A Stitch In Time to Make Another Nine

Swindon Stitch and Bitch are Swindon based crafters and they are currently working against the clock to create an art installation for the Swindon Museum and Gallery in old town.


The exhibit that they are making is titled ‘The Characters - Tapestry of Swindon’, which will go on display on the 28th of March 2018. The group are making dolls that represent past and present characters that have had some influence on Swindon. They hope to create 30 figures in total and at present they have 21 completed. Nine dolls may not sound very many, but with so many hours going into creating each one, it is a labour of love.


Tracey Major said “We wanted to select characters past and present, because its all part of the story of our town, things don’t change over night it takes the passage of time.

We didn’t just want to choose ‘famous’ people to create, because so many other people of Swindon influence our lives and the town.”


Although they want to keep the dolls under wraps until the big day, they are happy to publish a list of the figures that they intend to create.

Diana Dors
Julian Clary
Jamie Cox
Justin Haywood
David Howell
Mark Lamar
Melinda Messenger
Gilbert O'sullivan
Billie Piper
Isambard Brunel
Michael Thomas
Edith New
Don Rodgers
Bob Kilby
Jamie King
Alfred Owen Williams
Harold Fleming
Maureen Penny
Fred Ferris
Steve Rowbotham
Desmond Morris
Tony Collins
Hamish Murray
Robert Turner Watkins
Bruce the collecting dog
D-low
Jahmene
Mabel Stranks
Sophie Grigson
Thaila Zucchi
The Grey Lady

If you are in the list above or are related to anyone in the list, the group would love to invite you to the launch day – 28th March 2018 at 2pm, at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, SN1 4BA to see the figures and to meet the crafters.

After the exhibition, all the figures will be sold to raise money for Swindon Mind. If you’d like to buy any of the dolls, please leave your contact details with the museum team and the crafters will get back to you.

#SwindonCharacters 

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