Choman Hardi

Choman Hardi

  On the 8th October 2016 I met Choman Hardi. She was reading her poetry at the Winchester Poetry Festival. Then I felt my skin prick and my breath stop. She was born in Iraqi Kurdistan. Her family  fled to Iran, returning to Iraq when she was 5 years old, only...
Syrian stitching

Syrian stitching

  The women from Syria are becoming close friends. We have an increasing closeness. They always smile and laugh, whilst you know full well there is a daily struggle and background of loss. I am struck by their hospitality and openness. Here they invite us to...
Can politicians solve the refugee crisis?

Can politicians solve the refugee crisis?

  Tamsin has been loading me podcasts to listen to, this one is from ‘The New Arrivals’ Guardian series Guardian politics 7th April 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/audio/2017/apr/06/can-politicians-solve-the-refugee-crisis-politics-weekly-podcast Can...
Quiet protest

Quiet protest

It was the last Making Common Ground workshop on Friday. We welcomed 6 new members to the group and 6 from previous sessions, so this was our biggest set of stitchers so far. This week’s conversations were just as interesting and far-reaching. We spoke about stitch as...
Stitching more routes

Stitching more routes

  Vanessa has run her last workshop, finding the traces and tracks of common and particular ground. Thread has walked across the fabric as steps and lines, knots and points of reference and delicate markers. It has also joined and stitched people and fabric...