British Textile Biennial Brontë Collaborative Commissions Construction Crafts Embroidery Engagement Exhibitions Global Handmade Health & Well-Being Identity Manchester PHD Quilt Recycle Research Robin Hood's Bay Signature Sustainability Yorkshire
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Exhibition. Connecting Threads at fashion textile museum
A few images from the opening of my exhibition, Connecting Threads, at Fashion Textile Museum, London, 2025.
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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.
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PhD Study
My PhD at UCA, supervised by Professor Lesley Millar and Simon Olding, explored collaborative stitch’s benefits and tensions. Focusing on “signature cloths”—hand-sewn autographs—it examined community dynamics through case studies at Robin Hood’s Bay Museum, the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Archive, and Burnage Academy, highlighting stitch-based collaboration’s cross-disciplinary potential.
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Unfolding Origins
In collaboration with Chrysalis Arts and the North Yorkshire County Records Office, this project explored Selby’s old toll bridge. My research uncovered new insights and culminated in banners celebrating 30 years toll-free, created with local schools. Showcased at Selby Library and other venues, the project preserved untold stories through oral history.
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Sew Near – Sew Far
Sew Near – Sew Far is a stitch-based artwork created as part of Meeting Point2, a year-long project by Arts & Heritage. Inspired by the Brontë sisters’ signatures, the piece invites local people to add their own sewn signatures during workshops. Featured in the Brontë Museum guide, the work celebrates the Brontë bicentenaries.
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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.
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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.
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British Signature Cloths
This WWI fundraiser, made in North Wales and now held at Wrexham Museum, is part of a collection of signature cloths—tactile documents rich with sewn history. Since 2010, I’ve discovered examples in museums and private collections, highlighting community engagement. Please get in touch if you have information or images.
