Starting with the name …

The name, ‘Heritage Embroidery’, is in memory of my grandmother, Monika Hennessy who was my first embroidery teacher. She was a traditionalist, disciplined, and had great attention to detail. She encouraged me to pursue a career in embroidery. Although life at the time took me on a very different path. Nana’s great passion was Goldwork, which was a huge advantage as a Vicars wife.

With my grandmothers influence I began to explore embroidery more confidently in my early teens. Nana taught me that your embroidery should always look almost as good on the reverse. We worked through sooo many disciplines, Tapestry, Crewel, Silk shading, Pulled linen/ Counted thread, Whitework, Blackwork, Stumpwork and of course Goldwork. Summer holidays were spent watching projects evolve, pouring though her books and materials, attending embroidery workshops and sitting at her feet in her Yorkshire cottage being put though my passes. I loved every minute.

When I look back, my life has always been about teaching. I have to credit my introduction to teaching to my babysitter who was also called Jacqueline. Babysitter Jacqueline always arrived with oodles of craft activities for her charges. I was the oldest of 4. Her work was cut out but she was always well prepared and had us totally engaged, and tired well before bedtime.

Jacqueline rocked up one evening with a sewing machine, a pattern and fabric. She produced the most beautiful full circle skirt for a date the following evening. Popping a sewing machine into the mix was a light bulb moment for me. Seems so obvious now, but as a young teenager so enlightening. The possibilities were endless. I first explored a little dress making and then with my mothers encouragement discovered the wonderful world of soft furnishings.

However, back to embroidery. My grandmothers training never left me. And I’ve always had that pull to be creative. I don’t know about you, but in my busy day to day world I never have enough time to explore, appreciate and create. It’s like finding time to catch a moon beam. So I encourage you to catch those moonbeams and explore all the historical embroidery, contemporary designs and build on your own creativity. Your embroidery learning journey starts here. Enjoy!