Excellent embroidery.

No, not mine – apart from the ‘Remember ‘ box [which Wensleydale insists on referring to as ‘the box of the dead’ – and that’s the improved version of his original name for it] – I haven’t done much. Nor would I necessarily describe it as ‘excellent’.

Today we had a Monday Meander, to see the work of two very different embroiderers. We started at Walford Mill, with an exhibition by Yvonne Morton. I am always attracted by work in muted colours – and her use of silk paper and black stitch, with occasional little touches of colour – is exquisite. Although her work is inspired by African fabric – and I can recognise that in it – some pieces also made me think of 18th and 19ht century estate maps - and I love maps.

Then, after lunch at the Walford Mill cafe – outside so we could enjoy the view – we went on to the Dorchester Museum to see Alice Kettle’s exhibition ‘Allegory’. I saw it when it was at Farnham, but Wensleydale didn’t, and he was keen to go.  It was interesting to see it in a different environment – the larger pieces in particular, hung lower and in a different light so it was easier to get up close and really look at the way she works.

There was also a small exhibition of ‘proper’ bookbinding – a couple of dozen bindings of ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ and one of ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’. Interesting to see how real bookbinders work – and the different interpretations of the theme.

I am always amused in Dorchester by the blue plaque on Barclay's Bank, saying that the house is reputed to have been the residence of Michael Henchard, Hardy’s ‘Mayor of Casterbridge’. A blue plaque for a fictional character? Is there one on Elsinore Castle [OK, Kronborg] saying ‘Hamlet woz ‘ere’? [Never say I don’t check my sources.]

I may not have been sewing much – but I have been knitting – more bottles.

On these two I deliberately distorted the necks – with short rows in the felted one on the right, and uneven decreases in the yeti on the right.

 

The distortion on these is, however, not deliberate. Neither are keen on standing upright – the bobbly one would probably have been better worked on smaller needles, and the sea anemone suffered from over vigorous washing. I was trying to felt the stripes, but only succeeded in making the non-feltable bits go floppy.

Wensleydale made the mistake of saying he liked these strange objects – he pets the yeti when he goes past it – so watch out for more. And if Giorgio Morandi can spend half a lifetime painting pots, I can spend some time knitting them! [Thanks to teacher Mel for introducing me to Morandi.]

Another Tuesday trip – but -

for once, without Wensleydale.

I think I have mentioned that, for the degree, we have to do a presentation on an artist of our choice. And our group’s unanimous  choice was Alice Kettle.

Quite fortuitously, she has an exhibition on in Farnham, in collaboration with ceramicist Stephen Dixon. So of course we had to go. Very interesting work – recognisably Kettle, but different to the Discovery Centre piece that I am so familiar with. A bit smaller, to start with - especially the plates. If you, like me, are a Kettle groupie, it is well worth a visit. And the gallery is under threat as the result of funding cuts so they need as many visitors as they can get! The exhibition is free, but you can pick up a copy of the limited edition book about it, with personal stitches by Alice, for £7.99.

We also popped into an exhibition by the designer David Hillman – an opportunity for nostalgia if you remember the launch of the Sunday Times colour magazine [no, it hasn’t always existed] or that wonderful magazine Nova - [the original, not the short lived pale imitation].

And we also visited the art shop for some retail therapy – much to the consternation of the students, who were a bit thrown by this invasion of middle-aged women talking to the saleswoman [who was a quilter] about textiles …

Have to go back for the Bernard Leach exhibition, though.

You win some, you lose some

I had a really good day today – till I got home!

I spent the day, with my friend A, at the long-anticipated Alice Kettle workshop on line. Alice is our local celebrity embroiderer, responsible for this – and, it turns out, a good teacher and generous sharer of time, expertise and materials.

We started the day with drawing [and coffee and biscuits …] I can’t draw – but Alice was very encouraging – and anyway, she told us, we were going to cut up the drawings later. We drew circles, our own faces as we touched them, and little pictures from the room around us. Then, as advertised, we cut them or tore them up and made collages with them, and some other ingredients.

This was mine – and it was the worst of the lot. Everyone else had been much freer – and that was a learning experience. Big and bold – and b***r whether it is 'realistic'.

Then we spent a little while looking at the ‘Object as Muse’ exhibition – my third visit. Did I mention this was taking place in the Discovery Centre – home of the embroidery mentioned above? So after looking at the exhibition we looked at the embroidery – even though I have heard Alice talk about it before, it was still worth hearing her talk about it again.

Then we began to stitch – hand stitching, which may be a surprise if, like me, you think of Alice as a machine embroiderer. She had brought along some of her samples of hand embroidery which were very inspirational – fascinating use of colour and scale. She recommended sitting in front of the TV with fabric and threads and just playing with simple stitches. So we did – inspired [or not, embroiderer’s choice] by our collages, and advised by Alice.

We didn’t have a TV so after lunch [sandwiches, coffee and cake, included in the cost], Alice talked us through some slides of her recent work. After tea and biccies we looked at the work some class members had brought along, and ended with a show and tell. We got a going home present of the book of the Discovery Centre embroidery.

This is my piece – which suffered from me trying to sew on the buttons while standing up looking at other people’s work. I think it will need a bit more work – but it is ‘only a sample’ Of course I always preferred making samples to making finished pieces in C&G…

And the bad bit? I got home to find we had had a letter informing us that someone had tried to use our credit card fraudulently. Again. It is the third time this year. The card companies have always picked it up and been very good about sorting it out but it means being without a card for a while - and it leaves an unpleasant feeling - not, perhaps, as bad as being burgled, but still an invasion of our lives. I find it difficult to explain how it makes me feel but I am sure if you have experienced it you will know what I mean.