Stitch by Stitch - Willow Gallery Oswestry

Perspicere - Head in the Clouds

 

Stitch by Stitch is an exhibition, curated by textile artists Alison Holt and Suzette Smart, at the Willow Gallery in Oswestry.  It showcases the wide ranging nature of textile art of both established and emerging artists.  It is a really fascinating exhibition with both traditional and modern elements.  There were too many fabulous exhibits so show them all, so here is just a small selection...

Perspicere's piece above is made from sewing thread wrapped round nails on canvas. It needs to be viewed from a distance - up close it is just a mass of threads - incredible!

I loved Ann Munro's vessel. Using natural fabrics and natural dyes, Ann uses handstitch to create tactile surfaces.

Ann Monro - Untitled

I also loved John Peacock's pieces, especially these two.  His mixed media stitched collages aim to take a child's eye view of the world.

John Peacock - Wilderness Trees & A Walk in the Park

In Haf Weighton's Siarabanc, paint, print and stitch are used for her vehicles...

Haf Weighton - Siarabanc

Lesley Wood uses vintage fabrics and handstitch in her work but, as a wild swimmer, I especially love this for its subject matter...

Lesley Wood - She Wades In

Susan Mulcock's hand-rolled, dyed, and stitched wet felt interpretation of this waterfall is wonderful.  Susan dyes and spins her own materials.

Susan Mulcock - Pistyll Rhyaeadr

Julie French, inspired by animals and birds uses machine embroidery and leaves hanging threads to suggest movement...

Julie French - Cormorant

This waistcoat was handmade by Sylvia's mother for her father and Sylvia has embellished it with applique and hand embroidery.  Sylvia was originally a painter who has moved into textile art...

Sylvia Paul - Dad

Fiona Robertson, inspired by her local North Yorkshire landscape, builds up her colours with layers of hand and machine embroidery...

Fiona Robertson - Autumn Maples

Antje is inspired by her life and environment and sometimes uses surreal elements in her work.  Here she uses fabric, applique and machine embroidery...

Antje Rook - Hope

Alyssa Robinson has produced this amazing piece using machine embroidery...

Alyssa Robinson - Tulipa Diametro

Suzette Smart, one of the exhibition curators, creates stitched narratives connected to her walks through the landscape.  She uses old fabrics, collage and hand and machine stitching...

Suzette Smart - The Fox Took The Low Road

I loved how Chris Clowes had made the twigs for the nest and how they hung out of the piece.  She uses machine embroidery on her silk painted backgrounds...

Chris Clowes - Blackbird's Nest 

Maggie Smales likes to take an experience or memory and interpret it through textiles and stitch...

Maggie Smales - An Autumnal Nose (Walled Garden, Nunnington Hall)

On until Saturday 30 August 2025, this exhibition is well worth a visit.  The Willow Gallery (closed Sunday & Monday) also has an excellent cafe and there is nearby parking in the Horsemarket public carpark. Go see...

A Good Yarn - Rolling Through The Streets Of Bradford

A Good Yarn at the start

 

On Saturday 26 July 2025, I went to see A Good Yarn rolling through the streets of Bradford.  A Good Yarn was conceived by artist, Luke Jerram.  The yarn was created in May & June from donated fabric (mostly bedding) by Blooming Buds theatre company working with the people of Bradford BD10...

A Good Yarn - Detail

School children, scouts, elderly folk, community groups and more (2,500 people) plaited the fabric together to create 1000 metres of yarn. Then, together with the help of Raven Staging, it was wound onto a hollow core to form a ball of yarn.  The yarn is held in place by wire and the ball has what appears to be a knitting needle piercing it. And then it was ready to roll. A Good Yarn had already rolled through BD10 on 12 July 2025.

Accompanied by the BD1 Brass Band

The roll through Bradford city centre was accompanied by the BD1 Brass Band who were tremendous.

Nuii Ice Creams

And Nuii were giving away ice creams in the city centre which was just an added bonus.

A Good Yarn En Route

It takes quite a bit of manoeuvring...

It's not every day you get married and find a 3 metre ball of yarn outside your wedding venue but that's what happened to this couple...

A Good Yarn & A Good Wedding Outside City Hall

It was a great occasion.  There were plenty of folk from Blooming Buds, Raven Staging and event volunteers making sure the roll went smoothly.  Everyone was very friendly and happy to share information about the event.  It was a great success!  (And I wouldn't mind trying some extreme knitting with that yarn. I feel sure it would knit well on my extreme needles!)

A Good Yarn is currently at Bradford Industrial Museum (closed Mondays) until 26 November 2025 where you can see it, free of charge.  While there, you can also hear a new soundscape stitched together by the Broken Orchestra that features stories and memories from many of the people and community groups who made the ball.

Bradford is the 2025 UK City of Culture and there are lots of things going on.  Check it out here. There's bound to be something you fancy and I'm sure you'll get a warm welcome.