About Niamh
Niamh Wimperis is one of the most colourful and dynamic embroidery artists currently practicing.
According to Niamh, she’s “all about feminism and plants”, and finds a lot of her inspiration from her vast collection of house plants, and childhood memories of her grandparents house, Selsley Herb and Goat Farm. Her work has evolved from ultra political – – with her feminist pieces featured in Ms Magazine, Buzzfeed and The Huff Post – – to this more calming botanical style.
Niamh achieved a Masters Degree in Contemporary Craft in 2017 from Plymouth College of Art. Her final piece, an interactive installation titled ‘A Feeling Of Safety, Perhaps’ was exhibited in the MA show and as part of Dwell, a two woman collaboration for Plymouth Art Weekend at Plymouth Art Centre.
In 2018 Niamh was chosen to be on the BBC2 programme, The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts. This was a “living history” reality show in which Niamh and 5 other talented crafts people lived in a William Morris-esque arts and crafts commune for a month, complete with wearing Victorian clothes, eating Victorian food and using Victorian tools. The 4 part BBC2 show aired in January 2019. You can read more about her experience here, and watch the series here.
Niamh now lives in Camden Town with her partner Alex, a watch maker. She is currently writing her first book, continues to make work (including commissions), and has launched her #WEStitchKit – a monthly embroidery kit subscription box. You can find about more about her kit subscription here.
Signature Technique
Botanical Embroidery
Top Tips
- Use the Satin Stitch for a shimmer and shine effect.
- Stitch on two layers to avoid warp and seeing stitches on the back.
- Keep your fabric tight as a drum in your hoop or your piece will pucker.
- Nothing in nature is perfect, so don’t be afraid if a stitch appears strange or off the centre line. That’s how it appears in real life.
- The Fly Stitch is wonderfully versatile; use it for pine branches, flowers and leaves.
- If you find your thread is suddenly shorter, you probably have a knot. Use your needle to pull the knot apart.
Videos
Books and Patterns
Posts
Do I have to use cotton fabrics in my quilt?
We tend to use cotton fabrics in quilts as they are easier to use and wash and we have a huge range of wonderful fabrics now being commercially designed and produced just for us. But you can of course use any fabric you like; try to determine what the fabric is, as this will make it easier for you to understand how it will behave not only while you are sewing it, but also when the quilt/project is finished.
What to Watch in January 2013
Inspiration We start off with lots more inspiration from the Hope Quilters’ Exhibition with Sylvia Critcher acting as our guide. Workshops to enjoy The workshops this month include a really quick JR bag – that’s Jennie Rayment but it could be Jelly Roll; a really quick Stripey Quilts from Valerie and how to machine quilt it very simply; and Valerie shows you how to create a Tumbling Blocks quilt by hand - the display quilt is stunning.
Happy New Year
Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Well mine is to sort out and then use more fabric! As well as completing more quilts - turning the tops from WIP's into real quilts. I was doing well at the end of the year as I had a good couple of days with not much going on - so I hope to continue !!!!