It’s that time of the year again and I guess I’m not alone in thinking ‘where did the last twelve months go to?’ I was in London yesterday to see the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the V&A and everywhere was very Christmassy. Walking back through The Coals Drop Yard area behind Kings Cross there were lots of twinkly lights and sparkling Christmas trees and a really festive feeling.
Quite often, when I’m chatting to people at exhibitions, I’m asked about the background to Living Threads, so I’m going to take this opportunity to reflect on those early beginnings and to thank a founder member, Dorothy Griffin, for giving me some background information.
Way back in the early 1980’s, staff at the Sandiacre Adult Education Centre were asked for ideas for an exhibition at Elvaston Castle near Derby. It was decided to hold a day course at the castle during which participants would take photographs of the Castle and its grounds, and then use these to produce a piece of work in any craft media for the proposed exhibition. This idea was then extended to all craft teachers in Derbyshire by inviting them to attend as an In-Service Training Day and participate in this venture. At this point a committee was formed, workshops were held and Living Threads came into being.
The first exhibition at Elvaston Castle was very successful and was followed by a second exhibition in 1983. Sponsors were found and more members were invited to join. Following the sale of Elvaston Castle a new venue had to be found and Trent College in Long Eaton became the venue for bi-annual exhibitions by the Living Threads Textile Group in subsequent years. Alongside the exhibitions, which continued to be highly successful, Living Threads ran an ambitious and exciting programme of workshops and summer schools, based in Risley, where many of the group members shared their expertise and helped develop the creativity of other textile enthusiasts.
I am sure many readers will remember those days with great affection and will share with me in giving thanks and recognition to the many dedicated members who ran those workshops and, through them, contributed to raising the profile of Living Threads across the East Midlands. We owe so much to them for their hard work, enthusiasm and creativity.
The Covid Pandemic has become a marker in time for all of us and for The Living Threads Group it also marked a time of great change and readjustment.
As we emerged from periods of isolation during lockdown, many of the founder members, who had contributed so much, decided to take a step back and so a new era began. Whilst the numbers of active members has reduced, the long-established commitment to creating textile art of high quality and individuality remains at the fore front of our work together. We continue to hold exhibitions every two years, now based at the Society for Artists on Friar Lane, in the city, and recently held a mini- exhibition at Canalside in Beeston.
Our next exhibition, Folded, Frayed, Found, is in May 2026.
Spotlight on Member: Denise Coupland
This is a good point to shine a spotlight on our current chairperson, and introduce you to Denise Coupland.
Denise is an artist with a passion for textiles, mark-making using hand stitch, and natural dyes. She studied as a mature student at Nottingham Trent University, earning a First-Class BA Hons degree in Decorative Art in 2018. Denise now works from her home studio in Nottinghamshire.
Working on her own naturally dyed handmade fibre paper, Denise responds intuitively to the textural surface and fragility of the material. She adds hand-stitched details to highlight, enrich, and add depth to selected areas. The resulting work has a delicate, ethereal quality that draws the viewer in, inviting close inspection to discover the intricate stitch detail. Each piece is unique.
Denise joined the Living Threads textile group in 2023 and became Chair in 2025. She is also a member of Design Nation, a national network and curated portfolio that supports Britain’s leading designers and makers. Denise was accepted as a professional member in 2025.
Her work ‘Do you see what I see ‘ has been selected for “Beneath the Surface: Material and Meaning,” an exhibition marking 25 years of Design Nation championing excellence in British craft and design.
The exhibition runs from 6th December 2025 to 15th March 2026 at The Hub, Sleaford Navigation Wharf, NG34 7TW.
More information about the exhibition can be found at:
Follow Denise on Instagram: @m.d.coupland or find more information about her practice at
www.denisecoupland.com
Put a date in the diary for an exhibition at the Loughborough Sock Gallery, in the Town Hall for Stitchuation, a group exhibition by Traverse. Playful, provocative and thought provoking, using stitch as both medium and message, this collaborative show traverses personal, emotional and imagined landscapes through thread, texture colour and form.
From Thursday January 15th to Saturday 28th February 2026. NB Jan 31st and Feb 14th – limited access due to workshops.
www.loughboroughtownhall.co.uk/sockgallery
Currently at the Djanogly Gallery Lakeside at Nottingham University is a solo exhibition of Sculptures by Kate Mccgwire, open until Jan 4th 2026.
A future date for the Diary – Second Turning, in association with Leicestershire Museums Archives will present Strait-Laced and Stitched up at the Market Harborough Museum from February 7th to May 30th 2026. Originally shown earlier this year at the Framework Knitters Museum in Ruddington this enlarged exhibition will feature new pieces of work inspired by items from the Leicestershire Museum Archive.
I look forward to hearing news about your groups, so please get in touch
It’s the beginning of December so I’d better put the Christmas sprouts on to boil, dig out the baubles for the Christmas tree and wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Thank you for joining me on my monthly meanderings .
Happy Stitching, Maggie