After a number of years doing goldwork embroidery, Katherine had amassed a large collection of metal “weeds”—threads and wires that had tarnished or been damaged and could not be used for formal, traditional goldwork embroidery. One day as she was working on a traditional goldwork piece, her growing pile of “weeds” suddenly reminded her of the dandelions that her son would pick her and lovingly give her. Katherine’s “Weeds Collection” explores the manipulation of traditional embroidery techniques and materials by utilizing her gilt cast offs to create delicate floral slips reminiscent of the beautiful botanical illustrations from the 18th and. 19th Centuries. Each composition captures the beauty of weeds and invasive wildflowers native to North Carolina that Katherine has photographed and sketched near her house and her parents farm in Iredell and Caldwell counties. Through the mixture of traditional goldwork, eco-printing and digital printing, Katherine celebrates the beauty of the weeds she has found.