Sheila Dalgleish
Sheila's future in textiles was pretty much sealed as a child, when she saw her mother making so many of her clothes. However, absolutely no promise was shown in school needlework classes, when the teacher was heard to describe one seam as 'like a scenic railway'. But maybe she had the gift of prophecy...! You can't get that excited over sewing an apron, after all. However, once Sheila started design classes as part of Higher Art, and discovered a talent for embroidery, it was the start of a long and happy relationship with the needle, and latterly with the sewing machine.
After various flirtations with embroidery, needlepoint, cross stitch etc, she found herself working with blocks of colour in both these crafts, and a chance visit to a quilting exhibition showed her the way forward. Some classes at Purely Patchwork in Linlithgow taught her the basics, and introduced her to Pat Archibald, who was at that time tentatively trying out some basic design classes. Sheila was lucky enough to be in right at the start of these classes, which eventually developed into Pat's well known 'Creative Journey' courses. These, plus the strong background of design from school days, which gave her a strong 'originality' ethic (you don't want to work anyone else's designs except your own, was instilled in us at school) soon sent her on the way of designing her own pieces, and gradually growing more confidence.
The start of the Loch Lomond Quilt Show was another impetus, and helped her to take the scary jump into exhibiting her work, which was much encouraged when she was the overall winner of the Scottish competition in 2007. Forming Freewheeling, with a group of like-minded friends met at various classes, and the series of exhibitions with which this group has been involved since its formation has been a great incentive to continue developing and producing new work.
Sheila has many other interests, such as tai chi, and singing in Cadenza choir, all of which compete for her time, hence the need for a Parallel Life.
