Introducing... Lin
I’m Lin, the designer-maker behind Suffolk Threads. Suffolk has a rich textile heritage when it comes to weaving – wool, linen and silk – and I love using those yarns in my own work as well as taking inspiration for my designs from this county’s architecture and landscapes. Weaving dominates my textile work at the moment; a passion that has grown since my childhood when my grandfather made me my first loom. Knitting has been a constant thread, having been taught by my mother at age 4, there was no stopping me. My grandmother passed my great-great grandmother’s lace bobbins to me when she felt I was ready to understand and appreciate the significance of this gift. These precious pieces of wood and hand-made glass stayed safe in their tin until I happened upon another lace-maker in my early 20s who took me under her wing and taught me well. Did I mention the spinning bug? And dyeing, and felting, and now basketry from my home-grown willow. No wonder I proudly wear the badge of ‘craft tart’!
So much of my making life has had to fit around a demanding career. Of necessity, it had to be the sort of craft that was portable or pick-up & put-downable. So handweaving on the loom had to wait until I could leave my career behind and start life afresh in a new direction. Cue the HNC in Constructed Textiles at Bradford! I had long envied friends who had found time and money for the 2-year part-time Bradford Certificate course back in the day. A rug weaving week at Nayland and a loom weaving refresher course in Cumbria and I knew this was the path for me. Two years, three looms and four walls of yarn later and I’m here - looking forward with equal parts trepidation and excitement at the thought of the final show for College, enjoying being part of a weaving community through my time at Bradford, discovering other passionate weavers in Suffolk and ready to nurture my growing on-line and local presence as a designer-maker.
