Background Story

My mum, Kathleen, taught me to knit and sew at an early age. Her patience, especially with my knitting (which always seemed to get in a tangle) was endless. Other women in my family embroidered tablecloths, pillowcases and sheets. My great-aunt Sarah Jane was a master at this craft. She was chosen to white embroider the bed linen to be given to Queen Victoria as a gift. So, growing up, I was surrounded by inspirational talented women.

I have always loved history and working in the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum for me, was a dream job. I learned so much about our local traditions, folklore, customs and lifestyle. However, I noticed that many school children and adults had never heard about these things, they could not knit, sew nor did they have basic needlecraft skills. This is where the idea was born to have a business that taught traditional crafts. As my mum had taught me, it seemed only fitting to name the business after her so, Kathleen’s Attic was born.

I worked in the youth and community sector for over 30 years. For 23 years my role was as an Education Officer at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum. In this role I co-ordinated and delivered the adult traditional crafts programme, worked with schools and community groups and been involved with facilitating special projects with the Polish and Indian communities.

I also co-ordinated the six Northern Ireland textile Guilds annual workshop calendar and managed their input on special projects at Victoria Square, for August Craft month and at seasonal events in the Museum. As an advocate for the history of women, I was delighted to introduce and be responsible for International Women’s Day and various community projects one of which was with Traveller women. My favourite time of year is Christmas. I enjoyed being responsible for decorating the Museum exhibit buildings in a Victorian style ready for the Christmas family event.

Clients we have worked with include:

• Antrim and Newtownabbey Council
• Mid Antrim Council
• Ards and North Down Council
• Lisburn and Castlereagh Council
• Mourne and Newry Council
• Belfast Council
• The Woodland Trust
• NI Libraries
• Belfast Hills Partnership
• The Titanic Foundation
• Down County Museum
• The Ulster Scots Association
• R-space Gallery
• Artsekta
• Clifton House
• Rathcoole, Ardoyne and Kilcooly Women's Groups
• The Woodland Trust
• The Linen Biennalle
• Local Primary Schools

Key Skills

• Co-ordinating projects and events
• Leadership experience
• A wide range of traditional craft knowledge
• Local historical knowledge
• Facilitation
• Programme development
• Creativity
• Ability to work with different audiences
• Innovative
• Adaptable
• Cultural diversity facilitation skills
• Knowledge of the NI curriculum

Teaching

• In 2013, I taught an NVQ in Creativity & Design for a year at SERC Lisburn
• I developed and taught history, folklore and traditional crafts to schools and adults while an Education Officer at The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum
• Facilitated cross community projects with young people through Youthlink, the YMCA and the Rock Youth Centre

Recognition of My Work

The Coalisland Knitted Town Project

Alongside Artsekta, I co-ordinated a project in Coalisland where a local knitting group wanted to knit their town as it was in 1910. This was given a profile in a national knitting craft magazine.

Voted by the public, Kathleen’s Attic came 1st Runner up in the Best Programme category of the Museum’s and Me all Ireland initiative.

North Ardoyne Women’s Group – single identity project

In 2018, Hannah, a member of my team and I, spent 3 months with the North Ardoyne Women’s Group helping them understand the concept of culture and translate their thoughts into a quilt wall hanging. The project had cross border funding. At the launch, various government officials attended. The Irish Ambassador was so impressed he invited us to his government residence for dinner and to further discuss opportunities in the future.

Youth Work

I have facilitated cross community workshops for over 25 years. In recognition of this, I was invited to meet President Mary McAleese along with some of the young people I was currently working with. They had been involved in a 6 month long cross community project where they explored each other’s culture, discussed living in a sectarian area and learned about each other’s traditions and religious beliefs.

The Team

I have worked alongside some amazing craft artisans over the years and am glad to say they now assist me in providing activities and focused workshops on a range of crafts at our larger events. The skills include weaving, embroidery, whitework, art on linen, knitting, crochet, rag rug making, straw work, rushwork, quilling to name a few. They have all a teaching/ facilitation background. Their knowledge of craft and their ability to work with groups of all ages and abilities, is exceptional. When occasion demands, I call upon the people in the Northern Ireland textile guilds to demonstrate their skills in lace making, beadwork, spinning and embroidery.