I recently had the pleasure of attending the
Knit and Stitch show in London, England.

Yes, glamorous job, but someone has to do it.

One of the Moda designers, Janet Clare had a booth filled with patterns, kits, stitcheries and all kinds of goodies.
Janet was wearing her iconic Artisian Apron.

I love it… wear your creativity!
Read more about Janet here.

Right down the aisle from Janet was Harriett Riddell, a performance textile artist. Yes, a performance textile artist.

I was drawn in by her eclectic table covering made from vintage linens, hankies and art. I knew there had to be a good story here.

While I did not officially meet her, I did stand and watch her work for quite a while. Harriett uses thread and a sewing machine much
like an artist uses paper and pencil to create characters.

Here is a bit of info about Harriett from her bio page.

Harriet Riddell was born in 1990 and grew up in Oxfordshire, England. Harriet is a mixed media performance artist, specializing in observational drawings using a sewing machine. Her artwork responds to and interprets the transient world on to a permanent canvas. Harriet encourages interaction by working in unusual locations and experimenting with the subjects the she chooses to stitch.

(photos used with permission of Harriett Riddell.)

At one of the fairs she “performed” while her subject pedaled a bicycle to generate power for her sewing machine.

I know I would be in better shape if I had to ride a bike to create power for my machine, but I would make a lot fewer quilts.

Thank you to Janet and Harriett for sharing your creativity with us.

-modalissa

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