Holly combines traditional stumpwork techniques with contemporary narratives and an interest in lost people and places. Her work has been featured on Fiber Talk, Stitchery Stories, and in All Stitched Up, and she exhibits regularly along the east coast of the United States.

Already an exhibiting artist, Holly chose to undertake Stumpwork Stage 2 with the School of Stitched Textiles and is now progressing through our Master Practitioner programme.

In this episode, we explore what structured, assessed study looks like from an American perspective — particularly given that City & Guilds qualifications are not a typical pathway for textile artists in the US.

We talk about:

• why she chose formal study when she was already exhibiting

• what assessment and tutor feedback actually feel like

• how her work evolved through the programme

• whether studying remotely from the US presents any real barriers

• and what she would say to other American textile artists who are curious but unsure.

Links

IG: @flossinginthemoonlight

Website: https://flossinginthemoonlight.com

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

New England’s internationally recognized artist, Wen Redmond’s fascination with photography finds expression through printing original manipulated photographs directly onto created mixed media substrates, and specially treated natural fibers to craft unique photographic textural constructions. Imaginative presentations add to the pioneering innovations and giving her work edge. Every work generates an artistic tension, followed by the excitement of the actual creation of the work. A dialogue is started, and the work becomes real. She calls this work, Digital Mixed Media. Redmond’s work has been exhibited in major internationally recognized exhibitions, including Quilt National, Visions Museum CA, SAQA’s International Exhibit’s, Fiberart International, Fantastic Fibers, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Intersect Chicago, Excellence In Fibers, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, Art Quilt Elements, New Legacies, World of Threads, CA among other juried, invitational and solo exhibitions. Her work has won awards at New Legacies CO, Fiber Arts IX, Sebastopol, CA, Maryland Federation of Art, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC , Fantastic Fibers and Visions Art Museum’s Quilt Japan Award among others. She has appeared on Quilting Arts TV, produced Interweave DVD Workshops and made an appearance on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims in 2025. Her work has traveled the US, UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia, and is part of the permanent collections of Marbaum at San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, CA, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC, New England Quilt Museum, and private collections. She has been featured in numerous magazines and books including her own published books, Digital Fiber Art and Mixed Media Masterpiece and Explorations with Collage- Merging Photographs, Paper and Fiber with Schiffer Publishing. She currently splits her time between North Carolina and New Hampshire.

School of Stitched Textiles' website https://www.sofst.org/

Wen's Site and contact details.

Website http://www.wenredmond.com/

BOOKS- Explorations with Collage! Merging Photographs, Paper & Fiber and Digital Fiber Art: Combine Photos & Fabric - Create Your Own Mixed-Media Masterpiece DVD- Digital Imagery in Fiber Art: Using Textured Backgrounds for a Painterly Effect https://www.interweave.com/store/digital-imagery-in-fiber-art-download-in-hd

FaceBook- https://www.facebook.com/greymooncove

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/wenredmond/?hl=en

Etsy UpLIFTmeNTs Shop- https://www.etsy.com/shop/WenRedmondArt

U-Tube channel- https://www.youtube.com/user/wenredmond/videos

Artful Home- https://www.artfulhome.com/navigate?searchTerm=redmond

Professional Member of SAQA- https://www.saqa.com/art/juried-artists/wen-redmond

Surface Design Org https://www.surfacedesign.org/members/premium-gallery/?sauthor=wen%20redmond

Fine Art America- https://fineartamerica.com/featured/whispers-of-the-positive-wen-redmond.html

New Hampshire Art Association- https://www.nhartassociation.org/member-directory League of NH Craftsmen si

Cassandra lives and works in Camarillo, California, where she continues to produce original art pieces, and shares her love of hand embroidery on her social pages.

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Cassandra's Links:

- Website: https://www.cassandramdias.com

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassiemdias

- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cassiemdias

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassiemdias

- Pre-Order Richly Stitched Landscape Embroidery: https://rstyle.me/+vPmLRLQK7zZWBsXXrgvZjg

- My Favorite Embroidery Products: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/Cassiemdias/productsets/11eec2ff5596b721968b0242ac110003

Lopez holds a BFA in Painting and a BS in Marketing/Management from the University of South Florida and earned her MFA in Painting from Florida Atlantic University in 2014. Her background in both fine arts and business informs her meticulous material investigations and strategic engagement with art institutions. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Arts at Nova Southeastern University, where she integrates critical theory with hands-on material practice.

Website: kandyglopez.com 

Instagram: @kandyglopez

School of Stitched Textiles 

She has been a regular project contributor for magazines in the UK, including Todays Quilter, as well as abroad.

Carolyn's quilts are an eclectic mix of fabrics, a posh way to say she makes scrappy quilts, and they always have their roots from some point in the past, being inspired by quilt makers who have gone before us. Accessibility is Carolyn’s key philosophy with her teaching, demystifying techniques to allow every quilter to discover their own voice.

Carolyn combines her passion for travel and teaching, having been a regular teacher at Quilt Festival Houston, as well as for The American Quilters Society. She continues teaching in the UK exploring new areas and meeting new quilters both at home and abroad and is a textiles tutor for the craft holiday company Stitchtopia.

Carolyn's website is https://www.carolynforster.co.uk/

Instagram is @quiltingonthego

School of Stitched Textiles www.sofst.org

Author and fashion historian Robert Ossant hails from Lancashire and moved to London to work in newspapers, getting his big break at the Daily Mirror. Feeling disillusioned with tabloid life, he joined London embroidery house Hand & Lock as their communications manager in 2013. It was at the 258-year-old atelier that he became close friends with co-author Jessica Jane Pile and developed his love and passion for embroidery.

Regularly inspired by the designers, artisans, makers and artists he met, Robert enrolled at night school and completed a Master’s in the History of Art. Now, equipped with cultural studies insights and academic frameworks, he applies the tools of art analysis and interpretation to all areas of the fashion industry. From haute couture catwalk show analysis to researching Queen Victoria’s wardrobe, his interests and expertise span both contemporary and historical style.

Now based in France, his freelance work has appeared in Vogue, Marie Claire, Selvedge, The Independent, Forbes and Newsweek, and he has worked with international fashion brands including McQueen, Saint Laurent, Gucci and Balenciaga. He has also spoken at the World Embroidery Conference, the Chelsea Flower Show and the National Gallery on embroidery as a vital expression of art.

Whether researching, writing or talking about embroidery, he brings personality, humour and intellectual rigour - making an often-overlooked artistic expression feel vivid, relevant and alive.

Jessica Jane Pile

Born in Kent, Jessica Jane Pile is an author, designer, educator and technical embroidery specialist based in London. After graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a degree in Costume construction for Performance, she joined historic embroidery house Hand & Lock. Within a few years, she was appointed Managing Director, becoming the youngest person to hold that role.

During her twelve-year tenure, she relaunched the embroidery school, expanded the annual embroidery competition into a globally recognised art and fashion event, and managed complex commissions for major fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior and Vivienne Westwood. She also worked on large-scale, high-profile embroidery projects for the 2012 London Olympics, The Diamond Jubilee and Kings Coronation.

In 2018 while working at Hand & Lock, she authored Fashion Embroidery: Embroidery Techniques and Inspiration for Haute‑Couture Clothing, drawing on her deep knowledge of high-level embroidery. The book’s success led to a demand for a follow-up, and Jess approached Robert to bring ‘The Art of Couture Embroidery’ to life 

In 2023, she left Hand & Lock to found Norica Studios, an embroidery studio focusing on bespoke embroidery for interior design and fashion. The business she runs with her sister Eleanor, and they are currently developing a new product range launching in 2026.  

Whether leading projects, teaching or writing, she combines technical skill with a calm, confident tone that has made her a trusted voice in contemporary embroidery.

Photographer credit is: Michael Barrow

https://www.instagram.com/michaelbarrowphoto/

Robert and Jess's new book, The Art of Couture Embroidery, is available from 6th November in the UK https://amzn.to/3J9UtXc

School of Stitchex Textiles's course details are at https://www.sofst.org/

Hannah’s interest in archives, collections and the heritage of textile manufacturing in the North of England has led to a number of collaborations and commissions, including ‘Lasting Impressions’ (2016 & 2017) with Claire Wellesley-Smith at Salts Mill, ‘Fragment of a Dress’, commissioned by the Brontë Parsonage Museum and ‘A Cloth for The Lost Mills’ (2024) for 509 Arts with Hannah Robson. She has a love of historical buildings and interesting industrial spaces and enjoys situating her work in non-gallery settings. Hannah exhibits widely and is an exhibiting member of the 62 Group of Textile Artists.

Alongside her work as an exhibiting artist, Hannah is a lecturer and author. She teaches the Foundation Degree and BA Textiles Practice programmes at Bradford School of Art, Bradford College. She has also delivered talks, workshops and masterclasses for Gawthorpe Hall, FibreArts Australia, Harewood House, Hope & Elvis, DeMontfort University, The Textile Study Group and The 62 Group. Her first solo book Poetic Cloth: Creating Meaning in Textile Art was published by Batsford in 2019. Her second book Unfolding Cloth: Inspiration from Historical Textiles is released 11 September 2025.

Hannah's website www.hannahlamb.co.uk

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

 She makes work to commission and for exhibitions and projects. She is currently Artist in residence at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

She is a member of the 62 Group of Textile Artists, Contemporary Applied Arts and the Artworkers Guild.

 Between 1993 and 2006 Emily made luxury handbags. Works from this period are in The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Crafts Council Collection and The Museum of Fine Art, Houston.

instagram and Facebook are @emilyjogibbs

Photo credit Lol Johnson

School of Stitched Textiles www.sofst.org

The Untamed Thread, Fleur's popular book is part journey from corporate world to full time artist and part creative inspiration and guide to the art of living creatively and developing an art practice. When she's not in the studio creating originals, dying wools & textiles or creating other projects, Fleur can be found on the road teaching in person workshops / online gathering with her Joyful Embroidery students or enjoying creative conversation mentoring sessions. 

https://www.fleurwoodsart.com/

https://www.instagram.com/fleurwoodsart/

https://www.facebook.com/fleurwoodsart

www.sofst.org

Marrying a foundation in fine art and a past career in dressmaking, she utilises machine embroidery with traditional Japanese flower making techniques, creating sensitive and intricate detailing. 

Through closely studying flora, she aims to capture the essence of a plant, or indeed a particular stage of growth such as the fleeting moments of efflorescence and senescence. Seeking out lesser-known species and native wild plants while focusing on distinctive botanical elements, allow her to pursue a unique sculptural presence.

Emma is constantly pushing the boundaries of fabric and thread utilisation to acquire a desired effect

She is drawn to antiquated botanical illustrations, how they show the whole plant – every element is important, not just the flower that most regard as the focus of beauty - where science and art meet.

Nestled in the heart of rural Devon, the turning of the seasons, conservation and folklore are the threads that weave through her work.

Links

Emma Rosa Textiles Website

School of Stitched Textiles

Watch with Captions

Ellie's paintings often feature unique imprints taken from seed heads and grasses, preserving their organic forms in fabric. Drawing into these compositions with free-motion embroidery, appliqué, and hand stitching, utilizing techniques she honed during a decade as a fashion designer.

At the heart of her practice is a passion for creating and teaching. Through the Flourish Textile Art Hub, an online platform she founded in 2021, Ellie shares a wide variety of textile techniques, inspiring creativity. Recently she has introduced guest tutors, expanding the Art Hubs offerings and fostered a vibrant, supportive community. Alongside this, she continues to deliver in-person workshops and exhibit her work nationally.

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Art website: www.elliehipkinart.com

online courses: https://flourish-hub.com/

Join the community: Free Facebook group

Instagram : @elliehipkinartist

Kelley is a popular teacher and thanks to a background including project management, IT and training, her courses are known for their high level of content, student support and overall quality. Students return year after year and frequently ask ‘what’s next?’ The online community has allowed students from across the globe to meet and make friends with similar interests and she is very proud to be part of this. Her vision is to foster lifelong creativity through the art of embroidery.

Facebook: Kelley Jane Stitches

Instagram: @kelleyjanestitches

Website: www.kelleyjanestitches.com

RSN Tutor work exhibition https://www.instagram.com/handstitchedheritage

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Amanda’s 3 Dimensional embroidered sculptures appear to float in their Perspex cases and have the feeling of just being collected from the forest for display, very much a modern version of a Victorian plant hunter’s specimen case. ‘I like to think that my pieces could trick the eye into thinking that what you are seeing might be real. I am also passionate about highlighting and preserving specimens from the forest that could, without care, become red listed. If we are not aware that they exist, how will we know when they have disappeared? By recreating an embroidered sculpture of a natural object and displaying it in a case in a gallery, it brings our natural world into another dimension, we then might look for that specimen in nature, and care about its existence.

Amanda grid references her original finds and offers that information with the embroidered artwork, further giving it an authenticity.

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Amanda Cobbett's website https://www.amandacobbett.com/

Her quilting journey began in 2007 when her sister invited her to join a simple block of the month program. Karen quickly fell in love with hand appliqué and free motion machine quilting, sparking a passion that would shape her career.

As Karen's enthusiasm for learning and developing her quilting skills grew, she naturally gravitated towards Aurifil's 100% Egyptian cotton threads. The exceptional quality and impressive range of weights and colors captivated her, aligning perfectly with her creative vision.

In 2019, Karen's expertise and passion led her to join forces with Milan-based Aurifil, becoming their Master Educator and launching the innovative thread education program called "Aurifilosophy".

Her work with Aurifil thread focuses on educating quilters about how these high-quality threads can elevate projects from simply finished to artistically extraordinary, unlocking new creative possibilities.

Karen's versatility shines through her love for both hand and machine creations. She continually designs and experiments with all weights of Aurifil thread, generously sharing her knowledge and experience with the broader quilting community.

Her commitment to education and inspiration has made her a respected figure in the quilting world, known for her ability to instill confidence and creativity in quilters of all skill levels.

School of Stitched Textiles: View her work here https://www.sofst.org/textile-talk-with-karen-miller/

Aurifil Website: https://aurifil.com/

Aurifil USA Shopping: https://shopaurifil.com/

Aurifil Blog:https://auribuzz.com/

Aurifil Thread Education Program: https://www.aurifil.com/aurifilosophy

Aurifil Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurifilthread/

Aurifil Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurifil.quilt.thread

Aurifil Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/aurifil/

Aurifil Newsletter Subscription: http://eepurl.com/M6vOn

Aurifil Resources: Thread Reference and Product Guides can be found here: https://www.aurifil.com/auriworld/resources

Links

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts

Blog: https://gailcreativestudies.wordpress.com/

Center’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gailcreativestudies

Website: https://gailcreativestudies.com

She is a self-taught artist. She began quilting in 1997 and immediately was intrigued with the design elements of the quilt. Thus, began her exploration of color, repetition, design, and texture. Soon Lorraine began to experiment with a more contemporary approach to textiles and developed her own artistic voice. Her creative roots are firmly embedded in the traditional needle arts and this is reflected in her current body of work. Inspired by her Faith, her travels and the natural world, she employs layers of both hand and machine stitches together with various surface design techniques. This unique approach allows her to successfully captures the depth, color, contrast, and texture of her subject matter. 

Since 1993 Lorraine had lived in the Ithaca area of the Finger Lakes Region in Central New York until 2019 when she relocated to The Villages, Florida. She recently retired from a career in nursing. She enjoys the support of her husband, their children, and grandchildren. 

Lorraine is an exhibiting textile artist and has won several awards for her fiber art.

She owns and operates The Tangled Thread, a longarm quilting business; gives presentations and teaches classes focused on mixed media and stitched art.

These days, she dedicates her energy to facilitating a group of twenty-five local artists, who meet twice a month to share and explore their common love for textile art. Lorraine also enjoys writing poetry and painting with acrylics and watercolor.

School of Stitched Textiles MP Programme https://www.sofst.org/courses/masters-courses/

Contact Information:

Lorraine Benjamin

web https://lorrainebenjamin.com/

email lorisue28@hotmail.com

facebook https://www.facebook.com/Lorisue28

instagram https://www.instagram.com/lorisue28/

Lucy’s role involves designing and implementing a dynamic educational program, organizing diverse classes with guest tutors, and collaborating with venues like The National Portrait Gallery and Kew Gardens for private courses. Her responsibilities also include hosting embroidery retreats worldwide, sharing her passion and dedication to preserving this craft.

Currently, Lucy is teaching the Hand & Lock Diploma in Contemporary Embroidery, a rigorous program combining traditional and modern techniques. Her goal is to guide students in mastering technical skills while encouraging them to find their artistic voices, fostering the evolution of contemporary embroidery. Lucy’s commitment ensures that each student’s learning experience is challenging and couture-focused, leaving a lasting impact on the craft’s future.

Links: 

@handandlocklondon 

https://www.handembroideryshop.com/  

@lucymartinembroidery https://lucymartinembroidery.com/

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Her journey as an artist started almost thirty years ago as a traditional, self-taught quilter. After taking numerous in-person and online workshops, she decided that it was necessary to acquire a more formal education. Between 2018 and 2020, she completed an advanced (Level 4) City and Guild accredited course with the School of Stitched Textiles, followed by its two-year Master Practitioner Course which emphasized design skills and artistic development. She is active in the Studio Art Quilts Associates – both in the European and Middle Eastern region and the one covering North Carolina and Virginia. Her work has been exhibited in Europe and the United States, and she has her first solo exhibition coming up in May.

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Annegret's website https:/www.afauser.com

Instagram @annegretfauser

Sophie produces her artworks by combining a collage of appliquéd fabrics with free motion embroidery. The details of the animals are sewn over the top of the appliqué collage; there is no pen or paint used.

She uses a heavyweight cotton ground fabric which is painted or dyed with botanical printing.

For the appliqué, Sophie mostly uses cotton fabrics from Liberty of London and the Kaffe Fassett Collective (Philip Jacobs, Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably).  Her sewing threads are 100% cotton and made by Aurifil of Italy. Sophie produces work up to 1.5 meters long, and a single piece of art this size can contain 3000 meters of thread.

Sophie also teaches online and in person. Details of her online courses can be found on her website.

In person workshops are advertised via her instagram and Facebook pages. She has taught in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England and the USA.

Her next teaching tour with be in the U.K June/July 2025…..dates and venues to be finalised. 

http://www.sophiestanding.art/

https://www.instagram.com/sophiestandingart/

https://www.facebook.com/sophiestandingart/

https://www.sofst.org/

Crome is a micro-knitter and has been developing her techniques for over 20 years. Using very fine silk threads and needles that she makes herself from surgical stainless steel, she can achieve a gauge of 80 stitches per inch. With so many stitches to the inch, Crome has been able to achieve incredible details in a minute scale. Her tiny pieces of knitting are intended as stand alone, sculptural pieces of art which she often refers to as “sweaterscapes.” 

Some of her pieces tell autobiographical stories, others are romantic pastoral scenes and many are inspired by the art and artists she admires. Crome’s work has been featured around the world in shows, galleries, museums books and even on the silver screen in the movie Coraline.

www.altheacrome.com

www.sofst.org

Anne tutors and teaches fine art and textiles to a variety of groups in the UK and abroad. and is a member of the Embroiderers Guild UK, the Crafts Council Directory and the Society for Embroidered Work. She also exhibits and curates group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Her four books for Batsford are widely collected and studied by students of all ages around the world.

Anne's website https://annekellytextiles.com/

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Holly on Instagram @hollyguertinart

Holly on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hollyguertinart/

Holly's website http://hollyguertin.com/

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Drawing inspiration from the ever-changing seascapes and landscapes around her, Alison seeks to capture the beauty and tranquillity of nature in each piece she creates. She skilfully combines new and reclaimed fabrics, using meticulous layering and stitching to create two distinct styles: one that is richly textured and abstract, and the other that embodies a representational, painterly quality.

Her work has been featured in notable exhibitions, including the ING Discerning Eye exhibition and the Royal Society of Marine Artists’ exhibition. She also took part in series 9 of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year. She is a member of the Society for Embroidered Work, the Visual Artists Association and the Devon Artists Network.

She has now written her first book entitles ‘Textile Seascapes’ which is published by Crowood Press. It takes readers through the essential skills and techniques needed to create stunning textile seascapes. This comprehensive resource equips both beginners and seasoned artists with the knowledge to craft beautiful textile pieces.

Alison's site https://alisonwhateleydesign.co.uk/

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Amazon link to Alison's book https://amzn.to/3Up7cHU

Coming from a creative family, she has been ‘making’ for as long as she can recall. Jude has travelled extensively around the world and lived in several different countries. This has all shaped and enhanced her artistic practice. Excited by all forms of fibre, her creative journey has included quilt making, dyeing, hand and machine stitching.

Jude’s current practice focuses on Japanese Shibori techniques with Indigo dyeing. She also uses origami techniques with vintage maps, paper and cloth. Botanical printing on both fabric and paper is also an area of focus for her practice and teaching. Hand stitching will always be her first love and sometimes it feels like her hands have an in built memory! The outcome of her practice takes the form of wall art, books and vessels. 

Jude's site is at https://judekingshott.co.uk/home-1

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Artist Salley Mavor has spent over 4 decades honing her signature style and working methods, carving out her own niche within the children’s book world and the fiber art community. She creates 3-dimensional hand-stitched artwork with fabric, found objects and a unique combination of embroidery techniques she’s developed during her career. A combination of storytelling imagery, extra attention to detail, fervent craftsmanship, and the use of familiar, yet intriguing materials set it apart. Her pieces are presented as tableaus, like miniature shallow stage sets, with scenery, props and characters assembled in shadow-box frames. Her scenes have been used as children’s book illustrations, social commentary, and stop-motion animation.

As an illustration student at the Rhode Island School of Design in the 1970’s, Salley left traditional mediums behind, preferring to communicate her ideas with sculptural needlework. Salley has illustrated 11 picture books using her distinctive blend of materials and hand-stitching techniques, including Pocketful of Posies, which won the 2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Her popular how-to book, Felt Wee Folk is in its 2nd edition, inspiring creativity in all ages. The picture book, My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep around the World is her most recent publication. She works in her home studio in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Links 

Website: www.weefolkstudio.com

Shop: https://salleymavor.etsy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salleymavor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weefolkstudio/

School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

“The experience is important to me, it rebalances me, but this sense of balance flows into the art. The colour and pattern have impact, it draws you in. As you get closer you see the complex web of stitch, your field of vision becomes filled with the dense, detailed and overlapping labyrinth of stitch - you get lost in the detail. You might begin to try and visually ‘unpick’ the stitches, following the threads as they loop and weave through the fabric and each other. I hope my stitchings gives others the space in a busy world to find a sense of balance, tranquillity and calmness.”

Part of his ‘process’ has become the sharing of the story – Instagram is his sketchbook, journal and diary. He uses this space to talk about his art, share the making process and explore ideas.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jpr_stitch/

Website - https://www.jprstitch.com/

Email - hello@jprstitch.com

School of Stitched Textiles - https://www.sofst.org

Helen’s work is predominately pictorial, with strong design and exciting play with colour. She uses her painting and design skills and creates whole cloth painted surface and then with her sewing machine, adds movement and detail into the design with her free-motion machine quilting.

Helen literally draws with her sewing machine bringing her painted images to life. Combining her teaching degree and her Art experience, she teaches from a slightly different angle and enjoys helping even the most traditional of machine sewers to find new direction in free-motion machine quilting and opening up new avenues for their creative potential.

Helen has taught all over Australia and the world including Dubai, China, South Africa, UK, New Zealand, Canada and USA including teaching at the Houston Quilt Festival for the past 10 years.

During Covid with so much time at home, Helen created a 6.5 m long quilt which is all painted with dye and free- motion quilted whole cloth and is the longest quilt in the world made by 1 person and 1 piece of fabric. Since Covid Helen also teaches extensively online as well as enjoying face to face teaching.

https://helengodden.com/

https://www.sofst.org/

Sarah came to embroidery as a second career, but has been embroidering as long as she can remember. Following on from a cancer diagnosis at 30, she returned to being a student a few years later to turn her hobby into a profession.

Sarah graduated from the RSN’s Future Tutor Programme in 2020, and has been working as a professional embroiderer ever since, teaching, developing kits and working on art pieces and commissions. In 2021 she became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers and a Freeman of the City of London.

In 2022 Sarah exhibited three art pieces at Broderers’ Exhibition: The Art of Embroidery at the Bankside Gallery in London, and she is currently working on pieces for their next exhibition in 2025.

In 2023, Sarah was honoured to be part of the Embroidery Studio team at the Royal School of Needlework who worked on a number of items for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including The Queen’s Robe of Estate, the Anointing Screen and the Stole Royal.

Sarah lives in West Sussex with her husband and two cats (who occasionally make featured appearances in her online classes).

www.sarah-stitches.com

www.sofst.org

You can view Jo work over on our website.

johamiltonart.com

facebook.com/johamilton4rt

instagram.com/johamiltonart

Since establishing the Mr X Stitch website in 2008, he has been showcasing new talent in the world of needlework and textile art and has curated a number of stitch-based exhibitions in the UK and Ireland. He is the curator of PUSH Stitchery and the author of the Mr X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch. He is the founder of XStitch, the game-changing cross stitch design magazine and the host of NeedleXChange, a podcast dedicated to conversations on the Art of Thread.

Jamie is a thought leader in the online stitch community and what he has dubbed ‘the new embroidery movement’ and is active on various social networking platforms. He loves introducing new people to the benefits of embroidery from a creative and wellbeing standpoint and is proud to be an ambassador for this ubiquitous craft.

https://www.mrxstitch.com/

www.sofst.org

www.northernyarn.co.uk

www.sofst.org 

IG - northern_yarn

FB - NorthernYarn

She has an honours degree in industrial design for textiles (print) and enjoyed a career in graphic design & the creative arts spanning over twenty years. Zoë now focuses on illustration commissions and personal work.

Zoë loves travelling, trying new foods and enjoys lifting weights in the gym. In her work, nature is Zoë's main source of inspiration and she uses a range of techniques in her work both traditional and digital.

Represented by her US agent, Lilla Rogers Studio, Zoë has happily been with the agency since 2013 when she won representation with her agent in a global competition.

You'll find Zoë's work on fabric, stationery, greeting cards, magazines, books and home décor products. Zoë is also the author of “Oh, My Gouache!” and “Drawing for the Soul” published by David and Charles.

http://www.zoeingram.com

http://www.instagram.com/zoeingram.illustration

http://www.instagram.com/zoeingramsplayground

www.sofst.org 

Founded in 1835 by Thomas Appleton, Appletons is just as evangelical about British wool today as he was back then. All 425 colours are dyed and spun in Yorkshire and the wool is 100% British.

The range, which is available in crewel, 2 ply and tapestry, 4 ply yarn still incorporates all the William Morris shades as well as featuring a contemporary colour palette. the wool is used by modern and traditional designers, stitchers, weavers, needlework schools and rug restorers throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America.

More recently Appletons has also worked with needlepoint designers to launch a range of tapestry and embroidery kits under the Appletons brand, all hand assembled in Buckinghamshire.

Today, Appletons prides itself on the quality and consistency of the wool they produce and on creating distinctive, beautiful kits to encourage others in the mindful, therapeutic, and creative art of stitching.

https://www.appletons.org.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/appletons_wool/

sales@appletons.org.uk

https://www.sofst.org/

She collaborates with organisations and projects on curatorial and community events including the Romani Cultural + Arts Company as a recipient of Gypsy Maker Award and with Craft Scotland on a collaborative exhibition Places, Spaces, Traces; an exploration of the concept of ‘place’ and our understanding of the importance of heritage; how our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture can impact upon our identities and the space we call ‘home’.  This touring exhibition was launched on Light Vessel 21 in Gravesend and with Anna 3 in Antwerp 

Her work and projects are reflected in her publications for Batsford the most recent is Embroidering the Everyday (2021)

She is an exhibiting artist with Art Textiles Made in Britain and a member of the Embroiderers Guild UK and the Society for Embroidered Work. The stories and imagery to be found in the everyday and commonplace are a constant source of inspiration for projects and collaborations

Links:

http://www.casholmes.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/casholmestextiles/

https://www.sofst.org/

Textile artist Allan Brown spends seven years making a dress from scratch, using 14,400 feet of thread made from the fibre of locally foraged stinging nettles. In doing so, he relearns ancient crafts of foraging, spinning, weaving, cutting and sewing. Making a dress this way becomes devotional, helping Allan to survive the death of his wife, which leaves him and their four children bereft.

@nettledressfilm

@hedgerow.couture (Allan’s Instagram)

https://www.nettledress.org/

https://www.contemporaryhempery.com/

https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowcouture/

http://www.nettlesfortextiles.org.uk/wp/ 

https://www.sofst.org/

The work explores the beauty and fragility of nature, sparking a sense of wonder and appreciation of the natural world. Meredith believes that the deeper our appreciation for the aesthetics of nature the more eager we are to immerse ourselves in it and conserve it.

Meredith holds a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from the University of New South Wales, a Masters of Teaching from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Natural History illustration for the University of Newcastle. She has exhibited and sold her work worldwide, is the author of two books ‘Organic Embroidery’ (2018) and ‘The 100 Embroideries Project (2023) and teaches both in person and online classes.

Website www.meredithwoolnough.com.au

Blog: https://meredithwoolnough.com.au/blog 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/meredithwoolnoughartist 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/meredithwoolnough/ 

Christen began her career in the wearable art field in 1986. Her work has been shown in galleries and fashion shows all over the world. She has been invited to participate in both the Fairfield and BERNINA Fashion Shows. 

Christen began teaching and presenting her work in 1991, for quilt stores, and quilt and fiber art guilds on the West Coast. She has been invited to teach nationally for Road to California, American Quilter’s Society, and Quilt Festival Houston. 

Christen has written articles for Michael’s Arts & Crafts magazine, Threads Magazine, and Piecework Magazine. She began writing books for C&T Publishing in 2011. She has authored seven books, designed 3 sets of embroidery stencils, and 2 additional products.

Christen continues to be interested in craft and fine art. She experiments and learns all that she can, specifically concentrating on design and the techniques of embroidery, quilting, ribbonwork, mixed media, and beadwork. Her goal and wish through this journey, is to continually be surprised, inspired, creative, and necessary. 

Website https://christenbrown.com/ 

Blog: christenbrown.com/blog/

Facebook /christenjbrown

School of Stitched Textiles site is at www.sofst.org

Christen's books and products are listed below;

• Ribbonwork Gardens
• Embroidered and Embellished
• Ribbonwork Flowers
• The Embroidery Book
• Beaded Embroidery Stitching
• Hand Embroidery Dictionary
• Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old
• with the New

• Embroidery Stencils: The Essential
• Collection
• Embroidery Stencils: The Darling Motif
• Collection
• Embroidery Stencils: Crazy Quilt Seam
• Design Collection
• Embroidery Stitching, Handy Pocket
• Guide
• Embellished Art Embroidery Project
• Planner

For the past two years, Graham has developed and patented a more sustainable process to bleach and dye cotton called Fibre 52.

Fibre52 is an environmentally kind and cost-conscious process for dyeing cotton. It is a simple, inexpensive replacement for traditional and outdated cotton preparation methods. It uses natural products instead of heavy chemicals, working at lower temperatures, with less energy, less water, and a shorter processing time. This makes Fibre52 a wonderfully cost-effective, eco-conscious and sustainable bleach and dye process.

All this means that consumers will soon be offered a more natural and ecologically sound choice of fabric. With Fibre52, the natural cotton is stronger, recyclable and biodegradable, making it a natural replacement for plastic.

You can find out more at Fiber52 and more about School of Stitched Textile's creative textile courses

Mistianne is mostly self-taught.  She not only creates quilts for the joy of it (the smaller the pieces the better), but also for competition, having had her quilts travel all over the world. One of her quilts was used in a yearly calendar for clients. She has completed a skill stage 4 programme with School of Stitched Textiles in patchwork and quilting and has gone on to tutor for them for the last couple of years.  She has owned her own online quilt store specializing in batiks, taught many classes, and is an avid hand quilter. Besides quilting she is a costume mistress and creates professional ballet costumes and crochets and embroiders in her spare time. 

mistianne@thestraybobbin.com

insta- @thestraybobbin

etsy- thestraybobbin

SST Online Textile Courses

She has spent many years as an Art teacher working in high schools and tertiary Colleges.

She now shares a studio with her partner Stuart Gray at Farfield Mill in Sedbergh, Cumbria, where they work, teach, and sell their paintings. You can find out more about Ruth or see her work on her website. Ruth also tutors an online video course for us on Drawing for Design.