Karen Bowe

 

Karen was born in Yorkshire, and her secondary schooling was in Beverley. She then went to Manchester University and completed a degree in American Studies. 

 A one-year PGCE in Nottingham followed, after which she taught primary aged children for many years, a career which she loved. 

 Both her children were born in Nottingham, but not too long afterwards her husband was offered a job in Cambridge, and this is where they settled for the next 26 years. 

 Karen taught in four different schools in Cambridgeshire and was also asked to become a member of the PGCE teaching team at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Education. 

One of the highlights of her teaching career was to work on a project alongside the education team at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden and write a paper on the value of outdoor education. 

 Karen has always loved textiles. Both her mother and grandmother were great dressmakers, and she has inherited a love of fabric and the uses to which it can be put, both practical and decorative. 

After she and her husband retired, they moved to Suffolk and a chance workshop introduced Karen to machine embroidery. She so enjoyed this new creative use of textiles that she joined firstly the certificate course and then the advanced stitch course with what is now Creative Stitch in Ipswich. 

Karen has continued to explore a range of techniques and develop a personal style. This is still a ‘work in progress’. 

 Karen is a member of STARS (Stitch and Textiles Arts Suffolk). In her spare time she also enjoys singing, gardening, walking, Pilates, village life and spending time with her family. She has recently taken up the ukulele!

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