About Speedwell Quilts

I make a range of quilts, throws, cushions and small items using a variety of traditional and contemporary designs and techniques. I use 100% cotton fabric which I often dye myself. When using pre-printed cotton I try to use fabric produced by English designers. Cotton fabrics are the traditional material that has been used for hundreds of years for making quilts. The production of cotton has a tremendous impact on the environment and the people who produce it. I am, therefore, sourcing suppliers of organic cotton.

I keep the prices of my work affordable as I very much wish to continue the tradition of early quilt makers to provide attractive and useful pieces of work that become family heirlooms. My work is in private homes throughout the UK and Europe.

I am happy to personalise any of my work on request, e.g. initials and date of birth for a quilt for a baby (n.b. quilts must not be put over a sleeping child before they are 18 months of age), embroidered motif(s) to mark a special occasion/anniversary. I will work to commission and am always pleased to discuss requirements with individuals.

In 2009 I began to make beaded jewellery using beads from the UK and overseas. Some of the items currently for sale can be viewed by clicking Earrings > or Necklaces > or Bracelets>.

About the Artist

I was born in Hackney, London. As a child I made doll’s clothes from scraps of fabric and as a teenager I made my own clothes – at a time when it was still cost effective to do so.

At secondary school I was streamed to study Latin so was never taught needlework or cookery. I am convinced that not having been made to learn these two subjects is what has given me my love of both. I learnt to sew and to cook because I wanted to.

On leaving school I worked in the commercial world before going to college as a mature student. I qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1976 and held clinical posts in the south and south east of England. In 1983 I moved to a small town in Devon. I worked as a clinician initially and then changed direction slightly to teach occupational therapy and other healthcare students.

In the 1970’s I discovered the Quilter’s Guild, which was then in its early days. I immediately knew the direction in which I wished to take my work with textiles. Over the years I have avidly attended many workshops, study days and longer courses to increase my knowledge of, and skills in, patchwork and quilting traditions and techniques from around the world. In recent years I have become fascinated by the effects that can be achieved by dying my own fabric. I particularly enjoy the technique of Shibori – an ancient Japanese method of resist dying.

In 2006 I had the opportunity to take early retirement from my university post. This gave me the chance to consider how I would continue to develop my work with textiles in which I have always maintained an active and practical interest. Speedwell Quilts was launched as a means of sharing and selling my work to a wider audience. The name comes from the speedwell design that my husband Trevor and I had stamped onto the rings that we had made when we married in 1984. The jewellery that I make is part of my wish to continue to develop as an artist and to explore different mediums.

I now live in South Devon in a cottage whose origins possibly go back to the fifteenth century. The cottage has a small barn attached to it which I use as my studio. We have two tortoises, three chickens and I am learning to keep bees.

I belong to a number of art and business support organisations including:

Devon Artist Network
Devon Arts Culture
Quilters Guild
Society of All Artists
South West Quilters
Women in Rural Enterprise (WIRE)
In 2009 I was interviewed by Radio Devon.	To listen to part of this interview please click the play button.