Clotilde
The art of embroidering life

Clotilde, or Clotildeta to her family, was a woman of character, with a strength and resilience forged among skeins of thread and the clatter of sewing machines. Always humming coplas, her energy filled every corner. Born in Borriana (Plana Baixa), her childhood was marked by the outbreak of the Civil War. When the front reached the town, the family was forced to flee. Clotilde remembered escaping with her brother in one hand, the paella pan in the other and her baby brother on her back. The women of the family passed on to her the magic of needles, opening up a world of possibilities that school had not been able to offer her. Whether sewing or crocheting, she discovered that she could create anything with her hands. That knowledge, handed down by the wise women of the house, would prove crucial. After the great snowfall of '47, with the fields frozen and no work, much of the family had to emigrate to Barcelona. There she worked in a machining factory while earning extra money making mantillas and studying dressmaking. Back in Borriana, she met Paco, a young man who hid in the wings of the town's theatres whenever he could. They married and returned to Barcelona. Like a painter before a canvas, she created exquisite mantillas and trousseaux. She was always impeccable: hair done, make-up on and long, strong, well-kept nails. She was a sociable woman. In summer she would sit out in the cool evening air with her neighbours in front of her house, each of them doing needlework for hours. Clotilde was a torrent of energy, a constant whirlwind. Until, little by little, that tireless spirit began to fade: the shadow of dementia was beginning to fall over her life.