A day of delights

 Yesterday I was at the Oriental Museum, Durham with the Embroiderers Guild volunteers who help with conservation of the textiles there.  We were cleaning, assessing and recording a box of full of interesting embroideries and I took some pics of my favourites for you to see here.

These details are from an embroidered collar and I was taken not just with the exquisite silk shading but also with the expressions on the characters faces.

The collar above has been damaged and is only a fragment but the embroidery is so fine and detailed I could look at it forever.  You really need a magnifying glass to appreciate all the delicate detail.

The panel to the left is appliqued in silk but each figure and flower is padded, raising it from the background.  I love its vibrant colours and the expressions on the ladies faces.  Needless to say the stitching is perfect too.


I finished the day at Chris de Burgh's concert at the Sage, Gateshead.  A fantastic evening with songs old and new and a great atmosphere.

Embroidery Days

The last few days I have been totally immersed in stitch and there is more to come.  Saturday was our EG meeting.  The morning was spent starting an embroidered postcard for the Olympic Postcard project.  Hexham's country is Croatia and I am doing an interpretation of a Croatian postage stamp in raised embroidery.  The afternoon was a very interesting talk by Linda Westerman who followed it with a dayschool on Sunday which I really enjoyed.  It also resulted in another piece to finish - this time in goldwork worked onto a background of torn fabric strips and scraps of lace etc.  My starting point was this photo which I took at Olympia.  I will post some 'in progress' pics shortly.  Linda was an excellent tutor and I also have lots of ideas simmering for more pieces - just need lots of time........
Today I have been to Huddersfield to talk to the EG Branch about Raised Embroidery.  It wasn't the best weather for driving and not the easiest place to get to from here but the warm welcome I received made up for it and I had a lovely afternoon.
Tomorrow I am off to the the Oriental Museum in Durham for some more stitching.  I am so lucky to be doing what I enjoy - I've hardly noticed the  miserable weather we are having.