Profile - Pamela Gurney
I have been interested in various needlecraft since I was a child. As a young girl, a great love of mine on wet days during holidays was to go into my mothers big linen press and look at all of the beautiful, crisply starched, hand embroideries stored there. My mother always had these crisply starched embroidered doileys and tablecloths in every room of our home.
My passion for embroidery, which developed at an early age, has continued through the years where along the way, I came across crazy patchwork.Through my love of crazy patchwork I discovered punchneedle embroidery. From the first time I saw punchneedle embroidery, I knew that I was going to have a long association with it as I was fascinated by the versatility and beauty of it.
At the time my two children were finishing school, I had the opportunity to study a two year college course, "Art - Design, for Embroidery". My design skills and confidence were enhanced during the course and I became more adept and experienced with my punchneedles.
I have been accredited with 'Craftmark' from the Australia Council in recognition for the development of the technique of punchneedle embroidery into an art form.
Since then I have written four books, "Punchneedle Embroidery" and "Punch Crazy", "Punchneedle Embroidery - Dancing Needles" and the fourth "Punchneedle Creations". These books are full of helpful information and many designs. In "Punch Crazy" I have married my two passions, punchneedle embroidery with crazy patchwork. It is a beautiful book! My fourth book is 184 pages full of many new techniques along with twenty innovative and exciting ways to embroider with punchneedles.
I am a textile artist and creative embroiderer. My works have been commissioned to a number of private clients and have been shown in various exhibitions. I now spend a great deal of time designing embroideries to be worked with punchneedles.
I work from a delightful home in the small town of Maldon which is situated near Bendigo in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia.
I am surrounded by one area of garden which is a stunning, secluded garden full of all types of Australian native shrubs which seem to be forever taking their turn to display beautiful flowers.
In another part of my garden there is a marvelous rose garden.
There is never a time when I work with my punchneedles, that I am not enthralled by the effects produced from this needle-art. I say that my punchneedles dance and play over my work, hence, I named my business "Dancing Needle Designs".
Dear Pamela, Since that first day in your creative bungelo when you tought me how to make my needles dance, I have loved it so much. I love trying ou..
