The launch of a two-week festival celebrating textiles across Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire in July is certainly good news in these uncertain times. The event - The Three Shires Festival - will celebrate contemporary, historical and ecclesiastical embroidery and textiles, as well as plain old 'make do and mend' across a vast range of venues from museums to craft galleries, churches and National Trust properties. Together, these three counties boast a textile heritage to be proud of - think Macclesfield silk; Congleton as a centre of fustian cutting, velvet and silk ribbon making; the Leek Embroidery Society and the town's links with the Arts and Crafts movement; cotton production at Styal Mill and Bollington. The textile industry thrived in these parts and the evidence is everywhere. But this festival will also celebrate today's textile activity - so far, nearly 30 exhibitions have been announced, plus there is a impressive range of workshops, tours, guided walks and lectures planned, in addition to sales, craft events, and even an auction of textiles. Many churches, chapels and cathedrals in the counties have also been persuaded to show their collections of ecclesiastical embroidery. Along with Stroud's International Textile Festival, we have to commend the great effort that goes into organising such an event and we hope you will support it with your feet! It is good to know that even in troubled times, we can still celebrate our textile creativity and heritage.
Jo Hall