If you live close to Lincoln or are visiting on 3rd March 2026.
Lucy and I would love to see you at the Private View of our exhibition 5 pm – 7 pm.
Exhibition runs from 3rd to 15th March.
Join Us for a Private View in Lincoln
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Category Archives: Sewing and Stitching
Join Sue Stone’s Weekend Workshop in Cardiff
I am delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for my weekend workshop ‘People & their Stories‘. It will take place on 26 & 27 April 2025 at Beth Morris Workshops in Cardiff.
Spaces are limited so please sign up now to secure your place. I am looking forward to meeting you in Cardiff next Spring!
About the weekend workshop
This 2 day workshop, ‘People & their Stories’ will introduce you to creating illustrative, stitched portraits using hand stitch and appliqué.
My teaching style is one of individual, personal tuition throughout the workshop. I will start by guiding you through the straightforward techniques that I use in my work.
I will also bring a collection of my small works and personal samples. You can use them as inspiration for your own work.
The workshop is suitable for all abilities and will include:
- How to transform your own drawings or photos into a starting point for a stitched piece
- How to get started using uncomplicated techniques of image transfer to fabric
- Drawing with simple stitches, like back stitch and running stitch
- Using sampling to help decide on techniques and designs
- Exploring appliqué techniques
- How to add simple background details like text to help tell your subject’s story.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have begun a small portrait to continue at home. You will also be equipped with skills to develop your own figurative work further.
Your portrait can be of a real or imaginary person. They can be known or unknown to you. Each picture has its own story to tell.
Pre-Workshop Preparation
Materials and fabrics will be provided but please feel free to bring some of your own favourite fabrics and threads. This will give you a deeper connection to your work.
The aim of the workshop is for you to produce work that is personal to you. It’s also helpful if you choose colours that love and which suit your starting image.
Please bring a choice of your own drawings or photographs to use as inspiration. I will send you some guidelines for selecting and adapting suitable images before the workshop.
Important: If you are a beginner, you should choose a simple starting photograph or drawing like those shown below.
About Sue Stone
My work is inspired by people and places. I’m best known for textural, figurative work which tells a story. My emphasis is on hand embroidery, often mixed with machine stitch, appliqué, and paint.
I have exhibited my work widely throughout the UK and Europe. I have also exhibited in Australia, Japan, Pakistan, and the USA.
I have taught ‘in person’ workshops throughout the UK, and in France, USA and Canada. I also teach online courses for textileartist.org which is run by my two sons Joe & Sam Pitcher.
Don’t forget to add these dates to your diary!
The workshop will take place on 26 & 27 April 2025 at Beth Morris Workshops in Cardiff.
Sign up now to secure your place on my ‘People and Their Stories’ weekend workshop.
I am looking forward to meeting you in Cardiff next Spring!
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62 Group’s 62nd Anniversary: My Works at Salts Mill
Discover my works “Coalescence’ and ‘Integrated’ at the 62 Group’s ‘Making as Learning’ exhibition. Read more about the 62 Group I’d love you to visit the exhibition in person to see the amazing work of the 62 Group members.
This wonderful exhibition is taking place in the roof space at the historic Salts Mill in Saltaire, near Bradford, Uk. It runs from 8th September to 3rd November 2024.
‘Making as Learning’ is an exciting exploration of how the creative process itself can be a journey of learning. I’m thrilled to be showcasing my work in such a remarkable space. Salts Mill is open from 11am-4pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Read more about Salts Mill
For this exhibition, I’ve created two double-sided pieces ‘Coalescence’ and ‘Integrated’. The work establishes a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of the composition. This dialogue transforms the making process into a voyage of discovery.
Coalescence
This work is a construction of teaching samples and studies for completed pieces. It showcases a diverse range of techniques and explorations. Each piece is distinguished by additional stitching. This stitching leaves a distinctive footprint on the back, adding a unique element to the artwork’s structure.
By including self-portraits, I pay tribute to the late Audrey Walker; artist, and educator. Audrey was a former 62 Group honorary exhibiting member who was known for her stitched portraiture and still life compositions.
This homage highlights the inspiration drawn from Audrey’s legacy and influence. It also calls attention to the personal and introspective nature of artistic expression. The blend of teaching, experimentation, and tribute really encapsulates my creative journey.
Materials: Linen, recycled clothing , cotton thread, wool yarn, paint, InkTense pencil
Techniques: Hand and machine stitching, appliqué, painting, waterproofing, fabric weaving
Size 63 x 182 x 2 cms – double sided hanging
Integrated
This work consists of digital prints of finished pieces that have been showcased in 62 Group exhibitions. This artwork is uniquely marked by additional hand and machine stitching, visible as a distinctive footprint on the back.
This stitching not only adds texture and depth but also symbolises my commitment to blending modern and traditional techniques in my creative process. The integration of these elements highlights my approach to contemporary art, creating a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of my work, and inviting viewers to explore the layers of meaning within each piece.
Materials: Digitally printed waterproof fabric, Cotton threads, linen fabric
Techniques: Digital printing, appliqué, hand and machine stitching
Size 63 x 182 x 2 cms
A footnote: I waterproofed both pieces of work because the roof in the roof space leaks! It’s good to be prepared for all eventualities!
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What is a Portrait?
People and Their Stories
Sunday May 26 to Saturday June 1 2024
Hudson River Valley Workshops, USA
The aim of this workshop is to encourage exploration and experimentation and to question what we really mean by portrait.
We usually think of a portrait as an artistic representation which captures the likeness of a person but even more important is to capture their personality and tell their story and in the case of a portrait of more than one person to capture the interaction or lack of interaction between them.
I’d love you to join me in the USA and have fun telling your stories with needle and thread.
For more information & enrolment please go to: https://www.artworkshops.com/workshop/people-and-their-stories-with-sue-stone/
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Retrospective – an archive of work made in 2022
A Grimsby Girl’s World Tour version 1 30 x 30 cms & version 2 • 33 x 28 cms
Version 1 was shown at the Uk Knitting & Stitching shows in the 62 Group of Textile Artists Essence exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Group.
These are very poignant pieces which capture the essence of my creative practice: textural stitch, appliqué and paint combine to create the allusion of a journey to another place and time. It is a poignant work depicting the visit of grandmother to a grandson she never met. He was born 3 weeks after she died. The Grimsby girl, my Mum, Muriel is shown as a child in this piece. She never had the opportunity to travel outside the UK in her lifetime; here she travels to Copenhagen where her grandson, Sam currently lives with his wife, Eliana.
A Step into the Unknown 2022 – revamped version • mixed media • 74 x 52 cms
Lost in a Strange World 2022 • mixed media – 74 x 52 cms
A selection of samples made for my Cast of Characters workshop for Textileartist.org
A selection of samples made for my Off the Grid workshop for Textileartist.org
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Do you have a story to tell in stitch?
Fancy joining me in April 2023 at Hudson River Valley Workshops, in New York State, USA?
Dates: Sunday 16 April to Saturday 22 April 2023
This experimental workshop will focus on combining several images to create a real or imagined journey. The aim of the workshop is to encourage exploration and experimentation to capture the spirit of the journey and the people, real or imagined, who will accompany you on that journey.
Here’s the concept behind the ‘Journey Through Time’ workshop
Your journey could take the form of a Travelogue as in my USA Travelogue work Brooklyn: ‘Recollection, Return & Repartee’ (above) or it could take the form of a journey through life by incorporating more than one image of a specific person as in ‘My Portrait of a Grimsby Girl.’ (below)
You could push your imagination and take a real person on an imagined journey. In ‘A Grimsby Girl’s World Tour’ series I take my Mum to places she was never able to visit but that I think she would have loved.
Or ask ‘What if?’ And make a portrait of yourself or of your chosen person in another time or place .
Enjoy historical details by asking ‘What if I visited the Tudor period?’ or a different culture by asking ‘What if I could go to Japan? ‘A Grimsby Girl’s World Tour – Tokyo’. Or simply ask what if I take some 1930s Grimsby Girls to modern day London as in ‘RIP Grimsby St E2’ as in RIP Grimsby St E2 which is set in the east End of London.
This is primarily a hand/machine stitch workshop but you will have the option to focus entirely on hand stitch, or machine stitch, choose to combine both techniques or add appliqué and mixed media.
The techniques used in this workshop are suitable for all abilities.
You are asked to bring a selection of drawings or photographs, text or anecdotes you wish to include or use as personal inspiration for your work. A full guide to choosing suitable images to work from will be sent out in advance of the workshop.
Enrolment is now open for my 5 day narrative workshop.
I look forward to meeting you in the USA!
https://www.artworkshops.com/workshop/4210/
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Textileartist.org Stitch Club
I will be teaching my workshop ‘Off the Grid’ in the Textileartist.org Stitch Club from 26 September to 7 October 2022
Sign up now to find out exactly when Stitch Club Registration opens.
https://training.textileartist.org/stitchclub-closed/ This link will take you to a form to get notifications when Stitch Club registrations opens. This will be very soon and it’s a very short window so don’t miss out!
Off the Grid •
Experimenting with Texture and Pattern in Hand Stitch
The aim of the workshop is
- To encourage exploration and experimentation
- To use positive limitations to develop your skills in decision making.
- To help you develop an understanding of the importance of thread choice and how it affects the surface quality of your work.
- To push your your stitches to their full potential and create more surface texture.
- To have fun trying out stitches that are new to you and find out what they can do.
There’s also a new article on Textileartist.org about where I find my inspiration written by Mary Carson
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A Grimsby Girl’s World Tour • Copenhagen 2022
This is a very personal piece which captures the essence of my creative practice: textural stitch, appliqué and paint combine to create the allusion of a journey to another place and time. It is a poignant work depicting the visit of grandmother to a grandson she never met. He was born 3 weeks after she died. The Grimsby girl, my Mum, Muriel is shown as a child in this piece. She never had the opportunity to travel outside the UK in her lifetime; here she travels to Copenhagen where her grandson, Sam, now a grown man, currently lives with his wife, Eliana.
This work is part of my Grimsby Girl’s World tour series. She has previously visited Bogota, Colombia, Outer Space, Tokyo, Japan, Madrid, Spain, Brooklyn, NYC, USA, & Vancouver, Canada. All places either myself or my work has visited.
Size: 30 x 30 cms
Materials: Linen fabric, cotton & linen threads, applied silk fabric, acrylic paint
Techniques: Hand & machine stitch, painting, appliqué
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Retrospective • An Archive of work made in 2021
Imagined Journeys A series of small mixed media studies
Below: A Grimsby Girl’s World Tour continues • Stopover Brooklyn. Image credit Pitcher Design. Hand and machine stitch study
Below: Another Time, Another Place and In Another Life were selected for The Broderers Exhibition The Art of Embroidery 2022
In Another Life 2021 continues a Grimsby Girl’s world tour with a stopover in Madrid . Size 48.5 x 59 cms • Hand/machine stitch with applied fabrics
Born in 1913 she was not able to travel during her lifetime and had very few opportunities in life to pursue her artistic and musical interests. She left school aged 13 and was apprenticed to a tailor. It was a hard life with no recognition of her skill as a seamstress. She loved singing and was a talented contralto. Here in another life, alongside her best friend she travels to Madrid to study music, dance and theatre.
Another Time, Another Place 2021 • Size: 48.5 x 59 cms
Hand/machine stitch/applied fabrics.
Born in a time when women had no right to vote and many left school at 13 or 14 years old. Ordinary women without opportunities to work after marriage or to travel abroad. Combining images of unknown people from the family album with images from the Alcázar Real in Seville, Spain; symbols of heritage combine with memories to make the composition and bring together an imagined journey to another time and place.
Below: Made in Grimsby was selected for the 62 Group exhibition Connected Cloth
Made in Grimsby • The documenting of a small lifestyle clothing brand called Anywear. 1975 • in an Edwardian shop premises, womenswear was designed & made in Grimsby from cloth that travelled from far and wide. During the lifespan of the business the need to become more commercial had replaced the ‘one off’ designs. By 2002 the designer had had enough of designing other people’s clothes and Anywear closed its doors.
Materials :linen and recycled clothing fabrics, cotton and linen threads
Techniques: hand and machine stitch, appliqué, piecing, drawing
Size: 139 x 87.5 x 2.5 cms
Photos by Pitcher Design
Below: Portrait of Mrs P •a head and shoulders portrait of Constance Howard MBE 1910 – 2000.
Size: 30.5 x 38.5 cms (12 x 15ins)
Techniques: hand embroidery & appliqué. Materials: recycled cotton, linen & silk fabrics, cotton embroidery threads & wool yarn.
Portrait of Constance Howard MBE (1910 – 2000) who established the influential Embroidery department at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She had a huge impact on contemporary embroidery in the second half of the 20th century.
Constance was a small, charismatic person with bright green hair which she sported from the 1930s up until her death. She was always known to her students as Mrs P.
Below: A Step into The Unknown
A Step Into the Unknown is part of the Imagined Journeys series • mixed media – Size: 116 x 84cms (46 x 33ins)
A series of small portraits
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I am honoured and delighted to have had In Another Life and Another Time, Another Place selected for the Broderers exhibition The Art of Embroidery.
The exhibition will be held at Bankside Gallery, Thames Riverside,48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH and runs from 22 – 27 February 2022.
Opening hours Tue 22 – Sat 26 Feb 11:00-18:00 and Sun 27 Feb 11:00-17:00. Due to Covid 19 restrictions please check before traveling.
Free Admission
In Another Life 2021 continues a Grimsby Girl’s world tour with a stopover in Madrid . Size 48.5 x 59 cms • Hand/machine stitch with applied fabrics
Born in 1913 she was not able to travel during her lifetime and had very few opportunities in life to pursue her artistic and musical interests. She left school aged 13 and was apprenticed to a tailor. It was a hard life with no recognition of her skill as a seamstress. She loved singing and was a talented contralto. Here in another life, alongside her best friend she travels to Madrid to study music, dance and theatre.
Another Time, Another Place 2021 • Size: 48.5 x 59 cms
Hand/machine stitch/applied fabrics.
Born in a time when women had no right to vote and many left school at 13 or 14 years old. Ordinary women without opportunities to work after marriage or to travel abroad. Combining images of unknown people from the family album with images from the Alcázar Real in Seville, Spain; symbols of heritage combine with memories to make the composition and bring together an imagined journey to another time and place.
womanwithafish 