A LEADING light of textile design who loved the Cumbrian landscape was the focus of a special event at Farfield Mill.

Following a recent interview on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours, Paula Day, daughter of high profile textile great Lucienne Day, presented an illustrated talk about her mother’s links with Cumbria at Sedbergh arts and heritage centre as part of a series of nationwide centenary celebrations.

Paula described her mother’s lifelong love for the landscapes of Cumbria, from her honeymoon in the Lake District in 1941 to walking the Dales Way in 1979. On show was one of her handstitched ‘silk mosaics’ entitled The Howgills. Paula - who lives at Sedbergh - said that it was a "joy" to talk about her mother to such an enthusiastic audience in the "lovely setting of Farfield Mill."

One of the most admired and influential textile designers of the 20th Century, Lucienne Day - a passionate gardener whose many textile designs were inspired by plant forms - received international acclaim for her most famous design Calyx, which was launched at the Festival of Britain in 1951. She and her husband, furniture designer Robin Day, are credited with bringing bright and affordable modern design into British homes after the austerity of the war years. The current exhibition Lucienne Day: A Sense of Growth, which runs at the Whitworth Art Gallery, at Manchester, until July 23, focuses on her plant-inspired designs.

Farfield Mill trustee Anne Mackinnon, who organised the Sedbergh event, said: ‘We are delighted to have celebrated Lucienne Day’s centenary at Farfield Mill by hosting this talk, which proved extremely popular."

Lucienne Day would have turned 100 this year, and the Farfield event was one of several events co-ordinated by the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation (www.robinandluciennedayfoundation.org/LD100).

A visit to the Whitworth’s Lucienne Day exhibition has been organised by Farfield for Tuesday, May 23. For further information about the trip email marketing@farfieldmill.org or telephone Farfield on 015396-21958.