From The Independent: A stitch in time.
In a small, overheated room in Wandsworth Prison, the inmates are gathering for a needlework lesson. First to arrive is Michael. He puts his bag of sewing on the table for the teachers, Cherie and Jackie, to inspect. "That's beautiful work," says Cherie. Jackie agrees. Michael, who is doing four years for GBH, beams and rewards the ladies with pictures of his grandchildren. The women "ooh" and "aah" at the little tykes.
Katy Emck, chairperson of Fine Cell Work, the charity that organises the needlework classes, saunters over and picks up the bag. "This is a beautiful as anything you'd get from the Royal College of Needlework," she says. Although I'm a needlework novice, I have to agree with her.
Fine Cell Work was founded in 1995 by the philanthropist Lady Anne Tree. Her idea was that if you give inmates something purposeful to do in prison — something that can make them a bit of money — they're less likely to re-offend when released into society at the end of their stint. [continue].
Related:
Prison art comes up from the cells - BBC
Fine Cell Work