Tuesday, October 31, 2006 at 10:41AM 
Had an afternoon mooching around Cardiff Bay on Saturday, and thought what an amazing design this is. Can see an embroidered wall hanging here...pulled work, needleweaving, a bit of this and a bit of that....another project to imagine!
(It's on the wall of the Pierhead Building or Adeiladwyd y Pierhead, by the way)
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 at 8:56AM 
Since Blogger isn't being so cooperative at present, there's just the one photo here and hopefully more will follow in the next entry.
The Dorest Feather Stitch Exhibition at the Dorset County Museum showed the work developed by one woman - Olivia Pass, self-taught embroiderer and founder member of Charmouth WI, whose aim was "to bring a simple skill to country folk".
This picture shows the inspiration for the technique, combining smock patterns with Balkan designs Olivia Pass had seen whilst travelling with her husband. The work exhibited is exquisite and shows what an inspired woman was behind it - the stitches are simple, stylish and very effective and clearly reached a responsive audience at a time when women were ready to discover new opportunities and put some colour back into their life, leaving the drab war years behind them. Much of the work was done by WI members and it was with the support of the WI that Olivia produced a book of designs and Feather Stitchery transfers.
According to the information in the exhibition, boxes of the work were sent to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa and it would be interesting to find out how the technique developed in those countries - I feel an internet search coming on and wonder if, perhaps, this exhibition might be the inspiration for a revival?
I became interested in the technique as a result of my work with the WI Needlework Archive and think this era of the development of embroidery in England is sadly neglected. What treasures we have overlooked and how important it is to record and conserve these wonderful pieces of work, many of which might still be in use or squirrelled away in our cupboards?
Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 10:40AM 
A while since I blogged for various reasons. Mark's father's died last week, after a long battle with Parkinsons. Though his death was not unexpected, it was nevertheless a huge preoccupation and something to come to terms with in several ways. Although we've led a charmed life, with all four parents there for us until recently, the death of both our fathers in the last two years makes me realise that there's a kind of snowball effect. The events of the last week rolled up with those of June 2004 and at quiet times I found myself in reflective mode.
The funeral, yesterday, was an effective closure and I'm ready to move on, to get on with things and to get busy.
So, what have I been up to? Well, having bought a couple of balls of red alpaca at the Knitting and Stitching show last week, I felt the need to do a little therapeutic knitting. The colour and texture are perfect for that - it's soft and cosy, and I do like a little red here and there! The Smoke Ring I knitted last year was a fun project and rather than tackle a new lace pattern, I thought I'd boost my confidence a bit first by rediscovering this one. I have been amazed at how easily it has come back to me and I find myself hardly referring to the chart at all. Have whizzed through this in no time at all and feel really pleased with my progress. Though I've still got the teeny tiny totes to knit in the next nine weeks (seven down, five to go - notice I'm not using the C word) and Mark's socks are three quarters done, a little change was needed and has worked a treat.
