Textiles

Where on earth did all of this start? When I was 16 snd knitting wasn't in fashion, I used to sit in the common room at school knitting and everyone made fun of me and I used to say to the boys "When I'm older, I'm going to sit on the back on a sheep and knit a jumper". I've grown wiser since then and know that's not possible - too many drop stitches however what you can do is buy 5 shetland sheep, bring them home in the back of your golf. Breed some lambs, learn to sheer and spin and then knit your own jumper. I know it's cheaper to buy wool but something keeps me pushing on. 

​

I just love the threads, fibre and colour and see that the possibilities are endless. 

​

I first saw the therapeutic value in my creativity when my daughter, Kimberly died. The year prior to this, I was totally emursed in caring for her. In doing this, my day-to-day life fell away so when she died, I not only had to process her death but also rebuild my life. A dear friend gave me a bag of fabrics and instructed me to make a quilt, it was exactly what I needed and I will be forever grateful to him. Before long, I was using threads to explain/ understand my feelings. 

​

A PICTURE OF TEXTILES 

​

A River of Blue, running through a colourless life - Kims nickname was Blue and this piece represents hours and hours of work, not just physically but more importantly emotionally too. The finished item, while attractive, is not the important part. The important part is the journey it took me on. 

​

In sharing the artwork produced and the attached story, I found people opening up about their lives and the ups and downs. There is complete healing in connected conversations and thus, the idea of AJ Creative Coach was born.