Paper Everywhere

A plumbing issue meant a trip into the loft, so the much over due clear out of my Part 1 Embroidery commenced.

Out of sight out of mind... well nearly.  Plus at my P1 college all our samples had to be mounted for display, hugely impractical, mega expensive.  So the reluctance to edit came down to

1) blood sweat and yes lot of tears, to achieve 

2) the expense tied up in the presentation,

3) the evidence of a lifelong dream achieved, and

4) when would I feel ready to do it.

I'd already done the P2 work, because that was in folders, easier to edit, and never made it to the loft.

All of this is just the back up paperwork.... 10 x A3 files of design work for the Preparing Working Designs element.  There were an additional 2 files for the Full Working Designs - at my college we had to take a design further, and the item to be made from it, had to have full step by step instructions on how to construct, complete with photos, diagrams, costs. Happy to bin that.

Then there were the fat ring binders full of design techniques, principles of display, colour theory etc etc. All of that is in here somewhere.

The actual display of the 10 design themes, method of which we were not allowed to repeat, huge A1 boards, books, boxes and all sorts.  All out, phew.

Of course there were the actual embroidery samples.

Most of those have been binned.  Couple need dismantling, some need photographing before hitting the bin.  This is all that's left.

Not sure I have all the embroidery samples, think may be another box somewhere.  We had to make 3 Experimental Samples - the box contained 1 and 3, but no 2, and I can't remember what it was at all.  Quite a lot of the work was dire... so glad experience and practice makes improvement.

In one of the boxes I also found my childhood bible.   I can't remember if it was ever new, but its falling apart.

As a child I had heard that families kept their history records inside the cover of the family bible.  So naturally I thought I ought to do this, and kept a record of me!  I particularly like 'this is how I write long ago' - already writing it thinking of someone in the future reading!

I had also heard/seen that some books had gold edges to the pages... so I took a red pencil and coloured the fore edge of this bible!!

As an adult I would learn that indeed history of births and deaths were in a family bible. However my Great Grandmother was married to a violent man, she left him, but was ordered by the Courts to take him back, and in a fit of anger she ripped out this history, guess she was trying to remove his existence in some way.

I wonder if interests are forged in early childhood, certainly I love all things book... and I love words, but then as a child with nothing else available, I did used to read the family dictionary.  A big book with finger holes for each letter.  The last hole punch I bought makes the finger hole shape.

I'm in the midst of making more books.... perhaps its time to gold leaf the fore edge... or make a book with pretty edges, mhmmm good idea.