About Me

I’m a true ‘home bird’. Since becoming a mother shortly after completing my degree in textile design, my home became my world. And as it has largely been my work base over the years, it’s really no surprise that this is also where my passion lies within my artwork.

If I were a scientist or a traveller then I’m sure my work would be very different; I’d have other, perhaps more exciting, stories to tell. But I’m not. In truth, for many years I had a sense of inferiority around this, and my stitching became my way of making sense of these feelings.

I now proudly draw my inspiration from home & family life, past & present. I stitch stories of ordinary people and everyday things using handwritten words, vintage materials, personal motifs and a whole lot of heart. Some of the stories I tell are imagined, but the real stories are also present, lying within the fabric, remaining hidden among the layers.

I’m continually gathering inspiration. A favourite family recipe falling apart through use, snippets of life found in the words of strangers’ letters or a line from an old needlework book have me delving into my stash of vintage linens and old garments.  A cloth collage emerges as fabrics are ripped, layered and patched together before the story telling continues with needle and thread.

I’m drawn to using discarded materials, often old pieces of clothing or domestic textiles. Materials previously used, washed and worn carry their own hidden stories. I love the thought that an old piece of clothing is implanted with stories of the wearer or that a piece of vintage table linen holds the secrets of a household.

I teach in person across the UK and internationally and I am the author of two books ‘Cloth Stories – Exploring domestic life in textile art’ which was published by Batsford in 2024 and my second book ‘Life Stories – textile art inspired by people and memories’ will be published on 1^st October 2026

Home is a little cottage in a village just south of Edinburgh, Scotland.

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