Textiles In Lockdown | Mr X Stitch

“The act of mending, here and now, a series of small objects which I can hold in my hand, has been very helpful in terms of coping mentally with lockdown.” How has lockdown been for you? Has your textile making changed? Gawthorpe Textiles Collection is creating an archive of stories of textile making during lockdown, in partnership with textile artist Ruth Singer. Ruth is gathering stories this month and then will be weaving them together into an eBook and podcast in the autumn. Ruth is collecting collecting stories of textile practice, both hobby and professional from individuals and groups. “Initially it was hard to focus. Now I feel grateful that I have my art practice. I am never bored and look forward to getting into the studio every day.” Your story of making, or struggles with creativity and focus, are a really important part of this patchwork of stories. Please share your experiences and thoughts through the online forms at Ruth's website. We want to gather stories from the UK and the world and will have a focus on Lancashire and the North West for a local perspective to Gawthorpe. We are interested in creative textile practice, both hobby and professional and we are interested in practical textile making to support wellbeing, health and charities such as making scrubs or masks. We are interested in how groups have continued to collaborate or new groups which have formed online to create and share their textile making. There are two surveys on Ruth’s website, one for hobby makers and one for professional makers and businesses. These will be online until the end of August, so click here to please share your story now. It should take you 10 minutes and you might want a photo ready to share too. “Textile making has definitely helped me deal with the daily negative onslaught of COVID news.” As a museum of textiles, Gawthorpe Textiles Collection feel that it is important to capture and record the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on textile craft at this important time and explore what legacy there may be. As part of a grant received from the Arts Council England COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, Ruth will gather stories to create a digital archive of activity as well as create a digital publication and podcast which will be available free from Gawthorpe Textiles Collection website in the autumn.