Catching Up

Saturday was the Embroiderers' Guild National Celebration of Stitch Day.  As mentioned in older posts,  my Branch were involved, offering sit, chat and stitch at a local library.  I participated for a couple of hours, and met some very nice people, hopefully some from the day will come along to one of our meetings.

So whilst inviting others to stitch on prepared fabrics, which I had already helped start off with some stitching... I did my own thing.  Made this.

Its very me, and I have made similar in the past.

Its given me ideas for another project.

Yesterday, in the sunshine, I went out on a research trip.

Not far from my home, down very twisty turny country lanes, is a village.  A term to use very loosely, in that its an area two parts, quite a distance apart,  consisting one street each, and each street comes to a full stop.  The road ends you can't go any further.  At one stop there's a pub, which we frequently visit... but this time we went to the other area.  The road probably has no more than 10 houses on it, all on same side.  So we went to the end to take photographs, very quiet, except today for the buzz of harvesting.

See the distant telegraph poles?

They are along the road to the other part of the village.

Its important, to remember to look up!

Lovely to chill and just be..... until..... emerging from beside the hedges, through the fields, a party of about 15 walkers.  They chose to stop and have a lunch break. 

So left them to enjoy and went on to the next planned location.  This time what is the more usual layout of a village.  A place of history, and tales of witchcraft.  Sitting high up on what passes for a hill round here, with views across the countryside.

My home is down and to the left

Brilliant sunshine, if breezy, it was point, click and hope.

So between my point and shoot camera, and himself with two camera, lenses and all sorts, I think I have enough info.  We take very different photos, I look at the texture and detail, and he looks more for composition, which is why the field photos are his, playing with new camera!

You will have to wait and see what I've been photographing and the end result... but its not the images here!

This coming Saturday is an Embroiderers' Guild meeting.  'Share a Skill'.  I believe we will have about four areas with various tasks, in response to what Members asked for.  So someone wanted beading and I said 'I can do that' - so I am!!  I believe in making contributions if you can.... and I'm sure the Members don't want to taste my efforts at cake, heck even birds reject it.

Sampling the Samples

When stewarding its often a good idea to be doing something, so as to engage with people.  So I decided on some play, a furtherance of the postcard pieces I've already made.

previous makes

Quite ironic I have another sample made, given that I have been on a clearing out spree.

Actually the decision to sort was made months ago, but so far the neglected pile on top of the cupboard transferred to a neglected pile on the floor.

It has long been my intent to sort my City and Guilds Part 1 work, however its in the loft, so haven't got to it.  My Part 2 textile work never went into the loft as it was contained in A3 folders.  Such a volume of things we made.  My friend's husband always used to say we did more work for City and Guild Embroidery, than he ever did for his PhD in Astro Physics!
Part of the reluctance to sort, is not only the time and effort, but the finances expended, on presentations folders and all sorts.  Ssssh best not to mention out loud.

So let's do it.... one pile to keep - one to bin - one to photograph to keep a record and then bin.

I started with my Research Project, doubt I've looked at it in years.  Made the fabric covered folder.  Opened it up 18 A3 pages, indexed, bibliography, beautifully presented. Heck there's reference to a supporting folder of info, what is that?  Where is that?

Looked through it all, and its all gone in the bin.

Our Part 2 tutor gave us additional projects, not part of the course requirements.  We had to take our Research Project topic, find a book title which matched it and design a book cover.  Looking through, I'd forgotten about the other additional related project.

Design a Container.

So there it was, ideas, technique samples, full size patterns, in more than one option -  but the piece was not actually made.  Big pile of stuff again, and for nothing other than the practice of doing. No hard earned log book ticks!!!  (Any CandGers will know about the precious tick)

Rest of the folders were my textiles samples.  Piles of them.  Actually most went in the bin without a second glance.  The simple reality is I don't reference them.  I do know the techniques, I am capable of remembering, and some I can't see me ever wanting to do again.  I don't need pages of fabric dyeing samples using procion, acid and direct dyes with multiple fabrics and threads.   I remember a lesson in dyeing fleece, and the awful pong of devoré.  Setting off the college fire alarms when we used a mini oven to warm heat mouldable foam.  Heck, found a bag of beads which we had learnt how to dye ourselves..... like I'm repeating that any time soon.  We made our own from resin too.  I bought resin - it went hard..... in the tin!

dyed beads

Only a couple of pages will be photographed before binning, and I'm keeping very little.

This play sample, because likely it can never be made again, by anyone. 

Its metal chocolate wrappers which are heated to change colour.  Chocolate no longer comes in coloured foil, darn it, research excuse gone.

Needlelace and Stumpwork will never be my thing, but this technique sampler is so neat, stitching precise, even, and a face which looks like a face, and the wired hand, sooo tiny. Have to keep it just to prove I did it!

I think that's 5 x A3 folders duly sorted, I've put things into one single A3 wallet folder, and even that may get further editing in due course.

Part 1 stuff is in the loft... along with the Part 2 countries and history tomes, and likely the huge back up folders for the assessment pieces.  Hopefully they will find their way to be sorted shortly.

However as paper is my love.... I am not ready to discard all the samples made for my Paper Art qualifications.

Its not been painful to dispose of, I don't need this stuff as evidence as such of my achievement.  Part 1 may prove more taxing, it was such a very important opportunity in my life, start of a long held dream.  When it comes out of the loft, smelling musty, somewhat dusty and housing spiders, likely decisions will come easily!