I’m pleased to share that my hand embroidered work will be on display on the Embroiderers’ Guild stand at the Fashion & Embroidery Show, NEC Birmingham 13th-16th March 2025.
Each year at the Knitting & Stitching Shows the Embroiderers’ Guild curate a Members’ exhibition. For 2024 the theme is ‘Repair Restore Recreate’ and I’m pleased to share that Darning Sampler 2 and They Shall Grow Not Old have been accepted for exhibition.
They Shall Grow Not Old – part of the Repair Restore Recreate
Darning Sampler 2 – part of the Repair Restore Recreate
Opposites Attract
In addition to the Repair Restore Recreate exhibition, the Guild stand will have the Members’ Challenge 2024 ‘Opposites Attract’ on show – which includes my piece ‘Good Grub‘
Darning Sampler 2 is the latest addition to my darning series. A series of work celebrating the patterns and variations of the humble darning stitch.
Darning Sampler 2 – Cloth
The project started with a vintage glass cloth I discovered in my collection.
This soft, buttery and well worn cloth has a beautiful weave, and an iconic red and white logo runs through the centre. The cloth is easy to handle and provides a perfect blank space for layering and weaving the thread.
An iconic red and white logo running through the centre
I started with a test sample of Madeira Cotona thread to see how it stitched and just carried on stitching.
Madeira Cotona thread and a vintage glass cloth
By the end of the first day I’d completed two designs and was researching more.
A beautiful and buttery cloth to stitch
The act of repairing worn and damaged cloth often involves patching, mending and darning.
Darning Sampler 2 is inspired by a vintage glass cloth from my collection.
Embroiderers’ Guild Members Project 2024
The 2024 Members’ project from the Embroiderers’ Guild is based around repair. Darning Sampler 2 has been accepted and will be on exhibition at the Knitting and Stitching Shows this autumn.
“Repair, Restore, and Recreate have become buzz words …. We are all aware of the need to extend the life of what we use. But being textile artists, we also embrace the idea of enhancing and decorating textiles as we repair and/or restore them. What we repair and how, may now be far removed from the days of darning socks ….. The traditional patchwork quilts have evolved into memory quilts … Boro has moved beyond simply patching … Darning has gained a new life as a surface decoration. ” Embroiderers’ Guild.
