18th - 20th November 2022
Yorkshire textile artist Natalie Needham is telling stories about caring for a loved one with drug, alcohol & gambling addictions in a stunning and moving exhibit, opening this November on the First Floor of our 1912 Mill.The exhibition highlight is a beautiful 50-foot wall hanging, made of around 400 individual squares contributed by people caring for a loved one with alcohol & drug addictions from across the world.
Natalie has lovingly hand-sewn each square together to create a spectacular piece of emotionally-charged art, designed to raise awareness about the challenges carers face, as well as being a cathartic and therapeutic exercise for the contributors. The wall hanging will be accompanied by some contributors’ stories for visitors to read.
Natalie started the Stitch Away the Stigma campaign back in 2020 when she supported her father who lives with an alcohol addiction, by hand-stitching her thoughts on scraps of fabric as a therapeutic creative outlet. Realising other people in the same position as her might benefit, she launched the Stitch Away the Stigma campaign; posting fabric packs nationwide to others affected by the addiction of a loved one, who in turn stitch their own pieces and returned them to Natalie.
Natalie’s campaign was featured in the Channel 4 documentary Will Young: Losing My Twin Rupert in May 2022. Since the program launched, Natalie has sent her bespoke fabric packs, a scrap of fabric with instructions to create their own piece of textile art, to over 850 people caring for a loved one with alcohol & drug addictions in the UK, Germany, Australia and North America.
Natalie explains “I supported my Dad for many years who has an alcohol addiction, but I often felt alone in the frustrations that come with being a carer. Stitch Away the Stigma has given me, and other people in the same position, a new opportunity to say things I may have never been able to articulate and discover a vast community of people in the same position as me.
I’m thrilled to bring so many people’s contributions and stories together in one piece of artwork. I hope it helps all of the contributors feel part of a supportive community that comes together creatively, while also raising awareness for people affected by a loved one’s substance use.”
The Stitch Away the Stigma campaign is funded by the Recovery Wellness Collective CIC founded by Colleen Lally.
Open Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th November 10am-5pm. FREE ENTRY.
A launch event will be held in the 1912 Mill on Friday November 18th 7-10pm. Featuring non-alcoholic welcome drinks from Bax Botanics, music from Daniel Holden, and the opportunity to hear some of the incredible stories from some of the creative contributors.
![We're thrilled to welcome author and maker Nerrisa Pratt (@theeditbynerrisa) to the Mills during Threads 2024 to run a pair of exciting workshops in the Weaving Shed!
Join Nerrisa on the Friday of Threads for an introduction to Bargello, where you will leave with your own colourful needlepoint bag. This session will be based on her most popular book project ‘The Barbara bag’.
If you're keen to incorporate a bit of quilting into your future textile projects, book onto Nerrisa's Saturday morning English Paper Piecing workshop, and begin to create your own cushion cover.
Both of these workshops are between £25 & £30 and are suitable for ages 14+.
Threads Textile Festival runs from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June. Book your talk & workshop tickets now via the link in our bio!
[Image 1 shows Nerrisa, a young woman with brown tight curly hair wearing a red top, smiling as she works on a piece of patterned bargello needlepoint at a plywood desk. There are balls of yarn and other examples of bargello positioned on the desk to the left of the frame. Image 2 shows the Weaving Shed at Sunny Bank Mills. The space is an old industrial room with high ceilings containing large skylight letting in lots of natural light, and red brick walls. In the foreground is an old wooden dobby loom, and further in the background is a pair of large wooden tables with stools tucked underneath, which are used for workshops. Image 3 shows a variety of colourful bargello needlework samples in various chevron patterns. They have been stitched with bright thread in shades of orange, pink, purple, yellow and blue, and are laid out on top of a sheet of raw plywood. Image 4 shows sections of brightly coloured patterned fabric laid out on a lilac background, which have been cut into hexagon shapes and sewn together, beginning to resemble a quilt. There is a small bobbin of bright red thread in the centre of the image.]
#SunnyBankMills #Farsley #Leeds #ThreadsTextileFestival #Textiles #TextileWorkshop #LeedsWorkshops #DaysOutInLeeds](https://www.sunnybankmills.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)