A ceremony for broken needles: Hari-Kuyo


equipments and tools

On February 8th, we celebrate Hari-Kuyo. In Japan, those who use needles for work or pleasure make an annual visit to either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple to honour their broken needles, laying them to rest with reverence. From a Western perspective, it might seem strange to hold a religious ceremony for objects […]

10th February 2024

Embroidering Dreams: A Year-End Reflection


projects

Having not written a blog post for quite some time, I now find myself on the last day of 2023, reflecting on the incredible embroidery journey that has unfolded over the past year. Numerous projects have filled my days, and each stitch tells a story. However, being a part of the embroidery team who created […]

31st December 2023

Royal Coat of Arms


tapestry shading

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post last. I’ve been working on many projects, but I’m not very good at writing about them. In response to my friends’ request, here are some photos of my practice piece of Royal Coat of Arms. I chose to practice this one as I often get […]

26th June 2019

Sam Fogg


Medieval

Sam Fogg is a leading dealer in Medieval Art. The current exhibition ‘Late Medieval and Renaissance Textiles’ is taking part in London Art Week Summer 2018. I was thrilled to see some amazing Medieval embroidery here. When I went to the Opus Anglicanum exhibition at V&A a couple of years ago, we could only see […]

1st July 2018

Processions 2018


projects

On Sunday 10 June 2018, the streets of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London were filled with thousands of women and girls across the UK, wearing the suffragette colours. ‘Processions 2018’ was a living artwork to honour and celebrate one hundred years since the suffragettes first won the right to vote and stand for public office, […]

15th June 2018

Passion & Legacy project


crewel work, projects

A crewel work piece I worked on has come back to me. I stitched this piece for Red Strand Design’s Passion & Legacy project. There were several P&L exhibitions, but I couldn’t make it to any of them. So I’m looking at the piece for the first time in almost two years!Back in 2015, my […]

31st July 2017

Heritage Skills Festival


silk shading

The Lincoln Cathedral is hosting a Heritage Skills Festival on Fri 23 June & Sat 24 June, in conjunction with the City of London Livery Companies. The City of London Livery Companies comprise London’s ancient and modern trade associations, and have evolved from the very powerful medieval guilds. I was asked to be involved with […]

18th June 2017

Broderers at St Paul’s Cathedral


Ecclesiastical Embroidery, Goldwork

Although I work for the Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Studio, I go to St Paul’s Cathedral once a week for volunteer work. Just finished embroidering the cross the other day. This little piece of Goldwork embroidery will be made up as a stole. The design comes from the original cope, which was made for […]

6th May 2017

#WeAreNotAfraid


Blackwork

Westminster terror attack on last Wednesday was a terrible shock. My sincere condolences to the victims and huge respect to the police and emergency services. My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones and to those who are still fighting to recover from the injuries. London mourns, but we carry on. From […]

25th March 2017