Kate Findlay began her career as designer working in the carpet industry and was made redundant in 1991 when the floor industry changed to hard floors or plain/mottled carpets. She then taught art in primary schools which included sewing. In the last class in their primary school the children were making quilts and one group won first at the Festival of Quilts.
Eventually she decided that design and textiles were her forte. She uses raw edge applique, bonding the fabric together and then free machine stitching for extra detail. Most of her pieces would be considered wall hangings and she backs them with felt rather than layering them up.
The subtitle of Kate Findlay’s talk was ‘Working in Series’ - that is the way that she likes to work. The first series she showed was about Henley with scenes of the spectators and rowers on the river. Her next series was inspired by photos of the hadron collider in Switzerland. She is also inspired by nature, particularly by birds. We all enjoyed the videos of her constructing her work.
Covid brought about changes in the way she works as her income came from talks and workshops, which had to stop. She then began to make up kits and cards; she has also produced designs which are licensed to companies for their exclusive use and sale.
She had brought with her a variety of the products she sells including kits, cards, fabric and books which were very popular with our members. Everyone enjoyed the meeting.
Detail from Bird Quilts
Quilts inspired by the Hadron Collider
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