Tag: textiles
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Where Do I Get My Ideas From? Making Meaning Episode 64
I have been asked about my ideas and where they come from more than anything else in my 21 year career (although “How long did it take to make?” must be a close second). It’s really hard for me to define where each idea came from but I’ve given it a go in this podcast.…
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Inside the covers of Tangled
What is actually in this new book? A week ago I soft-launched my new self-published book, opening up for pre-sales while the book is still in production. On Saturday I was visiting speaker for a conference about textiles and I talked about Mary Linwood. I also mentioned my new book and was asked “what is…
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How I accidentally became a writer
And how self-publishing has shaped my career I never expected to call myself a writer. I never expected to call myself an artist, either, but here I am, aged 51 and very much both writer and artist. I started my working life as a museum professional after a couple of academic degrees and from the…
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Business Birthday Sale!
It’s my 21st business birthday so I’ve added books, online courses and downloads into a great big birthday sale I find it hard to believe that I’ve managed 21 years of this self employment rollercoaster. I am due a lengthy reflection and review but that is going to have to wait because I am launching…
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Nature connection and colour
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Exploring green in the garden During my first nature-based residency in 2023, I read that humans can see more variations of green than of any other colour. That’s because we evolved to live in green places, needing to identify plants and food. I developed a lovely activity to explore this, using threads in many shades…
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Garden retreats for artists – new dates
Creative reflection days for artists in a tranquil, (almost) secret garden in Leicestershire. Over a year from summer 2024 to summer 2025, I was artist in residence at Mill Field Forest Garden, Leicestershire. Over that time, I hosted some open days for artists to come along and experience immersion in nature and chance to breathe…
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Stitching The Garden
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Nature-inspired embroidery workshop in Mill Field Forest Garden on 8th August I keep saying I am going to stop running workshops but I can’t resist one more in the wonderful community garden I help to run. I was artist in residence here 2024-2025 and I still find it endlessly inspiring and I want to share…
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Introducing Material Histories with Deb McGuire. Making Meaning Episode 63
Material Histories is a new mini-series of Making Meaning Podcast with special guest co-host Deb McGuire. Deb is a brilliant historian, specialising in emotional histories of quilting, but she’s incredibly knowledgable about all kinds of things. We have so many overlapping interests and things we really want to talk about in the world of textile…
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Fragments of a whole
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What we lose when we cut things up As I prepare for my annual visit to the Antique Textiles Fair next week, I look back to a visit a couple of years ago and reflect on what I found, and what was missing. I crawled out of bed horribly early, in the dark, to get…
