Jewel Chard

57 x 60 cm. Hand embroidered appliqué on table linen. Private collection.

Hard to beat for freshness or brilliance, this bunch of chard features a yellow rayon scarf from the 1950s (I butchered the borders to get this colour!); a sari from Sri Lanka, bought when working there after the Boxing Day Tsunami… Some shocking pink raw silk from a theatrical costume. Some green satin from an evening frock. Twenty solid days in the making and almost as many stories as stitches.

Mounted and framed in solid ash by yacht-builder Tony Williams, my father.