Learning how to crochet

At the Battersea class someone commented on my daughter's perserverance in learning to crochet. She worked it all out from an old embroidery book we found at a church book sale last summer. It was hard (initially) to find the right size hooks etc. But she kept trying. Pictures speak louder than words. And it's her 21st birthday today - so I thought I would say well done and happy birthday dear Josie! If anyone else has photos or news of an unusual sewing or embroidery project, please let me know and I will put them up on the blog.
After her birthday lunch in Manchester, wander around the Christmas market. There is a talking reindeer…












And a party feeling, even inside the Town Hall … where the extraordinary arches and corridors are reminiscent of looped stitches and skeins of thread. In the back of my mind, am sure there is another historic link, too, with all the work we’ve been doing in Stitch. But will have to go home and read Pevsner to find out just what that is.

A Christmas party and more medical stitching

Meet artist Christine Warrington at a Brent artists' party in Willesden Green  - after far too many months!  Christine created work on old age for the Heritage Lottery funded project A Stitch in Time - Bridging Arts worked on this with the Gallery at Willesden Green. She is a nurse and, like our medical blog reader of a few days ago, view stitches in another (non fabric) context. She coincidentally spends much time with a very much older friend, Rose, making her acutely aware of mortality. She stitched pieces of rough muslin together, enclosing images that reminded her of age, time passing, and Rose.

Final class ... and yet more

Our final class of four at York Gardens Library. We study a Turkish rococo motif of a Horn of Plenty. Faduma Abdullahi is wearing a gold embroidered dress (with chain stitch), bought in Mogadishu some years ago. We learn goldwork techniques seen in church embroidery from the Middle Ages in this country.
And still more enthusiasm.

News from a visitor

Feedback from a visitor to York Gardens Library -
"I enjoyed the exhibition, especially the wonderful feel for colour and how it lit up the dull December afternoon. Highlights for me were Ferdous Rahman's embroidery. The colours reminded me of Thomas Wardle's dyed Indian tussar silks and the Leek Embroidery Society's work which used his silks. Safia Qureshi's motifs of seed pods reminded me of British 'bizarre' silks like one of those that we saw in the British Galleries. I loved the colours of Chhaya Biswas's daffodils and the story. The way that Amina Aziz's embroidery burst through the boundaries was wonderful too. It was moving in places including Bushra's story. I am so glad that I went."
Such interesting comments! Will follow up these links ....Pictured: Daffodils by Chhaya Biswas

Stitching from Bangladesh and the operating theatre

A pencilcase bought in Bangladesh by Seeda Islam to the latest embroidery class – much loved and well used... Women in villages and towns embroider these cases through special schemes aimed at encouraging skills that they can use to earn money and transform their lives…. This pencil case is quilted with the same tiny running stitch as the kaftans from Topkapi Palace (seen in Paris) and the kantha in the exhibition at York Gardens Library.

And a blog reader who spent the afternoon fitting pacemakers emails to say he has been stitching too. Stitching of a different kind and a sharp reminder of the different pressures people face in their lives. A surgeon's stitching saves lives.

Going the extra mile

An enthusiastic group of Somalian mothers attend the class (we are very fortunate to have funding from Wandsworth Council to pay for creche places) and inspired by the class last week Fartun Abdulle found time between looking after her young children to embroider an extra fish at home in her spare time. She changed the colours from the brilliant oranges and reds of the pack to green. Why green? “Because the colours of the old fish (oranges and reds) don’t reflect me," she said. She went to Fulham market to buy the green embroidery threads.


Kathleen Oyediran brought in two more tablecloths , embroidered before she was married 40 years ago. These are ones that she finished! And now often uses. The colours and the designs (ordered from magazines as was popular at the time) recall the tones and herbaceous borders of another age, pale mauves, daisy yellows and pinks. She was living in north Yorkshire and working for the local authority, embroidering in the evenings and at weekends. Her mother taught her the stitches.

Kaftans from Istanbul in Paris

In Paris for a flying visit...(above - a chalk drawing of a cheeseboard on a cafe blackboard) by chance come across an exhibition of embroidered kaftans from Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, at the Louvre (only just - there was a strike about proposed job cuts...)
Was struck by the tails left on the ermine lining this 16th century quilted kaftan (quilted with the same running stitches we saw in the kantha last week).
















And spotted pomegranates on an Italian velvet kaftan from the second half of the 16th century - alongside tulips (another flower that links east and west)














And finally a talismanic kaftan with phrases from the Koran - in our first class, someone pointed out that people often carry pieces of paper with phrases from the Koran as talismans to protect them. This quilted 17th century kaftan was covered with them.

Romance from Persia and exceptional effort

A grey day in Battersea.












We are studying a rose and nightingale motif. A 19th century ink drawing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art conjures up the mystic romance of Persia. As do lines from the 14th century poet Hafez of Shiraz.

In the garden at dawn I sought for a rose
When nightingale's voice broke the peace with her prose
Like me, she was mad for the love of a flower
And woke up the garden by trilling her woes.

Faisa Faran posed with her embroidery from last week.

Royal embroidery in Battersea

A great day today in Battersea with Maureen Markham, embroiderer of many Royal gowns, who helped to launch the Stitch Wandsworth exhibition at York Gardens Library. Miss Markham trained with Norman Hartnell, the Queen's favourite couturier, and over several decades worked on fabulous ceremonial and evening gowns. A large crowd to see her demonstrating her exquisite work. Including women from the Asian Women's Group and Restart 50+ who created embroidered panels for the show reflecting scenes from their lives and other patterns, inspired by the project. A team photo.

Images and history

A highlight of the embroidery classes is course leader Hannah Walker's work on related images and history. While researching kantha (Bangladeshi quilted embroidery pictures above) she discovered a piece of trapunto (quilted) embroidery at the V&A, made in Sicily in the 14th century. There are 14 scenes of Tristan and Iseult's ill-fated love.

"Although in subtle shades, the large scale designs are very clear and the quilt must have looked particularly impressive by candlelight, with lively scenes of battles, ships and castles," says the V&A.



















Great embroidery and a great story. And a link to recent experience. In Cornwall a few days ago I had a meeting at a school near Malpas, where in the legend Tristan (pretending to be a beggar) carried Iseut on his back across the ford. The crossing in fading light.