wall hanging

Text: 'One could ask, why bother laboriously stitching all these letters? Printing, painting or writing text on to fabric can achieve a similar result much more quickly and many textile artists do this successfully, with imagination and skill. But paint sits on top of the surface of the fabric rather than travelling through all the layers and becoming integral to the structure of the finished piece. In a wholecloth quilt such as this, consisting of a single length of fabric with no internal seams, the visible stitch becomes a unit of construction. It is also the basic unit of design, the point from which no further abbreviation can take place. In computer terms, it is the stitch as pixel. So we strive to maximise the impact of each individual stitch through the exact positioning of the needle in the cloth. This involves hundreds of rapid and fleeting decisions taken moment by moment as the sewing machine needle hammers relentlessly through the layers of fabric, welding them together until a new textile entity is forged. This takes on its own physical properties: its texture, its surface, its thickness or thinness, its simple or complex range of colours. It can be rolled, folded, draped and crumpled. The force of the machine sometimes distorts the fabrics unpredictably, causing them to buckle, warp, crinkle or shrink. This dynamic and tactile process, along with the excitement of watching as the piece of work gradually evolves into a coherent whole inspires us, motivates us and drives us on. There is no magic involved: however sophisticated the sewing machine may be, the stitch is simply the product of two interlocking threads. But there is a kind of miraculous transformation in the way tiny stitches can be made to flow, stab, curve and backtrack to form patterns which resolve themselves into letters, which become words that can convey meaning. The pixel feels like magic because most of us have very little idea how it works. By contrast, we come to know the sewing machine stitch intimately and we know what it can and can't do. To explore the full potential of the stitch, it's helpful to make the most of the working environment and the tools. The choice of needle, thread and scissors – even the positioning of the wastepaper basket – all contribute towards a sewing rhythm in which effort is minimised. Much of the pleasure to be found in doing all this free machine stitching, especially if it's going well, comes from this sense of control and efficiency. Of course, sometimes things go wrong and stitches have to be unpicked. But the most demanding aspect of stitching is time. The stitch dictates the pace. It can only be hurried up to a certain point. Working with fabric and thread has always been time-consuming and it's no different now. For example, each of these rows takes me about an hour. I don't think I could do it any quicker. We like to think we are in control of the stitch, but sometimes it seems to be controlling our lives – so one could ask, why bother laboriously stitching all these letters …'