1ST JULY 2019 BY KATIE

A textile artist whose work is inspired by the Lancashire cotton industry.

 My name is Katie, a Lancashire Lass. Share my Stitchery journeys through Patchwork & Quilting, Embroidery, Felting, and the wonderful exhibitions I visit throughout the year. — ARNOLD’S ATTIC — Arnold’s family worked in the Lancashire textile mills for generations. I’m now custodian of the wonderful, vintage textiles & haberdashery found in his attic… a never-ending source of inspiration.

‘The First Day in the Mill’ is a piece that harks back to my Lancashire roots and the stories I heard as a child. It’s exhibiting in the Quilt Creations category at The Festival of Quilts 2019. It features 61 elongated hexagons – or cloth ‘weaving shuttles’ – each embroidered with a job in the cotton mill. The central panel features a poem by Louisa Bearman, written in Lancashire Dialect, about her First Day in the Mill when she was thirteen.

Cotton ‘Weaving Shuttles’

The cloth is a mixture of modern, preloved and vintage cotton – some from the Arnold’s Attic Collection – and some have been naturally dyed to create a soft mix of textures and tones throughout the piece. The centre of the work features a Lancashire Rose and a vintage weaving shuttle, given to me by my father.

Lancashire Rose.

Weaving Shuttle

This is a very personal piece. It shares some of the thoughts and emotions that my own family experienced in years gone by. My Grandad Nixon was twelve and his mother was ten on their first day in the mill.

Poetry in Lancashire dialect.

It’s entirely handmade and hand embroidered.

Katie (2019). The First Day in the Mill – Lancashire dialect. [online] Arnolds Attic. Available at: https://www.arnolds-attic.co.uk/2019/07/the-first-day-in-the-mill-lancashire-dialect.html [Accessed 14 Mar. 2023].