Last weekend we visited Manchester with some friends, a trip across the Pennines for vegan treats turned out to be a really inspiring day out. We did lots of walking around the city, finding inspiration at The Whitworth, The Holden Gallery and The Craft and Design Centre.

The Whitworth Art Gallery has always exhibited an array of textiles, they had a beautiful collection of pieces. I loved the textural embroidery by Madge Gill, where layers of hand embroidery create a beautiful surface. Raisa Kabir’s piece, It Must be Nice to Fall in Love uses hand dyed silk thread to create different surfaces and textures. Norma Starszakowna’s digital screen print Shadow on the Wall of Gaza was a highlight of the day. The subtle colours and patterns were really incredible.

At the Holden Gallery until the 27 March there’s a beautiful exhibition by Yelena Popova. The Scholar Stones Project includes painting, installation and tapestry and addresses the artists ongoing fascination with nuclear history and materiality. The exploration into nuclear heritage reflects on her autobiographical history, having grown up in Ozyorsk, Russia, a secret closed city, and the birthplace of the Soviet nuclear-weapons programme.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre is always an inspiring place to visit, grab a brew and shop. Until the 4 April you can see #MagicCarpet by artist and researcher Dr Kai Syng Tan. #MagicCarpet showcases a large-scale tapestry, digitally hand drawn and then woven by machine, threading together questions about the nature of making and the ways in which artists and scientists view neurodiversity.