We usually live in England but have a seasonal residence in Canada. Peter pretends to be retired after working with satellites and rockets in the space business but gets requests to teach or consult in interesting places. That's how in the last few years we have spent time in Swedish Lapland, Paris and now Holland. Shirley tags along and braids and writes and shops. When in Canada, we make kumihimo equipment and small wooden textile tools

Shirley is passionate about "narrow wares" - all sorts of cords, braids and bands. She loves to get other people excited about these techniques, especially inkle and tablet weaving and kumihimo. Using simple equipment or sometimes none at all, a few threads can provide an afternoon's diversion for a 6 year old or be a study in complexity for textile historians. Simple techniques needn't mean simple-minded however, as looking at the past and at people around the world shows. Think about trimmings, jewellery, haute couture, history, and costume.