Join Us. CQA

Harriet Riddell AKA InStitchYou, will take us on a colourful adventure through her life as a textile performance artist. Harriet will also do a live stitched portrait of a CQA member during the zoom call. Watch as she speedily captures a likeness onto canvas with a single line of thread.

Harriet travels with her sewing machine pitching up in unusual locations from the informal settlements of Nairobi to the tea fields of the Himalayas. Through free motion embroidery she captures her surrounding environment and the people she meets.

Adventure, interaction and finding a deeper connection with people are key elements to each piece of Harriet’s work. Behind every ‘stitch’ lies a narrative of people, place and culture.

Finding ways to power a sewing machine in remote locations as been an ongoing theme. Harriet encourages her street audience to pedal a bicycle which generates electricity and powers the art. This increases the interaction between her, her subject and the art its self. Other times, batteries and solar panels are used to generate energy for her stitches.

InStitchYou started in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire, Harriet created a body of work in local pubs, café’s and laundrettes (anywhere with a table, chair and plug) then after graduating, InStitchYou took to Greenwich market, festivals and art fair’s performing live Stitched Portraits, Stitching weddings and finding an intrepid spark with her sewing machine.

The pandemic gave Harriet the idea of stitching portraits live over Zoom. This allowed her to “travel” and hear stories from new people and stitch portraits from her home. This was such a success, that Harriet continues to take portrait commissions over Zoom today and posts the commissioned artwork.

Life has changed again for Harriet since the birth of her first child Douglas in 2022 and the arrival of her second child Fergus in 2025. Harriet is currently working part-time whilst learning the new and exciting juggling act of being both artist and mother.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, and there is no admission fee. Meetings run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month.

Meetings are via Zoom or on the Seattle Pacific University campus. (See directions, maps, and room information, below.) For in person meetings, bring yourself a sack lunch if you wish.

If you are not a member and would like to join a virtual meeting, contact membership for the link.

To become a member click here and go to "Join the CQA".

For in-person meetings:
Directions to Bertona Hall on the Seattle Pacific University campus:

GPS entry: 107 West Bertona, Seattle 98119

From I-5, take the NE 50th Street exit and drive west. Turn left (south) on Fremont Avenue N—about two miles. Get into the right lane as you cross the Fremont bridge and take the first turn-off to the right and then immediately right again onto Nickerson Street. Follow Nickerson for about half a mile, and turn left (south) at the stoplight for 3rd Avenue West. You are now on the SPU campus.Turn left onto 3rd.

Enter the parking lot on your left by turning into the driveway beside the Subway. Our building is on the east side of the parking lot, a one-story red brick building. Parking in the lot is free for us on weekends; ignore the restricted parking and "No Parking" signs.

Click here to see a map of the entire SPU campus.

Month	Speaker
January 10, 2026	Harriet Riddell, Textile Artist on Wheels, Hampshire England, Zoom
February 14, 2026	Lynn Woll, Fiber Art and My Professional Journey, Zoom only
March 14, 2026	Lynn Czaban, Fiber Artist, in person at SPU and via Zoom
April 11, 2026	Holly Cole, Fiber Artist, Quilting, Zoom only

Monthly Meetings

Harriet Riddell

Travels around the world with a sewing machine, connecting with people through stitch.