Last Saturday at Lincolnshire Textiles, thanks to Janet Taylor, we had a Q&A session on things textile. The members had been asked to send to her any questions they had, and the panel of four and herself would try and help. There was a wide range of subjects from technical problems, traditional methods, mixed media and solar dyeing.

The panel consisted of four: Brenda Scarman, Fran Holmes, Jackie Dearing and myself (certainly no expert on anything). We had been sent a list of 14 or so questions, were asked to pick 3 or 4 that we thought we could answer, and discuss with the other panellists.

Some of the others had taught, and were well prepared with visual aids, including books and samples. Brenda and Fran are self-confessed nerds on needles. I learned a lot from both of them, and the websites they reccommended are well worth a look, Brenda on hand stitching needles and Fran on machine needles.

The session had been planned to last an hour or so, up to an hour and a half. Certainly on my side of the table it passed very quickly, much to my surprise. We’d just about finished the list of questions by lunch- time. A couple of the more technical questions had a little input from the floor.

Well done, and thank you, Janet, for organising it all, and to my fellow panellists with far more knowledge than me. There is always so much more to learn, try out and “play” with when it comes to textiles. I’m sure this won’t be the last of Stitchers’ Question Time.

After lunch we had a fabulous talk which was entertaining as well as informative by Sally Wilson. Her work was stunning and far-reaching, using a range of painting, drawing, hand and machine stitching, a mix of 2D and 3D pieces, often done as a series. She uses soft sculptures for some of her 3D birds and animals. Some of her work combines welding with textiles, which sounds incongruous, but a welded armature fixed to a wooden base was her starting point, before adding heavily stitched painted fabric. She always starts with drawing and sketches, her sketch books were fascinating, and at the end we had the chance to have a good, close look at her work.

Sally has won several prestigious awards including Hand and Lock (see below). Her delight even now in the prize was almost child-like and lovely to see. Thank you Sally for sharing your work and enthusiasm with us all, a real treat.