My name is Sally Young, I'm 28, and I live in rural Worcestershire, England. I started selling my free machine embroidery in 2008, although I have enjoyed sewing and making things since I was a very little girl.

I love sewing, and one of the reasons why is because of its timelessness. When I sit at my machine, creating modern, abstract embroideries, I often think of groups of women sewing quilts and samplers; I think of Little Women and Little House on the Prairie; women darning socks, embroidering blouses and mending shirts.

I enjoy working quietly in my room, surrounded by fabrics and threads and ideas, boxes of pattern and texture and stories. Fabric snippets and off-cuts tell tales - of skirts that have grown too small, hems that were taken up, cushions for the baby's new room, old curtains from Grandma's bedroom, dolls dresses, prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses... They are tales of insignificance but real stories that speak of our lives and family histories. These stories are waiting to be captured, waiting for their inherent loveliness to be spoken of in my embroidery. That's what I hope to do.  

           

 At my sewing machine at home, with my boyfriend Andy in Barcelona, and eating New England crab at the fantastic Barking Crab in Boston.     

I studied History of Art at Bristol University, which informed my knowledge of colour and aesthetics and art's influence on us as a society, but I have returned to creating pieces rather than studying them, after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2006.

It was my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis that spurred me on to follow my dream of selling my own designs. I do not think about things negatively, and I consider myself lucky to have been given a wakeup call at a young age; I am very happy that I am really making the most of everyday, something we should all do, but often don't.

Multiple sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. Around 100,000 people in the UK have MS. There is no known cause or cure. For more information please visit the MS Trust or MS Society websites.