 Linwood made her first embroidered picture when she was thirteen years old, and by 1775 had established herself as a needlework artist.By the age of 31, Mary had attracted the attention of the royal family, and she was invited to Windsor Castle by Queen Charlotte along with Mary Delaney and Mary Knowles whom the queen also engaged with to show their work.For nearly seventy-five years Mary worked in worsted embroidery, producing a collection of over 100 pictures that specialised in full size copies of old masters.