End of an era

The final Creative Stitch Graduate Show took place this   weekend. 

 I began my time with Creative Stitch in 2007 as a student signing on to do a City & Guilds in Patchwork and Quilting with tutor Annette Morgan. 

In 2011 when I completed the Diploma Annette invited me to teach alongside her. 

When Annette retired in 2018 I stepped up to become Principal Tutor and teach the Advanced Stitched Textiles course.

It was great to have Annette there to present the certificates at our Preview evening. Alongside her is the current chair of Suffolk Federation WI who have supported the courses for 20 years and made it all possible - a huge thanks to them.

Pandora's Box by Jen The Stitch

There has been some fantastic work produced by students in this time. A huge variety of themes, techniques and materials, have been used. 

The originality and creativity shown has been brilliant. 2026 has been no exception and Jen Scott's work could not be more up to date, today of all days. 

Ali Phillips

The Fantasy Costume assessment is a challenging brief for students and some amazing garments have been produced over the years.

Ali Phillip's moth inspired costume this year is a great example. 

The invented characters who might wear these costumes has been a great way to help the story telling of the work and bring them to life. 

Out of the Fold

That so many textile exibiting groups have been formed as a result of the Creative Stitch courses is a huge source of pride. Six Alumni groups exhibited this weekend as part of the Graduate Show.

My own group Out of the Fold had some work on show alongside Spotlight Textiles, Feed Dogs Down, Fibre Transformations, Textile Connections and the newest to emerge from Diane's students - The Gap.

Class of 2024

And the very best legacy of all are the friendships forged in the classroom, cemented by the mutual support to overcome the creative challenges, and the lasting relationships. 

The class of 2024 are no exception and plan to stay together and form a new group.  

A visit to NCCS summer show

 

A thoroughly enjoyable visit on the opening day to see the Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society summer show

St Margaret's Gallery, St Benedict's Street, Norwich NR2 4TU

Open daily 10am - 4pm until 28th June

My visit to the Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society summer exhibition was to see the work of three Out of the Fold members. Penny Evans is a member of the society and Nicola Whayman was her invited guest to exhibit at this show. Frances Overy was invited by NCCS member Jill Sharp. 

Nicola Whayman

Nicola Whayman works with natural materials to weave 3D structures. Nicola's stand opposite Marian Eve Williams and her display of eco-printed silk scarves was a happy pairing. 

Caroline Hyde-Brown's work, also using natural grasses and plant materials, were framed. This use of natural materials and a muted palette ran through the exhibition with the stonework of Louise Tiplady and woodwork by Jonathan Southwood

Kate Vogler

Kate Vogler's beautiful ceramic vases are made from clay but have the look of a soft felted textile, inviting the touch. 

These were some of my favourite pieces in the show.

Penny Evans felted columns also induce the urge to caress. Their placement underneath a large window and lit from within made them glow. 

Penny continues to innovate and experiment with some new wall pieces hung too. The sight lines in St Margaret's down the aisles allows work to be seen from several views

June Gentle

There was a lot of 3D work in the exhibition and imaginative ways of displaying these off to advantage. 

The show of small ceramic pots by June Gentle were displayed at different heights. 

The series of ceramic ammonites by Jackie Watson on plinths with additional ferns placed to add meaning. 

Dennis Hales

The stunning wood turned and gilded bowls by Dennis Hales were very simply hung against the plain white boards and on a plain white table.

Frances Overy

The most colourful exhibit in the show was the work of Frances Overy whose triptych Primary 1, 2, 3 had the advantage of being seen at a distance and then up close as the viewer approached to see the stitched detail. 

It was great to see textiles displayed alongside other craft disciplines and earn their space as art. It was also extremely useful to see how other groups use the space and resources available at St Margaret's gallery to help plan our own Out of the Fold exhibition there this autumn.

The Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society summer exhibition runs until Sunday 28th June. Open daily 10am - 4pm. Free entry. St Margaret's Gallery, St Benedict's Street, Norwich NR2 4TU www.norfolkcontemporarycraft.co.uk/

Highly recommended. 

 

Side by Side with Mellymade Designs

 

I am delighted to be sharing exhibition space with the lovely Melanie Missin-Keating at the Quay Gallery, Snape Maltings, Suffolk in October 2026

For several years we were 'Side by Side' in our little stands at the Festival of Quilts and so will be again at this exhibition

Expect a riot of colour from both artists at the exhibition with wallhangings, framed work, 3D structures and much more.

Thursday 23rd Oct until Wed 28th October 2026

Open 10am - 4pm each day

FREE entry

And on to the next......

 

Out of the Fold are preparing for a large exhibition of new work on the theme of 'Material Dialogues' which will be shown at the St Margaret's Gallery in Norwich from 21st Sept until 4th October 2026

As part of 'Material Dialogues' we are working in collaborative pairs, drawn at random. 

My partner is Frances Overy and we are holding a material dialogue between the traditional woolen, red madder dyed fabric of Norwich where Frances lives and the silk, blue indigo dyed fabric of  Sudbury where I live

We have both dyed a mixture of woolen and silk fabrics in madder, indigo and mustard and shared these to create pieces of work

The range of colours we have acheived is amazing - the same base fabrics have dyed in very different ways. The water of Norfolk has produced much deeper, redder colours whilst the limey Suffolk water has given me a more orange palette - but they all tone in together

I am using sections of old woolen blanket resuced from my Mother' airing cupboard as the base to embellish and kantha stitch.

The results will be displayed on wooden spools turned by Frances using chestnut wood from her garden

Out of the Fold are one of the Alumni Groups taking part in the fnal Creative Stitch Graduate Show 2026 and all six of the collaborative pairs will be showning their results

Sat 18th and Sun 19th July 2026

Needham Market Community Centre

School Street

Needham Market

Suffolk

Wearer Unknown installation finally on show

 

After two years in the making 'Wearer Unknown' finally went on show as part of the EAST exhibition Paradigm Shift at the Grundisburgh House Gallery near Woodbridge in Suffolk.

The work is made up (so far) of 12 plaster cast shoes inspired by my original discovered clogs which walk on a path of 24 (so far) hexagons

As they are all separate pieces they can be moved around and shown in different ways depending on the venue

In a smaller venue just the shoes could be shown

Each shoe has been cast from one of the originals and then 'crusted' and rusted to give an antique feel

Each hexagon represents a shoe recorded on the Concealed Shoes register held by the Northampton Shoe Museum and includes the CSI number or location of the find.

The hexagons have also been rusted

'Paradigm Shift' will move to The Minories Gallery in Colchester in April 2027 and be shown in a much larger space. So the plan is to continue adding both shoes and hexagons over the next few months.

I will also contact the Northampton Shoe Museum to see if they might be interested in showing the work

Eco Print Silk Scarf Workshop

 

New workshop for 2026  Eco printed silk scarf

Learn the skills of mordanting and eco printing onto a 100% pure silk scarf using gathered fresh leaves. 

I will provide all the equipment needed - pans, stoves, drainpipes, iron water etc. A 100% ponge 5 silk scarf 28cm x 114cm with a hand stitched rolled edge from George Weil can be supplied for £6 if ordered in advance.

Date: Saturday 4th July 2026   10am - 4pm

Venue: The Cosy Cabin

Cost: £55

To book please contact The Cosy Cabin  01284 811 222 or visit www.thecosycabin.co.uk/

Handmade Book workshop - another date added

 

New workshop for 2026 Handmade Fabric Book

Learn the skills of basic bookbinding to make an unique A5 sketchbook from scratch. We will print the fabric for the cover and paper for the endpapers before making up the the book. Suitable for all levels

All materials provided for £10. Choice of colourways.

Date: Saturday 27th June 2026  10am - 4pm

Venue: The Cosy Cabin, Risby Barns, Risby, Bury St Edmunds

Cost: £55

To book please visit https://www.thecosycabin.co.uk/workshops-events/ or telephone 01284 811 222