Common Threads Exhibition at Kilkenny Castle Yard

Common Threads: Where Fibre, Form & Community Weave Together

There’s something quietly magical happening in Kilkenny right now. From 7th August to 1st November 2025, the National Design & Craft Gallery in Castle Yard plays host to Common Threads, a textile exhibition that brings together the Feltmakers of Ireland and The Quilters Guild of Ireland in a rich conversation of tradition, innovation, and connection. (dcci.ie)

 

A Meeting of Craft Communities

At its heart, Common Threads is more than an art show; it’s a meeting of two vibrant guilds. On one side are the feltmakers — practitioners of wet felting, needle felting, lovers of wool, fleece, texture. On the other side are quiltmakers — masters of patchwork, pattern, stitch, and layering. While their techniques and materials differ, both forms share a deep respect for craftsmanship, patience, and storytelling. (dcci.ie)

Curated by Sarah Ross, Common Threads explores the theme of connection — between people, between makers and materials, and between old worlds of technique and new impulses of creativity. The tactile language of fibre and form becomes a way to communicate ideas about identity, heritage, community, and environment. (dcci.ie)

 

A Personal Highlight

I’m delighted to share that I have three pieces on display in this exhibition:

• Stone Walls – sold
• Under the Sea – sold (yes, that all-important red dot moment… cue a very happy dance!)
• Stepping Stones – a small sculptural piece (not for sale)

It’s a real joy to see my work in dialogue with such a diverse collection of felt and quilt artistry.

 

Highlights You Shouldn’t Miss

• The scale and diversity of work on show — dozens of felt and quilt artworks from members of both organisations. Each piece reflects individual artistry, yet there’s a shared sense of purpose in how natural material and textile process are treated. (feltmakersireland.com)
• Seeing felt and quilt works side by side is illuminating: you can feel the contrast in process, texture, and how artists approach surface, structure, colour. There’s also a surprising harmony — common concerns about sustainability, legacy, and expression emerge. (feltmakersireland.com)
• The exhibition is part of the Made Local GANS (Guilds, Associations, Networks and Societies) series, which spotlights Irish craft and design, helping local makers gain visibility, and reminding us all of the value of things made with care and embedded in place. (dcci.ie)

 

Why It Matters

• Culture & Heritage: Textile arts have always been deeply woven into Ireland’s cultural fabric — literally and metaphorically. This show reminds us that even as traditions evolve, they retain relevance.
• Community & Collaboration: Feltmakers and quiltmakers each bring their own histories, communities, and expertise. That they come together here shows craft isn’t isolated. It thrives in shared dialogue.
• Sustainability & Materials: Wool, natural fibres, hand methods — these remind us of more sustainable practices in art and craft, and provoke questions: how we source, how we use, how we care.
• Artistic Innovation: Many of the pieces push boundaries — not just in aesthetics but in technique, scale, mixed media — showing that craft can be avant-garde, provocative, subtle, ambitious.

 

Final Thoughts

Common Threads isn’t just an exhibition — it's a woven story of connection: between makers and materials, tradition and innovation, individuals and community. It asks us to pay attention to what is often under-noticed: the subtle beauty of fibres, the patience in stitching, the care in felting.

The exhibition continues until 1st November 2025 — plenty of time to experience the work for yourself. If you go, you’ll leave with more than you anticipate — more texture, more thought, more respect for making.