The star of BBC's I Claudius and the hit musicals Pal Joey and Gigi is also a gifted needlewoman. She was encouraged to take up needlepoint to help her give up smoking and it became an abiding passion.
The basics of needlepoint are simple - you need only ever learn one stitch - but the possible variations of pattern and colour are endless. Sian shows how you can copy a design onto a canvas, suggests sources of inspiration - which can be ancient tapestries at the Victoria and Albert Museum, cosmetics packages or doodles - and advises on rescuing disasters. Her projects range from a spectacle case to a carpet, and include contributions from friends and colleagues in the theatre and gossip from the dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms in which they were made.
The star of BBC's I Claudius and the hit musicals Pal Joey and Gigi is also a gifted needlewoman. She was encouraged to take up needlepoint to help her give up smoking and it became an abiding passion.
The basics of needlepoint are simple - you need only ever learn one stitch - but the possible variations of pattern and colour are endless. Sian shows how you can copy a design onto a canvas, suggests sources of inspiration - which can be ancient tapestries at the Victoria and Albert Museum, cosmetics packages or doodles - and advises on rescuing disasters. Her projects range from a spectacle case to a carpet, and include contributions from friends and colleagues in the theatre and gossip from the dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms in which they were made.