Diana Sanderson

Diana lives and breathes textiles, her enthusiasm for working with fabrics goes right back to her childhood when she surprised her parents by preferring a sewing machine for her eighteenth birthday present.

After many years of making her own clothes and the occasional wedding dress she started her own children's clothing business - Drayfield Designs. She concentrated on reversible dungarees and dresses using brightly coloured American cotton fabrics. These proved very popular both with the parents and the children and are still available in Malvern at the Malvern Hills Gallery.

Visits to textile shows and exhibitions stirred Diana's interest in embroidery. Like many people she had dabbled at cross stitch but felt the need to be more creative. Free machine embroidery became her passion and with her scientific background, she has since concentrated on the techniques of machine embroidery and the use of unusual materials such as bubble wrap to produce interesting effects.

Recently Diana was a finalist in the prestigious Charles Henry Foyle Trust Stitched Textile Award competition. Her entry was derived from the ball gown that she designed and made for her daughter Jenni. She has also been awarded a Highly COmmended medal of excellence from City and Guilds for Creative Sketchbooks.

Before bringing up her family Diana spent a few years as a science teacher. Her teaching abilities combined with her investigative mind and sewing skills make her an ideal tutor and course designer. Her courses at the Malvern Hills College are very popular and she excels at the college's Summer School event when each year she designs and teaches a number of different short courses inspiring embroiderers to widen their use of materials and techniques.