The sewing needle has been an essential tool in everyday life for over 10,000 years. It has given us sails to carry ships around the world, clothes to keep us warm, and quilts to sleep under. This is an exhibition in praise of the sewing needle and all its creations, whether for pleasure or for profit. The exhibition includes embroidered pictures and needlework samplers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fine examples of Irish lace, and some more recent examples of ‘make do and mend’ stitching. A full programme of talks and workshops will accompany the exhibition.