Manchester Tart

I feel very lucky to have had a childhood full of tasty home cooked food. This includes the dinners at primary school and a delicious pudding I remember the dinner ladies made with bananas, coconut and custard. My latest hand embroidered artwork is dedicated to this delicious desert which was one of my favourite school puddings ever – Manchester Tart.

Manchester Tart
Manchester Tart
Finishing the piece with a hand stitched edge.
Finishing the piece with a hand stitched edge.

Recipe for Manchester Tart 

A huge favourite in Lancashire. It’s delicious.

Although there are plenty of recipes available on the internet, this is how I remember it made.

  • Shortcrust pastry
  • Raspberry jam
  • Sliced bananas
  • Thick custard
  • Desiccated coconut 
  • Line a baking tray with pastry, bake blind and cool.
  • Spread with a layer of raspberry jam.
  • Add a layer of bananas.
  • Cover with an inch layer of custard.
  • Sprinkle with desiccated coconut.
  • Leave it to set for an hour and eat cold. 
Completed work
Completed work

“one of my favourite school puddings, dished up at primary school, the dinner ladies made it in really big metal trays, cut into squares, I liked it chilled, and the corner slices that had a nice pastry crust on them.”

Size 11 x 23cm, hand embroidered with vintage Sylko threads onto cotton cloth.

Reverse of Manchester Tart
Reverse of Manchester Tart

This piece is my latest addition to a body of work based on Lancashire food.

Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads

I’m pleased to announce that a wonderful artist Interview with Aurifil threads has been published. The interview is part of Auribuzz and features a conversation about my involvement in the Unstitched Coif project curated by Toni Buckby.

The project is produced in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The full interview is available to view by following this link.

Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads
Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads

Embroidery is such a timeless craft that intricately weaves stories of tradition and innovation. Today we are thrilled to share Catherine Hill’s remarkable journey with the Unstitched Coif Project. Catherine’s background is steeped in creativity, from her childhood fascination with stitching to her award-winning textile artwork. However, it was her involvement in the Coif Project, spearheaded by Toni Buckby, that truly ignited her passion for historical embroidery.

We had the opportunity to connect with Catherine and delve into her rich background in textile art, as well as her significant role in the Coif Project. We’re excited to share her insights and experiences with you, and we hope you find her story as captivating as we did.

Auribuzz
Extract - Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads
Extract – Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads

The coif panel was hand stitched in a rainbow of 12 weight Aurifil cotton threads.

A coloured bar of threads was stitched to the panel and a small hank of threads was also attached to the panel with a safety pin.

It was an honour to be part of the Coif project.

Full information about the project can be found on the Unstitched Coif project website https://blackworkembroidery.org/unstitched-coif-t-844-1974/

Thank you to Claire at Aurifil for creating this beautifully produced article.

Textiel Plus Artist Interview

I’m pleased to announce that a wonderful Textiel Plus Artist Interview featuring my work has been published online. The article is edited by Dorothé Swinkels and appears on the highly prestigious Dutch magazine Textiel Plus website.

Please follow this link to read the full article (available in Dutch & English).

Dorothé Swinkels is a great enthusiast and connoisseur of autonomous textile art. After a career in the field as a teacher and coordinator of the fashion and textile department of the art academy in Maastricht, she now shares her acquired knowledge and very large network for the benefit of TxP and advises Museum Rijswijk in putting together the international textile biennials.

Textiel Plus
Textiel Plus Artist Interview
Textiel Plus Artist Interview

It was a few weeks after my work appeared in Textiel Plus Issue 266, that Dorothé Swinkels contacted me for an interview.

Online Interview
Online Interview

She asked about my design process and was particularly interested in some of my early pieces like Time for Tea, and some of my recent artworks like ‘Keepsake’.

Online Interview
Online Interview

Their website has a brilliant online portfolio of articles celebrating textile artists from across the world – full of beautiful, inspiring work.

Thank you to Dorothé and Textiel Plus for producing such a wonderful article.

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