It’s been a long time since I did these. Some time ago shells were apparently a popular decorating motif and I was asked to do some shell designs to applique on cushions. At first I wasn’t all that keen on the idea, because shells seemed to me to be static and uninteresting, but when I got into the work I changed my mind. The shapes of shells are simple but strong and organic. They needed very little embellishment from embroidery apart from a few contour and defining lines, and I think the final results are all the better for being simple. In the end I did 25 different shells but will put up only a few here. Cherri Kincaid did the imaginative stitchouts and used variegated thread to great effect