Tag: #Lancashire Dialect

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My Rochdale Lad

My Rochdale Lad

In November 2020 I came across an article promoting the ‘Winter Pocket Competition’ from Yale University Press. After a long time thinking and designing I created this pocket titled ‘My Rochdale Lad’.

The pocket is hand drawn. The words are from a poem ‘Oh Johnny’ by R. R. Bealey, written in Lancashire dialect in the 1860’s.

Size 31 x 20 cm. Hand embroidered and hand constructed using embroidery thread, cotton cloth and vintage bias binding.

Two months to design. Ten days to embroider. Five days to construct.

My Rochdale Lad
My Rochdale Lad
Vintage bias tape
Vintage bias tape
Carefully cutting out
Carefully cutting out

I learned a great deal about myself during this project – including designing, planning and constructing – and it gave me the opportunity to rethink how I can present future artwork in a 3D way.

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The First Day in the Mill – Lancashire dialect

‘The First Day in the Mill’ is a piece that harks back to my Lancashire roots and the stories I heard as a child. It’s exhibiting in the Quilt Creations category at The Festival of Quilts 2019. It features 61 elongated hexagons – or cloth ‘weaving shuttles’ – each embroidered with a job in the cotton mill. The central panel features a poem by Louisa Bearman, written in Lancashire Dialect, about her First Day in the Mill when she was thirteen.

The First Day in the Mill. Cotton 'Weaving Shuttles'
Cotton ‘Weaving Shuttles’

The cloth is a mixture of modern, preloved and vintage cotton – some from the Arnold’s Attic Collection – and some have been naturally dyed to create a soft mix of textures and tones throughout the piece. The centre of the work features a Lancashire Rose and a vintage weaving shuttle, given to me by my father.

The First Day in the Mill. Lancashire Rose.
Lancashire Rose.
The First Day in the Mill.
Weaving Shuttle.

This is a very personal piece. It shares some of the thoughts and emotions that my own family experienced in years gone by. My Grandad Nixon was twelve and his mother was ten on their first day in the mill.

The First Day in the Mill. Poetry in Lancashire dialect.
Poetry in Lancashire dialect.

It’s entirely handmade and hand embroidered.