Textile and Stitch Aims and Ambitions

When I was 13 I really enjoyed my sewing class and have two abiding memories from it. One was when we made a skirt from a pattern. My mum gave me some horrible leftover woolly vomit-pink fabric to make mine and I was mortified. Everybody else must have had pretty flowery wearable cottons.

The other was a beautiful handbag made from tie-dyed fabric and embroidered with a variety of sample stitches. I particularly remember the French Knot. I don't have it to hand to photograph but will do so as soon as I can.

Even at the time I was totally seduced by how beautiful fabric and stitch could be made to look. I was tremendously proud of it and so must my mother have been because it was the only thing of mine she ever displayed on a wall.

I also made a cushion cover which is an ugly thing but I at least have a photo I can post. My first experience of letting the sewing machine go.

The first free-ish embroidered cushion cover, aged 13

The first free-ish embroidered cushion cover - detail

The first free-ish embroidered cushion cover - 3D detail

I didn't know at the time that a whole career could have been built on that dye and stitch and in any case I was made to do Latin (more useful for my parents' doctor/lawyer daughter ambitions) instead of Art ("you can draw any time you want"). I envied my school friends who went on to do O'Level and A'Level Art, Foundation courses and eventually art degrees. But I put it out of my mind. I could always draw any time I wanted.

This Christmas my mother pulled out the famous tie-dyed-embroidered handbag saying "I always loved this".

Well so did I. And now, a few decades later I've decided to give myself a chance at a Foundation course in textiles. So here we go...