Tag: community-art

Dare to Dream Comes to Ashbourne Festival

everystitchastory

There are some days that remind you why creativity matters – Saturday at Ashbourne Festival was one of those days.

With the roads closed and the town centre filled with people, Ashbourne seemed to take on a different rhythm for the day. Families wandered the streets, musicians and performers entertained the crowds, artists and makers shared their work, and everywhere there was a sense of celebration. Under clear blue skies, the town became a place of creativity, conversation and connection.

I was delighted to be joining Derbyshire Makes and the Dare to Dream team for the festival’s Sewing Bee, helping to create Ashbourne’s Sea of Dreams.

Inspired by this year’s festival theme, Ashbourne by the Sea, we invited people to stop by, pick up a needle and thread, and add their own contribution to a growing collaborative artwork. Visitors stitched fish, shells, boats, waves, stars and seagulls onto pieces of fabric in shades of blue and green, each one carrying words and ideas that reflected their hopes for the future.

What unfolded throughout the day was something rather special.

People who had never picked up a needle before sat alongside experienced stitchers. Families stitched together. Friends stopped for a quick chat and stayed to make something. Children carefully chose colours and shapes while adults shared memories, ideas and stories. Some people spent just a few minutes with us, while others settled into the making for much longer.

Again and again I was reminded that creativity doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it begins with a simple shape, a length of thread and an invitation to take part.

There was a particular joy in stitching outdoors, surrounded by the energy of the festival. The bright colours of the fabrics echoed the summer sky, and as more and more pieces were added, Ashbourne’s Sea of Dreams began to grow before our eyes.

What I loved most was seeing the conversations that emerged through the making. People spoke about kindness, community, nature, peace and play. They shared hopes for Ashbourne and dreams for the future. Through the simple act of stitching, strangers became collaborators and individual contributions became part of something bigger.

Community projects like Dare to Dream remind us that creativity isn’t just about producing beautiful things; it’s about creating opportunities to connect. Making together slows us down, encourages conversation and gives everyone a chance to contribute, regardless of age, experience or background.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped to stitch with us throughout the day. Every fish, shell, wave and star helped bring Ashbourne’s Sea of Dreams to life.

It was also a pleasure to work alongside Dare to Dream artist Sue Reddish and the wider Derbyshire Makes team, whose enthusiasm and generosity created such a welcoming space for people to get involved.

As the festival drew to a close and we packed away our threads and fabrics, I left feeling inspired by the hundreds of small moments of creativity I had witnessed throughout the day. In a world that often feels rushed, there is something quietly powerful about taking the time to sit together and make.

I am already looking forward to joining the Dare to Dream team again in October at Masson Mills for the Women Who Make Festival.

Until then, I’ll be thinking about a sea stitched with kindness, community, creativity and hope.

Stitching Ashbourne: The Power of Community Creativity

everystitchastory

After 9 months of creativity, collaboration, and community participation, Stitching Ashbourne was finally unveiled last week in a beautiful afternoon of celebration, connection and shared pride.

From the outset, the project was designed as a participatory community artwork, creating opportunities for people across Ashbourne to come together through creativity, conversation, storytelling and shared making. Over the past 9 months, the project developed into a richly collaborative piece shaped collectively by the people, places and stories of the town.

The unveiling event itself felt incredibly special. Before the artwork was even revealed, the room was already full of warmth and energy: contributors reconnecting, families gathering, conversations flowing and people sharing excitement about seeing the finished work for the first time. It was a powerful reflection of what community-led creative projects can achieve, not simply the creation of an artwork, but the creation of meaningful connection.

When the piece was finally unveiled, it was wonderful to watch people discovering the finished artwork, finding their own contributions, pointing out details to friends and family, sharing memories from workshops and stitching sessions and celebrating what had been collectively created together.

Throughout the project, participants told us:

  • 86% felt more connected to Ashbourne
  • 82% learned new skills
  • 81% felt an increased pride in the town
  • 81% met people they would not normally meet

These outcomes highlight the wider social value of participatory arts practice. Projects like Stitching Ashbourne can foster belonging, confidence, inclusivity, civic pride, and opportunities for people to connect across generations, backgrounds and experiences.

A huge thank you goes to every participant, volunteer, supporter, community group, organisation, school and local partner who contributed to the project along the way. The generosity, creativity and openness shown throughout the past 9 months have been extraordinary.

Special thanks also to the incredible team behind the scenes who helped shape and deliver the unveiling event itself, from preparation and installation through to welcoming visitors on the day. The celebration would not have been possible without such care, teamwork and commitment.

Although the unveiling marked the completion of this chapter of the project, it is certainly not the end of the journey for Stitching Ashbourne.

I’m delighted that the artwork will now become part of the brand new ARTbourne trail on 30th & 31st May before continuing on a wider tour of venues across the town, including:

  • St Oswald’s Church
  • Ashbourne Festival
  • Ashbourne Library
  • QEGS
  • The Heritage Centre

One of the core aims of the project has always been ensuring the artwork remains accessible within the community that helped create it and I’m excited for even more people to experience the stories, stitches, and connections woven throughout the piece.

If you are – or know of – a local venue, café, school, community space, or organisation that would be interested in displaying Stitching Ashbourne, I would love to hear from you.

To accompany the project, the Stitching Ashbourne souvenir guide is also now available. The guide includes:

  • behind the scenes photographs
  • images of the final artwork
  • the full display and tour schedule
  • details about individual contributions and contributors
  • project stories and highlights
  • activities for children

Copies are £5 including postage and packaging.
To order, please email: laura_burrill@outlook.com

Thank you to everyone who has followed, supported, contributed to, and championed Stitching Ashbourne over the past 9 months. It has been a privilege to facilitate a project rooted so deeply in creativity, participation, and community connection, and I’m excited to see the artwork continue its journey across Ashbourne

What’s Coming Up: Stitch, Story and Community

everystitchastory

Hello,

The next few months are set to be a busy time of sharing and celebrating some of the incredible work we’ve created together and I wanted to share what’s coming up and invite you to be part of it.

There’s something really special about seeing these pieces out in the world. What begins as individual contributions, small, thoughtful, personal, gradually becomes something much bigger. These projects continue to celebrate the power of community art: how each stitch, each story, each person’s input helps build something meaningful, connective and lasting.

At the heart of it all is storytelling. That’s always been the thread running through my work. Stitch gives us a way to share voices, hold memories and gently explore the narratives that shape our lives and communities. Some of those stories are joyful, some are more tender or complex, but all of them matter – and it’s a privilege to help hold space for them.

Over the coming weeks, there are a number of opportunities to come and see the work, take part, or simply spend a bit of time connecting with it.

The 80 Candles Quilt will be on display at Ashbourne Library from Monday 13th April to Saturday 18th April. On Saturday 18th April at 11am, I’ll be there for a short, informal talk, along with a book signing and a gentle craft activity for children.

The 80 Candles Quilt: Honouring Lives Through Collaborative Sitch will be on sale at book signing events.
Sonja Jaslowitz by Laura Burrill

In May, I’ll be running Nature Memory Hangings, a workshop in partnership with Derbyshire Mind, set in the beautiful surroundings of Chatsworth House. It’s on Thursday 14th May, and it will be a mindful, reflective session using stitch to connect with memory and place. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, you can book here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-memory-hangings-a-mindful-stitch-workshop-tickets-1984559271203

Then on Saturday 16th May, there’s the unveiling of the Stitching Ashbourne exhibition at Trinity Hall at The Link Centre, from 2.30pm to 5pm. This is always a lovely moment—seeing the work come together and shared publicly. Ticket details will be available soon.

St Oswald’s Church
The Town Hall from the Central Panel

The 80 Candles Quilt will also be on display at Mickleover Library from Tuesday 19th May to Saturday 30th May. There’ll be a talk and book signing on Friday 22nd May at 10.30am. It’s a free event, but booking is required, so you’ll need to contact Mickleover Library to reserve a place (01332 647884).

If you’re able to come along to any of these, it would be really lovely to see you. And if you feel like sharing with others who might be interested, that’s always hugely appreciated too. These projects are rooted in the idea that creativity belongs to everyone, and that storytelling—especially through stitch—can bring people together in meaningful ways.

I’ll be sharing updates and details on socials as things unfold, so do keep an eye here:
https://www.facebook.com/EveryStitchAStory

As always, thank you for being part of this. It really does make a difference.

If you’re looking for the details at a glance:

  • The 80 Candles Quilt – Ashbourne Library
    13–18 April
    Talk, book signing & children’s activity: 18 April, 11am. No Booking Required.
  • Nature Memory Hangings Workshop – Chatsworth House
    14 May
    Book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-memory-hangings-a-mindful-stitch-workshop-tickets-1984559271203
  • Stitching Ashbourne Exhibition – Trinity Hall, The Link Centre
    16 May, 2.30–5pm
    (Booking details coming soon)
  • The 80 Candles Quilt – Mickleover Library
    19–30 May
    Talk & book signing: 22 May, 10.30am (booking required via Mickleover Library: 01332 647884)

Quilt of Connection – Derby: Our Stories Now in the Museum

everystitchastory

After more than a year-long wait, the Quilt of Connection – Derby is now on display at The Museum of Making, and it feels like a truly special moment.

The project began with a simple but powerful question: What is your story, and how would you like it to be told? And, if you could be represented in your local museum, how would you choose to be celebrated? These questions invited people across Derby and Derbyshire to reflect on their lives, their journeys and their connections to this place. What followed was a series of gentle conversations, shared making and moments of connection that slowly grew into a large, collaborative artwork, one made not by a single artist, but by a whole community.

The Quilt of Connection is a slow-stitched textile collage created by the people of Derby and Derbyshire. Each stitched piece carries a personal story, of belonging, migration, memory, resilience, love and community. Together, these fragments form a shared portrait of a living, diverse city. The project was developed in response to History Makers: Unfolded by Derby Museums, which asked visitors to reflect on whose stories are told in museums and whose are still missing. This quilt is a collective response to that question, placing lived experience and community voices at the heart of the museum.

Cloth became a form of memory within the project. Participants repurposed cherished, unwanted, and discarded textiles, stitching their narratives into reclaimed fabrics associated with everyday life and human connection, bed sheets, tablecloths and cloth carrying the traces of use, care and shared history. These materials became vessels for storytelling. Piece by piece, layer by layer, the quilt grew into a tactile collage that holds stories of love, friendship, family, loss, loneliness, migration and belonging.

The process of making was not separate from the artwork; it was the artwork. In my practice, the space created through shared making is always as important as what is eventually produced. This is where the real magic happens: where conversations unfold, relationships form, communities connect and individuals begin to see themselves reflected as part of something bigger. The Quilt grew not only through fabric and thread, but through time spent together, listening, sharing and being present with one another.

Workshops took place across Derby and Derbyshire, including sessions with Maison Foo, Derby Multi-Faith Centre, Women’s Work Derbyshire, and Craft & Chat Ashbourne, alongside open drop-in workshops at Derby Museum & Art Gallery and the Museum of Making. These sessions were supported by the museums’ wonderful volunteers and welcomed people of all ages and abilities. Each person who took part brought something unique, a memory, a piece of cloth, a story, a feeling, and together those contributions now sit side by side, creating something bigger than any one of us.

Seeing the Quilt of Connection displayed at the Museum of Making is deeply moving. It represents a shift, placing community voices, lived experience, and personal histories at the centre of a cultural space. This quilt belongs to everyone who contributed to it, it is their story, now held in the museum. Alongside the quilt, a book of participants’ reflections will soon be displayed, sharing the words and reasons behind each stitched piece.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who shared their stories, time and creativity. This work would not exist without you. And special thanks to Sally Hawley, Hope Slater, and Eilish Clohessy-Dennis for supporting this project and helping bring it into the museum.

If you were part of the project, I hope you’ll come and see your piece in person. And if you’re visiting Derby, I warmly invite you to experience the Quilt of Connection, a work made from real lives, real stories, and real connection.

Stitch by Stitch, Ashbourne’s Story is Taking Shape

everystitchastory

It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few weeks since Stitching Ashbourne began, and already more than 100 people have taken part! I don’t think any of us quite expected the level of excitement, creativity, and care that’s filled the first four workshops. Every session has had its own character, full of conversation, laughter, and those quiet moments of concentration that come when everyone’s lost in the rhythm of sewing.

And now, finished squares are starting to arrive. Each one is different, bright, delicate, bold, playful, but every stitch has meaning. Together, they’re starting to form something truly beautiful: a picture of Ashbourne told through thread and texture.

Certain themes are emerging, lots of countryside scenes, walking and cycling the Tissington Trail, food, flowers, hobbies, favourite views. It’s wonderful to see how much people treasure the open spaces around town and the simple joys of everyday life.

But it’s also made me wonder… what’s missing from Ashbourne’s stitched story so far? What places, people, or moments haven’t yet been represented? Are there stories of the high street, our schools, the Shrovetide ball game, music, or even those little acts of kindness that make our community special?

If you’re still planning your square, maybe this is your moment to tell one of those untold stories. Think about what Ashbourne means to you, not just the places we walk through, but the memories, traditions, and connections that make this town home. And don’t forget to include a few words or a note with your square, I love hearing the inspiration behind each design!

We’re well on track to exceed our original hopes for participation, and I can already see the final piece starting to take shape in my mind, full of colour, texture, and community spirit. I can’t wait to see what arrives next.