INSPIRING PEOPLE

Lesley Wilkins’ passion for preserving Quaker samplers goes beyond history – it became a source of solace during personal hardship

Interview byJulian Odessa

Lesley Wilkins has been immersed in embroidery since childhood, her passion ignited by alifelong love of creative expression. As agirl, she delighted in gifts of colouring pencils, fabric, and needlework accessories and encouraging teachers nurtured her love for design and craft. Though her career took her into local government, she never lost sight of her creative roots, and now is the proud author of the recently published book Quaker Samplers.

Avisit to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) at age 10 marked akey point in Lesley’s journey. Drawn into the textile section, she discovered rows of cabinets filled with embroidered samplers, their intricate stitches whispering stories from the past. One piece, Jane Bostocke’s 1598 sampler –the earliest dated surviving British sampler known –captured her imagination. “It changed my needlework direction,” she recalls. “I was completely hooked, spending the rest of my visit checking each frame, amazed that these embroideries had been worked by children, some younger than myself.”