The choice of materials is central to my textile artwork; it is essential to me that the deepen the narrative behind the work.

All embroidery and textile workshops are different; each tutor teaches in different ways and the reasons for people coming along are different too. You could attend the same workshop taught by different tutors and come away with new knowledge and ideas. This blog post explains what happens at the workshops I teach, how they work and what you get from coming to one of my workshops. The most obvious place to start is that you learn embroidery or textile skills such as how to em

My latest commission is an interesting and lovely one, though not the usual textile artwork that is normal for me. However, it is very much related as we'll explore later in the blog. I'm processing a special sheep fleece and spinning it for a lovely client. The process of this has begun though there's still some work left. There are many different ways to prepare a sheep fleece, clean it and process it for spinning and this blog is about how I do this. The first stage is to

The short answer is not a lot! There's so much available to buy for textile work, especially hand embroidery that it's hard to know what you actually need if you're just starting out. In this blog post I'll share my favourite hand embroidery equipment, which I feel are necessary to have. Embroidery hoop - these help to keep your fabric tight and stops it from scrunching up when you embroider. I like to work with an 8 inch hoop as I find that it shows more of a design than a s

Although longer, the evenings are still cold and dark this February. What's better than a cosy creative evening? There's something so lovely about being inside, making something whilst drinking tea, hot chocolate or whatever your favourite warm drink is. I think there's something extra cosy when your chosen creative activity is working with embroidery and fabrics, especially when they are all over your lap making an extra warm layer. So many textile activities lend themselves

There's so many textile and embroidery workshops out there to choose from it can be hard to know which one(s) to book spaces for. Whilst I'm talking from an embroidery point of view for this post, it can also be applied to other art forms too - there's lots of those workshops to choose from as well! Practicalities The first thing to look at is the practicalities of workshops; this isn't the most interesting but it's important. The location - where is the workshop located and

Being creative alongside others can offer a huge wealth of benefits; not just artistic ones. Meeting and connecting with other like minded people in a creative environment is a fantastic way to boost well-being, self-esteem and you never know you may meet a new group of friends. I have seen this happen so many times in workshops - people arrive as strangers and leave feeling as though they have known each other for years. In person workshops are particularly good for making t

There are many types of art workshops and it can be difficult to understand the difference between them. Many offerings are out there; some in person, some online, some downloadable workshops and others are a hybrid combining in person and online elements. For the purposes of this blog post we're focusing on in person, embroidery workshops that don't provide a qualification. The main types of workshops are paid for workshops at an organisation or other venue, community art wo