About Susan
Susan has been teaching embroidery for many years and loves to share her enthusiasm for a wide range of techniques.
She completed her City and Guilds Part II in Embroidery with the inspirational Anthea Godfrey at the London College of Fashion (as it then was). Over the past twenty years, she has taught a wide range of classes including City and Guilds and leisure classes, with the WI, and most recently independently in the Wivenhoe and the Colchester area of Essex.
Susan took early retirement in 2013, giving her more time for embroidery and textile related activities. She enjoys being an active participant in the local branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild, visiting more exhibitions, attending workshops and reading more about her favourite textile art topics both in print and on-line.
She has also become a student again, signing up for the City and Guilds in Patchwork and Quilting with Creative Stitch Suffolk. According to Susan, “It’s been great to take on new challenges and learn new skills.”
Susan blogs regularly on her website, Threadlines, where she gathers together various elements of her long-standing fascination with embroidery and textile arts more generally. Her hope is that Threadlines will widen her circle of embroidery and textile art friends, and encourage non-embroiderers to try it – just once (that’s all it takes!
Signature Technique
Embroidery
Susan’s Top Tips
- The simpler the stitch, often, the more you can do with it.
- One of the (many) aspects of textiles that I love is that you don’t need to be doing just one project. Try new things…several at a time!
- Doing something completely new with a group of friends makes it extra special.
- If you want to know the ‘right’ way to embroider then turn to a technique manual.
Books and Patterns
Posts
Ipad Cover a great success
I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and also to share my completed i pad cover with you, which is a gift for my neighbour for Christmas.
I found the instructions easy and the end result looks a lot more complicated than it actually was. Fabrics found in the Lady Sew and Sew Warehouse in Henley.
Many thanks for the continuing inspiration, I've only been quilting for eighteen months and find your website very helpful for techniques, tips and inspiration.
Best wishes,
Roberta
Tote-it-all Bag in production
Just to say a big thank you for the tote bag workshop. I saw it yesterday afternoon and am now the proud owner of six new shopping bags. They were a great way of using up some very odd jelly rolls I bought on line and which had some very odd novelty prints in them. However made up as bags they look great!
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.