BookBeaded Embroidery StitchingHand Embroidery DictionaryCreative Embroidery, Mixing the Oldwith the New Embroidery Stencils: The EssentialCollectionEmbroidery Stencils: The Darling MotifCollectionEmbroidery Stencils: Crazy Quilt SeamDesign CollectionEmbroidery Stitching, Handy PocketGuideEmbellished Art Embroidery ProjectPlanner

Joining Gail on this episode is Graham Stewart, who is an international textile and apparel production fibre specialist.For the past two years, Graham has developed and patented a more sustainable process to bleach and dye cotton called Fibre 52.Fibre52 is an environmentally kind and cost-conscious process for dyeing cotton. It is a simple, inexpensive replacement for traditional and outdated cotton preparation methods. It uses natural products instead of heavy chemicals, working at lower temperatures, with less energy, less water, and a shorter processing time. This makes Fibre52 a wonderfully cost-effective, eco-conscious and sustainable bleach and dye process.All this means that consumers will soon be offered a more natural and ecologically sound choice of fabric. With Fibre52, the natural cotton is stronger, recyclable and biodegradable, making it a natural replacement for plastic.You can find out more at Fiber52 and more about School of Stitched Textile's creative textile courses

Gail chats to Mistianne Guzman, who has been quilting since she was 25 years old and was going crazy for some color. She then walked into a store that had fabric and the rest is history. Mistianne is mostly self-taught. She not only creates quilts for the joy of it (the smaller the pieces the better), but also for competition, having had her quilts travel all over the world. One of her quilts was used in a yearly calendar for clients. She has completed a skill stage 4 programme with School of Stitched Textiles in patchwork and quilting and has gone on to tutor for them for the last couple of years. She has owned her own online quilt store specializing in batiks, taught many classes, and is an avid hand quilter. Besides quilting she is a costume mistress and creates professional ballet costumes and crochets and embroiders in her spare time. mistianne@thestraybobbin.cominsta- @thestraybobbinetsy- thestraybobbinSST Online Textile Courses

Ruth qualified as a Graphic Designer at Leeds Metropolitan University, specialising in illustration, in 1986. She then gained a teaching qualification at Manchester University. She has spent many years as an Art teacher working in high schools and tertiary Colleges. She now shares a studio with her partner Stuart Gray at Farfield Mill in Sedbergh, Cumbria, where they work, teach, and sell their paintings. You can find out more about Ruth or see her work on her website. Ruth also tutors an online video course for us on Drawing for Design.

Susan makes sculptural textile work combining mixed-media practices with fabric and embroidery across digital and manual platforms. She exploits the physics of light as it interacts with the structure of the triangular embroidery thread. The light scatters in multiple directions off the sides of the thread, creating different tones and saturations of the base color. She also exploits the science of optics, relying on our brain's ability to optically mix spots of color in close physical proximity. Further relying on the principles of color as taught by Joseph Albers and Johannes Itten et al, she exploits the vibratory effects of complementary colors and close saturation split complements. All of this creates a changeable optical environment activated by the viewer's movement from side to side as they view the artwork. The viewer experience is one of puzzling beauty, playfulness and sometimes awe.

Gail and Debbie are chatting about how Debbie became interested in crafts, her favourite techniques, teaching online versus in the classroom, tips for getting the best from your tutor and how the group zoom sessions work.

Dr Gail Cowley talking about School of Stitched Textiles and how their distance learning courses work.