SAGANews conducted an email interview with Katherine to find out a little about her. Here are some of her answers to the questions. (You can read the full interview in SAGANews Volume 37 Issue 2 which should be in the mail any time soon!).
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| SAGA Pre-day Class -Giverny Haystacks |
Who taught you needlework skills and when did you first start learning? I honestly cannot remember a time when I
was not stitching. When I was little, my
grandmother, who lived up in New York, would come and stay the summers with
us. She was an avid crocheter and was
always making something and my mother used to do a lot of needlepoint. Both of them taught me different needlecrafts
and stitching. In the summers, my
grandmother and I spent our time either cooking or stitching and watching
classic movies. As I watched the movies,
I became very inspired by both the costumes and stories and that sparked a
desire in me to learn more about the many artists and designers creating the
costumes. I have notebooks filled with
sketches of costumes from different classic movies.
What inspires your designs?
My main inspirations come from nature and
history. I love gardening. I find it a wonderful stress reliever and I
especially love watching the plants change from season to season. I also enjoy visiting large gardens and
taking photos of all the colors and textures.
I also find a lot of inspiration from
history, especially stories of women in history. I read a lot of women’s biographies growing up and still enjoy reading them. I am especially interested in royal women and
19th Century American society women. The Industrial Revolution or Gilded Age time
period I find fascinating because so much changed so quickly.
Do you attend classes and workshops as well as teach at them?
Yes I love taking classes. There is always something new I want to learn
and I love being in a learning atmosphere.
I have met so many wonderful people through courses I have taken and I
just really am addicted to learning.
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| Moss Bow Tie |
Do you belong to a sewing guild of any kind?
Yes and no, I belong to the Embroiderers
Guild of America but as a member at large.
I had joined SAGA the year before last and need to re-up my
membership! I would really love to find
a local group of stitchers to stitch with.
I just have not found that near my home yet. There is a lovely group of ladies that are
part of the EGA that I have met with a few times informally on the eastern part
of the state. I love seeing other people’s projects and what they are working on. It’s great to share your work with other
people too. It
is not a guild, but many of the ladies that I stitch with in the UK and have
met in the US have blogs and are on Facebook.
I’ve found it is a wonderful way to keep in contact with them, get
feedback and share our work with each other.
It is really amazing actually how socially media aware a lot of the
stitchers I know are and how there is such a vibrant virtual community of
stitchers.
What is your most
favourite sewing tool?
I
have several I think! I’ve collected a
bit of a stash as I am sure many of the SAGA members can understand! If I had to pick just one I would probably
say my barrel-clamp embroidery hoop. I
have taken it so many places and I love that I can clamp it on to practically
any table.
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| Conseulo Gown-the subject of Katherine's lecture |
What is the biggest enemy to your creativity?
I would say second
guessing myself and being tentative to start a project sometimes.
You can see more examples of Katherine's work at her website:
www.katherinediuguid.com .
Wonderful interview! Sounds like a fascinating lecture.
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