Julie Arkell weekend at West Dean - May 2013

My first time at West Dean, for Julie Arkell's 'Objects of Curiosity".  The weekend was AMAZING: a Julie Arkell workshop (which frankly would be wonderful in any setting) and getting to wander around the beautiful grounds at West Dean in the late evening and early morning when no one else is around.  And good food.

After arriving on Friday afternoon and settling into my room I went out to explore the grounds.  View from the front door:

The front lawn is separated from the grazing parkland by the River Lavant.  This being May the park was full of ewes and bleating lambs, and the river was in full flow (apparently it dries up at some times of year).

The gardens are tranquil and idyllic.

The river flows through the Spring Gardens and has been 'waterscaped' over weirs and rocks at various places to give the sound of flowing water.  The gardens are extensive, with lots of twisting paths and bridges over the river.

Aliums among black tulips in the dry garden:

Awoke early on Saturday morning so decided to go for a 2 mile walk through the parkland and arboretum.  A view of the house through the early morning haze:

It was even too early for the sheep to be up and about:

A yellow carpet of cowslips:

Lunchtime on Saturday and time for a visit to the walled kitchen gardens.  Fruit trees in blossom:

And the chive flowers beginning to come out:

Saturday evening a late stroll through the long pergola and another trip around the Spring Gardens.  No one else around - just me and the birds starting to settle down for the night.  And a couple of bats.

And inside ...

Our workroom:

Inspired by Julie's work we were making brooches, 'creatures', flowers, toadstools, and houses.

My 'creature' pinned together in the planning process:

All sewn up and just the face to do.  A tip from Julie: use small scraps of fabric or thread to work out where you want the facial features,  before committing them in stitch.  The smile on her face reflects the happiness I felt in finally finishing her.

Displays of the group's work at the end of the weekend.  My brooch, creature, toadstool, and toadstool house:

Flowers and creatures by the workshop participants:

 

All in all a wonderful weekend and I highly recommend doing a workshop at West Dean at least once in your life.

Royal School of Needlework - Jacobean Crewelwork, Feb 2013

Another weekend course at the RSN at Hampton Court, this time Progress with Jacobean crewelwork with Heather Lewis.

One of the delights of being at Hampton Court is walking through the palace before it's open to the public.  Apart from a few red-coated wardens scurrying to their posts, you find yourself walking through the quiet corridors alone.

One of my favourite sights is walking past the Tudor kitchen while the roaring fire is being built up. 

Our class was in the RSN's degree studios in apartments 7 and 10, which I'd never been in before.  Our studio overlooked the Fountain Court and was reached after a long walk up an old-fashioned winding staircase, complete with winching basket at the top. 

           

One of the apartments was damaged by a fatal fire in 1996.  The apartments were repaired and repainted, but not redecorated in order to "preserve their 'as-found' quality for future generations".

Anyway, on to the embroidery.  We had a choice of two designs and I chose the parrot.  This is Heather's sample piece and what we were aiming for:

   And here's mine by the end of the two-day course:

We started with trellis stitch for the main body, which I knew was tricky so spent a lot of time on.  Buttonhole stitch for the wing, which is difficult to stitch densely and I'm going to unpick. Long and short stitch for the bottom tail feathers, which I was satisfied with.  The close herringbone stitch for the other tail feather will be unpicked too.  More easy, surprisingly, was the padded satin stitch for the crown and beak, and the burden stitch for the shoulder of the wing.  Raised stem band for the branch was also quite easy.

Wool House, Somerset House

A return visit to the Wool House at Somerset House, this time with a camera.

Selvedge Spring Fair 2013

The second fair held at Chelsea Old Town Hall and much quieter than the winter fair last November.  Where was everyone?  Maybe they visited on Friday, or perhaps the snowy weather, lack of Christmas-present buying, or increased admission charge put them off. 

The Chelsea buns were nice!