Charlotte Pocket Needlecase

top stitching edges

The Saltaire Arts Trail 2022 at Salts Mills, Bradford, was a brilliant weekend and I was delighted to be hosted in a wonderful textile shop nestled within the mill itself – the Stitch Society Shop owned by Charlotte Meek. As soon as she knew I was a stitcher, Charlotte kindly gave me access to her vintage cloth and garment off-cuts so I could start hand stitching a site specific piece as a memento of the weekend – and this included some of the iconic ticking from the shop. This inspired me to create the Charlotte Pocket Needlecase.

Aprons at The Stitch Society Shop
Aprons at The Stitch Society Shop

Before starting the project I played around with several cloth combinations and settled on blue and orange -then introduced some vintage Sylko red thread and vintage haberdashery found at the shop. My plan was to create a large pocket needle case to pin onto my apron.

collecting material ready to st
Collecting together some iconic Stitch Society cloth before stitching

The gorgeous text cloth mark needed a little extra stitching to enhance it.

Edge detail
Edge detail

The piece is embellished with handmade linen and cotton hexagons, a vintage button & handmade red cord, plus the iconic Stitch Society logo.

Pocket needle case using iconic cloth from the stitch society shop
Pocket needle-case

Inside the needle case, orange pages are filled with pins.

orange pages of cloth for pins
Orange pages of cloth for pins

Finally touches – a label on the back of the piece.

back of the work
The back of the piece

Size: 16 x 14 cm and entirely hand stitched.

Thank you to Charlotte for allowing me to use your iconic cloth in this project.

The Stitch Society Shop at  Salts Mill
The Stitch Society Shop at Salts Mill

Salts Mill in Bradford

Salts Mill in Bradford

This was my first ever visit to Salts Mill in Bradford. It’s a stunning former working Mill full of the most wonderful industrial architecture and a stunning setting to host the Saltaire Arts Trail 2022.

Salts Mill in Bradford
Salts Mill in Bradford

Down Victoria Road nestled withing the Mill at Location 10 on the trail is The Stitch Society Shop – a perfect setting for me to share my work.

The Stitch Society Shop at  Salts Mill
The Stitch Society Shop at Salts Mill

Caroline at The Stitch Society kindly gave me access to her vintage cloth and garment off cuts so I could start hand stitching a site specific piece as a memento of the weekend – I’ll share more in another post.

My artwork exhibited together for the first time.
My artwork exhibited together for the first time.

The weekend will always be very special to me. It’s the first time I’ve had a collection of my work on exhibition together – Summer ’76, The Sound of the Kenwood Chef, Covid-19 Part 1, Worker Bees, Sound of the Mill, Time for Tea, Take Time to Small the Roses, Matchbox Challenge and Moors of Home – and the first time I’ve really had a chance to experience the visitors’ reactions to my work.

I’ve had requests for an expanded selection of cards, artwork prints, talks and workshops so I’m putting my thinking cap on.

printed cards
A new addition – Selling cards for the first time
All tidied up
That’s a wrap – all packed up

The weekend was a huge success. I met some amazingly talented artists and more importantly I made some new friends.

Saltaire Arts Trial 2022 poster featuring the event poster and mill architecture
Saltaire Arts Trial 2022