Speakers include:

• • • • Leicester Longwool Society: This local breed is towards the top of the list of endangered sheep breeds. The society exists to protect the particular nature of this breed and to promote the wools it can provide.

• • • • Sue Russell – Peak Gate Textiles: Sue defines herself as a weaver, teacher and witch! She has always crafted, but pursued a different career until she saw the tapestries at Stirling Castle and knew she had to learn to weave. She will talk about how she has been using weaving as a method of exploring the history of Masson Mills and how that has influenced her textile practice.

• • • • Ruth Singer: Ruth is an award-winning artist with a background in museum education which has influenced her textile practice. She has written several books about sewing and women who sewed, exploring heritage and culture from a non-traditional angle. Ruth has recently produced an exhibition in Leicester about Mary Linwood, a talented embroiderer of the 1800’s who stitched replicas of famous paintings.

• • • • Susan Russell, Framework Knitters Museum, Nottingham. The knitting frame was invented in the 16th century and the framework knitters in the East Midlands produced stockings on these machines, living and working in very poor conditions. Susan will tell us about the history of this industry and its legacy for the textile heritage of the area.

• • • • Dr Chetna Prajapati: is a Senior Lecturer in Textiles at Loughborough University. Her research explores the application of enzymes (biocatalysts) produced by microorganisms such as fungi as creative design tools to produce textile dyes, surface pattern textiles, and deconstruct textile fibres to create new and interesting materials.