‘Crumbs of Comfort’, detail: k3n made this hand-pieced and hand-quilted lap quilt from her father’s shirts and handkerchiefs (she indigo-dyed some cloth) following his death in 2019
The Forager’s Journal: this piece comprises thirteen small cloth books, made from old sheets that have been stitched into and then bundled with plant materials and hidden in k3n’s woods (part of CQ West’s exhibition ‘Unfolding Stories 6’)
Some of k3n’s stitch meditation scrolls: these small pieces made from fabric and thread leftovers are made purely for the joy of stitching
Textile artist Kathryn Chambers, more commonly known as k3n, has been stitching since she was a child – when she recalls using her mother’s dressmaking scraps to make small items like dolls clothes and cushions. She made her first quilt – English paper-pieced – in her thirties. Her work subsequently developed into textile art constructed with commercial fabrics and Procion-dyed cottons. Then, around fifteen years ago, concerned with the environmental impacts of using new materials and chemically manufactured dyes, she began looking for more sustainable alternatives.
In tandem with this, after years of
