Amble Pin Cushion is a busy family business, based in the Northumberland coastal fishing town of Amble. Our friendly staff are enthusiastic experts for all things fabric and yarn. We provide an outstanding service and top quality products. Please contact us if you have any queries, we are always happy to help you.
Down the years, we have won various awards, had award nominations, staff changes, survived partial closure due to Covid, and launched our Northumbria Knit and Stitch Kits. We offer cross stitch kits featuring iconic landmarks of Northumbria, such as; Castles, Bridges, Football Clubs and Landmarks. The range also includes sewing kits for apron making, and modern Guernsey knitting kits. We achieved HIGHLY COMMENDED in the BRITISH KNITTING AN CROCHET TRADE AWARDS for our Modern Guernsey Cushion Cover Knitting Kit (See here).
View a digital brochure of all our products here. You can view our Northumbria Knit and Stitch promotional video here
Praise from the judges of the Prestige Award for LIFESTYLE SHOP OF THE YEAR – NORTHUMBERLAND – NORTH ENGLAND included the comments about our team’s “personal nature, consistency of reviews and community feel. You seem to go over and above for your clients and I hope this achievement brings more success during these difficult times.”
APC has even been nominated by the readers of Sew magazine, in the category for the BEST INDEPENDENT HABERDASHERY STORE IN THE NORTH EAST, which is really amazing for everyone at our business, particularly as were up against stores in Newcastle and Stockton-on-Tees.
It truly is the “Aladdin’s Cave” so many customers comment on when they walk through the door.
Meet Our Team
Norma and Brian also perform as a jazz duo, Mad Hattie and the Electric Guitarist.
Having been a teacher for over 20 years this change of direction fits in nicely with her love of all types of hand embroidery. She is now running very popular creative embroidery courses for Amble Pin Cushion.
Julia started at the shop due to her interest in sewing. Since then she is enjoying learning how to crochet and knit through the courses we offer.
Liz very much enjoys working at APC and although her main experience is in knitting, she also enjoys learning about all the other creative skills that we cater for. She is currently hosting the Craft and Chatter sessions and helps with the website. She is also running short workshops for people who would like to learn to knit and develop their basic skills.
Meet Our Tutors
We’ve very pleased to have some highly skilled tutors to run our workshops.
NORMA
Norma has owned Amble Pin Cushion since 2015 and has a wealth of knowledge, having initially trained at the Scottish College of Textiles in the late 1980s, and working in the clothing industry (mostly menswear) until the Millenium, when she retrained as a teacher with textiles specialism. She also has trained in Soft Furnishings, Millinery, and Bridal, so has a wide range of skills.
“I love to see the progress beginners make on Get To Know Your Sewing Machine and other workshops. It’s great when people realise that they are capable, and can see the possibilities ahead of them.” Norma also runs millinery workshops, small sewing projects and occasional dressmaking workshops, though space at the shop is limited. She can teach groups who book her in their own village hall, and can give a talk on her “Mad Hattie” millinery range, which she shows at local wedding fairs.
JUDITH
Tutor Judith Schur has loved knitting since she was a child and previously had her own yarn shop. She has completed a City and Guilds qualification in Hand Knitting and Design and is passionate about sharing the knowledge and skills needed to get everyone knitting.
“I really see my role as one of inspiring and encouraging others to learn new techniques which they can then explore and build upon, enabling people to use their own creativity and develop their personal ideas and stitching aspirations. In January 2023 I had a book published called ‘Knitting Techniques – Brioche’. Writing a book was an enormous challenge, but a fantastic opportunity to learn and develop my own knowledge. I am immensely proud of the finished product, and I truly hope that it will be a helpful tool for intrepid knitters looking for the next adventure.“
Judith has been teaching knitting workshops at Amble Pin Cushion since 2023, even before moving to the town. She also teaches at several Yorkshire yarn shops.
JACKIE
Jackie Bartlett has been the crochet tutor at APC since October 2023. She’s lived in Northumberland for 23 years. Retirement from a long career in Community Development in 2015 gave her more time for crafting, especially crochet and knitting, both learnt as a child from her grandmother.
Having set herself the challenge of learning a new skill every year since retirement, Jackie now also spins and dyes her own yarn, and has created the Stitches By The Sea Blog https://stitchesbythesea.water.blog/ This began mainly to record progress on various craft projects, but has all sorts of other content too.
Jackie’s classes are very informal, and she makes a point of including detailed written instructions with photographs for participants to use at home to complete a project. “I want people to have fun and enjoy their crocheting,” she says. ” I think this encourages people to keep going with it…and it’s so satisfying to see what people make when they’ve been to one of my workshops.”
BECKY
Becky McMurray is an occupational therapist, multi-media artist, and crafter who brings a love of art, creativity, and hands-on making to everything she does. Having recently relocated to Warkworth, Becky is excited to share her passion with the local community.
Becky took third place in the Puffin Festival’s Landscape Artist of the Year competition 2025, a testament to her creative skill and artistic eye. Autumn 2025 is her first season as a tutor at Amble Pin Cushion.
A lifelong maker, Becky sews, creates jointed bears, and has been handcrafting and selling polymer-clay buttons for over a decade. Her buttons are colourful, unique, and full of character – perfect for adding a personal touch to clothing, bags, upholstery, accessories and gifts.
Becky’s fascination with buttons goes beyond the craft. She has researched their rich and surprising history: from status symbols and political emblems to their industrial heritage that has even sparked conflict.
In her workshops, you’ll not only learn how to make your own beautiful buttons but also discover the intriguing stories behind these often-overlooked little objects.
“Come along, get your hands busy, and leave with something special – plus a new appreciation for the humble button”.
BRONAGH
Bronagh has worked at Amble Pin Cushion since 2022 and soon started to offer creative embroidery workshops, incorporating things like shells, sea glass, beads and buttons. These days are very relaxed, enjoyable sessions, giving beginners and the more experienced the chance to try new techniques and meet kindred spirits!
As is the case with many embroiderers, Bronagh started out by stitching kits, in particular needlepoint kits. As she also loved beadwork, this naturally let to her designing her own beadwork and needlepoint kits, mostly with a floral theme.
“Eventually I decided that I wanted to try different techniques and gain a broader experience of hand embroidery, so I enrolled on the Certificate in Technical Hand Embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework, where I completed modules in Jacobean Crewelwork, Canvaswork, Silk Shading, and Goldwork. Around the same time, I also enrolled on City and Guild’s Hand Embroidery Stage 2, quickly followed by Stage 3, with the School of Stitched Textiles. The two courses gave me experience in a good mix of traditional and contemporary embroidery. On completion of Stage 3 I did an interview with the School of Stitched Textiles about my reasons for doing the course and how I felt it went (see link below).
More recently I have joined Durham Cathedral as one of their Broderers (embroiderers). We have just started work on a commission from the Worshipful Company of Upholders called, ‘The Circle of Life,’ which is due for completion in March 2026 (see link below).
Finally, I am working towards the completion of City and Guild’s Hand Embroidery Stage 4, which I am due to finish by the end of October 2025.”
LIZ
Liz has been working at Amble Pin Cushion since 2022, and enjoys hosting the beginners and improvers knitting workshops, where she has been able to help people who previously believed themselves to be life-long non-knitters! Liz also hosts the monthly Craft and Chatter sessions, and is able to provide 1:1 classes for those who have a specific issue they need to overcome, whether it’s something simple or more advanced.
“I enjoy knitting for relaxation. Putting colours together and creating simple designs form the basis for most of the items that I make. For me it’s all about the process rather than the finished result. I tend to donate most of the pieces I make to various charities that can use them to good effect.
For some people knitting can feel complicated and beyond their ability but I enjoy simplifying and explaining so it’s very easy to do. Everyone needs to learn at their own pace so they can work out what they would like to do on their knitting journey and gain pleasure from creating with yarn.”
