I discovered my love of hand embroidery about 13 years ago and shown below are some examples of how I have used thread to add texture, depth and glorious colour to my illustrations. It was the main focus of my business for many years and and even when I stopped working on commissions and selling my embroidered products I still carried on stitching away. I view the threads as paint and the needle as a pencil and find the slowness of the technique very calming and a thoughtful process. The nostalgic part of me also treasures the the way it makes me feel connected to the past. Embroidery has had a very long history of being part of people's lives from highly decorative work worked in precious materials which still hangs in museums today to worn alphabet samplers stitched by young girls. It has interwoven itself throughout social history and its therapeutic qualities have been long recognised. After World War One some hospitals offered rehabilitating soldiers therapy in the form of embroidery or 'fancy work" as it was known then.