I have always been interested in textiles and nature. I will never forget how I felt weaving my first piece of fabric at school with my creative needlework teacher, Mrs. Poole. I used this piece of fabric to create a small stool and I just knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I am one of four children and had a childhood full of outdoor play and arts and crafts. I was inspired by my grandmother, who was a skilled tapestry embroiderer, and my own mother used to tell me stories of how her mother was a lacemaker, spinner and seamstress.
I spent most of my childhood drawing and painting as well as being outside in a wild patch of woodland we
called “the paddock” at the bottom of our garden. We had a derelict donkey shed that I used to sit in for hours, listening to birdsong and waiting for the appearance of the imaginary person that I was convinced was living in our overgrown garden.
Nature is my safe space. I have always enjoyed the quiet time it offers — I can simply forget and be still with my thoughts. Walking through the countryside or an ancient woodland is akin to meditation — it lifts my body and mind. The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other takes me to another place both physically and mentally.
After my daughter was born in 2009, we relocated from the south of England to East Anglia, which has a climate that can be quite extreme: hot dry summers and temperate sunny autumnal days, coupled with cold, wet, windy winters. This provides me with plenty of inspiration, with dramatic sunsets and vast open skies.
As a family, we always try to get into the woods or explore the countryside, and I wanted Evie to have a childhood that was immersed in nature and free.
Exploring the ancient rewilded heathland and woods that intersperse the landscape in Norfolk never fails to inspire me. As I forage for plant material, leaves, seed pods and oak galls, I can reconnect to the land and gather moments in time that are recreated into unique textile stories.
When I am outside immersed in nature, I can forage leaves, twigs, seed pods and flowers, happily spending hours searching for little treasures. I am constantly carrying out what I call “observation studies,” where I leave foraged items in little pots and baskets around my studio or windowsills at home. Living with them and watching how they naturally dry or respond to their environment enables me to turn to them when I feel the time is right.
This slower, protracted implementation of creativity echoes the philosophy of permaculture: working with rather than against nature.
(Bottom left) “Embroidered Circles of Life” (2021) — foraged moss, vermicelli stitch, tulle and hand-dyed wool.
Education and career
I originally trained in fashion design at Solent University in Southampton, the town where I was born. However, after a brief spell working as a textile print designer for Gable Clothing & Design Company, I decided to study textile design at Nottingham Trent University. It was here that I specialised in embroidery, a decision based on my first love of cross stitch sewing — a love that began as a child inspired by my grandmother’s stunning tapestry works.
In 1995, during my graduation shows, I was awarded a Graduate Showcase award. This enabled me to exhibit at The Knitting & Stitching Show at the Alexandra Palace in London and in Dublin. It gave me the confidence to start my own business as a freelance textile designer and I have never looked back.
I embroidered pieces for the British Craft Department at Liberty Regent Street, London, and designed home furnishings and pictures for the John Lewis Partnership UK. During this time, I was also travelling widely, exhibiting at art venues across the UK.
It was a peripatetic lifestyle, often involving tight deadlines and pressure to complete the pieces for each show. I enjoyed working in this way, however, finding that the exhibitions gave me the opportunity to meet my customers directly. This boosted my morale and helped focus my ideas.
In 2002, I was given the opportunity to work and travel across the east and west coast of Japan during a British Crafts promotion for Takashimaya. It was a great honour to be exhibiting with such a respected institution, and we were accompanied by the Princess Diana Althorp exhibition. I was incorporating elements of bamboo, Kozo fibre and washi paper into my work, combined with embroidered flowers that had been dried and gathered from my garden.
My embroidery is a creative response to the transient nature of the places we work and live. I create art to connect with others and challenge the distinction between fine art and textiles.
The importance of research
Immersive research helps to refine my ideas and explore the materiality of each piece. I visit locations to conduct research centred around place, flora and fauna.
Moonshine Beetle was a personal two-year research project that I carried out a few years ago whilst studying the Brecks, the flint capital of the UK in prehistoric times. This species of beetle is endangered and highly vulnerable to extinction.
The embroidered trees in my work represent the pine tree rows which are indigenous to this area and were originally planted in 1914 as hedges. Now fully grown, they are twisted and contorted by the wind, and are a distinctive feature of this area.
I am currently working on a research study with two plant scientists looking at creating textiles from a Neolithic crop (legume) called grass pea. By utilising the waste or residue from the harvest of this crop, I am looking at ways of creating living textile surfaces such as hand-made paper, bowls and yarn. Raising the value of this crop would improve the lives of many rural communities living across India where subsistence farmers rely on this for vital food supply.
I have also been fortunate with a successful grant application from the University of the Arts London and the British Council, aimed at supporting innovation within the field of global sustainability and climate change.
Our research project WASTE NOT, based in the UK and Malaysia, focuses on the extraction of colour by utilising food waste and exploring natural plant-based mordants for the fashion and textile industry. This international collaboration is a pilot project and is still in the very early stages of educational outreach. In the not-too-distant future, though, we hope to be able to create a digital platform and social media presence to educate, empower and inform others of our findings and colour palette.
Available from www.SearchPressUSA.com.
Writing my book Forage & Stitch
Writing Forage & Stitch has provided me with yet another turning point in my career as a textile artist and researcher. I can honestly say that I have loved every minute of writing the book. It has helped me understand and connect with creatives, and has allowed me to add depth to the memories that I have committed to paper by writing each chapter. It has enabled me to express myself, my own feelings and ideas, and there is a real freedom in creating stories about foraging and embroidery.
Simplicity and accessibility are key, as we all live busy and complicated lives. I hope to help enhance creativity and imagination through educational outreach.
One of the projects I highlight in Forage & Stitch is my re-creation of the Brecks landscape. You can see how I make this in the following excerpt from my book.
Tools for accessing creativity:
DYEING SUPPLIES: A4 (81⁄4-by-113⁄4 inch) piece of medium-weight calico, for the background; rusty nails; tea or coffee; and a paintbrush, for staining
PRINTING SUPPLIES: Acetone and pot; printouts of tree lines; masking tape; medium-sized stipple brush; brayer or rolling pin; tea towel
FREE-MACHINING ON SOLUBLE FABRIC SUPPLIES: Outline of Scots pine trees (this can be a simple drawing you create personally); pencil or pen; A4 (81⁄4-by-113⁄4 inch) piece of soluble fabric; 30.5 cm (12 inch) diameter hoop; dark- and light-coloured machine threads (a golden colour bobbin thread looks lovely with dark green, navy blue or black top thread); darning foot; tea towel or kitchen paper; old dish or tray
HAND-EMBROIDERY SUPPLIES:
Embroidery threads in coordinating colours; embroidery or crewel needle; embroidery scissors; fine thread (this can be 2-ply machine or hand-embroidery thread)
FINISHED SIZE: 25 by 17.5 centimeters (93⁄4 by 7 inches)
Instructions
Using the dyeing supplies, dye your fabric with rusty nails. Simply roll the fabric round the nails, stick it in a jam jar and fill with rainwater, then leave for a few weeks. Remove the fabric from the jar, then leave to dry completely. I also stained my fabric with tea, along the top and bottom, for extra colour interest.
Using the printing supplies, print the rusted calico background with trees. If you wish, you could print the fabric multiple times. Leave to dry on a tea towel.
Stitch a row of Scots pine trees. I’ve used black and gold threads — black for the top thread and gold for the bobbin. Once you are happy with the finish, dissolve the soluble fabric, then leave the embroidered trees to dry on a tea towel.
Once everything is dry, frame up your fabric. Pin your row of Scots pine trees over the centre of the printed fabric.
Using the fine thread, couch down the tree line to make sure it is absolutely secure. Rather than couching just around the edge, I like to work clusters of stitches in the top, bottom and middle sections.
I wanted to create the impression of undergrowth in the foreground, so I decided to couch down clusters of different sized twigs.
When complete, remove the fabric from the hoop and iron the fabric, if necessary. I decided to mount my piece on layered card, then stretched and glued the edges to the back with natural glue.
TIP: To enhance the dimensionality of the trees, I prefer to hand couch. You can do this by machine, but it can flatten the trees and make them look more “placed” and less natural.
I have always been interested in textiles and nature. I will never forget how I felt weaving my first piece of fabric at school with my creative needlework teacher, Mrs. Poole. I used this piece of fabric to create a small stool and I just knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I am one of four children and had a childhood full of outdoor play and arts and crafts. I was inspired by my grandmother, who was a skilled tapestry embroiderer, and my own mother used to tell me stories of how her mother was a lacemaker, spinner and seamstress.
I spent most of my childhood drawing and painting as well as being outside in a wild patch of woodland we
called “the paddock” at the bottom of our garden. We had a derelict donkey shed that I used to sit in for hours, listening to birdsong and waiting for the appearance of the imaginary person that I was convinced was living in our overgrown garden.
Nature is my safe space. I have always enjoyed the quiet time it offers — I can simply forget and be still with my thoughts. Walking through the countryside or an ancient woodland is akin to meditation — it lifts my body and mind. The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other takes me to another place both physically and mentally.
After my daughter was born in 2009, we relocated from the south of England to East Anglia, which has a climate that can be quite extreme: hot dry summers and temperate sunny autumnal days, coupled with cold, wet, windy winters. This provides me with plenty of inspiration, with dramatic sunsets and vast open skies.
As a family, we always try to get into the woods or explore the countryside, and I wanted Evie to have a childhood that was immersed in nature and free.
Exploring the ancient rewilded heathland and woods that intersperse the landscape in Norfolk never fails to inspire me. As I forage for plant material, leaves, seed pods and oak galls, I can reconnect to the land and gather moments in time that are recreated into unique textile stories.
When I am outside immersed in nature, I can forage leaves, twigs, seed pods and flowers, happily spending hours searching for little treasures. I am constantly carrying out what I call “observation studies,” where I leave foraged items in little pots and baskets around my studio or windowsills at home. Living with them and watching how they naturally dry or respond to their environment enables me to turn to them when I feel the time is right.
This slower, protracted implementation of creativity echoes the philosophy of permaculture: working with rather than against nature.
(Bottom left) “Embroidered Circles of Life” (2021) — foraged moss, vermicelli stitch, tulle and hand-dyed wool.
Education and career
I originally trained in fashion design at Solent University in Southampton, the town where I was born. However, after a brief spell working as a textile print designer for Gable Clothing & Design Company, I decided to study textile design at Nottingham Trent University. It was here that I specialised in embroidery, a decision based on my first love of cross stitch sewing — a love that began as a child inspired by my grandmother’s stunning tapestry works.
In 1995, during my graduation shows, I was awarded a Graduate Showcase award. This enabled me to exhibit at The Knitting & Stitching Show at the Alexandra Palace in London and in Dublin. It gave me the confidence to start my own business as a freelance textile designer and I have never looked back.
I embroidered pieces for the British Craft Department at Liberty Regent Street, London, and designed home furnishings and pictures for the John Lewis Partnership UK. During this time, I was also travelling widely, exhibiting at art venues across the UK.
It was a peripatetic lifestyle, often involving tight deadlines and pressure to complete the pieces for each show. I enjoyed working in this way, however, finding that the exhibitions gave me the opportunity to meet my customers directly. This boosted my morale and helped focus my ideas.
In 2002, I was given the opportunity to work and travel across the east and west coast of Japan during a British Crafts promotion for Takashimaya. It was a great honour to be exhibiting with such a respected institution, and we were accompanied by the Princess Diana Althorp exhibition. I was incorporating elements of bamboo, Kozo fibre and washi paper into my work, combined with embroidered flowers that had been dried and gathered from my garden.
My embroidery is a creative response to the transient nature of the places we work and live. I create art to connect with others and challenge the distinction between fine art and textiles.
The importance of research
Immersive research helps to refine my ideas and explore the materiality of each piece. I visit locations to conduct research centred around place, flora and fauna.
Moonshine Beetle was a personal two-year research project that I carried out a few years ago whilst studying the Brecks, the flint capital of the UK in prehistoric times. This species of beetle is endangered and highly vulnerable to extinction.
The embroidered trees in my work represent the pine tree rows which are indigenous to this area and were originally planted in 1914 as hedges. Now fully grown, they are twisted and contorted by the wind, and are a distinctive feature of this area.
I am currently working on a research study with two plant scientists looking at creating textiles from a Neolithic crop (legume) called grass pea. By utilising the waste or residue from the harvest of this crop, I am looking at ways of creating living textile surfaces such as hand-made paper, bowls and yarn. Raising the value of this crop would improve the lives of many rural communities living across India where subsistence farmers rely on this for vital food supply.
I have also been fortunate with a successful grant application from the University of the Arts London and the British Council, aimed at supporting innovation within the field of global sustainability and climate change.
Our research project WASTE NOT, based in the UK and Malaysia, focuses on the extraction of colour by utilising food waste and exploring natural plant-based mordants for the fashion and textile industry. This international collaboration is a pilot project and is still in the very early stages of educational outreach. In the not-too-distant future, though, we hope to be able to create a digital platform and social media presence to educate, empower and inform others of our findings and colour palette.
Available from www.SearchPressUSA.com.
Writing my book Forage & Stitch
Writing Forage & Stitch has provided me with yet another turning point in my career as a textile artist and researcher. I can honestly say that I have loved every minute of writing the book. It has helped me understand and connect with creatives, and has allowed me to add depth to the memories that I have committed to paper by writing each chapter. It has enabled me to express myself, my own feelings and ideas, and there is a real freedom in creating stories about foraging and embroidery.
Simplicity and accessibility are key, as we all live busy and complicated lives. I hope to help enhance creativity and imagination through educational outreach.
One of the projects I highlight in Forage & Stitch is my re-creation of the Brecks landscape. You can see how I make this in the following excerpt from my book.
Tools for accessing creativity:
DYEING SUPPLIES: A4 (81⁄4-by-113⁄4 inch) piece of medium-weight calico, for the background; rusty nails; tea or coffee; and a paintbrush, for staining
PRINTING SUPPLIES: Acetone and pot; printouts of tree lines; masking tape; medium-sized stipple brush; brayer or rolling pin; tea towel
FREE-MACHINING ON SOLUBLE FABRIC SUPPLIES: Outline of Scots pine trees (this can be a simple drawing you create personally); pencil or pen; A4 (81⁄4-by-113⁄4 inch) piece of soluble fabric; 30.5 cm (12 inch) diameter hoop; dark- and light-coloured machine threads (a golden colour bobbin thread looks lovely with dark green, navy blue or black top thread); darning foot; tea towel or kitchen paper; old dish or tray
HAND-EMBROIDERY SUPPLIES:
Embroidery threads in coordinating colours; embroidery or crewel needle; embroidery scissors; fine thread (this can be 2-ply machine or hand-embroidery thread)
FINISHED SIZE: 25 by 17.5 centimeters (93⁄4 by 7 inches)
Instructions
Using the dyeing supplies, dye your fabric with rusty nails. Simply roll the fabric round the nails, stick it in a jam jar and fill with rainwater, then leave for a few weeks. Remove the fabric from the jar, then leave to dry completely. I also stained my fabric with tea, along the top and bottom, for extra colour interest.
Using the printing supplies, print the rusted calico background with trees. If you wish, you could print the fabric multiple times. Leave to dry on a tea towel.
Stitch a row of Scots pine trees. I’ve used black and gold threads — black for the top thread and gold for the bobbin. Once you are happy with the finish, dissolve the soluble fabric, then leave the embroidered trees to dry on a tea towel.
Once everything is dry, frame up your fabric. Pin your row of Scots pine trees over the centre of the printed fabric.
Using the fine thread, couch down the tree line to make sure it is absolutely secure. Rather than couching just around the edge, I like to work clusters of stitches in the top, bottom and middle sections.
I wanted to create the impression of undergrowth in the foreground, so I decided to couch down clusters of different sized twigs.
When complete, remove the fabric from the hoop and iron the fabric, if necessary. I decided to mount my piece on layered card, then stretched and glued the edges to the back with natural glue.
TIP: To enhance the dimensionality of the trees, I prefer to hand couch. You can do this by machine, but it can flatten the trees and make them look more “placed” and less natural.
Related Stories
I have always been interested in textiles and nature. I will never forget how I felt weaving my first piece of fabric at school with my creative needlework teacher, Mrs. Poole. I used this piece of fabric to create a small stool and I just knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I am one of four children and had a childhood full of outdoor play and arts and crafts. I was inspired by my grandmother, who was a skilled tapestry embroiderer, and my own mother used to tell me stories of how her mother was a lacemaker, spinner and seamstress.
I spent most of my childhood drawing and painting as well as being outside in a wild patch of woodland we
called “the paddock” at the bottom of our garden. We had a derelict donkey shed that I used to sit in for hours, listening to birdsong and waiting for the appearance of the imaginary person that I was convinced was living in our overgrown garden.
Nature is my safe space. I have always enjoyed the quiet time it offers — I can simply forget and be still with my thoughts. Walking through the countryside or an ancient woodland is akin to meditation — it lifts my body and mind. The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other takes me to another place both physically and mentally.
After my daughter was born in 2009, we relocated from the south of England to East Anglia, which has a climate that can be quite extreme: hot dry summers and temperate sunny autumnal days, coupled with cold, wet, windy winters. This provides me with plenty of inspiration, with dramatic sunsets and vast open skies.
As a family, we always try to get into the woods or explore the countryside, and I wanted Evie to have a childhood that was immersed in nature and free.
Exploring the ancient rewilded heathland and woods that intersperse the landscape in Norfolk never fails to inspire me. As I forage for plant material, leaves, seed pods and oak galls, I can reconnect to the land and gather moments in time that are recreated into unique textile stories.
When I am outside immersed in nature, I can forage leaves, twigs, seed pods and flowers, happily spending hours searching for little treasures. I am constantly carrying out what I call “observation studies,” where I leave foraged items in little pots and baskets around my studio or windowsills at home. Living with them and watching how they naturally dry or respond to their environment enables me to turn to them when I feel the time is right.
This slower, protracted implementation of creativity echoes the philosophy of permaculture: working with rather than against nature.
(Bottom left) “Embroidered Circles of Life” (2021) — foraged moss, vermicelli stitch, tulle and hand-dyed wool.
Education and career
I originally trained in fashion design at Solent University in Southampton, the town where I was born. However, after a brief spell working as a textile print designer for Gable Clothing & Design Company, I decided to study textile design at Nottingham Trent University. It was here that I specialised in embroidery, a decision based on my first love of cross stitch sewing — a love that began as a child inspired by my grandmother’s stunning tapestry works.
In 1995, during my graduation shows, I was awarded a Graduate Showcase award. This enabled me to exhibit at The Knitting & Stitching Show at the Alexandra Palace in London and in Dublin. It gave me the confidence to start my own business as a freelance textile designer and I have never looked back.
I embroidered pieces for the British Craft Department at Liberty Regent Street, London, and designed home furnishings and pictures for the John Lewis Partnership UK. During this time, I was also travelling widely, exhibiting at art venues across the UK.
It was a peripatetic lifestyle, often involving tight deadlines and pressure to complete the pieces for each show. I enjoyed working in this way, however, finding that the exhibitions gave me the opportunity to meet my customers directly. This boosted my morale and helped focus my ideas.
In 2002, I was given the opportunity to work and travel across the east and west coast of Japan during a British Crafts promotion for Takashimaya. It was a great honour to be exhibiting with such a respected institution, and we were accompanied by the Princess Diana Althorp exhibition. I was incorporating elements of bamboo, Kozo fibre and washi paper into my work, combined with embroidered flowers that had been dried and gathered from my garden.
My embroidery is a creative response to the transient nature of the places we work and live. I create art to connect with others and challenge the distinction between fine art and textiles.
The importance of research
Immersive research helps to refine my ideas and explore the materiality of each piece. I visit locations to conduct research centred around place, flora and fauna.
Moonshine Beetle was a personal two-year research project that I carried out a few years ago whilst studying the Brecks, the flint capital of the UK in prehistoric times. This species of beetle is endangered and highly vulnerable to extinction.
The embroidered trees in my work represent the pine tree rows which are indigenous to this area and were originally planted in 1914 as hedges. Now fully grown, they are twisted and contorted by the wind, and are a distinctive feature of this area.
I am currently working on a research study with two plant scientists looking at creating textiles from a Neolithic crop (legume) called grass pea. By utilising the waste or residue from the harvest of this crop, I am looking at ways of creating living textile surfaces such as hand-made paper, bowls and yarn. Raising the value of this crop would improve the lives of many rural communities living across India where subsistence farmers rely on this for vital food supply.
I have also been fortunate with a successful grant application from the University of the Arts London and the British Council, aimed at supporting innovation within the field of global sustainability and climate change.
Our research project WASTE NOT, based in the UK and Malaysia, focuses on the extraction of colour by utilising food waste and exploring natural plant-based mordants for the fashion and textile industry. This international collaboration is a pilot project and is still in the very early stages of educational outreach. In the not-too-distant future, though, we hope to be able to create a digital platform and social media presence to educate, empower and inform others of our findings and colour palette.
Available from www.SearchPressUSA.com.
Writing my book Forage & Stitch
Writing Forage & Stitch has provided me with yet another turning point in my career as a textile artist and researcher. I can honestly say that I have loved every minute of writing the book. It has helped me understand and connect with creatives, and has allowed me to add depth to the memories that I have committed to paper by writing each chapter. It has enabled me to express myself, my own feelings and ideas, and there is a real freedom in creating stories about foraging and embroidery.
Simplicity and accessibility are key, as we all live busy and complicated lives. I hope to help enhance creativity and imagination through educational outreach.
One of the projects I highlight in Forage & Stitch is my re-creation of the Brecks landscape. You can see how I make this in the following excerpt from my book.
Tools for accessing creativity:
DYEING SUPPLIES: A4 (81⁄4-by-113⁄4 inch) piece of medium-weight calico, for the background; rusty nails; tea or coffee; and a paintbrush, for staining
PRINTING SUPPLIES: Acetone and pot; printouts of tree lines; masking tape; medium-sized stipple brush; brayer or rolling pin; tea towel
FREE-MACHINING ON SOLUBLE FABRIC SUPPLIES: Outline of Scots pine trees (this can be a simple drawing you create personally); pencil or pen; A4 (81⁄4-by-113⁄4 inch) piece of soluble fabric; 30.5 cm (12 inch) diameter hoop; dark- and light-coloured machine threads (a golden colour bobbin thread looks lovely with dark green, navy blue or black top thread); darning foot; tea towel or kitchen paper; old dish or tray
HAND-EMBROIDERY SUPPLIES:
Embroidery threads in coordinating colours; embroidery or crewel needle; embroidery scissors; fine thread (this can be 2-ply machine or hand-embroidery thread)
FINISHED SIZE: 25 by 17.5 centimeters (93⁄4 by 7 inches)
Instructions
Using the dyeing supplies, dye your fabric with rusty nails. Simply roll the fabric round the nails, stick it in a jam jar and fill with rainwater, then leave for a few weeks. Remove the fabric from the jar, then leave to dry completely. I also stained my fabric with tea, along the top and bottom, for extra colour interest.
Using the printing supplies, print the rusted calico background with trees. If you wish, you could print the fabric multiple times. Leave to dry on a tea towel.
Stitch a row of Scots pine trees. I’ve used black and gold threads — black for the top thread and gold for the bobbin. Once you are happy with the finish, dissolve the soluble fabric, then leave the embroidered trees to dry on a tea towel.
Once everything is dry, frame up your fabric. Pin your row of Scots pine trees over the centre of the printed fabric.
Using the fine thread, couch down the tree line to make sure it is absolutely secure. Rather than couching just around the edge, I like to work clusters of stitches in the top, bottom and middle sections.
I wanted to create the impression of undergrowth in the foreground, so I decided to couch down clusters of different sized twigs.
When complete, remove the fabric from the hoop and iron the fabric, if necessary. I decided to mount my piece on layered card, then stretched and glued the edges to the back with natural glue.
TIP: To enhance the dimensionality of the trees, I prefer to hand couch. You can do this by machine, but it can flatten the trees and make them look more “placed” and less natural.
The Women Create Foundation is a catalyst for small but significant strides to empower women creators through grants that help bring projects to life and foster innovation.
