Stumpwork and Ruskin Lace in the Lake District

Just to get you used to the tabbed sections now in the blog, you might like to look up towards the blog banner where you will see Courses amongst other headings. If you click on this tab then you will be able to find out quickly about some interesting stitching courses in lovely places. Higham Hall in a superb location near Bassenthwaite Lake is a wonderful venue for stitching. There are two upcoming courses that might interest you:

30 November 2010 - 2 December 2010
STUMPWORK Ref: C1323
A York Minster Broderer for many years, Jane Matthews is very experienced teaching mixed media and stitching techniques. Learn how to stitch traditional Elizabethan Stumpwork creating insects, fruit, small animals and flowers worked on a background of heavy silk using coloured silks and metallic threads. If you would like to create a modern piece then any design which is raised is considered to be stumpwork and your inspiration can be taken from a book, picture or photograph using any fabric and threads you feel appropriate to add texture to your project.
Residential: £185.00
Non-residential: £125.00

10 - 12 December 2010 & 11 - 13 March 2011
RUSKIN LACE Ref: C1332 & C1394
Karen Quickfall is an experienced teacher of embroidery and stumpwork. Ruskin Lace is a very distinctive form of lace which originated as a cottage industry in the Lake District. It is worked on linen using a combination of drawn thread and cut linen work with the geometric designs being created using needlepoint lace techniques. The course is suitable for both beginners, who can purchase a starter pack (£9) from the tutor, and for those with more experience.
Residential: £185.00
Non-residential: £125.00

Click here for more details of Higham Hall Courses.

Needleworkers in Disgrace

I remember needlework very well at junior school. One of our projects was to cross stitch a gingham tray cloth. The coloured cross stitches were simply made diagonally, from corner to corner across one gingham square. Easy peasy! Or so I thought. Unfortunately, there were at least a hundred ways of getting this totally wrong, and I seemed to be working through the catalogue of errors serially. Every mistake had to be unpicked - and for some reason this took longer than making the actual stitch in the fist place - and with all my industry and effort being concentrated on the point of that needle, it was getting hotter and hotter - and stickier and stickier..... At least I was never made to stand in the corner for wilfully spoiling my work, or being slow. This illustration is from 'A Manual of Collective Lessons in Plain Needlework and Knitting' published in 1885 at a time when all the English Board Schools would have been up and running. It is entitled Punishment. It speaks volumes, doesn't it?

Mr Darcy and the Virgin Queen at Leeds City Museum

I know there are many Jane Austen fans amongst readers (and yes, there will be a chart of Jane Austen's sampler for you in Volume II of the Micheál and Elizabeth Feller Collection). So you might be interested to know that you can see up close and intimately Mr Darcy's costume as worn by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice on the 3rd floor of the Leeds City Museum in Millennium Square in their latest exhibition Heroes and Heroines which will run until Sunday 9 January 2011. Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays 10am - 5pm, Thursday 10am-7pm and Saturdays and Sundays 11am - 5pm

In addition are costumes from many Hollywood films including those belonging to Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean and Kate Blanchett in Elizabeth. Leeds Museum is a wonderful place to chill and take coffee during shopping trips to the city.

Karen Augusta Auction * 10 November * St Pauls, NYC

There are some lovely items in the upcoming Karen Augusta auction and Lot 123 is - would you believe - a Belle  Époque walking outfit of between 1890-1920. This fabulous antique white two-piece has a ground of embroidered dots on linen. The bolero-style jacket has bell sleeves and, like its trained skirt, has large, lace panels insets. It has been deaccessioned from Brooklyn Museum and comes with an estimate of  $400 -$600.

Here are two items that are beautifully crafted with techniques of Irish lace and crochet - I can imagine the wonderful weight of these. They are lot: 115 which includes an ivory lawn jacket with roses and leaves in dimensional Irish crochet plus a long-sleeved, V-neck, embroidered net blouse trimmed with heavy Irish lace from Brooklyn Museum. The estimate is between $200 - $300.