AN award-winning textile artist from the Forest is using her craft to potentially save lives by raising awareness of the signs that someone may be having a heart attack. 

Kathleen Mathews, who lives in Pillowell, is an expert quilter who has had her work exhibited at a host of prestigious events across the UK and abroad. 

Many of Kathleen’s highly regarded works are inspired by landscapes and nature in the Forest of Dean, but her latest quilt carries a somewhat more serious message which she feels everyone should be aware of.

The quilt (pictured) features a breakdown of the signs of heart attacks and how to respond, which if people know, could help save a life.

Kathleen, who previously lost her husband to a heart attack, was inspired to create the piece after son also suffered a heart attack recently. 

Thankfully her son survived, but the ordeal brought home to Kathleen just how important it is for people to be aware of the signs so that emergency medical attention can be sought immediately. 

Kathleen said: “After I lost my husband I researched the signs of a heart attack, and found that if I’d known them before then maybe he’d still be here.”

“I’m doing this because I don’t want anyone else to have to go through the trauma and the horrors that me and my son have gone through.”

The quilt has been featured in several national exhibitions already, including at Nature in Art in Gloucester, which Kathleen has a long association with, and the Festival of Quilts - Europe’s biggest quilting festival - at Birmingham NEC in August. 

Kathleen previously wrote a book on her craft called ‘Stitched Textile Landscapes’, and has written many articles and projects for magazines including ‘Patchwork and Quilting’ and the Embroiderer’s Guild ‘Stitch’ magazine. 

Her quilts and pictures have been exhibited in England, Scotland, Wales and America.

She was asked by the Embroiderers Guild to stitch work for an exhibition on English landscape gardener Capability Brown which traveled around the country in 2016, including to Alexandra Palace in London.