‘From Our World’
Group Exhibition by One Step On Textiles Art Group
ArtHouse, 65 Eastbank Street, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 1EJ
29th September – 17th October 2026
Guest Blog by Martin Dawber
One Step On Textiles are a small friendly group of ‘stitchers’ based in the North West with the aim of facilitating students completing City & Guilds and other qualifications being able to continue developing and exhibiting their work.
The group have been in existence for 20 years and the current membership consists of five keen practitioners, Mary Pryle, Mel Charters, Kathleen Roberts, Anne Stark and Monica Selway, who have already clocked up popular displays of their work over at Astley Hall in Chorley, Cedar Farm in Mawdesley, Create Bolton and Martin Mere in Burscough. They have also become regular exhibitors at The Atkinson in Southport as part of the annual Sefton Open and the group will now be holding a further exhibition in the town, starting at the end of September, at The ArtHouse in Eastbank Street.
Mary Pryle, who has lived in Blackrod for 46 years, can trace her own tactile attraction back to when she was growing up in London: “I started stitching as a child, making doll’s clothes using my mother’s treadle Singer sewing machine. Leaving school, I did three years at Art School – first Croydon, then Liverpool – before working in local government for 30 years and bringing up three children”.
For many years Mary led an enthusiastic stitch group at St Katharine’s Church in Blackrod that resulted in the creation of 200 stitched kneelers. Their three-panel tapestry showing the history of Blackrod is still on display in the church.
A voracious practitioner, although Mary completed Level 3 City & Guilds Embroidery back in 2013, acquiring many new techniques and skills along the way, she still continues to take courses and workshops at numerous live events and also online to ever-expand her vision. “I try to look at what is around me and take inspiration from the trees and land. I’m interested in using photography and paper with stitch and include family in the work. I have enjoyed developing new ideas and designs, learning from the group”.
Passionate embroiderer, Mel Charters from Rufford, who successfully completed her City & Guilds in Design and embroidery even earlier in 1994, has been a member of One Step On for over 10 years: “I love textiles and particularly enjoy crewel work and beading, free machine embroidery and anything ‘messy’.” Keen to share her skills and enthusiasm with others, Mel who is also a member of the Preston Embroidery & Textile Group as well as the Douglas Valley Creative Stitchers, enjoys passing on her experience to local groups like the Crafting and Quilting group for Parbold, Newburgh & District u3a.
A new member of One Step On, Kathleen Roberts from Preston, became interested in textiles while sampling various embroidery kits “which then inspired me to develop my own design and learn more about textiles and their long history. I am fascinated by the wealth of techniques, mediums and artists in this area”. Also a member of the Preston Embroidery & Textile Group, Kathleen continues to “keep my creative juices flowing” by eagerly attending various courses and workshops “which I find exciting”.
Anne Starks’ own interest in needlework began with dressmaking: “in the past I ran a small business making and selling children’s clothes, featuring applique work. My love of applique has never changed”. A further alumni of City & Guilds Design and Creative Embroidery, Anne from Southport, still continues to attend workshops on innovative embroidery to feed her imagination: “My sources can be the natural world, current affairs or experimenting with new materials and techniques. As a member of One Step On I have recently enjoyed indulging my fascination with underwater life. My latest stitching discovery has been the Japanese embroidery technique – Sashiko – and I have adapted this quiet form of stitching to add flow and movement to my current work”.
Similarly attracted by colour and texture, Monica Selway from Rainford continues to employ a mix of hand and machine embroidery, “although sometimes I concentrate on one or the other for a particular piece of work”.
As other members of the group have done, Monica also took both parts of City & Guilds Creative Embroidery before going on to teach C&G in Patchwork, Embroidery and Quilting: “More and more, I now find myself integrating other crafts into my embroidery. I have used lino-printing, origami, Japanese braid-making (Kumihimo), as well as hand dyed and printed fabrics. All this would not be possible without the benefits of belonging to the group, which continues to inspire and push my own boundaries”.
The Group meet every third Sunday afternoon and would like to hear from anyone who would be interested in joining them – “tea and cake always on offer!” – via their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OneStepOn?locale=en_GB
This latest display by the group will be on display at the ArtHouse, Eastbank Street, Southport from 29th September – 17th October 2026. The gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 10.00-15.00. Saturday 11.00-16.00.
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