Some creative journeys don’t begin with a blank page. They begin with a lifetime of collecting, observing and quietly wondering what might be possible. For Sara Watson, that journey stretched back decades, from treasured barkcloth curtains inherited from her great-grandmother, to wax resist fabrics gathered on travels through West Africa, to a growing feeling that there was something more formal, more focused, waiting for her.
A self-described lover of nature, colour and art, Sara had always moved through the creative world with curiosity. Pottery, painting, quilting, upcycling found objects. She was no stranger to making things. But with a demanding full-time career and the usual pull of family life, formalising that creativity had always remained just out of reach.
That changed when she discovered the School of Stitched Textiles (SST). One look at the syllabus was enough to spark something. What followed was a twelve-month Textiles Skill Stage 2 journey that took her far beyond what she imagined possible. From the fundamentals of colour, line and texture, through deep artist research and pattern development, right through to a final piece she could never have envisioned at the start. Along the way she discovered new techniques, found the confidence to push her own creative boundaries, and, in her own words, found her creative heart.
This is Sara’s #MyStitchJourney.
“The School of Stitched Textiles has helped me find my creative heart.”
Sarah Watson
I recently completed the SST Textiles Skill Stage 2 course over a 12 month period.
I consider myself to be a creative person, I love nature, colour, art and crafts and have had various hobbies and creative interests all my life including pottery, painting, recycling found items and some sewing projects.
I studied Art and History of Art at school and regularly visit exhibitions, galleries and events such as The Festival of Quilts. My favourite recent exhibition was Grayson Perrys ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ in London. I admire the range of media which Grayson uses from pottery and working with metals to large textile creations. He is unconventional and not afraid to push boundaries through his art and design ideas.
I’ve had an interest in all kinds of textiles and fabrics from a young age and have saved and collected fabric over many years, from my great grandmother’s barkcloth curtains from the 1950’s to interesting wax resist fabric from travels to West Africa. Over the past 20 years I have dabbled with self-taught quilting, cushion making and small sewing projects. All very basic stuff, but picking up tips and skills along the way.
Motivation for Studying
I have always wanted to formalise my knowledge and understanding of using textiles, and wanted to learn new or different techniques. However, work and family time didn’t always allow this. When I started to research courses I found the School of Stitched textiles and immediately liked the look of the syllabus. The information given excited me and I was keen to find out more. I work full time in a demanding job so needed something I could do when it suited me, an online course really appealed because I could fit in the practical work and study around my day job.
I wanted an accredited course to guarantee quality and I knew City & Guilds to be an established and well renowned institution. I attended the online Q&A session to find out more about the course and it was really useful. The tutors talked about a Facebook group which provided information and support. This all convinced me to enrol onto the Textiles course. I wasn’t a complete beginner but wanted to consolidate existing knowledge and learn more in addition.
Biggest takeaways
What I learned-I loved the way the course builds from the basics of colour, line and texture, the research into an artist progressing to designing pattern and the subsequent development of ideas that come from that was inspiring- I couldn’t have imagined how I got from where I started to the creation of my final piece. I learned some new techniques such as appliqué and reverse appliqué that I would never have considered trying previously, as I am generally less interested in traditional and conventionally ‘pretty’ work . The course gave me the confidence to push the boundaries of my own creativity.
What’s next?
I want to study further and complete the Textiles Skill Stage 3 course next. In the meantime I will be developing my style and building on some of the skills I have learned, I have so many fresh ideas that I want to pursue and the School of Stitched Textiles has helped me find my creative heart.
I would definitely recommend the course to others as it provides structure and motivation within a finite timeframe. I broke the modules down into weeks over the 12 months and allowed a month or so at the end to allow a bit of flexibility. If textiles is something you enjoy and are genuinely interested in then you will have no trouble completing this course. Each module brings something different and allows you to keep building on skills as you go along.
I received great support and encouragement for some of my less conventional ideas and was able to contact my tutor via email to ask questions or clarify any questions I had regarding course content.
