Shere Delights

Taking a walk round Shere in my beautiful Surrey hills is one of the most pleasant hours one can spend. Starting from the school and strolling through the old village, past the working forge and the Lucky Duck café, across the bridge and under the willows where toddlers paddle safely in the shaded shallows. Turn past the old bakehouse and the row of cottages that stand opposite the allotments with their fun scarecrows, not forgetting to notice the flower pot men in one of the gardens, then quickly up the ride through the avenue of worthy ancestral chestnuts on to the rise above the village where you can look down on the shingled steeple of the church amongst the blue wooded hills.

It occurred to me yesterday, when admiring this view, that I had not once set foot in Shere church and decided on the spot that this should be remedied at the end of my walk. And what a delight it was, on entering, to find this embroidered banner - my hasty snaps just do not do it justice. (The banner is very long and goes up high - about 18 feet - and the multiple light sources and placing of the crucifix with its shadows make it difficult to photograph.) Set in the St Nicholas chapel, the banner is alive with young children in many aspects of play around the central figure of St Nicholas who has two children in his arms - behind the crucifix. Looking at the very accomplished design, I was certain this was a special piece.

I discovered the banner had been designed Diana Springall who was for many years a panel lecturer at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a former chairman of both The Embroiderers’ Guild. Sad that I had not found it before, I was delighted at last to be seeing it.

There are serious embroidery skills employed on the altar cloth - don't miss it.

And should you want to make a nice day of your walk and church visit, then you might like to start or finish with lunch at the incomparable Kinghams  restaurant on the road opposite the school - it is a truly delightful dining experience.

The Occupation Tapestry * States of Jersey

It was quite by accident that I came to know of this tapestry, having come across this little book by Angela Sutton in a second-hand bookshop on one of my travels. Worked to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation, the Occupation Tapestry is probably the greatest community project ever undertaken in Jersey. Over 300 islanders worked for 30,000 hours to produce the tapestry which is made up of 7,500,000 stitches.

The Occupation of Jersey by the German forces lasted from 1 July 1940 until 9 May 1945. It was a pivotal period in the Island’s history. To keep alive the knowledge of the Occupation and the joy of the subsequent Liberation, it was decided to create a tapestry. The initial idea was for a single panel, but the idea grew and eventually twelve panels were designed, each 6 feet wide and almost 3 feet high, with each parish taking responsibility for one panel. The designer was Wayne Audrain and the stitching was done by a team of workers in each parish.

Each volunteer was asked to stitch a sample piece to ensure an even standard throughout the tapestries. The tapestries themselves were worked on a brown canvas - 16 threads to the inch - using 2 strands of Appletons crewel wool in size 22 needles. The stitch used was Basket Weave Tent Stitch.

It took seven years to create the tapestry, which can now be seen in the Maritime Museum in the Quay, opposite Liberation Square. For more details, click here.

From Needlepoint Designer To Celebrity Jeweller * Joel Arthur Rosenthal * Metropolitan Museum of Art 20 November 2013 - 9 March 2014

Joel Arthur Rosenthal, the Parisian jeweller now known as JAR, was born in Parkchester in the Bronx, the son of a postal worker and teacher. He studied art at La Guardia (The Fame School) and later transferred to Harvard before taking up residence in Paris.

There, in the late 1960s, JAR and his Swiss partner established a tapestry-needlepoint business with JAR painting the designs. Whatever became of this venture is now hard to trace - but perhaps there is someone out there who has worked one of JAR's needlepoint designs - do let us know!

Later this month Jewels by JAR will be on exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. More than 300 works will form the first retrospective of his work in America; the only other major exhibition of Rosenthal’s work was held in 2002 at Somerset House in London. The exhibits will be seen by torch light so viewers can experience the sensational fire of these fabulous jewels. The exhibition is made possible by Phaidon Press Limited, Nancy and Howard Marks, and The Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder Foundation.

Very early in his career, JAR revealed his superb sense of colour, whether in the hue of an exotic violet sapphire, the shimmer of topaz and ruby, or the simple clarity of a perfect diamond. His works quickly became known for their unique design, the quality of their stones, and their remarkable craftsmanship, but above all for their fearless beauty. He is known for his pavé technique—the setting of small stones so close together that they appear as a continuous surface of jewels—and uses subtle gradations of colour to create a painterly effect. JAR's one-of-a-kind creations place him among the ranks of history’s greatest jewellers

Free Giveaway Draw * Vintage Permin Mini Kits

Permin minis are something of a small delight. Though small they are not really suitable for small hands as these are linen kits and require a certain deftness of technique. Having said that, in the right hands they would make up quickly into rather nice greetings cards.

If you would like to enter the draw, then simply click on the flying angel below to enter and I'll announce a winner next week, 18 November 2013. Good Luck!