Health & Wellbeing

2024, Pearly King of Eccles, Tunny Scaffolding Ltd.

The power of stitch to connect and bring people together is becoming much more valued and recognised. I have worked in this field for thirty years and co-created textiles with many groups and hard to reach communities. My PhD explored the hidden value and tensions in shared embroidery practice and subsequent work with organisations has given me understanding, tacit knowledge and the ability to adapt. Raising awareness of poor mental health in the construction industry has been a new challenge. I worked with refugee groups, schools, the RNIB and local museums and organisations across the north west of England.

Button workshop, Oldham Library

Respect and Protect, made for World Aids Day 2009. Collection of the Terrence Higgins Trust, London.
MMU design students working on the world wellbeing map
2022, Mental Health. Safety Net at the Dr Guslain Museum in Ghent.

World Wellbeing Map. A co-creation with English learners at Oldham Library. A monumental wellbeing embroidery made from recycled materials. It utilises hand stitch as an inclusive mental health strategy, and the outcome, a tactile artwork, raises awareness of the climate crisis. Film credit: Paul Daly.
Safety Net was an Arts Council funded project from Oct 2021. It raises awareness of the high suicide rate in the construction industry and was a partnership with Tunny Scaffolding. Film credit: Mary Stark.

Posts about my work in health & well-being

  • Exhibition. Connecting Threads at the Fashion & Textile museum, London
    A few images from the opening of my exhibition, Connecting Threads, at Fashion Textile Museum, London, 2025.
  • Connecting Threads – tactile social history – new publication Jan 25
    My new book, Connecting Threads tactile social history brings together twelve of my textile projects produced between 1981 and 2024. These social history documents provide tactile evidence of untold stories, people and places through stitch and the work is both personal and political.
  • The Global Quilt
    Global Connections is a repurposed quilt created for the British Textile Biennial, exhibited at the Whitaker Gallery in Rawtenstall (Oct-Nov 2021). Made from over 1200 fabric circles, the quilt incorporates materials from 20 countries, crafted with local community groups in Rossendale and Manchester. It celebrates the global connectivity of cloth.
  • Safety Net – 2021
    My Safety Net project aimed to raise awareness about mental health in the construction industry. Featuring large-scale banners in Manchester and Salford, the installation, created with young people from 42 Street and Manchester School of Art students, highlights the sector’s mental health crisis, urging reflection and action.