Stitchery Stories

Textile artist Holly Jackson shares her recent journey in developing her art career. Developing her 'sneaky' stumpwork embroidery using modern materials and mixed media, there are plenty of exciting 'firsts' to celebrate with Holly! We join Holly at the start of her first art exhibition. She shares her preparation and hopes from the show. We chat about her very interesting inspirations for her emerging body of work, and how she is developing her own 'take' on stumpwork, scaling it up, and using modern materials and mixed media to produce larger pieces, faster, yet still using hand embroidery. Susan Weeks chats with Holly about: 'There's always one more thing!' How she got started on her new artist career The importance of getting in front of 'new eyes' Her preparations for her first 'booth show' The fascinating stories of the 'hidden women' behind historical Mardi Gras float designs The impacts of flooding & climate change on her region Developing 'sneaky stumpwork' techniques Creating her own unique textile art style and 'voice' Creating a body of work, using series and collections What's next after the show? For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Holly's work at https://stitcherystories.com/hollyjackson Visit: https://flossinginthemoonlight.com/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/flossinginthemoonlight/   Other places & people we mentioned:  Chesapeake bay, USA  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay Tulane University Carnival Collection https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane:p15140coll40 Jenny Adin-Christie https://jennyadin-christieembroidery.com/   Other episodes you will enjoy: https://stitcherystories.com/lottiecockell/ https://stitcherystories.com/katetume/ https://stitcherystories.com/nikkiparmenter/  

Textile artist Jayne Emerson revisits the Stitchery Stories textile art podcast today! She takes us on a journey on how she has pivoted her creative business to focus on teaching people around the world through her online courses and her unique membership The No-Rules Textiles Society. Jayne was a guest here back in 2018 and gives a quick update as to where she was and what challenges she was facing back then. And then we dive into the details of how she created her courses, and the practicalities of running her creative membership. The financial benefits and the fabulous network of new friendships she has developed online.  For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Jaynes's creative samples at https://stitcherystories.com/jayneemerson2 Visit: https://jayneemerson.co.uk/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/jayneemersontextiles/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/JayneEmersonTextileDesign   Other places & people we mentioned:  Elizabeth Ashdown (Passementerie)  https://elizabethashdown.co.uk/   Other episodes you will enjoy:  https://stitcherystories.com/jayenemerson/  https://stitcherystories.com/florianeschmitt/  https://stitcherystories.com/nikkiparmenter/  

Cornwall Cross Stitch Kit designer Emma Horan shares behind the scenes of her 'accidental' creative business based around counted cross stitch hand embroidery kits of the beautiful Cornish coast. For the last 10 years, Emma has grown her cross stitch kit business from a therapeutic hobby as she recovered from illness, to a thriving creative business, shop & studio based in St Austell Town, Cornwall. With the beautiful Cornish coast as her never-ending inspiration, with the desire to make bright colourful kits, Emma shares her journey from her first design made with 20p cross stitch software. We peek into the 'nuts and bolts' of kit design and production and Emma kindly shares some hard-won lessons along the way! Her mantra? To provide kits so that people can stitch things that make them feel good. Susan Weeks chats with Emma Horan about: painting & stitching as therapy whilst on sick leave from her corporate job her creative inspirations enjoying her studio and shop the steps from inspiration to kit for sale getting help and batch production dealing with counterfeiters colouring books? the beautiful and inspiring Cornish coast For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Emma's cross stitch kits at https://stitcherystories.com/emmahoran Visit: https://www.emmalouiseartstitch.co.uk/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/Emmalouiseartstitch/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/Emmalouiseartstitch/ Tweet https://twitter.com/emmalouiseart   Other episodes you will enjoy: https://stitcherystories.com/kriscampbell/ https://stitcherystories.com/lottiecockell/ https://stitcherystories.com/liannevanleyen/  

Lottie Cockell started her creative business Purple Rose Embroidery fresh out of school, and has been busy growing shaping her business over the last 5 years. With a love of 'grid-based' hand embroidery, Lottie focuses on cross-stitch, blackwork and surface embroidery kits. She is keen to try new things in her business and will often dive into the deep-end of something, figure it out as she goes, then decide if it is a direction that is suitable for her business and her self.  That's the magic about running our own business.... WE GET TO CHOOSE what we do and how it works for US. This is a fabulous and very inspiring story, and I'm so pleased I spotted Lottie's colourful blackwork embroidery on Instagram, and never imagined the story that would be revealed!  Susan Weeks chats with Lottie about: Starting with hand embroidery commissions Quickly evolving into designs & kits Running her first stall ever at a high profile handmade event Designing her kits Encouraging and inspiring stitchers to have a go Shaping her business to suit her personality and lifestyle and so much more! For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Lottie's art at https://stitcherystories.com/lottiecockell Visit: https://purpleroseembroidery.com/ Look:  https://www.instagram.com/purpleroseembroidery Like:  https://www.facebook.com/purpleroseembroidery Also PurpleRoseEmbroidery on: TikTok, Youtube, Pinterest Directory of all the things:  https://bio.site/purpleroseembroidery   Other places & people we mentioned: Kirstie Allsopp Handmade Fair Hochanda / Create & Craft Other episodes you will enjoy: https://stitcherystories.com/jengoodwin/ https://stitcherystories.com/ilkecochrane/ https://stitcherystories.com/kriscampbell/

Today I explore hand embroidered and beaded pop art with contemporary pop art textile artist Sarah Gwyer. We talk about her magpie-like 'obsession' with colourful beads and charms and the artistic path to creating beaded portraits. But beneath the colourful sparkling beads lies strong social commentary on celebrity, wealth and consumerism, all expressed in a distinctive pop art style. And we dive into the copyright complexities that Sarah has found herself entwined in over her desire to portray celebrities as parody. This is such an interesting chat, and thank you to Sarah for sharing her story. And of course... we have a good old laugh in amongst the serious topics! Susan Weeks chats with Sarah Gwyer. For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Sarah's work at https://stitcherystories.com/sarahgwyer   Visit: https://www.sarahgwyer.com/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/sarahgwyer Like: https://www.facebook.com/sarahgwyerartist   Other places & people we mentioned:  The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition https://summer.royalacademy.org.uk/   Other Episodes You Might Enjoy: https://stitcherystories.com/eleanorpigman/ https://stitcherystories.com/alexhall/ https://stitcherystories.com/claireedwards/  

Back in 2014, textile artist, academic & designer Vanessa Marr posed the question: Women & Domesticity - What's Your Perspective? And invited those thoughts to be embroidered upon a yellow duster, in red thread. Little did she realise what she had unleashed... Nine years later, Vanessa has an amazing collection of embroidered dusters and an even more amazing collection of stories from the people (mostly women) who have sent her a duster. There are so many fascinating elements to this project, we barely scratch the surface! We do have a laugh as we start our conversation highlighting the now closed one off collaboration with The Profanity Embroidery Group as part of their Domesticity themed exhibition in Whitstable, Kent in February 2023. PEG were early guests on the podcast so this was a fun start to this episode BUT we must make it super clear that the general Domestic Dusters project is NOT about swearing about housework. Susan Weeks chats with Vanessa Marr. For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Vanessa's work at https://stitcherystories.com/domesticdusters Visit: https://domesticdusters.wordpress.com Visit: https://marrvanessa.wordpress.com Look: https://www.instagram.com/domesticdusters Look: https://www.instagram.com/vanemarr Research profile: https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/vanessa-marr   Other places & people we mentioned:  The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Dinner Party by Judy Chicago The Subversive Stitch by Rosita Parker Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber   Profanity Embroidery Group (Whitstable)  https://pegwhitstable.co.uk/   Other Episodes You Might Enjoy:  https://stitcherystories.com/profanityembroiderygroup/ https://stitcherystories.com/thereddress/ https://stitcherystories.com/karenruane/  

Embroidery artist Merrilyn Heazlewood shares her life in fabric & thread on Stitchery Stories embroidery podcast today! She takes us on a journey through her interesting and busy lifelong creative business career based around counted canvas work hand embroidery. And for those of you in the USA, you will know canvaswork as needlepoint. Anyway, over the years, Merrilyn has owned several needlework shops, has written several books on wool embroidery, counted canvaswork techniques and also on silk ribbon embroidery. And she has also taught internationally for many years, in-person and now creating projects for online learning. We catch up with Merrilyn as she looks forward to her summer holiday break, with several projects in mind to let her creativity flow. Susan Weeks chats with Merrilyn about: why she opened a needlwork craft shop at age 23 how she translates an idea into canvaswork and ribbon embroidery stitches playing with goldwork inspired by an ancient Aboriginal Rock art Echidna how do you learn crafts when your Mum is left-handed and you are right-handed? getting 'hooked' into counted cross-stitch embroidery combining silk ribbon embroidery with counted canvaswork / needlepoint a focus on inspiring customers self publishing several books...back inthe day when it was really difficult! selecting style, threads and accessories for 'longevity' of stitching meeting inspiring people around the world in so many locations designing the creative business you love and which protects your precious health. how NOT to thread your needle.... and so much more! For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Merrilyn's work at https://stitcherystories.com/merrilynheazlewood Visit: https://merrilynheazlewood.com.au Look: https://www.instagram.com/merrilynsstitches/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/MerrilynBHeazlewood Other places & people we mentioned: In Tasmania: Tarraleah, Hobart, Launceston, Battery Point, Mount Wellington, Iron Pot (a small flat island in the mouth of the Derwent River, Tasmania) The Kimberley region in north-west Australia Aboriginal rock art Echidna Gumnut Yarns http://www.gumnutyarns.com/ Lowery Workstands https://www.workstands.com/   Other episodes you will enjoy Sarah Rakestraw: Glorious Goldwork Embroidery https://stitcherystories.com/sarahrakestraw/ Tina Francis: Tapestry, Needlepoint, Canvaswork https://stitcherystories.com/tinafrancis/ Ilke Cochrane: Delightful Hardanger Embroidery https://stitcherystories.com/ilkecochrane/  

A cheerful & inspiring episode as global listeners of Stitchery Stories textile art podcast share their stories of creative joy from 2022, and shoutout those 'joy bringers' who helped them in some way to achieve that joy. Hello & Welcome to my final episode of 2022. A recurring theme is how much comfort & joy creative activities bring us. So I thought it would be lovely to hear your stories of creative JOY from 2022. But not only that, to give us an opportunity to hear about those people that helped create that joy for you - the JOY BRINGERS as I decided to call them. A massive thank you to all of you who took the time to send in your JOY. As usual I have created a blog post for this episode on the StitcheryStories.com site Each contributor will be listed, with their links and also the details and links for their joy bringers. I also sent out a quick question asking what your fevourite techniques, and again got some lovely replies, so I have featured a selection of those too, which are along the same theme of joy and yet more shoutouts to others. Please tell your friends about this episode, share on socials thru stories, or write your own post, maybe with an image of you busy making and creating whilst listening? We can bring joy to others by sharing what we love. And it's always very much appreciated. So as we wrap up 2022, I wish you all a creative and joyful 2023 Sue xxx For this episode... View Contributors, Links, & Information at https://stitcherystories.com/2022CreativeJoy   To support this embroidery & textile art podcast: You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff https://virtualityworks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/  

Elizabeth Griffiths is a mixed media artist using hand embroidery, lino print-making, inks and watercolours to explore a range of themes. She shares the uplifting experience (and challenge!) of using hand embroidery as a competitor in Sky TV Portrait Artist Of The Year. We dive behind the scenes! Who was her portrait subject? How was it organised? What was it like trying to compete using hand embroidery against 'paper & paint' artists? This was just one of a number of events that have made 2022 a rollercoaster of a year for Elizabeth, and we chat about how these events have affected her art and creativity. Susan Weeks chats with Elizabeth Griffiths about: Exploring mixed-media - lino prints, inks, watercolours - with hand embroidery The excitement of taking part in Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year How to use embroidery in a time limited, live, portrait competition Keeping true to her style Using mixed media to trigger embroidery Why Elizabeth put away her needles & thead for a while Do silk paints go off, we wondered? Evolving our art as we also evolve Using our art to cope with stress Having her 1st solo exhibition When everything happens at once... and so much more! For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Elizabeth's work at https://stitcherystories.com/elizabethgriffiths Look: https://www.instagram.com/lizgstitches Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year Competition 2022 https://www.sky.com/watch/title/series/3e1cfda1-28a9-42f2-be75-220b7e8863ca/portrait-artist-of-the-year/episodes/season-9/episode-4 General Office - Gallery in Stourbridge, UK https://generaloffice.co.uk/   Oh and for a laugh... Sue mentioned that her portrait drawing attempts were like those of internet star 'Pet Portraits By Hercule' Here is a BBC article about Hercule... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-58309087 Instagram: @portraitsbyhercule   To support this embroidery & textile art podcast: You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast   Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff https://virtualityworks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks   Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/   Other Episodes You Might Like: Justine Warner: Textile art landscapes from a surprising source https://stitcherystories.com/justinewarner/ Sorrell Kerrison: Creating Hand Embroidered Portraits https://stitcherystories.com/sorrellkerrison/ Tracey Coverley: Textile Art Portraits https://stitcherystories.com/traceycoverley/  

Stacey Jones creates colourful, modern, abstract hand embroidery art. Her work powerfully reflects her thoughts & emotions through her life experiences. Stacey shares her story of how her life with her husband has strongly informed her embroidery designs, particularly his illness, tragic death and her mourning process as she evolves into living alone. Embroidery has been a massive help to Stacey, and she shares stories and wisdom around the power of creativity in such situations. This is a fascinating conversation about developing themes, ideas, inspirations, designs, colour and stitch. Susan Weeks chats with Stacey Jones about: Using sunflowers as an enduring symbol of hope, strength and inspiration. The impact of mood & emotions on choosing a colour palette to work with. Considering 'the spaces in-between' and developing art around that concept. Inspiration from galaxies to the spaces inbetween seeds. Finding comfort in repetitive processes & stitching. Learning some new hand embroidery techniques, goldwork, tambour embroidery. Going to cool life drawing classes with neon painted models. The luxury of creating work purely for herself. Finding freedom in reposting her embroidery archive. Exciting plans for the future. Representing calm breath work with embroidery. Ways to spark creativity when you are feeling stuck. and so much more! For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Stacey's work at https://stitcherystories.com/staceyjones Look: https://www.instagram.com/bystaceyjones The Hand & Lock embroidered arts exhibition 2021 https://handembroidery.com/hand-and-lock-exhibition-2021/ Sarcoma UK The bone & soft tissue cancer charity https://sarcoma.org.uk/   To support this embroidery & textile art podcast: You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast   Follow Susan Weeks for online course creation and online marketing stuff https://virtualityworks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/   Other Episodes You Might Like: Claire Edwards: Pushing The Boundaries Of Traditional Hand Embroidery https://stitcherystories.com/claireedwards/ Jessica Grady: Embroidery Artist Using Unusual Materials And Bold Colours https://stitcherystories.com/jessicagrady/ Michelle Morgan: Hand Embroidery Artist https://stitcherystories.com/michellemorgan/  

Floriane Schmitt loves to experiment with creative fabric manipulation ideas. Under her brand name of FloHomeDesign she creates accessories and home decor items from smocked neoprene and is writing a fabric manipulation book, due out end 2023. Floriane shares her story of how her dream of a career in fashion evolved into specialising in fabric manipulation and creating her own collections bringing a very modern twist on some traditional Canadian Smocking techniques with very modern materials. Neoprene + Smocking = Neosmock Floriane has packed a lot of experience into her education and career so far, topped off by her fabulous story behind the fabric manipulation book she is writing at time of recording (Oct 2022). This is an inspiring story of 'going for it, making opportunities, and of saying Yes! Susan Weeks chats with Floriane Schmitt about: A chance comment on Instagram that led to a book writing deal The structure and challenges of creating her book Don't be afraid to show your work Using Instagram as a quicker way to showcase your skills and work Making a major pivot from fashion design to fabric manipulation designer Creating her accessories and home decor collections and brand Giving a traditional technique an interesting twist with modern materials Her inspiring internship Innovation with new fabrics and creative fabric manipulation techniques You can't keep the creativity flowing for endless hours and so much more! For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Floriane's work at https://stitcherystories.com/florianeschmitt   Visit: https://linktr.ee/florianeschmitt https://florianeschmitt.com/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/florianeschmitt Look: https://www.instagram.com/flohomedelight   Inspiration from Iris Van Herpen: https://www.irisvanherpen.com/   You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff https://virtualityworks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/ Other Episodes You Might Like: Ann Small: Layered Cloth https://stitcherystories.com/annsmall/ Jayne Emerson: Textile Designer, Author & Tutor https://stitcherystories.com/jayneemerson/ Kathleen Laurel Sage: Shaping Machine Embroidery With Heat https://stitcherystories.com/kathleenlaurelsage/  

Cath Janes is an award-winning human anatomical embroidery artist. Under her brand name of Kraken Kreations she combines anatomically correct illustrations with colourful hand embroidery which all have a story to tell. Cath shares her honest and hilarious story of the ups and downs of the creative life of an artist, and her unique and distinctive art. There is so much entertainment as well as valuable creative business lessons contained within this episode of the Stitchery Stories textile art and embroidery podcast. Maybe you dream of going viral on Instagram, worry about being artistically lonely, or struggle to set boundaries and price your art? You will certainly find some inspiration and hard-earned experience today. Oh, and have a right good laugh too! Susan Weeks chats with Cath Janes about: Joys & frustrations of commissions Inspiring stories behind her anatomical embroidery commissions Her commissioned hoops are often part of a healing process Importance & prevalence of medical illustrations What is 'false colour' The surprising catalyst for becoming an anatomical embroiderer Anyone else love dissecting things? Dealing with artistic loneliness and finding your tribe What really happens when a 'reel' video goes 'viral' on Instagram Balancing commercial pressures with artistic urges and so much more! For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Cath's work at https://stitcherystories.com/cathjanes Visit: https://www.krakenkreations.co.uk/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/KrakenKreations Look: https://www.instagram.com/krakenkreationscath You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff https://virtualityworks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/ Other Episodes You Might Like: Ruth Norbury: Capturing Urban Decay With Textile Art https://stitcherystories.com/ruthnorbury/ Profanity Embroidery Group: Huge Fun. Beautiful Art. Ugly Words https://stitcherystories.com/profanityembroiderygroup/ Jane Sanders: Textile Portraits Of Iconic Pop Stars https://stitcherystories.com/janesanders/  

Susan Hensel is a multidisciplinary artist with a long-established career. She combines mixed media with digital machine embroidery to create beautiful sculptural forms flooded with colour. Alongside runs her gallery & curatative experience, giving us a fabulous guest sharing her art practice wisdom, on Stitchery Stories textile art podcast. Art is all about communication. Creating art to interpret your thoughts, inspirations, perhaps trying to make sense of the world. And the communication continues long after the art is finished.... you need to tell everyone about it, so they can enjoy it too. Susan has some great advice about this side of a successful art practice. We also dive into the aspects of when you take your art career to the 'next level' of exhibitions and galleries. Susan Weeks chats with Susan Hensel about: Getting excited about digital machine embroidery The frustrations of inconsistent materials Current inspirations from climate change & weather maps How Donald Duck's blue jacket sent her into a life-changing artistic pivot! Using techniques & approach appropriate for the ideas you are trying to express Evolving beyond the clay & brealing out of the rectangle Opening a gallery as a way of meting new people Getting media & press attention Artist representation Understanding the gallery business There are artists everywhere - who have created everything we use Switching between 'business mode' and 'creative mode' can be so difficult For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Susan's work at https://stitcherystories.com/susanhensel Visit: https://susanhenselprojects.com/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/SusanHenselProjects/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/susan_hensel_multimedia_artist Tweet: @hensel_susan Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff https://virtualityworks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/   Other Episodes You Might Like: David Morrish : Disruptive Digital Embroidery https://stitcherystories.com/davidmorrish/ Hayley Mills-Styles: Thread Artist Who Loves Digital Embroidery https://stitcherystories.com/hayleymillsstyles/ Kathleen Laurel Sage: Shaping Machine Embroidery With Heat https://stitcherystories.com/kathleenlaurelsage/  

Jennie-maree Tempest is a textile artist living on the Bass Coast of Australia. After many years creating art quilts and portraits, she has decided to challenge her textile art skills and creativity by creating textile art botanical sculptures. Jennie-maree focuses her creativity inspired by the native Australian species that grow around her coastal home. The latest is a flowering yucca that is around 6ft / nearly 2m tall! It has been a massive undertaking, and has taken over four months of hard work to create. It's not only a challenge of textile art but also of construction. How did she make such a large item out of fabric & threads? Today on the Stitchery Stories textile art podcast, Jennie-maree Tempest chats with Susan Weeks about her inspirations and challenges and her creative life by the coast. For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Jennie-maree's work at http://www.stitcherystories.com/JenniemareeTempest Visit: https://jemartem.com/ Like : https://www.facebook.com/JemARTem/ Look : https://www.instagram.com/jemartem.textiles/ Buy : https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/JemartemTextiles Pin : https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jemartem/  

Today on the Stitchery Stories textile art podcast, Nikki Parmenter shares her life in fabric & thread & a wide range of interesting materials too! She chats with Susan Weeks about the wide range of inspirations and materials that she uses to create her large scale art. And although Nikki has a Fine Art background, she is very much self-taught when it comes to incorporating textiles and embroidery into the mix! Plenty of experimenting has developed a vivid and exuberant style. Nikki 'escaped' the world of education back in 2016 but her absolute delight in teaching people still shines through everything that she does, and teaching is still an important aspect of her art practice. In fact, as the global pandemic took hold, and everything was cancelled, Nikki carried on experimenting, and moved online, becoming very visible, and offering online workshops and talks via Zoom rather than the traditional 'in-person' approach. She shares plenty of tips and insight into how she did that, and the results she has generated. For this episode... all links, info & examples of Nikki's work at http://www.stitcherystories.com/nikkiparmenter

Tanya Bentham is an expert in the style of hand embroidery known as 'Opus Anglicanum'. It is a style of embroidery that was prevalent in the 13th & 14th centuries in England. Very specific stitches are used in a specific way with specific materials and style. Tanya shares her fascinating story of how she got started in embroidery and how the obsession with Opus Anglicanum started. It may sound dull that Tanya takes her inspiration from Medieval manuscripts. Far from it! Those manuscripts contain hilarious situations and crazy characters and this was an area that I wanted to dig down into with Tanya. There is a lot of humour in her work. She also loves to take old images and put a modern twist on them, but still using relevant imagery and sticking strictly to the style and methods of the era. Tanya has brought all that knowledge and experience together and her first book is just about to be published... exciting times! Susan Weeks chats with Tanya about: What is Opus Anglicanum? The main stitches used and the specific thread. Her twist of 'The 3 living & the 3 dead' How to create a face in Opus Anglicanum Historical re-enactment Writing her book Knitting in the dark! Finding it difficult to start things and preferring longer bigger projects Where do all the crazy characters and silly scenes come from? Just how nerdy is nerdy? Medieval simplicity vs Jacobean crewelwork exuberance Learning which rules you can break so it is still 'Medieval' What to wear when you are a proper artist A fab excuse for not finishing a piece of embroidery.... For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Tanya's work at https://stitcherystories.com/tanyabentham Visit: https://www.opusanglicanumembroidery.com/ Like : https://www.facebook.com/groups/2131204437191134/ Read : https://opusanglicanum.wordpress.com/ Look : https://www.instagram.com/opusanglicanum/ Watch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJl2IvOniL94jIym33JNYA Tweet: https://twitter.com/Opusembroidery SIGN UP for Crafty Online Course Creator's Workbox to get started for FREE on your online course creation journey https://www.craftyonlinecoursecreator.info/workbox Other episodes you might like! https://www.stitcherystories.com/phillipaturnbull/ https://www.stitcherystories.com/clarehunter/ https://www.stitcherystories.com/stamfordbridgetapestryproject/ Other links and things we talked about: The Luttrell Psalter https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-luttrell-psalter The Syon Cope https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-syon-cope Bananarama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A-w5L7pygE Asterix & Obelix https://www.asterix.com/en/ Tintin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin Les Dawson - wonky piano playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nNGlaiVypU

Lorraine Turner is a textile artist who gives support for endangered animals through her vibrant textile art. Lorraine has been a practicing artist for many years as a graphic designer, working on wide variety of commercial projects but her adventure into textile art started a few years ago, and she adopted the 'no rules' approach to her textile art creations. Lorraine works on large textile art portraits of endangered animals, using bright patterned fabrics, materials and techniques that she experiments with to achieve what's in her head. Fabric applique, hand and free machine embroidery, aspects of quilting, so many techniques are layered together to produce her stunning art. A key impact on Lorraine's work is her inspiration. Endangered animals come to her via her daily meditations and tell her their stories and troubles. This is a fascinating story of working from the heart and attracting fabulous opportunities along the way. Lorraine chats with Susan Weeks in this episode of Stitchery Stories textile art podcast. Her current Monarch butterfly art challenge The 'no rules' method of developing her textile art Taking it all back to the core Developing the commercial aspects of her art practice to support her focus & passions Generating revenue & charging for her expertise Meditation as inspiration for textile art How to shut off your brain and unplug Working with groups and uplifting children What makes your heart sing? Attracting amazing opportunities For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Lorraine's work at http://www.stitcherystories.com/lorraineturner Visit: https://calicohorses.com/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lorraine-Turner-Textile-Artist/100063678787825/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/lorraineturnerartist/ Buy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LorraineTurnerArtist Sew: Monarch Butterfly Challenge  https://calicohorses.com/monarch-sewing-art-challenge/   Follow Sue for course creation and online marketing stuff https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Get your FREE "Crafty Online Course Creator's Workbox" and fortnightly 'Crafty Course Chat' https://bit.ly/3sgAIji Other Episodes You Might Like: Janine Heschl https://www.stitcherystories.com/janineheschl/ Kate Tume https://www.stitcherystories.com/katetume/  

Catriona Baird is Textiles Curator at Paisley Museum, in Scotland, which celebrates it's 150th anniversary on 11th April 2021. Catriona shares the story of the Paisley pattern - that swirly floral stylised teardrop motif that pops up in so many designs and objects, as well as of course on the famous Paisley Shawls. This is a story that brings together geography, history, fashion and textiles and gives a fabulous insight into early industrial textile production too. In this episode of Stitchery Stories, Catriona Baird chats with Susan Weeks around: Her current research as part of the Paisley Museum Re-imagined Project What is the Paisley Pattern Where did the Paisley pattern originate The history of Paisley as an important textile production centre Making Paisley Shawls The Jaquard Loom and making 'point paper' designs Paisley Museum history & its collections The types and styles of Paisley shawls The first exhibition of Paisley shawls The links with The Needlework Development Scheme Investigating the museum collections The museum re-development project And we also make a CALLOUT for interesting objects which feature the Paisley pattern and have an interesting story. If you have an interesting Paisley object with an interesting story then please email a picture and the story to Catriona at the museum and she will be delighted. Email: paisleymuseum@renfrewshire.gov.uk For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of the paisley pattern at http://www.stitcherystories.com/paisleypattern Visit: https://reimagined.paisleymuseum.org/ Like: https://en-gb.facebook.com/PaisleyMuseum/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/paisleymuseum/ Tweet: @PaisleyMuseum Follow Sue for course creation and online marketing stuff https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Get your FREE "Crafty Online Course Creator's Workbox" https://bit.ly/3sgAIji Other Episodes You Might Like: Lindy Richardson & The Needlework Development Scheme https://www.stitcherystories.com/lindyrichardson/ Dr Jennie Batchelor & The Great Lady's Magazine Stitch-off https://www.stitcherystories.com/drjenniebatchelor/ Clare Hunter: Banner Maker Writing The Threads Of Life https://www.stitcherystories.com/clarehunter/  

Dr Gail Cowley is the founder and director of The School Of Stitched Textiles. Through the school, Gail offers a range of courses from beginner through to advanced practitioner, in a range of textile related subjects. As we hit the one year anniversary of Covid disruptions, lockdowns and challenges, we dig into many topics around online education and the acceptance of technology and learning via the internet. Gail shares tons of wisdom around creating online courses for practical, art and craft topics, and the changes that she has witnessed over the last few years in particular. We also chat about building and maintaining community around our stitching and learning, as well as how we can all support the things that we love. In this episode of Stitchery Stories, Gail Cowley chats with Susan Weeks around: knitting socks: her new lockdown obsession the volume of course work produced by her students during the pandemic everyone being more comfortable with video chats, using zoom, Facebook lives etc connections & community her path to being an online course creator evolution of moving courses into digital delivery working with a professional videographer making filming an enjoyable experience... ... and how it shows in the finished videos. It's time to 'up our game' in the quality of our digital content production the pleasure of following students progress into employment & business opportunities the impact we have on other's lives the unexpected contents in a bag of a student's work new courses coming up in needle felting & crewel work the new online exhibition to showcase students work the Stitch Directory: directory of small independent suppliers Please support your local independent suppliers For this episode... View Links, information & Examples from The School Of Stitched Textiles courses at http://www.stitcherystories.com/gailcowley Visit: https://www.sofst.org/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/SchoolOfStitchedTextiles/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/school_of_stitch/ Pin: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/sofst1/ Watch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCroaRYOYR5GlROrodMfIybw Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Get your FREE "Crafty Online Course Creator's Workbox" https://bit.ly/3sgAIji   Other Episodes You Might Like: Sara Dennis https://www.stitcherystories.com/saradennis/ Jane Sanders https://www.stitcherystories.com/janesanders/ Ami James https://www.stitcherystories.com/amijames/   Other people & Places mentioned: The Repair Shop https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08l581p Gawthorpe Hall https://www.gawthorpetextiles.org.uk/  

Ruth Norbury is a textile artist who specialises in creating urban decay art. But Ruth is full of contrasts and surprises, and today we dig into her story. She is almost entirely self taught, and loves to experiment to create the look and feel of her textile art. It's an ongoing challenge to represent the processes of decay in the urban landscape and buildings, using fabric and thread. So with that being said... you will be surprised to discover the subject that Ruth had been embroidering for many years! Feeling trapped by the commercial success of her embroidery art, Ruth has (finally) allowed her true artistic soul to emerge and guess what? What she produces now brings more success than her original topic ever did! There is so much to chat about and reflect upon  in our conversation. In this episode of Stitchery Stories, Ruth chats with Susan Weeks around: falling into an artistic genre that really doesn't reflect your true soul being brave to make changes so you can be more 'you' even a small niche is massive on the global internet having the confidence to step into your true niche attracting your true audience, your 'tribe' as they say the confidence in deciding to do your thing and be you printing experiments a novel way of dealing with UFO's the camera never lies.... canal boat living the dragon phase the perils and delights of taking (and offering) advice excited about experimenting again For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Ruth's urban decay artwork at http://www.stitcherystories.com/ruthnorbury Visit: https://www.ruthnorbury.com/ Like: https://www.facebook.com/ruthnorburyartist Look: https://www.instagram.com/ruthnorburyart Other Episodes You Might Like: Claire Fell https://www.stitcherystories.com/clairefell/ Laura Edgar https://www.stitcherystories.com/lauraedgar/ Sorrell Kerrison https://www.stitcherystories.com/sorrellkerrison/ Other people & Places mentioned: Tides gallery, Mumbles https://www.tidesfineartgallery.co.uk/