‘God used my stitching to show people his goodness’

For twenty years, I have been creating exhibitions for display in cathedrals and large churches. God has used my stitching to delight, intrigue and inspire people. Hundreds of thousands of visitors of all ages and backgrounds love the huge (3m high) panels.  They’re dramatic and spectacular – and easy to understand.  ‘Wow!’ is the repeated response.

I think God has a purpose for each of us.  Sometimes you can make out a pattern, though it may not be  obvious.  But when you look back you might notice interesting sequences of events, little things leading to bigger things. Too many coincidences to be coincidences!

I was running the Lantern Arts Centre in south-west London when my husband Rob Frost encouraged me to go to a day of stitching

I was running the Lantern Arts Centre in south-west London when my husband Rob Frost encouraged me to go to a day of stitching in Regents Park.  In just those few hours I was hooked, and decided to take a degree in embroidered textiles.

Sadly Rob died suddenly in 2007, and I moved to Devon, not sure what I was going to do. A few years later I visited France, and saw some of the breathtaking huge paintings by Marc Chagall in Vence. They were so inspiring!  I realised that I too wanted to work really big. A challenge - as that’s not so easy in stitch.

Soon after I went to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in 2013 and saw a free-motion sewing machine

Soon after I went to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in 2013 and saw a free-motion sewing machine, which allows you in effect to draw in stitch – and draw big.  It was love at first sight: this wonderful machines has now been with me for 30 million stitches!

Working big meant I needed a larger studio.  I found the perfect building – a converted  barn with – with one very long wall on which I could pin large drawings and hang panels. I was now able to set out on my first huge project. It was another challenge to work on such a large scale and I had to develop new techniques: painting the linen, stitching on the strips of silks, before appliquéing the final top designs. Threads through Revelation took three years to complete and we toured 14 cathedrals. Then came Threads through Creation. Yet another challenge: how to work out ways of illustrating animals which I’d never done before. It was completed in 2021 and toured 21 cathedrals. The exhibitions have now been seen by over a million people, and the feedback clearly shows that the panels are enjoyed by many - all ages and faiths.

Threads through the Bible represents ten years’ work!  It consists of three parts: Threads through Creation is a re-telling of the first pages of the book of Genesis; Threads through Revelation re-imagines the amazing visions in the last book of the Bible;  Threads through the Cross illustrates key moments in the life of Jesus.  It consists of 44 huge panels. I’d left it till last because it involved so many figures and complex scenes, very hard to do well in fabric. It was finally completed in November 2024. Touring starts in 2025. The exhibition is so large that only a few cathedrals are big enough – and we start in Liverpool Cathedral, Britain’s largest cathedral!

Now Threads through the Bible is all finished, I hope many readers will get the chance to see the exhibition – to see the black and white pages of the Bible in amazing colour!