Textile Hunter

Vermeer's Women and their Sewing Cushions

2011-12-03T23:20:00.000Z

Try putting 'sewing cushions' in a search engine and you'll see more instructions in how to do the obvious than you could have dreamed of. But what I'm talking about here is something quite different, spotted by a textile-aware visitor to the current Vermeer exhibition 'Vermeer's Women - Secrets and Silence' at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Follow that link and you will see the sewing cushion under discussion. The observer was Jill Kane, listowner of the British Quilt History List, who shared the following with listmembers:

"Yesterday I went to the exhibition "Vermeer's Women-Secrets and Silence" at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It's a wonderful gathering of Dutch interior paintings from around the world, all complementing one another and giving an insight into the domestic and private lives of women in the seventeenth century. The exhibition centres around Vermeers jewel of a painting "The Lacemaker".
What attracted my attention was the repeated showing of women using a sewing pillow for their stitching - not the lacemaking pillow used in "The Lacemaker" but a seemingly oval pillow, which supported the stitchers' arms as they worked. It must have opened and contained threads, and maybe tools, and struck me as a superbly sensible and useful device. What a wonderful support!
In the picture of the young lacemaker there is a pillow beside her, with threads dangling from within.
In Nicholaes Maes' "A Young Woman Sewing", the subject is working on plain stitching, with her pillow on her knee ( a lace making pillow is beside her).
In Gerard ter Borch's "Woman sewing by a cradle", she again has support for her work from a pillow.

Has anyone seen such a pillow in any museum? I don't recall seeing one, but may have been oblivious, before noticing their use in these paintings!"

The beauty of online communities is the immediate access to knowledge without borders. This response quickly came from An Moonen an Antique Textile Historian from the Netherlands. An has recently published a book on the history of Dutch Quilts but like most textilehunters her interests range much wider. This is what she told us about pillow cushions:

"Interesting you noticed the sewing cushion on the painting, here is some explanation..

There is only, I think, 1 left, in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, beautiful embroidery, and the trick is you can open it. It is a box with a cushion around it. There is a publication, but only in Dutch, I am sorry. An Article in the Rijksmuseum Bulletin nr 56 [2008] page 128-135 by Bianca du Mortier, curator of the textile/fashion dept.

But.. There is also a cushion in miniature in one of the 2 dolls houses in the same Rijksmuseum, that one can be opened as well, as small as it is. I could not find a clear picture on the net.

Sewing cushions are known of the Dutch genre paintings from the 17th century, second half. Their function is as well as sewing box, as an example for the working, nice housewife/woman. Sometimes the cushion being open, or closed on the painting and that could be a special reason [Married/unmarried?]. They were very precious and very expensive, and made by divers craftsmen specialized in wood, silver, textile, metal etc. maybe there is a difference in interpretation between the northern and southern Lower countries. Sometimes it is known as being a wedding present.

So it is a typical Dutch thing for well to do ladies! If you visit the website of the Rijksmuseum, www.rijksmuseum.nl You will find different paintings with those cushions, even on from about 1770. "

An also gave an insight into the subtext of the arrangement of the cushion in Vermeer's painting:

"...The box is open and the embroidery silk is hanging out, white and red, the 2 colors used for marking the linen. White for the table cloths and serviettes, and red for the bed linen. So it says the girl is working for her dowry, with the lace and the marking of linen."

And finally, another listmember contributed this link to an online pdf of Volume 62 (1979) of the Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club, containing an article on workbasket/cushions by M.G.A.
Shipper-Van Lottum, with excellent illustrations.

Some days I just love the internet.

Message in a Bottle

2011-12-02T11:13:00.001Z

Back in May I wrote a post about the ship in a bottle occupying the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. You can read the story and find the links here. Personally I have found this the most moving, and the most apt, of the many Fourth Plinth occupants since the project started. No doubt I was swayed by the artist's brilliant use of fabric.

Yesterday in The Guardian, I read that as its time of occupancy draws to a close its future is uncertain. There is a wonderful suggestion that it be re-positioned permanently in Greenwich. There is of course an alternative, that it be shipped abroad to grace a tycoon's garden.

Please take time to read the Guardian article.

'On the March'. An Exhibition of Union Banners. Manchester until 30 October 2011

2011-06-19T20:55:00.006+01:00

Photo by Roger Cornwell,
reproduced with permission under Creative Commons Licence

Banners. For me they epitomise the proud traditions of the coal miners' Unions of north-east England. Huge and heavy, their polished wood poles having proud brass finials, many of these banners were supported on wheels as they paraded through the streets during the celebratory Galas. Their decorations were many and varied: insignia of the particular Lodge, portraits of political heroes, religious imagery, romantic images of the workplace, the workers and their families, the pains of the past, and the hopes of the future when workers would rule the world. The example above comes from the Flickr photostream of Roger Cornwell. You can read and see the banner history of one particular lodge on the Murton Heritage Society site, and view many more, listed according to lodge, on the website of The Durham Miner project.

During the Miners strike in the 1980s banners were rallying points for protest and demonstration, and then were carried bravely by the men marching back to the doomed mines when it was all over. It was indeed all over for the mines, but not for the banners - as can be seen in The Northern Echo's coverage of the 2010 126th Durham Miner's Gala.

I had never given much thought about how they were made, or even properly considered them 'textiles', until one day I saw an old banner up close, and was stunned by a vibrant blue fabric, probably silk, on which was the crusted thick paintwork, the whole ornamented with heavy cords and tassels. Wikipedia tells me that to begin with the banners were locally made by signwrighters, coachpainters or decorators, but that from 1837 onwards 'more than three quarters' were made by a firm called George Tutill of Chesham in Buckinghamshire. Good heavens, I grew up there, its a small town, and I never knew! Their banners at that time were made from London silk. The silk was stretched taut over a frame, covered with India rubber, then decorated with 'old' oil paint, as this allowed the paint to dry quickly and become more pliant. I see from their website that the firm still thrives.

I had thought that with the decline of the mines the banners might have become a thing of the past, rolled up and forgotten or given into the care of museums such as Beamish, in the North of England. (Beamish have one which was rescued from a rubbish tip) But only last week I was chatting with a textile conservator when the talk turned to banners. I was pleased to hear that abandonment is a rare fate, that old banners are still treasured, cared for, and conserved when necessary, and that replicas are being made so that they could still be paraded. And that so long as there are causes to which people will rally, new banners will be made.

Soon after talking to the conservator, I was doing my usual trawl for blog items and what did I find but an exhibition of banners currently on display in the Peoples History Museum in Manchester. The exhibits are the work of Ed Hall, an ex-council architect who fell into the work 30 years ago and discovered a vocation. The museum has posted an interview with Ed in which he describes his personal design and construction techniques. A lot of his work has been for the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers). It looks like an exhibition worth visiting for the graphic design alone.

Modern banners are somewhat lighter in weight, and no longer roll along on wheels. But there is one trick which the miners understood and modern demonstrators seem to have forgotten, as Ed reminds us in his video. Never tie your banner down, let it blow in the breeze. Tie it to the base of your poles and you will find you are struggling to walk along carrying a giant sail, and if you turn a corner into a headwind your poles will snap.

I'll remember that on my next demo.

'Celebrations', and 'Cradle to Grave'. Two exhibitions in York

2011-05-11T16:26:00.002+01:00

The Quilt Museum and Gallery in York have timed their new exhibition to take advantage of this spring's big event, and 'Celebrations' will give visitors a chance to see celebratory items from birth, marriage and anniversaries. Quilters will be particularly interested in the chance to see the quilted wedding dress made by Amy Emms for her daughter. Interestingly, the shape and style of the dress is not a million miles from that worn by Kate Middleton.

In tandem with Celebrations there is an exhibition titled 'Made in Yorkshire' featuring invited work from textile artists working in the area. Work on show includes weaving, embroidery and quilting.

While you are in York, I recommend a permanent exhibition in York Castle Museum, 'From Cradle to Grave'. This exhibition covers traditions surrounding birth, marriage and death in England over the past 300 years and won many plaudits for its curator, Josie Sheppard, when it first opened. It is a textile and costume-rich exhibition with much to fascinate.

Of a Queen (future) and McQueen (past). That Royal Wedding Dress and the Savage Beauty Exhibition

2011-05-08T20:58:00.002+01:00

Acres of print and megabits of bandwith have been expended on discussing Kate Middleton's wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton for the Alexander McQueen label. For those of you who have been in a bunker for the last couple of weeks there is a good article by Jess Cartner-Morley at The Guardian.

The article discusses what we can read from a choice of wedding dress, and a choice of designer. Sarah Burton turned out to be very safe hands, recognising what was required of the occasion, producing stunningly artful and well constructed dresses for the bride and her chief bridesmaid. Each dress, in its own way, was at the same time virginal and stunningly sexy. By channelling one of fashion's favourite brides, Grace Kelly, a very clear message was sent about what kind of princess Ms Middleton is to be.

Barely a week after the wedding, a retrospective exhibition of the work of Alexander McQueen opened at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. For those of us trapped on the wrong continent and unable to visit, there is a very good blog and video presentation on the Met Museum blog site. If you think this is not of interest to you because you don't 'do' fashion, I urge you to sit down for five minutes and think again. If you don't like McQueen's creations when seen on catwalk models, sit back and look at them as sculptures, textile art, masterpieces of tailoring and embroidery. McQueen served his time apprenticed in Savile Row, and embodies one of my favourite aphorisms, that in order to be able to break the rules you first have to learn them. His knowledge of tailoring and embroidery is embedded in all his work.

And when you get to the end of the tour, take another look at Kate's wedding dress. As Cartner-Morley wrote in another Guardian article:

"To pick McQueen is inspired, because the label has always been about telling stories through clothes, and that is what a day like this is all about. It is the perfect choice."

Yorkshire Fashion Archive - a new permanent resource

2011-04-19T17:52:00.000+01:00

A friend just pointed this out to me, a 'new, publicly accessible collection of haute couture, fashion garments and everyday clothing (which) provides a unique historical and cultural record of Yorkshire life and documents clothing produced, purchased and worn by Yorkshire folk throughout the 20th Century'.

The collection is housed at Salts Mill, Saltaire, so, always a good day out. There is an introductory exhibition designed to encourage the future development of the archive with help from the public, running from 16th April to 15th May.

The archive's website has a lot more information and a nice little slideshow, in which I spotted a floral full length dress which could be in Topshop's window today, and a disconcerting ballgown which reminded me too much of the American quilt pattern 'darts of death', or 'widow's quilt', the only reference to which I've ever seen is in Shiela Betterton's 'Quilts and Coverlets from the American Museum in Bath'.

Off the Bed...Onto the Wall...Into the Air. Quilts and the Art of Exhibition Design

2011-04-14T00:14:00.006+01:00

'Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts'
Photo: Courtesy Quilts in the Barn blog

In 1971 an exhibition titled 'Abstract Design in American Quilts' was held at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. It showcased 60 Pennsylvanian quilts painstakingly selected from the large collection of Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof. Just three years earlier these two young artists, having discovered the aesthetic of quilts, had set about building a collection judged solely on visual merit and not by the traditional standards of age, workmanship, condition etc. When the opportunity arose for them to design and mount an exhibition they furthermore decided 'not to impose any thematic, chronological or other organising theme to the exhibition but simply hang it as it looked best' (my italics).   It has often been said that the substance and style of this exhibition 'moved quilts off the bed onto the wall'.

In 2011, New York has just seen another ground-breaking quilt exhibition, hosted by the Museum of Folk Art in the Park Avenue Armory and titled 'Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts". Again a private collection, this time collected over a much longer period but with a similar mindset which did not dismiss a quilt for being old, or tattered, or stained, or simple. There was one simple criterion. That it should be part of the great tradition of graphic red and white quilts. I would have said the great 'American' tradition, but I am pretty sure there are quilts in there with roots in Ireland, Wales and the North-East of England.

The exhibition showcased 651 (yes, that is six hundred and fifty-one) red and white quilts from the collection of Joanna S Rose. After months of planning it lasted a breathtakingly short 6 days, but in that time it has set the internet quilt world alight with praise for the quality of the display as well as the collection. Incidentally, initially 650 quilts were hung, but when Mrs Rose came to look it over she noticed that 'there was one missing'.

Mrs Rose had celebrated her 80th birthday this year, and when asked by her husband what gift she would like, she asked for '....two things: something I have never seen before, and a gift for New York City. I thought, one thing I've never seen is these quilts all at once'. As the collection had grown they had all just lived 'in her closet'. This exhibition, free to visitors, was her husband's response. Designers were invited to suggest a way to display this many quilts in the cavernous interior of the Armory's Drill Hall. The winning design is quite extraordinary. Quilts sail and soar close to each other into an inky black starlit sky, leading the eye up with them in wonder. Within a central spiral of quilts are set 8 chairs in a circle, each adorned with a red and white quilt, evoking a quilting bee. Wherever you stand there is a wonderful crowded, and yet not crowded, view of quilts. For an excellent description of the rationale of the design of the display, carried out by  Thinc Design, go to MetropolisMag.com.

It is evident that for visitors this was not so much an exhibition as an experience. This being the 21st century there are free digital apps, with images of the individual quilts, an introduction written by Mrs Rose, a short history of Red and White Quilts written by Elizabeth V Warren, Guest Curator; and audio clips which were intended for visitors touring the quilts. As documentation and cataloguing of the quilts continues, the apps will be updated. And there will be a book.

Enthusiastic photographers and bloggers have crowded the internet with images, and the fact that there seem to be no 'bad' photographs is another testament to the quality of the display. I could not begin to list all sources, but I do commend to you the Quilts in the Barn blog (click her pictures in the earliest post for atmospheric full-size views.) The New York Times features an interview with Mrs. Rose, and photographs of the mounting of the exhibition.   Flickr contributors have had a field day, and of course YouTube is in on the action.

I heard that this exhibition was meant to be a 'one-time-only' event. An art collector was once asked why he did not lend his paintings out for exhibition and replied 'because I know they will never come back in a better condition than when they left me'. Reading Jonathan Holstein's description of what dreadful things happened to their travelling quilt collection (in 'Abstract Design in American Quilts: A Biography of an Exhibition') you realise the art collector had a point. But even if 'Infinite Variety' never travels or shows again, this exhibition has given us all an amazing opportunity to enjoy these quilts, and raised the bar improbably high for the next quilt exhibition to seek 'groundbreaking' status.

I end with a quote from Angela Riechers writing in the Metropolis Mag article (do make time to read the full article if you can):

'On all scales, from architectural to intimate, Infinite Variety is a 360-degree immersive experience that fuses both the whole and the parts into a transcendent example of the art of exhibition design. As Tom Hennes put it, “It’s a great case of seeing the forest and the trees at the same time.”

Textiles at the V&A - Changing Times

2011-04-03T12:09:00.001+01:00

Detail from tapestry 'The War of Troy' made 1474-1490, maker unknown.
Currently on display in the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Courtesy V&A

There has been much internet chatter about plans for changes to the storage and exhibition of textiles both at the V&A Exhibition Road site and their archive store at Blythe House, Kensington Olympia. I contacted them for clarification, and was given a statement by the Press Office. Although not specified in the statement, it is my understanding that visits to collections at Blythe House will be continue to be by appointment, with the advantage that new online cataloguing will enable 'self-selection' by visitors prior to their visit. For the more casual visitor there will ultimately be new, extensive galleries and exhibitions at the V&A.

Anyone planning a special visit to the V&A before Spring 2012 would be well advised to contact them beforehand to make sure what will be on view at the time. The loss of the textile frames will be particularly felt. The statement below says they are at present 'considering the installation of a similar set in the future', so anyone with strong feelings about this might care to contact the textile curator via textilesandfashion@vam.ac.uk.

"The V&A is creating a new Textile and Fashion Study and Conservation Centre at Blythe House, for the care, study and enjoyment of textiles and fashion. Opening in 2013, the Clothworkers’ Centre will be the most important national and international centre for fashion and textiles.

Based at Blythe House in Kensington Olympia, the new Centre will bring the V&A’s extensive textiles and fashion collection together under one roof for the first time. It will provide modern storage, enhanced and expanded conservation facilities and a new public Study Centre and Seminar Room offering all our users increased access and improved facilities to study and enjoy this important collection. The main entrance of Blythe House will also be reinstated to create a more welcoming street presence and a new reception area.

In November 2010, the existing fashion gallery was closed for refurbishment and the Textiles Galleries closed permanently from March 2011, as part of the preparations for the new Clothworkers' Centre. At the beginning of 2012 the fashion gallery will reopen as a two storey gallery, effectively doubling the gallery space for displays of fashion at the Museum. It will include a display of historical dress and textiles, and space for temporary exhibitions, the first of which will focus on British ballgowns from 1948 to the present day.

In addition, we have just announced a new project for Exhibition Road which will not only provide us with new world-class exhibition galleries, but crucially, will also release 1300 square metres of display space for the collections. Our long term ambition is to use that space to provide a new home for textiles and fashion allowing us to show the full range of this collection in vastly improved surroundings.

The textile frames were a popular element of the textile galleries and we are considering the introduction of a similar system into the new fashion and textile galleries in the future. There will also be a set of frames installed with a fresh selection of textiles at the Clothworkers’ Centre.

The V&A’s Textile & Fashion collection is currently being photographed and catalogue entries for 12,000 textile and fashion objects will be available online this year through Search the Collections (http://collections.vam.ac.uk).

Textiles can also been seen throughout the permanent displays in the V&A, including a wide range of embroidery, tapestry and furnishing silks in the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, exquisite examples of chintz, lace, carpets and rare fashion items in the British Galleries, as well as in galleries devoted to China, to Japan and to the Islamic world.

The Clothworkers’ Centre is being made possible thanks to a generous lead grant from the Clothworkers' Foundation (www.clothworkers.co.uk)."

Robin and Lucienne Day - Design and the Modern Interior. Pallant House Gallery Chichester until 26 June 2011

2011-04-01T00:18:00.005+01:00

A new exhibition at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester features textiles by Lucienne Day and furniture by her husband Robin. I chanced upon a Woman's Hour feature this morning about the exhibition, which is available on iPlayer (about 20 minutes into the programme) and was fascinated to hear about the life of a couple who were 'the most celebrated British designer couple of the post-war era'.

Personally I love Lucienne Day's work, although I know not everyone does. What I had not appreciated was the interaction between her work and that of her husband, a relationship wonderfully described in the Woman's Hour feature by their daughter. Nor did I even know that later in her career she made a deliberate change of direction into the production of wallhangings which she called 'silk mosaics', pieced from delicate silk fabric, designed by her and produced by assistants. In an article in the Independent from 1993 these silk pieces are described:

A typical Day silk mosaic is about 6ft by 4ft and might be made of up 6,000 patches of shot silk, sewn together by a team of assistants. Paper templates on which each design is based are left inside the silk, so the compositions, when finished, are truly a mosaic of overlapping and interwoven materials. Day works with Thai or Indian silk; her favourites are the vivid shot silks of Mysore. These feature two different colours, in warp and weft, and so shimmer with different colours depending upon how light falls on them and where the viewer of a mosaic is standing.

The Pallant House Gallery have some great information and slideshows on their website.

There is also a biography of the Days, with a timeline of their work, on the Design Museum website.

Contemporary Days: The Designs of Lucienne & Robin Day from Design Onscreen on Vimeo.

Natural jewels

2011-03-20T12:24:00.000Z

A recent post on the National Trust blog caught my eye this morning. It features a theatre costume worn by Ellen Terry which has just undergone conservation and gone back on display at Smallhythe Place in Kent. The dress had been adorned with the iridescent wings of the jewel beetle. I had no idea of the size of these wings until google found me this picture. Donated wings were used in the restoration of the dress, a dedicated 1,300 hours of work undertaken by conservator Zenzie Tinker. There is more on the conservation in this Daily Mail article from which I was happy to learn that the wings are shed naturally.

The NT blog post is particularly interesting because it gives links to paintings, executed by John Singer Sargeant, of Ellen Terry wearing the costume, which in turn leads us to a wonderful quote from Oscar Wilde:

Oscar Wilde, who saw Terry's arrival at Sargent's Chelsea studio, remarked, 'The street that on a wet and dreary morning has vouchsafed the vision of Lady Macbeth in full regalia magnificently seated in a four-wheeler can never again be as other streets: it must always be full of wonderful possibilities.'

(From the display caption August 2004)

'Threads of Feeling' Slideshow

2011-01-23T12:05:00.000Z

The Threads of Feeling exhibition has now posted a wonderful slideshow of fabric scraps, some together with the heart-rending notes left in hope, or despair, with the infants.

It is a wonderful opportunity to see fabrics of the time in fine definition on your computer screen, but so much more than that, it is an incredibly moving thing to sit so close, and quietly in your own home, and read the words of women or families for whom this was the last contact with the child they were having to leave.

http://www.threadsoffeeling.com/

The Tristan Quilt and the Guicciardini Quilt - a new English language publication.

2011-01-19T19:53:00.007Z

Some time ago I wrote about a piece of very early needlework known to its admirers as 'The Tristan Quilt', (or 'Bedcover'), and on display in the newly refurbished Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This item has a 'sister' piece in the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence. I have been contacted by the writer and textile historian Kathryn Berenson with news of a new English language translation of the Guicciardini Quilt Monograph which is a full study of the Bargello piece and contains information pertinent to the V&A piece.

A section of the Guicciardini Quilt (click on image for larger view)

Ms Berenson writes:

I write in reference to a new English-language title, The Guicciardini Quilt: Conservation of the deeds of Tristan, released December 2010 by Edifir, a publishing house in Florence, Italy. Editors are Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, Marco Ciatti, Susanna Conti, and Maria Grazia Vaccari. Translator: Diane Kunzelman.

In brief, the Guicciardini Quilt, in the collection of the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence, and its sister piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, are two white linen quilted works that illustrate episodes from the Tristan legend. They are the sole surviving quilted works in public institutions that date circa 1360-1400 and are attributed to an atelier in southern Italy. As such, they are key pieces in understanding medieval interpretations of the quilted textile arts.

The Guicciardini Quilt monograph includes a full study of the Bargello piece, information that is equally pertinent to the one in London.

The Art-Historical section addresses the possible origin of the Guicciardini quilt, its subsequent provenance, materials, techniques used in its making, and theories as to its use and separation from its sister piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum. A historical review covers the significance of the Tristan legend motifs and other iconography encountered in medieval textiles, and traces figurative white quilts to the medieval kingdom of Naples. Contributors to this section include Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, Maria Grazia Vaccari, Maria Stragapede and Kathryn Berenson.

The Technical Section addresses the conservation project developed for this rare piece acarried out by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), the Italian national arts conservation laboratory. Conservators at the OPD studied the Guicciardini quilt extensively during their years of work and assembled a valuable trove of scholarly information. Innovative conservation techniques are presented in detail. Contributors include Marco Ciatti, Susanna Conti, Pietro Capone, Francesca Parotti, Maria Stragapede, and Roberto Boddi, all of the OPD.

Two replicas of the Tristan quilts are discussed in the final section.

The V&A Tristan quilt is currently on exhibition in the museum’s medieval galleries. The Guicciardini quilt was on exhibition April – June 2010, in Florence and has been returned to appropriate conservation storage. A replica of it made by Silvana Vannini is on display at the Palazzo Davanzati, Florence.

The Guicciardini “Quilt” is a high quality 138 page paperback with 20 color and 40 black and white images, 150 pound interior stock and 300 pound cover stock; size 11 x 8.25 inches (ISBN 978-7970-493-9).

Price 30€/£25/ US$45 plus shipping. At present copies may be ordered from by contacting Kathryn directly at kwberenson@aol.com.

(The Italian-language edition, La Coperta Guicciardini: il restauro delle imprese di Tristano, was released by Edifir in April, 2010, in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name, ISBN 978-7970-467-0.)

Conserving Nelson's Uniform at the National Maritime Museum

2010-12-19T10:23:00.002Z

I wrote some time ago about the National Maritime Museum's blog entry featuring Nelson's Undress Uniform, one of five of his coats in their collection. The blog is currently featuring updates on the conservation of Nelson's Trafalgar Coat. There is an expression in French 'autre temps, autre moeurs' which translates in several ways, of which my favourite is 'other days, other ways'. The 'other days' in this case are the 1970s, and the 'other ways' the use of 'an adhesive coated support' applied to the silk lining of the coat. The task now is to remove this and use more up-to-date methods to try to preserve it for the future.

Conserving Nelson: Out of the cabinet from National Maritime Museum on Vimeo.

Conserving Nelson: Lining up the work from National Maritime Museum on Vimeo

Conserving Nelson: Separating the silk from National Maritime Museum on Vimeo.

Conserving Nelson: The perfect sandwich from National Maritime Museum on Vimeo.

Imperial Chinese Robes at the V&A, London, until 27 February 2011

2010-12-15T00:29:00.000Z

Three centuries of historic royal robes worn by the emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Hats, robes, shoes, children's clothes, fabrics.....

Information about the exhibition and supporting events on the V&A's site, including a curator's blog. An informative review on The Guardian's website.

More on Cheater Cloth

2010-12-07T20:21:00.000Z

I love the internet! Within hours of launching the request for information, I received a stunning response from quilt historian An Moonen, of The Netherlands. An is the author of A History of Dutch Quilts, so her research has been comprehensive.

An writes that she has found what she terms 'patchwork printing' (so many names....) in the Netherlands from the 18th century, in the form of a fichu, or triangle cloth worn around the decolletage. She also has two border prints as skirt or dress border on a white ground, with little bouquets. She has generously given me permission to share the photographs here. An went on to say that she did not find any printed patchwork pieces later, but points out that patchwork as a whole thrived there only briefly, between 1775 and 1860.

Patchwork Cheater Cloth - research request

2010-12-06T23:29:00.002Z

I've never been asked to put out a research appeal before, but it is something I am interested in and am happy to ask you all for help.

Some call it 'cheater cloth', some say 'simulated patchwork' and others go for 'faux patchwork'. Is is pre-printed cloth pretending to be patchwork. When it was around in the 60s and 70s in clothing, and new to my eyes, I had no idea that it has a much longer history. I am sure that I have seen examples in quilts in the UK, but not for the first time I wish I was organised enough to keep a notebook of everything I see when I see it, as an aide to my increasingly unreliable memoire.

Deborah Kraak is an independent textile historian, and she is specifically looking for information about 19th century English examples of cotton fabrics printed in imitation of patchwork quilt tops or blocks. She is studying American examples which mostly date from the mid-19th century, or the last quarter of the century. They were used for wholecloth quilt tops, backs, blocks, strips, pillowcases and cushions, and occasionally for garments. Deborah is preparing an article about printed patchwork for the upcoming issue of Uncoverings, the journal of the American Quilt Study Group, and she would be very grateful to learn more about the history of printed patchwork in England. To date she knows of of no examples in English quilts.

Deborah kindly sent me these two photographs to illustrate this blog entry, and the second fabric in particular, featuring friend Pickwick, seems familiar to me. Please do let me know if you can tell me where in the UK I might have seen it. And if you have any information at all which might be of use to Deborah please do contact her at

rickraak@verizon.net

'A Catalogue of World Textiles' - ULITA, Leeds, until 27 May 2011 (excluding University Christmas vacation)

2010-11-30T13:53:00.000Z

I have mentioned before the wonderful online catalogue of the University of Leeds International Textiles Archive (ULITA to its friends). If you weren't reading the blog back then I recommend you set aside an hour or two to take a look.

The history of ULITA is fascinating in itself. Acquisition of items began in the late 19th century thanks to two professors in the Department of Textile Industries of the Yorkshire College, later to become the University of Leeds. In 1892 the collection was of such size and importance that the Clothworkers' Company gave a donation towards the provision of a Museum. The collection is now housed in an innovative design of a 'conservation ark', a textile-specific environment constructed within the 1863 chapel of the old Leeds Grammar School. Apparently the protective cocoon of the silk worm was the inspiration for the adaptation of the building.

For those within visiting distance, there is a new exhibition 'celebrating the culmination of a major documentation and conservation project' which has been ongoing since 2008. Seven major international collections have been documented and conserved, and to celebrate the conclusion of the project the exhibition will present highlights from the collections alongside details of how the work was undertaken. Full information about the exhibition, and more detail on the history of the collections, on the ULITA website.

'Threads of Feeling'. The Foundling Museum, London. Until 6 March 2011

2010-11-09T13:52:00.004Z

I always envied my brothers the place of their secondary education, a school housed in a magnificent building with expansive grounds in the Buckinghamshire countryside. I didn't realise at the time this amazing place had been originally built as a relocation for the London Foundling Hospital. Now a recommendation on the British Quilt and Textile History List forum has led me to a wonderful textile exhibition related to the Foundling Hospital.

The original Foundling Hospital was London's first home for abandoned children, the philanthropic vision of an unlikely coalition - the philanthropist Thomas Coram, artist William Hogarth, and musician George Frideric Handel. The original London building was demolished in 1928, but in an adjacent restored and refurbished building you can now visit the Foundling Museum.

When mothers left their babies at the Hospital, many of them left small objects or tokens with the child as an identifying record. These were painstakingly attached to registration forms and bound into ledgers, unwittingly creating what is now the largest collection of everyday textiles surviving in Britain from the 18th Century.

'Sprigged Cotten'. Cotton printed with sprigs and dots.
Foundling number 13287. A boy aged about 21 days,
admitted 30 June 1759. Named Hannah Carter by the
Foundling Hospital. Died 18 February 1760. ©Coram

An expensive flowered dress silk of
about 1750, with a matching piece of
fly braid. Foundling number 2584.
A girl admitted 27 October 1756.
Named Sarah Barber by the Foundling
Hospital. Died 17 March 1761
©Coram

Professor John Styles of Hertfordshire University (author of The Dress of the People) curated this exhibition, and stresses the significance to research of these 5,000 scraps of fabric. Historians generally search in vain for evidence of what ordinary working people wore, so these scraps provide the only surviving solid evidence. As well as being a heart-rending piece of social history, this exhibition is an unprecedented opportunity for textile lovers to learn about the clothes their mothers wore, because baby clothes were usually made up from worn-out adult clothing.

Should the mother ever find herself in a position to reclaim her child, a matching piece of fabric would be all the evidence she could produce. Sadly, as you can read in an extensive and fascinating Guardian article, out of the 16,282 infants admitted between 1741 and 1760, only 152 were ever called for. More information on the Foundling Museum website. More articles at The Independent, Visit London, AHRC, London Printworks Trust (whose staff worked from a fabric scrap to reproduce 30 metres of hand printed cotton for the exhibition), Spoonfed and Austen Only.

There is also a published catalogue to accompany the exhibition.

As always if any readers would like to send me their reviews I will be happy to include them.

A Day of Costume, Leeds City Museum, Saturday 20th November 2010

2010-10-27T14:40:00.000+01:00

Ladies of the North who belong to any sort of Textile Group, WI, Countrywomen's Association, etc., will no doubt be familiar with the work of the History Wardrobe. One of their very popular talks/demonstrations is the one entitled 'Undressing Mr Darcy', exploring the intricacies of the gentleman's wardrobe.

In connection with the current costume exhibition, 'Heroes and Heroines', at the Leeds City Museum, Costume and Textile Curator Natalie Raw will lead an event of talks, guides and presentations. And yes, the History Wardrobe will be 'Undressing Mr Darcy'.

Tickets for the full day event are £28 (£25 NUS) to include lunch. For tickets ring 0113 39 50351 or visit the Leeds City Museum shop. For further information go to City Museum What's On

Intarsia Patchwork, Leeds City Art Gallery, until 31st October 2010

2010-09-23T10:03:00.003+01:00

Finally, I managed to pay a visit to this amazing exhibition. Shall I admit that I wasn't entirely looking forward to it, 'soldiers quilts' not being my cup of tea? What a mistake. These aren't your run of the mill musty felted wool half inch squares. These are, dare I say, works of art.

It seems wrong to start a description of an exhibition with praise of the staging, but the amazing display cases (gantries?) are such an integral part of its success. Huge heavy timber frames containing tiltable plexiglass frames not only enable up close examination of the pieces (and in one case cut-outs at the back make the stitching handwork visible) but they also seem totally in keeping with the social setting of many of the pieces. Looking up at these huge frames I immediately thought of Madame la Guillotine, of ships and trebuchets and masculine construction.

Much of the work on display is the hand of man. And I can say this with confidence because, praise be, each exhibit is accompanied by a laminated A4 sheet which gives details of the imagery, interpretation, construction, and social and geographical history of the piece. I love this curator, treating me like an intelligent adult!

The stunning modern piece illustrated here is the first thing you see as you enter the first room. Titled 'Patchwork Berlin - Patchwork Europe', it was made in 2008/9 by textile artist Ursel Arndt assisted by '20 interested needlewomen' and incorporating images taken from European cities made by stencil graffiti artists. I recognised a number of familiar Banksy icons, and identified Marlene and Amelie. Sadly the catalogue in the exhibition detailing what everything is was in German, so I remain mystified about many others. (Picture: Ute Franz-Scarciglia © Museum Europäischer Kulturen - SMB.)

Despite the fact that this is only a part of the original exhibition, there is so much to see that you need to allow plenty of time to view it. I had seen The Royal Clothograph at the V&A this summer, but yesterday it was like looking at a new piece. Despite the protective low lighting, the positioning of the tilted frames makes every stitch clear and fresh. There is much here to interest embroiderers - I particularly loved a piece with black background and inset floral urn and wreath, on loan from St Fagans but apparently almost identical to one in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Centre in Williamsburg, VA. A friend was entranced by a mid-17th century inlaid wool horse blanket, and I think my favourite patchwork was 'Tapestry with Rays' made in Sweden sometime after 1812 by a soldier. It is an amazing op-art style piece with radiating curved rays and a very modern pieced wavy border.

This only picks out my highlights, for others they will be different, and there are plenty to choose from.

Signage for the exhibition within the museum is, however, poor. The first room is a small gallery on the right of the entrance foyer. The combination of low lighting and automatic glass doors (this is a temperature and humidity controlled gallery) gives the impression of a closed room and the title of the exhibition is not displayed. More importantly, there is a further gallery at the far end of the foyer with more of the exhibition, again unsigned. I only found out about it because I went through that room to get to the bookshop. Please make sure you don't go straight from the first room to the cafe and miss the rest! (If anyone goes and finds that a certain visitor's comments have resulted in better signage let me know and I'll edit the blog accordingly).

Also, note that the Art Gallery opens weekdays at 10 am but Wednesdays at 12 midday, and Sunday at 1 pm., always closing at 5 pm. If you are travelling a long way I recommend you phone to confirm these times. On Thursdays at 1 pm there is a curator guided tour of the patchworks. The bookshop has copies of the wonderful exhibition catalogue, a detailed and scholarly overview of the genre as well as a photographic record, but you'd have to have a serious interest I think to pay £39.99.

A blog reader who travelled from Glasgow to visit York and Leeds sent me this:

I had promised myself a trip to York before the 'Sewing in wartime' ended last saturday(16th) and encouraged by your posting took myself to Leeds also.

If going by public transport there is a FREE bus from the railway station, stop 3 is opposite the town hall, the art gallery is adjacent to it.

I very much enjoyed this exhibition, especially the large print information sheets and the cut out on the back of the large quilt at the front of hall 1. Each quilt was a visual delight and so different from its neighbour. My favourite was the blossom quilt although its so hard each quilt had something different to recommend it. Think they could have made more of the masculine quiltmaker issue - although I was told that visitor numbers had been very high for this exhibition.

As always wish there were more postcards, the book was very expensive.

Loved the newly renovated tiled walls and ceiling of the cafe..

Mary,

Glasgow.

But is it Art?

2010-09-19T16:44:00.001+01:00

How often in a lifetime does a textile lover have this uneasy discussion with a non-textile person? And do we really want to keep on having it? A full ten years ago when Dorothy Osler curated the North Country Quilts exhibition at the Bowes Museum, people of the quilt world thought we were seeing our Whitney Exhibition moment. Two galleries of paintings were cleared to make way for over a hundred quilts spanning over 200 years of a quilting tradition. We thought we were seeing a new dawn of acknowledgement of art and skill in one particular corner of textile endeavour. The same happened with exhibitions staged at the York City Art Gallery, and with this summer's V&A exhibition, and they are just the ones I know about.

And yet the argument persists. Only yesterday in a conversation I was told that there was resistance to the current Intarsia Patchwork exhibition being in Leeds City Art Gallery 'because (people) think it isn't art'.

So what a pleasure to find an article by Lisa Jardine on the BBC website about the display of Tapestries in the V&A to co-incide with the Pope's visit. The opening line, without apparently even realising that the point may be contentious, refers to this as a display of art:

'For the rich and powerful, art can be a display of wealth and power...'

And later:

'It is difficult to capture in words the power of these magnificent woven works of art'

The tapestries, these magnificent woven works of art, are not here for long, and may never travel again. Don't miss. And thank you, Lisa.

Passing On The Comfort

2010-07-25T10:32:00.001+01:00

A couple of posts back I mentioned the current QGM exhibit in York of 'Sewing in Wartime', which includes Red Cross Quilts made in Canada and sent to the UK and Europe during WW2. I just came across this post from another blogger about a similar exhibition, entitled Passing On The Comfort, which is also the title of the related book. The book documents the world of women in Holland who found themselves fighting with the Resistance, and also illustrates the war experiences of the quilts which went to mainland Europe.
The blog post dates back to 2008, at which time the exhibition was still available to tour, I'm not sure whether that is still the case.

Not Queen Mary's Slipper

2010-07-22T12:22:00.000+01:00

This is the story from the BBC of a shoe dating from the 17th Century which has been found 'in a box under a bed' on the island of Canna. It was part of a large archive of Gaelic culture collected over time by Margaret Fay Shaw and her husband John Lorne Campbell and now cared for by the National Trust for Scotland. Made of satin, silk, leather and metal, it has now been dated to between the 1640s and 1660s. The alert amongst you will realise this dates it after the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, which is a shame because when found it was labelled 'Queen Mary's Slipper'. Sadly, time-slipped oral history is as common in the textile world as in other branches of museum life. I say sadly, because wouldn't it be wonderful if it was Queen Mary's slipper.

Costume at Leeds City Museum. From 23rd July 2010 until 9th January 2010

2010-07-14T12:27:00.003+01:00

Opening shortly at the new Leeds City Museum, an exhibition which combines historical costume from the City's collection with reproduction items made for film and television productions such as The Duchess, Pride and Prejudice, Cranford and Pirates of the Caribbean. While the historical items will be displayed in closed cases, the reproduction items will be on open display. So, for example, Mr Darcy's pond-dipping number will stand next to a beautiful period shirt of the finest, lightest linen and the tiniest hand stitching. Cranford costumes will be accompanied by a delightful straw bonnet of the period, newly conserved. There are always compromises to be made when constructing for modern bodies and the demands of film action and screen reproduction, so it should be an interesting opportunity to make comparisons.
This exhibition lasts until January, and the City Museum is just around the corner from the Intarsia exhibition at the City Art Gallery, so you can make a full day of it. The City Museum itself is a new exhibition space in an old building and has plenty to entertain the rest of the family should you want to spend quality time with that linen shirt......

*Editor's note: The exhibition is now open, and I have to report that Darcy's shirt is well covered by his waistcoat, jacket and breeches... But somehow the curators have managed to pose the mannequin in a perfect Darcy/Firth stance, so there is still plenty to sigh over.

Sewing in Wartime exhibition in York

2010-07-08T09:47:00.005+01:00

A reminder about this exhibition at the Quilters Guild Museum in York, of which I gave advance notice back in April. It now starts a day earlier than originally stated. Tomorrow, in fact, 9th July. If you saw the solitary Red Cross Quilt in the V&A exhibition, this is a chance to find out more about them and see other examples in the first big exhibition to acknowledge the huge effort put in by the Canadian Red Cross volunteers to support Britain during WW2, and the role these quilts played in peoples lives.

A BQTHL member who has visited the exhibition writes:

"I thoroughly enjoyed both new displays at QMG. I was a child during the Second World War and have many memories of my own which were half-forgotten. The display about clothes rationing was most interesting,

also details given about how many clothing coupons were needed for each item bought out of a not very generous annual allocation, which was cut when times were particularly difficult. No wonder we had to resort to make-do
and mend and I looked forward to occasional parcels which came from aunts who each had a child a few years older than my brother and myself. My chldren and grandchildren have no conception of what the reality was but
this display may help younger people to appreciate something of what life really was like 'on the home front.'
There was a dress on display made from material printed with maps. These were given to men (presumably mostly in the air forces) to help them find their way should they land in enemy territory. I think I had heard or seen something about that somewhere. In a show chest there were other items of clothing although I think I was the only visitor who pulled out the lower drawers to see items of silk lingerie made for a trousseau - very delicate
and wonderful that they survived use.

A book has been produced (£10) giving colour photos of the Canadian Red Cross Quilts on display and all details so far known of their histories.'

Horrockses Fashions in the 40s and 50s. London at the FTM.

2010-07-03T08:12:00.002+01:00

At the Fashion and Textile Museum 9th July 2010 to 24 October. Horrockses' wonderful full-skirted fashions have been getting a number of museum outings recently. I managed to miss them all so am delighted to see another one at the FTM in London, and a book to be published by the V&A . These full-skirted, trim-waisted dresses in powerful bright prints were the thing to be seen in the 40s and 50s, when women still wore lightweight 'waspie' waist corsets to get the shape (I remember sneaking my mother's out of the airing cupboard to try). The quality of the fabric and print design was what made them so special, together with the full-skirted New Look shape. Worn by Queen Elizabeth 11 when she went on overseas tours, in a master stroke of retailing the very same dresses were available for the woman in the street to buy (if she could save a week's wages). The company finally folded after production went overseas years later. Some blame changing fashion, but fabric buffs might suspect a decline in the quality of the fabric and print did not help.
From the FTM website:
"The colourful prints will provide a visual feast for visitors to the exhibition, which focuses on the range of the firm's production, from glamorous evening dresses, to vibrant summer frocks and sophisticated housecoats and beachwear. It will follow the story of the Horrockses dress from initial fabric and fashion design, to production, promotion and consumption."
Looking at the events being offered alongside the exhibition I see a 'make do and mend' 4-week course on simple clothing alterations and repairs. Wasn't that what we used to learn in school?

Raphael's Tapestries for the Sistene Chapel. V&A from 8 Sept-17 October

2010-06-29T15:01:00.004+01:00

I don't want to wish away my summer days, but this is something to look forward to in September. For the first time in nearly 500 years four tapestries woven for the Sistine Chapel will be reunited with the cartoons used by the weavers who worked them. Cut into strips, the coloured designs were hung behind the looms as a template and since the weavers worked from the back, the cartoons and tapestries are mirror images of each other. This September, to mark the visit to the UK of the current Pope, they will hang face to face.

The tapestries, according to an article by Jan Dalley of the FT writing in the V&A magazine, were woven 'on low-warp horizontal looms, worked in wool with highlights of silk and even gold and silver thread........the weavers could render every nuance of colour and shade of the original: it was highly skilled work, more akin to embroidery than weaving. Weavers even had their specialities: one was renowned for foliage, another for the feathers of the water birds who prance in front of the fishermen-apostles, the most prestigious of all being those who could reproduce the subtleties of flesh.'

The designs are surprisingly 'un-Catholic' in their representations, with a lack of the usual iconic symbols. The halos I think I spotted in the online pictures are very under-stated, Virgin Mary is nowhere to be seen, and there is a distinct lack of arrows and bleeding saints. There is, however, some wonderful depiction of figures, flora, fauna, landscape and drapery, and a simple telling of biblical stories. Dalley suggests this may be why they escaped destruction by Oliver Cromwell when he disposed of the rest of Charles I's art collection.

This is quite a short exhibition and in a limited space, as usual the V&A recommend advance booking. Admission is free by timed ticket.

For more information:

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=38304

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/may/27/raphael-sistine-chapel-tapestries
http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/paintings/features/raphael/sistine-tapestries/index.html

Liverpool Museums. Costume, Exhibitions and a Curator Interview

2010-06-22T22:17:00.005+01:00

The dress on the right is from the textile collection of the National Museums Liverpool. Dating from around 1925 it is a wonderful example of the art of sequins and bugle beads, but for me the master-stroke is the large rosette of pink and purple silk crepe and silk velvet. This dress is from the collection of a Mrs Tinne. The exhibition incorporating some of Mrs Tinne's dresses closed this spring, but there is lots of online information still available. (Image courtesy of National Museums Liverpool)

There is an interesting interview on their website with their Curator of Costume Textiles. The collection for which she is responsible comprises some 20,000 items, dating from the 1700s to the present day, and they are still making new acquisitions to fill gaps.

They have a new exhibition launching soon, 'Hitched, Wedding Clothes and Customs'. The website says '23 July 2010 - to be confirmed'. This looks like a fascinatingly wide-ranging exhibition, taking in the wedding traditions of many varied groups.

"'Hitched, Wedding Clothes and Customs' will explore the history of marriage and the customs surrounding it, from Victorian times to the present day. While focusing on the changing styles in wedding dress during that time, the exhibition will also look at contemporary ceremonies such as same sex partnerships and pagan weddings.

About 20 outfits, including wedding dress from Liverpool's Jewish, Chinese and Traveller communities will be featured. The exhibition will show historic costume dating from1850, photographs, contemporary artefacts and personal histories."

There is a lot more to be found on their main website which relates to textile interests, for example about the cotton and slave trades. And more fascinating exhibitions across their various museums and galleries. Go browse.

How to dress a sailor....

2010-06-21T18:38:00.002+01:00

In a previous post I linked to textiles worn by Captain Cook in the Antarctic. Now we have a link to an interesting exhibition in Whitby illustrating the earlier voyage of Captain Constantine Phipps towards the North Pole, in search of the elusive northern passage to the East. The exhibition is of interest to us because it includes 'Original seaman's clothing (which) comes from Gdansk, Poland from the wreck of a Whitby collier - shoes, stockings, mittens and a woolly cap- all 225 years old!'
The clothing is well preserved owing to the coincidence of part of the cargo being Swedish pine tar, which covered the items during the wreck and thereby preserved them. A surviving knitted wool hat would not look amiss on the streets today. There is more about the wreck, and the garments, here. I like the way that a recovered jacket has been partly restored in bright white fabric, which means we can see what the complete garment would have been like while appreciating what is original and what is not.

And speaking of sailors, at last we turn to the fisherman's gansey, or jumper. This site gives you the romantic story of dead Flamborough fishermen identified by the patterns knitted into their ganseys. More here from the Norfolk Museums Service. Similar jumpers, and tales, appear in fishing communities all round the coast of England.

These jumpers are knitted in the round, on four or five needles. Sleeves are knitted from the top down, finishing at the cuff. This enables damaged and worn cuffs to be unpicked and re-knitted when needed. Knitted very tightly at neck, waist and cuffs, and imbued with natural oils they are wind and - to some extent - waterproof. I'm guessing that the longer they were worn at sea amongst the oils of a fish catch the more waterproof they became. You'd have to have really missed your man to give him a hug when he strolled home wearing his gansey.

'Buttons: historic, artistic and cultural phenomena'. Paris until August 14 2010

2010-06-19T00:48:00.004+01:00

I just read in the Guardian newspaper that US troops are to abandon velcro fasteners on their uniforms and return to more traditional buttons. As well as being silent in operation, therefore not disclosing a soldier's position to the enemy, buttons 'work just fine in the mud, do not clog up with dirt and do not fray and disintegrate with repeated laundering.' (Not to mention looking good?)

Most of us would have a poor time of it trying to use textiles for clothing withough some kind of fastener, although I understand the Amish still manage with hooks and eyes or straight pins as a matter of principle. We can't imagine a world without Velcro now, but the simple button principle is so perfect that I am glad to see it fighting back. So I went looking for some button links.

How about:
The British Button Society,
Buttons uncovered by mudlarkers on the Thames foreshore,
The Pearly Kings and Queens of London,
Handmade Dorset buttons
134 pages of buttons in the V&A collections online
Button shop to the stars Duttons for Buttons,
We're all familiar with mum's button jar, box or bag, but how about a button string?
And guess what, I found an exhibition in Paris right now: 'Buttons, an artistic, historic and cultural phenomenon'. Lovely web page worth looking at even if you can't visit.

Fairfax House, York. Costume of 18th Century Society. From 19 June 2010

2010-06-17T21:14:00.002+01:00

Putting ganseys on hold briefly, I have been passed news of this exhibition by the eagle-eyed writer of the Leeds Tapestry blog, and it looks like a definite 'must visit'.

'Fairfax House is the finest Georgian Townhouse in England' is the justified claim of their website. It is a little gem in the heart of York, often overlooked by Tourists racing to the Castle Museum. The house was created in 1762 as a dowry for Anne Fairfax, daughter of Viscount Fairfax. The interior was designed by John Carr. Need we say more. Read about the house, and the collection contained within, in detail here. Sorry about my rubbish photo, it is in a narrow street and I just couldn't get a good angle, or avoid the shadows.

In this exhibition, which opens on 19th June, the Museum will be curating a special exhibition of costume looking at the fabulous clothing worn by members of 18th century polite society. Titled 'Dress to Impress' it will feature 'some of the best and most stylish examples from this decadent era'.

You have until 21 November to get there.

Knitting sheaths

2010-06-14T18:15:00.002+01:00

I'm a bit jaded after 5 days in London taking in the V&A and the symposium related to the quilt exhibition, so just to keep the pot boiling, I thought I would post a link to knitting sheaths, with fishermen's ganseys to follow. Sheaths were used to securely lodge one, or sometimes both, of a pair of fine, double-ended knitting needles, the resulting knitting style giving the worker freedom from supporting the work so that she could knit 'on the move', and also achieve a faster knitting style. I'm not a knitter, so can't explain the intricacies, but this guy can.

We had one in the family, now lost. We had moved from the north-east to London, and this very rough-hewn sheath had come with us. It was my mother's party-piece amongst visiting 'southerners' to produce this mystery object and ask them to identify its use.

Sheaths were often carved in local wood as love tokens, and designs varied from those which hooked onto a belt (essentially a straight piece of wood with a notch) to elegant wing shapes which could lodge under the armpit. I was told recently that in the Dales a bundle of either goose quills or stiff straw would do the same job, the needle jammed into the tight bundle to be held fast.

There are pictures of sheaths in the Beamish collection, put 'knitting sheath' in the search box, which includes a wonderful brass example, and a photo of a lady knitting with sheaths. You can entertain yourself with a google images search, which will bring up styles from across the UK, and America.

A Unique Collection of English Quilts on display

2010-06-08T09:40:00.001+01:00

For one weekend only, the collection of Mrs Rosemary Blackett-Ord will be on show at Helbeck Hall in Cumbria. The event listing from Patchwork and Quilting Magazine is below for you to read, but it does not reveal the true excitement of this exhibition. Among many glories the collection includes wonderful chintz quilts with examples of Bannister Hall prints, coverlets, toiles de jouy, pattern books, patchworks, and an early 18th century linen coverlet finely worked in yellow silk stitching. Seeing her collection in 1997 was what fired my personal interest in the history of English quilting.

Mrs Blackett-Ord exhibits her quilts only rarely, in aid of charity. This is an opportunity not to be missed.

Cumbria, Brough CA17 4DD
25 – 28 June
The Helbeck Collection of antique English quilts can be seen at Helbeck Hall, Brough. Last on public view in 1997, this collection of around 40 quilts, coverlets and pattern books dating from 1750 - 1900 is owned by Mrs Blacket-Ord. Open Fri – Mon 2 – 5. Admission £5 with free list of over 40 quilts. A colour catalogue from the 1997 exhibition is available for £5. Tickets may be bought in advance: send SAE with cheque to: Mrs R. Blacket-Ord, Helbeck Hall, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria CA17 4DD. Cheques payable to ‘Mrs R. Blackett-Ord a/s QUILT’

Ruffled Feathers: Feathers and Fashion. Lotherton Hall, Leeds until 31st December

2010-06-04T21:52:00.004+01:00

This is the second part of the birds themed exhibitions presently being held across Leeds museums. In the costume gallery at Lotherton Hall you can see a great variety of items from the Leeds museums collection, from different eras and continents. The common theme is the presence of feathers as decoration and adornment. We are all used to feathered hats and fans, boas and brooches. But here you will also see entire capes made of tiny feathers meticulously arranged; heavily beaded dresses drawing on Chinese textile designs; Oriental embroideries; a modern designer coat with fluid lines based on the movement of a flock of birds, a specially commission hat by Philip Treacy..... and more.

They have also produced a booklet which is a spotters trail around the rooms of Lotherton Hall, pointing out bird related items in most of the rooms, be they on rugs, vases, screens, wine jugs etc. On the trail I learned that a dragon is to a phoenix as yin is to yang, vultures do not have the claw strength to seize snakes, and 'Persian Ware' vases were made in East Leeds. And that I just love the mediaeval-style bird-shaped silver claret jug made in 1871. To complete a nicely grown-up day out there is a display throughout the house of ceramics by Sutton Taylor. These are large and magically striking lustred pieces.

Birds in books and on fabric, an unkind cut?

2010-05-29T12:00:00.006+01:00

A new exhibition across the Leeds Museums is themed on 'the way in which birds, real and imaginary, contributed to the richness of the decorative' arts in 18th and early 19th century England. At Lotherton Hall you will see 'Ruffled Feathers: Fashion, dress and design', and at the Leeds City Art Gallery an opportunity to see their fine collection of native bird watercolours by Turner.
The first exhibition to open, at Temple Newsam House, is 'American Birds in a Chinese Garden'. The starting point of the exhibition is what the brochure calls 'Lady' Hertford's Act of "vandalism" in cutting out the priceless illustrations from her copy of Audubon's Birds of America and pasting them onto the walls of her Chinese Drawing Room in 1829'.
In order that visitors can examine the birds on the wallpaper more clearly, the carpet has been covered and access allowed right into the room, a rare treat in itself. Pick up the guide to the room with 'spotters numbers' and you can see which birds are Chinese, and belong on the paper, and which are the American interlopers, cut and pasted among the delicate branches of the elegant wallpaper. You can even listen to the authentic birdsong while you do it. Then, upstairs in the bullion room, you can admire a 'Double Elephant Folio' original edition of the book, on loan for the exhibition. Elsewhere there is a display of birds in decorative arts, with just one representative of textiles in the form of a parrot on a red and white toile. Which brings us back to Lady Hertford's 'act of vandalism'. Anyone who spends time looking at early English or Colonial quilts will be very familiar with the use of bird prints in broderie perse applique. Many of the fabrics came from the Bannister Hall printworks, and can be recognised on quilts across the world. For a needlewoman it was a very familiar way in which to maximise the usefulness of such printed textiles, displaying elements of their design across several different items. For someone who is used to cutting into beautiful textiles in that way, I don't think it would have seemed at all inappropriate to liberate the birds from the pages of the book and put them on display on a beautiful background.

I went looking for online examples of broderie perse, and found several on the excellent IQSC collections database. Put 'Broderie Perse' in as a general keyword search, or for specific examples featuring birds search these IQSC object numbers:

1997.007.0253
1997.007.0688
2008.040.0002
and my personal favourite:
2007.034.0001

Textile Conservation - In the Antarctic

2010-05-26T21:43:00.003+01:00

Today's post is by way of a thank you for a kind comment left after my link about flag conservation. The writer signs herself as being from 'Hobart, last stop before Antarctica'. Which gives me an excuse to direct you to some 2008 entries from a Natural History Museum blog. Conservators from many disciplines have been working for some years on items from Ernest Shackleton's hut, and more recently Captain Scott's base at Cape Evans. One entry discusses the different types of fibres they encounter. Another draws interesting comparisons between the textiles developed for extreme conditions today and those in use in the early days of exploration and goes on to illustrate the conservation of a machine-knit scarf made by the long established Wolsey firm, from Leicester.

And if paper is your thing, another entry will tell you all you need to know about conserving a Golden Syrup tin wrapper.

African Fabric, and synchronicity

2010-05-25T10:18:00.014+01:00

Sometimes synchronicity strikes with happy web connections. Today I was planning to write about the newest occupant of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. It is a ship in a bottle. Not just any old ship but an accurate replica of Nelson's HMS Victory. And not the little maquette you see in this picture, but big enough for the technicians to crawl inside and build the ship. Only the other day I was linking to the conservation of Nelson's undress uniform and here is another textile link to him. There was lots of press coverage of the ship's unveiling on the plinth, but I picked this picture out from a teachers' resource page because it shows the artist's choice of fabric for the sails. The artist used richly patterned textiles usually seen on African dress, although he had to replicate them for scale and in order to use light-resistant dyes. As the BBC's arts correspondent explains: ' These are not the bright white sheets of Nelson's original; they're made of a richly patterned fabric more commonly associated with African dress, a regular motif in Shonibare's work. But the fabric isn't from Africa; it's from Brixton market. The reason it is associated with African dress is not indigenous craftsmanship but the mass production of the material by the Dutch, who sold it to their West African colonies. The design, in fact, is not even African: it's based on Indonesian batik.'
The bottle's creator used these fabrics to 'bring together historical and global themes and reflects the legacy of British colonialism and its expansion in trade and Empire, made possible through the freedom of the seas brought about by Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.'
And as I planned this post this morning, I idly surfed onto a blog which is new to me, called Style Court, and found a post themed on vintage covers for the book 'Out of Africa' by Karen Blixen with, in its turn, an African textiles reading list. Lovely.

Samplers Jim, but not as we know them.

2010-05-23T20:18:00.001+01:00

Ever wished there was a place where common ground could be found between a DJ's appreciation of an obscure 70s funk break and the joys of a piece of 18th century embroidery? Me neither, but stay with me because this fascinating piece from the V&A may open your mind. It is lucky for us that David Littler enjoys two such different disciplines which share a common vocabulary (needle, cut, look, counting and cross, among others) and that he was in a position to initiate a comparative exploration of these two cultures.
It says it is a work in progress. I'm really hoping that the outcome will be an exhibition/workshops.
And if you're too much of a traditionalist, you can still feast yourself on the rest of the V&A's information on samplers.

VADS Archives online

2010-05-23T13:18:00.000+01:00

VADS is the acronym for the Visual Arts Data Service, a kind of clearing house for images from collections across a number of institutions. You can get a tiny taste of what they do from this recent posting on their blog. VADS is creating 'on online resource for visual arts', and the scale of the project is quite amazing. There is a 'learning index', which is a 'series of learning and teaching resources based around the VADS image collections, written by subject specialist authors and lecturers' and a huge catalogue of collection images.
You might like to start your exploration with the Constance Howard Resource and Research Centre in Textiles at Goldsmiths.

Flag conservation at the National Maritime Museum

2010-05-21T23:38:00.003+01:00

This is another pointer to one of the blogs I list - a post from the National Maritime Museum about the conservation of a flag from 1794. As this flag measures 4.5 metres by 5.81 metres (approx. 177" x 228") the treatments required special measures. Pictures illustrate the unusual pre-1801 pattern of the flag, made as it was of loosely woven wool bunting stitched together by hand using linen thread. There is a great picture of the wash-bath they created using polythene and beams to accommodate the flag, and an excellent explanation of the processes involved in the conservation process.
If you enjoy reading about the flag conservation, and their earlier post about Nelson's uniform, do leave them a comment to encourage more textile entries on their blog.

Embroidered Shoes

2010-05-21T23:22:00.000+01:00

Which of us hasn't popped their toes into a Clark's shoe at some time in their (school) lives? I don't know how often you have time to check out the blogs I list in the sidebar, but I have to make a point of directing you to Needleprint's post today about the Shoe Museum in Street, Somerset. The blog entry illustrates some of the wonderful embroidered shoes in the collection, from the 1760s. Creations of silk or metal embroidery on sateen......beautiful.
The collection includes footwear from Roman times to the present day, buckles, fashion plates, tools, documents and photographs.

Textiles at The Museum of London

2010-05-19T09:35:00.002+01:00

There is an interesting article in the Guardian this morning about the new galleries opening this month at the Museum of London. Instead of going for the gilded coach, they chose to illustrate the article with a collection of 18th century dresses (thank you, Guardian writer) which are displayed in a 'moody recreation' of a Georgian pleasure garden. The original costumes are 'topped off with contemporary hats from Philip Treacy, and sculptural wire wigs by Yasemen Hussein'. Sounds, and looks, like a great show. Although I do hope the labelling makes clear that it is a blending of time periods.....

The article led me to look for more information about what the Museum of London holds in the way of textiles, and it looks like a wonderful resource, with over 24,000 objects in the collection from Tudor to present day. Full details here.

Visits to the collection items are bookable by appointment, but they recommend planning 2-3 months in advance due to high demand.

FIDM Museum Blog

2010-05-15T12:25:00.004+01:00

The FIDM Museum in Los Angeles is devoted to the exhibition and interpretation of dress and textiles. The collection centres primarily, but not exclusively, on the 19th and 20th centuries, and has an emphasis on American and European dress. Their blog is an opportunity for them to showcase garments and accessories from the collection to an online audience.

I find the blog fascinating in its diversity and, judging by readers' comments, also extremely helpful with research enquiries. The wonderful dress shown on the right is a day dress from the end of the 19th Century, attributed to Liberty & Co of London. Blog entries taken at random over one month range from a 1775 Court skirt and train associated with Queen Marie Antoinette to Christian Dior flower power 1960s creations, by way of some 1935 lounge pyjamas. Glorious pictures accompanied by informative text. Excellent.

Image Courtesy of the FIDM Museum at the

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising,

Los Angeles, CA

British Quilt and Textile History List (BQTHL)

2010-05-13T16:55:00.004+01:00

BQTHL is a private internet discussion list on matters of textile history.

Knitting in the Shetland Isles

2010-05-12T16:40:00.008+01:00

A recent post on BQTHL drew our attention to Traditional Shetland Isle knitting, which apparently has always been taught in schools there. From a news report it appeared that this practice was to come to an end, but a list reader was able to reassure us that it was not going altogether, writing....
"...it will longer be as a defined subject/lesson, instead it will be taught as part of arts and crafts, thankfully teachers and schools in shetland are to proud of their part of the passing down of the heritage of shetland knitting to just roll over and allow it to become yet another victim of budget cuts..."
As well as the question of passing down the heritage, there is much evidence now about the mental benefits of hand crafts, so I hope this is not the beginning of the end for their knitting in schools.
Being largely ignorant about Shetland knitting, the lace in particular, I went looking for any online picture sources and found the wonderful Shetland Isle Museum and Archives.
And it is good to know that attention is being paid to researching the history. I found a three-year Doctoral Award at the University of Glasgow on the History of Lace Knitting in Shetland in which
"The student will be expected to develop an original thesis on the history of this form of textile production, drawing upon a wide range of sources including material artefacts, oral history and archival materials located primarily in Shetland but also in other repositories in the UK. "

Now that sounds like a thesis worth reading.

Surgical (and other) Stitching. Hunterian Museum, London. 14th May 2010

2010-05-11T10:51:00.004+01:00

Short notice for this one-off drop-in event devoted to 'the art of the stitch in all its forms'. The unlikely sponsors are the Royal College of Surgeons, at their fascinating museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

I can't explain it, you'll have to go and read the website. Looks like a chance to find out more than you might want to about surgical sutures. A lot more fun than 'Operation', I just wish I lived close enough....

http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/events/all-stitched-up

The Guardian article is by an embroiderer, who got to try out the suturing and learn a bit about it. Fascinating stuff about different materials for different jobs (for example you get braided silk for neurosurgery but polyester for cardiac and vascular), and specialist needles (how about a spatula-shaped one for eye surgery?).

Conservation of Admiral Horatio Nelson's Undress Uniform

2010-05-10T12:19:00.004+01:00

Found on the National Maritime Museum blog an entry about the conservation of a navy blue wool coat with silk lining worn by Nelson as everyday clothing. Even in undress mode he obviously liked his bit of bling. (A man should never leave others in doubt about his four orders of chivalry.) There is a link in the text to other items of clothing in their collection worn specifically by the man himself, and a link on the main site to the uniform collection in general.
I particularly appreciate this blog entry for its detail about the fabrics, the construction of the coat, and the conservation principles and methods employed.
More sailor suits on the FIDM blog.

Welsh quilts

2010-05-09T09:03:00.001+01:00

This blogger has a wonderful Welsh strippy featured on her post for Saturday 8th May. A coffee and white strippy with stunning quilting.

Inlaid Patchwork.

2010-05-09T08:48:00.000+01:00

An interesting election-related post from the Secret Lives of Objects on 5th May, picturing one of the quilts which is in the exhibition coming to Leeds in August.

The National Trust - Textiles and Costume.

2010-05-08T11:44:00.006+01:00

I would not naturally turn to a programme presented by Lawrence Lewellyn-Bowen, but in the car this week I found myself listening to a 15 minute piece about Octavia Hill, one of the Victorian philanthropists who founded the National Trust. Although the Trust has been 'aways there' in my life I confess to ignorance about its origins.

The National Trust is one of Britain's biggest landowners, and that brings responsibility for managing many and varied historic buildings and their contents. Their Manual of Housekeeping is a standard reference for anyone with responsibility for an historic house. As well as the usual day to day textiles you would find dressing an historic house, they have responsibility for one of the largest specialist textile collections in the UK, the preservation of which is facilitated by an in-house conservation studio.

Once you have explored all the textile options, you can surf off in other directions, spotting textiles in paintings, draperies in situ in the houses, decorating styles from the many and varied Trust properties.

And then you might like to look at their blog.

That should keep you busy for a while.

Musée de la Toile de Jouy, France. Toiles at Temple Newsam, Leeds

2010-05-03T23:47:00.011+01:00

The Museum of Toile de Jouy, in Jouy-en-Josas, France, is currently celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Oberkampf factory. If you visit their home page, translated here in inimitable style by Google, go to the drop down menu under 'The Museum' on the top navigation bar and you can surf through information on both the permanent exhibition and the one celebrating the 250 years, as well as plenty of historical info about these amazing fabrics.
Although they are not currently on display, if you are interested in toiles it is worth knowing that Temple Newsam House in Leeds is home to a significant collection of these fabrics, given in a series of bequests by the collector Henry Ginsberg. Some of them can be seen in the Leeds Museums online collection.
Timorous Beasties were carrying on a noble tradition when they produced their 'city toiles' depicting the more sordid side of life. In corners of the rural idylls depicted in early toiles I have seen the pissing or vomiting drunk, the lascivious rustic, dead and decaying animals, and even - joyously - a pooping duck overflying the revelries.
If you know of other good venues to view toiles in the UK, please let me know.

Textiles Collection at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon.

2010-04-28T00:08:00.007+01:00

The collection here is not on permanent display, but from the website description it is wide ranging and comprehensive, ranging from the 1700s to the 20th century. In particular I am interested to note that they have

'.....a reference collection of magazines, fashion plates and dress patterns. These include 19^th century journals such as La Belle Assemblee as well as 20^th century issues of Vogue. '

Costume, textiles, lace, dress from the 1700s to the 20th century, domestic textiles, Coptic textiles, patchworks, shoes, hats, fans...they seem to cover most areas and it looks like an excellent research resource.

Two Hundred Years of Dressing to Impress. Until 31 October 2010

2010-04-27T23:53:00.002+01:00

I found this event on the website of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery in Exeter, Devon. It appears to be being held in a National Trust property, Killerton House and Gardens.

According to the website the exhibition shows:
'......a selection of some of the most elegant fashions for men and women.....from the 1770s to the 1970s. The exhibition explores ideas about clothing equiquette and aims to demonstrate how changing tastes have affected what we regard as elegant.' Also shown are '...luxurious accessories and children's clothes'.

The exhibition is supported by fashion plates, photographs and magazines from RAMM's costume collection. There are also interesting talks on the 3rd Monday of each month, see the website.

Leeds/Yorkshire Textile Heritage. From March, 2010, for 'several months'.

2010-04-26T01:05:00.003+01:00

Two leads in one. The excellent blog of the Leeds Tapestry today links information about Leeds' textile heritage featured on one of its panels with mention of an unusual exhibition. Incorporated within the Harvey Nichols store in Leeds (no affiliation, if I even dreamt of shopping there I'd have been in and seen it earlier), according to the promotional information there is

'An extensive in-store display involving some of Yorkshire's leading fabric mills, presented under the collective brand Yorkshire Textiles.........

Established during the Industrial Revolution, Yorkshire's weaving industry has long set the benchmark for high-quality Made In England cloth, and the region's mills continue to produce the majority of England's worsted and woollen fabric, used by many of the world's great fashion brands, high end retailers and tailors...'

There is very good article from the Yorkshire Post here
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/Fruits-of-the-loom-on.6216408.jp

Update: I've now been in to see the display, and have to say that although it made for a pleasant stroll through the store I wouldn't suggest you travel to Leeds just to see it. You do get to admire lots of different fabric samples hanging like flycatchers, and great lengths of fabric hanging down by the escalators. On an upper floor there is one display case with some ancient sample books, and the use of waste as store dressing is mildly amusing. But I'd have to say that the best bit of the exhibition seems to be the information in the articles.

'Unsung Heritage, the Quilts of Wales', Lampeter, Wales. Until 31 December 2010

2010-04-26T00:32:00.004+01:00

Details of Jen Jones' new exhibition 'Unsung Heritage - the Quilts of Wales' are now online. You can download the information flyer as a pdf on the site.

The new exhibition
'...will feature the fiery reds including red paisleys and paisley shawl quilts. Alongside these will hang the contrasting and diverse cotton patchworks and wholecloths that represent a major portion of the output during the 19th and early 20th century. '

http://www.jen-jones.com/JJWQC.htm

V&A and Artangle Costume Installation project. 28 April - 27 June 2010. London

2010-04-21T09:59:00.003+01:00

The actual title of this event is The Concise Dictionary of Dress. But I thought that might bring you here looking for a new book, and although there is an accompanying book, full title 'The Concise Dictionary of Dress: A personal tour through dress and psychoanalytic association', this is so much more.
This is a collaboration between a fashion curator and a psychoanalyst. So far as I can make out from the description, this is on one level an opportunity for groups of no more than 7 people at a time to take a guided tour of the V&A's reserve collection facility in London. On another level, it is '..... a series of intriguing definitions in a walk through dictionary of dress.'
You really need to read the website to get the gist.
http://www.artangel.org.uk//projects/2010/the_concise_dictionary_of_dress/about_the_project/the_concise_dictionary_of_dress
And be sure to click on the red link to 'access information', which describes the amazing route you take through the building.

The Concise Dictionary of Dress - trailer from Artangel on Vimeo.
">The Concise Dictionary of Dress - trailer from Artangel on Vimeo.
This is one I definitely plan to travel to.

Classic American Quilts. Bath. Until 31 October.

2010-04-18T10:40:00.004+01:00

Here's a view of the new exhibition of American Quilts at the American Museum in Britain, Bath. Last time I was there they were showing quilts trapped in standard size frames hinged to the wall. But look at them now with space to breathe. The exhibition marks the publication of a new book on the collection, and a chance to see items from the collection which are rarely seen due to their size or fragility.
The rest of the museum is also glorious. The house itself, Claverton Manor, has a fascinating history and is set in beautiful grounds above the valley of the River Avon. The set-piece rooms showing Americana in different domestic interiors are wonderful, and the tea rooms excellent.
Pick your day and the rest of the family will go and do their thing while you enjoy the textiles. On the day of my visit there was an enactment weekend going on with rival encampments in the woods. As campfire smoke curled through the trees I encountered a small child who warned me not to go near the French camp 'because they eat their babies'. These re-enactors certainly go for authenticity....
The site is worth exploring, you might as well start here
http://www.americanmuseum.org/default.cfm/loadindex.6
And while you're in the area you can go see the 17th Century gloves at the Fashion Museum http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2010/03/17th-century-gloves-fashion-museum-bath.html

Warner Textile Archive, Braintree, Essex

2010-04-14T09:54:00.008+01:00

A bit of idle surfing this morning revealed this archive treasure in Braintree. To quote their website:
"The Warner Textile Archive houses one of the country's most important collections of flat textiles. It features the entire range of fabrics produced by Warner and Sons (including Coronation velvet) from the mid 19thC as well as the original paper designs by some of the country's leading designers and artists such as Venessa Bell, Graham Sutherland, Owen Jones and Alec Hunter. The collection includes a historical and international collection of textiles dating back to the 18thC that designers used as inspiration for new designs. The archive also houses ledgers and photographs relating to the Warner company and its employees."
Under the 'collections' information I found:
"British jacquard hand weaving from 1821- 1971, printed and woven fabric produced by Warner & Sons between 1870 - 1970, wallpaper archive, point papers spanning 1790 - 1971, paper designs for printed and woven fabric dating from 1851, printing blocks dating between 1860 - 1939, assorted ephemera and photographs, collection of European and non-European textiles from all over the world dating from 1700s"

http://www.culture24.org.uk/am30786

In 'additional info' it appears they welcome researchers and group visits. If this post inspires you to visit, please let me have a report/review?

Very Sanderson - 150 years of English Decoration. Fashion and Textile Museum, London. Until 13 June 2010

2010-04-10T19:25:00.004+01:00

According to the curator of this exhibition, Sanderson is the only firm which has managed to celebrate 150 years in this business. Founded by Arthur Sanderson in 1860, in those 150 years the firm has been 'at the forefront of English decoration' - producing the first co-ordinated collection of mass-produced wallpapers and fabrics in Britain. It also introduced a number of important technical innovations as well as developing a range of textiles and wallpapers by influential designers and Britain's first 'infinite' range of colours in household paints. Oh yes, and there was the chintz.....

This exhibition draws from the comprehensive company archives as well as taking the opportunity to promote new collections. The blurb promises that 'it will fascinate and inform those whose tastes run from the Arts and Crafts style, jazzy Moderne, 50s Festival designs and Pop patterns, to Contemporary'. Presumably by way of, er, chintz.

For exhibition information go to

http://www.ftmlondon.org/exhibitions/

Listen to the curator's enthusiasm being nearly drowned out by a rather irritating trad jazz band here (plenty to see in the background if you turn the sound off)

http://www.ftmlondon.org/videos-and-podcasts/detail/?ID=41

Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain. The Textile Museum, Washington DC (Sorry). from May 15th 2010

2010-04-06T16:52:00.002+01:00

Yes, I'm breaking my own rules here, this is not in Britain, not even in Europe, its way out of reach in Washington DC. But look at the title. How could I resist? This is an exhibition of the work of the recently late lamented Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler. Women designers who were young just after World War II when, as the exhibition description puts it ' Britain was transformed from a country devastated by war into an optimistic consumer society'. Textiles, preliminary drawings and collages, ceramics and period furniture from an American collection of British textiles.

If anyone is able to visit this exhibition I'd love a review to post here. Meanwhile, the Textile Museum's website is an interesting, if convoluted, read for when you have some spare time.

http://www.textilemuseum.org/exhibitions/upcoming/Designing_Women.htm

I'll be writing to them to see if the exhibition will travel - if the V&A Quilts can go on tour, maybe we can have this in return.......

Canadian Red Cross Quilts. 'Sewing in Wartime'. Quilt Museum and Gallery, York. July 10th to October 16th 2010

2010-04-05T15:12:00.017+01:00

Have you ever seen a little label like this on a homely-looking and well-worn quilt? If so you have been in the presence of one of many thousands of quilts sent to the UK during WW2 by the industrious ladies of the Canadian Red Cross. Actually, this is a rather posh label, being embroidered and having the name of the region it came from. It is on the back of a rather primitive machine-applique quilt which will be in the York exhibition. More common are printed labels simply reading 'Gift of the Canadian Red Cross', on basic block quilts probably made by groups, much like the Linus quilts were are familiar with today.

Three ladies in the south of England are
now actively researching these quilts, and thanks to their enthusiasm one has been included in the V&A exhibition. Even better, 20 Red Cross Quilts are to have pride of place in an exhibition in York from July 10th onwards. The researchers are writing notes for the exhibition catalogue, which will finally give these quilts their official place in UK quilt history.

Between them the researchers now own 18 quilts, and have identified and registered a total of 85. A pitiful number when you think that thousands were sent, but in its way a tribute to the way the quilts were loved and used to extinction. Because of passage of time it is becoming rarer to find a quilt still with its original owner, or descendants, who know of its history. But anyone who has heard Cathy Miller sing 'The Quilt of Names' will know the story of one special quilt which was embellished with signatures, travelled the world with its original recipient, and upon his death just a few years ago was returned to the place where it was created.

I fell in love with these simple quilts years ago without at first realising their significance, and spent a long time trying to track any down and find out their history. The quilt shown above is a relatively complicated one, some are more rough and ready. 'Crazy' blocks, being quick to make, were popular (http://tinyurl.com/yh2con8). Many were hand quilted in the 'utility' pattern known as Baptist Fan, a lot were quickly finished by being tied with decorative wool tufts. All are a great reference for the everyday textiles of the war years. To my surprise, I only found out last year from a cousin who grew up in the North-East of England that she had received one during the war. Her mother had told her it was sent all the way from Canada 'just for her'. This bemused the young girl because 'we didn't know anybody in Canada'. Her quilt has no label, which is not unusual - there were many reasons why they may have been removed.

If you know of one of these quilts, either directly or indirectly, the researchers would love to hear from you. Write to me using the email button on my profile and I will put you in touch.

Inlaid Patchwork in Europe. Leeds City Art Gallery. 27 August – 31 October 2010

2010-03-29T15:19:00.009+01:00

I first wrote about this exhibition back in October 2009 when it was in Vienna.
http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2009/10/inlaid-patchwork-vienna-austrian-museum.html
The information I have been given from Leeds museums is as follows:
'This exhibition of inlaid textiles features significant examples from 1500 to the present. Horsemen, blossoms, animals, religious stories and spray painted stencil images unfold as a baroque pictorial cosmos on tapestries and covers. All these objects are made in a textile intarsia (inlaid patchwork) technique, ornamented and refined by additional textile techniques. The works are pictorial, straddling the boundary between art and craft. Displaying the work in a gallery will encourage new audiences and develop the debate around pictorial representation. There are plans to supplement the exhibition with a series of schools’ workshops, led by members of our Art team also a three-day artist’s residency during the October half term, in the Gallery’s Artspace.'
The exhibition is to be held in the Leeds City Art Gallery, which has been described as having 'one of the best collections of 20th century British art outside London'.
If you are coming to Leeds for this exhibition you are close to the Marks and Spencer Fashion Retail retrospective, at the University 10 minutes' walk away
http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2009/09/marks-spencer-exhibition-leeds-until.html
The Leeds Tapestry in the building next door to the Art Gallery
http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/search/label/Leeds%20Tapestry
And of course you are not far from York and the QGBI's Quilt Museum and Gallery
http://www.quiltmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/
More on Intarsia/Inlaid Patchwork at Barbara Brackman's blog
http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-on-intarsia-and-inlaid-applique.html

'Japantastic'. Japanese inspired patterns for British Homes, 1880-1830. Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture (MoDA) at Middlesex University, Barnet, Hertfordshire. Until 1st August 2010

2010-03-24T15:09:00.003Z

The Silver Studio adapted Japanese ideas into their designs for wallpapers and textiles between 1880 and 1930. Exhibition includes Japanese and Japanese-inspired objects from the Silver Studio collection, including textiles, wallpapers and original Japanese katagami or stencils. The exhibition is part of Japan-UK 150.

http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/japantastic/web-content/index.html

Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture (MoDA) Textile and Wallpaper design collection online.

2010-03-24T15:01:00.001Z

A large online collection with detailed search facility.
http://monet.mdx.ac.uk/
When entering search parameters you can select 'view as lightbox' which gives clickable thumbnails.
Searchable styles or themes:
Abstract, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Children, 'Futurist' 1920s, Jacobean, Japanese/Aesthetic, Louis/Queen Anne, Geometric, 'Modernist' 1930s, Oriental/Chinoiserie, Traditional Chintz, Paisley.

17th Century Gloves. Fashion Museum, Bath. Ongoing.

2010-03-23T08:59:00.001Z

Gloves on loan from the Gloves Collections Trust , a display 'including 20 pairs of gloves from their outstanding collection, intricately embroidered in a variety of materials from tiny seed pearls to sparkling metal thread'.

More information:

http://www.museumofcostume.co.uk/whats_on/17th_century_gloves.aspx

And while you're in the area, don't miss the Classic American Quilts at Claverton Manor

http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2010/04/classic-american-quilts-bath-until-31.html

Photographing Fashion. Fashion Museum, Bath. From March 27th.

2010-03-23T08:51:00.001Z

The new display 'shows how fashion in Britain in the 1960s ranged from demure dresses and ensembles by now little remembered ready-to-wear firms such as Reldan and Nettie Vogues, to dolly bird designs by the new 1960s fashion stars such as Mary Quant and Jean Muir'

'Drawn from the Fashion Museum's collection of black and white prints and original fashion dawings by Mrs Ernestine Carter, Women's and later Associate Editor of The Sunday Times from 1955'. I still have my scrapbook of photographs from the Sunday Times of the 60s. Exciting times they were.....

Read the full press release here

http://www.museumofcostume.co.uk/whats_on/press_releases/2010/photographing_fashion.aspx

Quilts at the V&A - a personal view, and what the bloggers say

2010-03-21T00:07:00.016Z

What a wonderful exhibition. I found quilts that were familiar friends from years of book browsing. Others were entirely new acquaintances that I intend get to know better. There were quilts with stories that brought tears to my eyes, others that made me laugh at the wit of the creators or sigh at their needle skills and design sense. There were those I wanted to take home and those that I certainly didn't. The physical use of the exhibition space, the thematic organisation, and the mixture of old and new within those themes, was hugely effective. Like anyone presented with someone else's take on their obsession there were things I would have wished done differently, but there were also wonderful diversions I would never have thought of taking. As a quilt geek I'll allow myself a small grumble, that the item chosen to represent the show on all the literature, posters, and book cover, is not a quilt at all but a small painted and stitched piece of textile art, in the words of the catalogue 'reminiscent of a flag'. Quilt historians (yes, we do exist) worry a lot about definitions. And more information next to the exhibits about materials and techniques, would have settled a few arguments. Next visit I shall try the audio guide and see if that will be enlightening.

If you want to hear the startling effect this exhibition can have on quilt virgins, take the link below to BBC iPlayer and listen to the Saturday Review from 20th March. The team of arts reviewers, for whom the usual fare is plays, films and books, went along - on their own admission - with preconceptions and sinking hearts. To a man (and a woman) they came away having discovered something wonderful about how textiles can excite and move you. Which is a huge tribute to the Curator for her vision, and food for thought for this quilt geek who perhaps needs to get out more. I leave you with their enthusiasm, and hope you find the same enjoyment yourselves when you visit.
Start about 36 minutes in at:

http://tinyurl.com/yepf3gy

And for afters, here is a roundup of some blogger responses. I know there were around 20 bloggers at the preview, but these are all I have found so far. Do let me know if you've found others. Please, nobody send me Kirstie Allsop's. I couldn't bring myself to include it.

Susan Briscoe. Start at the entry for March 21, Susan has several interesting posts on the subject

http://susanbriscoe.blogspot.com

Sandra Wyman. A thoughtful and illustrated walk through the exhibition. More posts to follow, she has a lot to say.

http://thedyershand.blogspot.com/

Needleprint, moved by the personal stories.

http://needleprint.blogspot.com/2010/03/v-quilt-exhibition.html

Sally Bramald, captivated by the patchwork:

http://quiltfeather.blogspot.com/2010/03/v-and-exhibition.html

Alison Wellner. Not your fault, but please, its not a quilt, its a flag!

www.luxist.com/2010/03/11/visit-londons-vanda-museum-for-quilts-1700-2010/

Janet. A lover of the modern, nevertheless won over by an older piece

www.aquiltersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/03/quilts-1700-2010-quilts-by-tracy-emin.html

The Cotton Patch blog. start at the entry for March 20. One of her pictures demonstrates how the clever gallery lighting (a low row of lights) shows up the quilting.

www.quiltingonline.co.uk/blogger.html

BBC News Not a blog, but a slideshow from the BBC. Heavy on the modern stuff with tantalising glimpses of what lies beyond. The final picture, with no mention of what it is or its significance, is the Rajah Quilt (http://nga.gov.au/RajahQuilt/). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8578091.stm

Vogue online. Not much to read here, except what I hope is a misquote from the Curator, implying that the quilt revival is only half a dozen years old, and that I am about to lose my readers : "I started on this project in 2004. Now there is a huge revival of interest in traditional crafts. There are a lot of women out there who are really keen to step away from their computer and their Blackberry,"

www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/100318-victoria--albert-museums-quilt-ex.aspx

Thoughts on Mrs Delany

2010-03-18T21:51:00.002Z

Interesting comments on the work of Mrs Delany (http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2010/03/mrs-delany-and-her-circle-sir-john.html) on needleprint's blog:

http://needleprint.blogspot.com/2010/03/woman-did-not-waste-time-mrs-delanys.html

V and A Quilts Exhibition - reviews online

2010-03-18T09:00:00.007Z

http://quiltingarts.com/blogs/pippa/archive/2010/03/30/quilts-of-all-kinds-a-remarkable-exhibition-at-the-victoria-amp-albert-museum.aspx

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/review-23817785-stunning-stitches-back-in-time-at-quilts-show.do

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/21/british-quilts-1700-london-review

http://golondon.about.com/od/victoriaalbertmuseum/fr/Quilts-review.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/17/quilt-exhibition-v-and-a

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article7037444.ece

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/stitches-in-time-quiltmaking-as-contemporary-art-1921331.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/7464885/Tracey-Emins-quilt-goes-on-display.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c9c63880-2c9f-11df-8abb-00144feabdc0.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126955722517867637.html?mod=wsj_share_facebook

And for an excellent response to some of these reviews, go to Susan Briscoe's blog:

http://susanbriscoe.blogspot.com/2010/03/v-and-quilts-exhibition-review-links.html

Madder Dye. 4,000 year old fragment found.

2010-03-15T13:47:00.006Z

I mentioned this article a while back in a post about a Turkey Red exhibition, but I think in the light of the recent post about 34,000 year old flax http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/search/label/Flax it deserves a spot of its own.

The earliest known example of madder dye on a fragment of leather from an ancient Egyptian quiver.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32362118/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Prism Exhibition Group. Textile Inspired Art. The Mall Galleries, London, June 1st - 5th

2010-03-14T13:03:00.005Z

It is a departure for this blog to include modern textile work, and I have done so after much reflection. Following the old maxim that if you are not moving forward you are standing still, I think I am going to include more listings like this and see if any of you find them interesting.

This is the Prism group's description of their exhibition

"Prism will hold their next major exhibition at the Mall Galleries in June 2010. Members will show textile inspired works, which respond to the theme 'evolve: evoke: expand'. This broad theme reflects the changing status and growth of the group and offers the artists the challenge of exploration and discovery.
Prism members work in a wide variety of mediums including stitch, print, dye, felt, knit, paper and cloth, ensuring this next exhibition promises to be a vibrant and exciting show."

You can read about the group here:

http://www.prismtextiles.co.uk/index.html

I would like to include a photo, but the range of work is so diverse that I think it better that you browse the homepage of the website, where there is a slideshow showing the variety of work.

Textile Dealers - Online Catalogues

2010-03-11T11:03:00.010Z

There are some textile dealers who produce such wonderful online catalogues that they really deserve a mention on TextileHunter. My primary criteria for choosing them must be the eye candy factor, but the site needs also to be clear and intuitive to use, and the information well presented and - so far as I can tell - accurate. Good dealers often include knowledgeable articles on their sites as well. Never any affiliation, just offering you some nice browsing and possible research leads.

You should enjoy these sites:

http://www.meg-andrews.com

http://www.vintagetextile.com

http://www.coraginsburg.com/ (thanks to the writer of Leeds Tapestry blog for this one)

Flax Fibres - 34,000 years old. Harvard Gazette online

2010-03-09T12:33:00.002Z

This online publication of a report from Harvard University opens:

'A team of archaeologists and paleobiologists has discovered flax fibers that are more than 34,000 years old, making them the oldest fibers known to have been used by humans. The fibers, discovered during systematic excavations in a cave in the Republic of Georgia, are described in this week’s issue of Science.'

If you are interested in the history of human textile endeavour this is worth reading:

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/oldest-known-fibers-discovered/

Hope House Costume Museum. Nr. Ashbourne, Derbyshire

2010-03-08T13:55:00.012Z

I met these lovely ladies at the Antique Textile Fair, walking adverts for the vintage fashion on their stall, and fell into conversation. Turns out the stallholder was trying to thin out a collection/obsession which had spread from her house to an adjacent barn and is open to visitors. The Hope House costume museum is open by appointment to groups (12-35 people). If you are an individual wanting to visit, they will try to arrange for you to be there in conjunction with another group's visit.

Much of the collection has been donated, and includes menswear, children's and baby outfits, christening robes, military uniforms, wedding dresses, ladies outfits and accessories from 1790 up to the 1970s.

And by the way, I'm told that the cream tea is a must.

www.hopehousemuseum.co.uk

Mrs Delany and her circle. Sir John Soane's Museum. Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. Until 1 May 2010.

2010-03-06T11:16:00.006Z

And why, I hear you ask, am I recommending an exhibition of 'paper cut pictures' on a textile site? The answer is that although that is what has been chosen to illustrate the exhibition, the work of Mrs Delany was so much more. She didn't take up paper as an art form until of mature years, having worked her way through the needlearts, producing exquisite embroideries. I saw the book of the exhibition yesterday, and was swept away by the art and needleart illustrated.

I commend to you an article by Amanda Vickery, in the Guardian, not only for a wonderful description of the breadth of this exhibition, but as an antidote to the anti-needlecraft rants of feminists such as Germaine Greer. The entire article is worth your time, I quote these paragraphs as a taster:

A new international exhibition, Mrs Delany and Her Circle, is a gorgeous attempt to rescue female amateurism from the condescension of posterity. It celebrates the artistic versatility of the twice widowed Georgian gentlewoman Mary Granville Pendarves Delany (1700-88), displaying embroidered textiles, pieces of her court dress, 30 of her paper mosaics, natural history specimens, drawings, garden designs, rococo flower arrangements and a huge curtain of preserved flowers of species Delany depicted.

The exhibition restores Delany's practice to the broader context of polite natural science, art and design, while recreating the interlinked artistic, aristocratic, and scientific networks that defined her social world. It has to work hard to engage the sceptical. Former keeper of prints and drawings at the British Museum, Paul Hilton, deplored the fact that Delany's exquisite paper collages of nearly 1,000 botanical specimens were often written off as "the genteel work of an old lady to be compared, say, with samplers".

Read it in full here http://tinyurl.com/yz2xkt2

The exhibition is at Sir John Soane's Museum

http://www.soane.org/next.html

Ecclesiastical Embroidery. Bradford Cathedral. 17th February - 6th March 2010

2010-03-02T09:42:00.013Z

From the Press Release pdf on Bradford Cathedral's website (http://www.bradfordcathedral.co.uk/)

For a more personal view, and some lovely photographs, checkout Needleprint's blog

http://needleprint.blogspot.com/

"The Cathedral is hosting its first exhibition of ecclesiastical embroidery, bringing together pieces from churches around the Diocese.

The exhibition, part of the Cathedral’s Artspace programme, includes pieces from the Cathedral itself to as far away as Cautley near Sedbergh. Vestments, including chasubles and stoles, as well as altar frontals, burses and veils are among over forty exhibits – each one unique and showing the diversity of the churches in the Bradford Diocese. Not only will visitors be able to appreciate the skill of local people who designed and hand-stitched most of these impressive pieces, they will discover more about the symbolism behind the designs and the customs of the Anglican Church such as the use of liturgical colours, vesting prayers and the seasons of the Church year. Opening on the first day of Lent, a time of reflection, the exhibition gives people a chance to understand more about the traditions used to enhance daily worship.

The exhibition opens on Ash Wednesday, 17^th February at 12noon. Please contact the Cathedral Office on 01274 777720 for further details and usual opening times. "

More than World Textiles - A website called See-Mingei

2010-03-02T09:10:00.005Z

A wonderful website which is an ongoing project documenting 'objects integrally related to life'. Which of course includes textiles, although there's lots of other absorbing stuff. A brilliant way to cross-reference design influences. Pick a place in the world, start looking at the thumbnails, and you will be there for hours....

http://see-mingei.org/current/index_full.html

The thumbnails are clickable, and then zoomable. Brilliant. Oh sorry, I already said that. But it is.

World Textile Day. 13 March 2010. Llanidloes, Wales.

2010-03-01T17:28:00.007Z

Blink and you'll miss it, a one-day event at the Minerva Arts Centre. A lot more interesting than it looks on the Arts Centre site.

http://www.quilt.org.uk/event-25-World+Textile+Day.html

'Exhibition of traditional costume and textiles. Five specialist world textile traders. Free admission plus £2 per talk'

The speakers are John Gillow at 11 a.m. 'Costume in Africa and Asia' and Susan Briscoe at 2.30 p.m. 'Kimono Kitsuke: Japanese Kimono Everyday Wear'.

I don't usually do adverts, and obviously have no affiliation, but I make an exception here. The five traders are experts in their fields, you always learn something from a browse amongst people like these. I just wish I lived closer.

Textile Techniques
www.textiletechniques.co.uk (hand made textiles, clothes, jewellery)
The African Fabric Shop (Magie Relph - expert and trader in batiks, wax and sun prints, beads, baskets)
www.africanfabric.co.uk
Susan Briscoe Designs (Expert and trader in Japanese Kimono and Kimono fabrics)
www.susanbriscoe.co.uk
John Gillow (specilising in embroidered woven and resist dyed textiles and costume throughout Asia and Africa)
Slow Loris (indigo and vegetable dyed clothing, oriental and tribal clothing and textiles, expert on Chinese tribal minorities)

Japanese Sashiko Textiles. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. 26 February - 10 April. (Closed 2 - 5 April)

2010-02-28T16:41:00.008Z

The exhibition described earlier on TextileHunter
http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2009/09/japanese-sashiko-textiles-at-york-city.html
is now travelling. It opened in Glasgow on 26 February.
http://www.strath.ac.uk/collinsgallery/exhibitions/future/

In lieu of a catalogue, go online to
http://www.sashiko.org.uk/ where you will find a well illustrated downloadable 16 page pdf by Michele Walker titled Japanese Sashiko Textiles and another on Function and Beauty of Kogin by Reiko Hara. There is also a review of the exhibition in the current issue of Fabrications, written by Japanese textile expert Susan Briscoe

Beamish Museum Collections Online

2010-02-28T14:46:00.006Z

I've mentioned the quilt collection online in a previous post, but I think I should give you the link to the Collections Online homepage. It is such a wide list that you need to go there yourself and see what they have.

http://www.beamishcollections.com/default.asp

The Leeds Tapestry. Online, and at Leeds Central Library

2010-02-28T13:47:00.014Z

Seems like only yesterday it was the Millenium, Y2K bugs and all that. But already we are 10 years on and this community arts project embroidered to celebrate the millennium is on the way to turning into a heirloom. There are 16 huge 'collaged embroidery' panels telling the story of one city. The panel on the right pertains particularly to the city's textile history.

There has for some time been a website devoted to the Tapestry, but in the interests of becoming more interactive and keeping news up to date they have now started a blog.
http://www.leedstapestry.blogspot.com

Visit the real thing in the Central Library, Leeds. (closed Mondays)
Or view the panels online at http://www.leedstapestry.org.uk/02a_tapestry.php

The Tristan Bedcover aka the Tristan Quilt. London on permanent display, Florence April 24 to June 24, 2010

2010-02-28T10:18:00.006Z

A previous post mentioned that the opening of the new Mediaeval Renaissance Galleries at the V&A has at last enabled them to show this wonderful piece of quilting history http://textilehunter.blogspot.com/2009/08/tristan-bedcover-at-v-london-from-late.html
and now I hear, through a quilting forum, that its sister quilt is to be shown this year in Florence. The writer says:

Dear friends of textile history:
The year 2010 is extraordinary for those interested in early quilt history. Not only is the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Tristan Quilt now on public view in London for the first time in generations, but the sister quilt in the collection of the National Museum of Bargello and known there as the Coperta di Usella, will go on public display at the Museo Palazzo Davanzati, Florence, from April 24 to June 24, 2010 under the auspices of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Activities. These two quilts are known as rare surviving examples of all white figurative quilting attributed to a Sicilian atelier circa 1360-1400 (1). As such, they are key pieces in understanding the tradition of quilting from the Middle Ages to present day.

Please pass this message on to everyone you think may be interested as you plan your trips to Florence and London!

So here I am, passing on the message.

Shirley Craven and Hull Traders: Revolutionary Post-War Fabrics and Furniture. Bankfield Museum, Halifax, West Yorkshire. 13 March to 09 May 2010

2010-02-24T20:00:00.027Z

This exhibition of fabrics and furniture which I first mentioned last September is starting to tour in Halifax this March, and moving on to Kings Lynn Arts Centre 18 September - 30 October, then the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, 15 January - 5 March 2011 .

See the original Textilehunter entry:
http://tinyurl.com/ydo89d9

Exhibition information:
http://tinyurl.com/yg8h93n

More about Hull Traders and their designers:
http://tinyurl.com/yzwwzog

Compass by Shirley Craven

Private Collection

Photo: Ferens Art Gallery

Textile Articles on the Web.

2010-02-21T14:03:00.001Z

Hours of browsing here, and research possibilities, a phenomenal collection of articles about textile history, principally in the UK and US. The quickest of dips from the first page in reveals the range of items...

'The journal entries of Celia Fiennes, a non-conformist Scottish woman from an aristocratic family written during her journey on horseback across England in 1698, describing the town of Exeter and its thriving woollen textile industry'.

'Web site of a Lancashire action group dedicated to the preservation of a moorland route which was constructed in 1863 in the framework of The Public Works Act passed by the British Parliament to provide work to textile mill workers, unemployed due to the Union's blockade of Confederate ports during the American Civil War, causing a critical shortage of cotton to Lancashire cotton textile mill'

'Extensive historical information on past and present cotton yarn spinning and fabric weaving mills of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, USA'

'Article originally published in The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland in 1865, describing the cotton, flax, linen and wool industry in Scotland'

'The history of the weavers guild of the Czech town of Vyšší Brod, founded by Vilém of Rožmberk in 1568 and organized linen weavers under the auspices of the local abbot'.

Make yourself a cup of coffee and switch the phone to voicemail......

http://www.dmoz.org/Business/Textiles_and_Nonwovens/Resources/History/Industry/

Mediaeval Textiles. Museé du Cinquantenaire, Brussels, until 14 March 2010

2010-02-19T09:23:00.003Z

An exhibition of four 'very important' newly restored 15th century tapestries. They have been brought to the exhibition from Spain, and represent the Portuguese conquest of North Africa. Each one is 11 x 4 metres. It is only a shame that the thumbnails on the site are not clickable. Guess you'll just have to get on the Eurostar if you want to see them in all their glory.
Original museum link in French:
http://www.kmkg-mrah.be/newfr/index.asp?id=2199
Babelfish translation:
http://tinyurl.com/y8n924m

Manchester Textile Fair. March 7th 2010

2010-02-18T12:20:00.002Z

The Textile Society's major annual fund-raising event, held at the Armitage Centre in Manchester. A gymnasium full of mouth-watering stalls from every variety of textile trader you can think of, and in the upstairs area there are always interesting displays and contact points for varied textile societies, traders, teachers, colleges.

http://www.textilesociety.org.uk/

Quilts at Cath Kidson Shops

2010-02-17T14:22:00.010Z

Not my usual kind of post, and please don't think this is an advertising link. If you love and admire vintage quilts, go and check out your local Cath Kidson shop. This advice comes with a health warning. Vintage quilts have been used to make curtains for the dressing rooms. Now, I'm not a purist about preserving any old quilt just because it is old, but when a quilt is an intact survivor with considerable merit (as was the one I saw) I am upset to see it used in this way. Particularly because in order to make the curtains they have punched large eyelet holes along one edge of the quilt.

Friends have collected sightings across the country. One, a quilt collector herself, visited the Marylebone High Street store and described the quilts she saw 're-purposed' there as items she would certainly have bought for her own collection, having merit in their construction, fabric, and/or quilting designs.

This upsets me not only because of the destruction of previously sound and interesting quilts, part of our dwindling UK quilt heritage, but also because of the message it sends out to visitors to the shop that this is an acceptable way to treat old textiles which are still in good condition.

If you should see one of these quilts and feel moved to do anything about it, you can contact Cath Kidson's Customer Services at welovetolisten@cathkidston.co.uk

I would welcome your comments below this post, tell me whether you agree or am I being 'precious'?

The Quaker Tapestry Museum, Kendal, Cumbria

2010-02-16T11:36:00.009Z

A fascinating site documenting a remarkable tapestry, an 'international community project exploring three centuries of social history within 77 fascinating panels.'

http://www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk/home/

The execution of the work is stunning, as is the quality of the design. Take some time on this beautifully designed site, there's more to see than you think at first glance. This is also an accredited museum with a collection of 'around 500 articles of clothing, samplers, embroideries and a variety of other domestic items'.
And - so it says - great vegetarian food!

2010-02-16T11:09:00.002Z

Buckinghamshire, Olney. The Couper and Newton Museum. Lacemaking.

2010-02-16T00:03:00.004Z

House and gardens where 18th century poet William Cowper (http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/608)
lived and worked. A museum of the town's history which seems particularly wide-ranging - from dinosaurs to WW2, according to the website. Of particular interest to us is a display of the history of lacemaking in Olney and North Buckinghamshire, with 'many historic early examples of different styles of lace'.

The website is particularly comprehensive on the history of lace, you can work page by page through a full history of the craft in the area.

http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cnm/lace/index.html

A Kaleidoscope of Quilts. Eastleigh Museum, Hampshire. 17 April 2010 to 15 May 2010

2010-02-15T20:25:00.015Z

'A vibrant display spanning several decades. Exhibits include a community quilt made in the County, work from past students of Eastleigh College, a Victorian Vicar's patchwork coat, and a dress from a 1936 carnival.'
The picture they have used to illustrate the exhibition looks very like a WW2 Canadian Red Cross quilt to me...
http://tinyurl.com/ydu8uc7
I also notice that they are having a 'dating old quilts' day with the curator, which should be well worth going to not only for the talk, but also because its the sort of occasion when other visitors drag something out of a bag for advice. You never know when a treasure will turn up. That is on 22 April.
http://tinyurl.com/ya8kxcz

Simply Samplers.

2010-02-12T20:33:00.003Z

I just stumbled on this website about a touring exhibition of needlework samplers which took place in Scotland in 2007-8. The website gives lots of information about samplers in Scotland, illustrations and articles. Interesting in itself, but also an extremely good reference for anyone wanting to do research.

http://www.simplysamplers.org/content/pages/the-samplers.php

Welsh Quilts 1830-2010. 26 April - 29 May 2010. Llanidloes, Mid Wales

2010-02-11T16:48:00.012Z

The Quilt Association http://www.quilt.org.uk/ has planned this exhibition to coincide with the V& A Quilt Exhibition. It will feature 'some of the best antique Welsh quilts from the Assocation's collection'.

There will also be contemporary works from Diana Brockway,
Gwenfai Rees Griffiths and Becky Knight.

Mouthwatering details here

http://www.quilt.org.uk/event-31-Welsh+Quilts+1830+_+2010.html

York, Quilt Museum and Gallery. 9 January - 20 March 2010. Wholecloths of Wales and Scotland. A Persian Journey in Felt

2010-01-08T19:36:00.006Z

As always, two exhibitions running concurrently in the two galleries. 'The Celtic Fringe' focuses on quilt patterns native to Wales and Scotland, and 'Namad, A Persian Journey in Felt' looks at the variety and richness of embroidered Turkoman motifs.

More information here

http://tinyurl.com/yzkgw5a

University of Leeds International Textile Archive - 'ULITA'.

2010-01-03T23:16:00.010Z

Feast your eyes on this little lot online: World Textiles, Japanese, Qing dynasty, Kashmir Shawls, Sample pattern books, North West Frontier, Egyptian, Indonesian.....and there's more.

http://ulita.leeds.ac.uk/wiki/mediawiki-1.10.1/index.php/Clothworkers_Digital_Archive

And two good exhibitions to start 2010, 'Natural Fibres: A World Heritage' and '75 Years of Stitching in Yorkshire' in association with the Embroiderer's Guild.

Exhibition 'A Material World' . Near Romsey, Hampshire. 1st-27th January 2010

2009-12-31T01:33:00.006Z

Exhibition 'depicting the wide range of uses for textiles in furnishings, decorations and fashion'. Demonstrations include spinning, weaving and lace-making. Free Admission. Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, three miles north-east of Romsey.

http://www.hilliergardens.org.uk/directions.html

Barcelona! Permanent Textile Exhibition

2009-12-30T14:45:00.007Z

Oh dear, I really need a trip to Barcelona, just to spend a week in this place....

http://www.dhub-bcn.cat/en/museus/museu-textil-i-dindumentaria

The Woolly Way of Ireland

2009-12-30T11:53:00.003Z

Up to now I haven't recommended blogs on this site, simply because it is so hard to draw a line under what is relevant to TextileHunter's remit. But this one I just have to draw to your attention
http://www.woollyway.blogspot.com/ and having broken my duck I shall be adding others in the future.

I found it more than a week ago and still haven't had time to look at everything it has to offer (Christmas had something to do with that) but if you go no further than the Irish Textile Map link under Woolly Way Stuff you will be happy for hours.

At the heart of the Woolly Way blog is the same desire I have harboured for years, which is to create or tap into a definitive resource for anyone who wants to visit and/or research textiles wherever they may travel in the UK and Europe. Stitchlily's blog entry for 19th December really struck a chord with me. I've a long way to go to make TextileHunter as wide ranging as WoollyWay, but I thank Stitchlily for giving me the inspiration to carry on with what can sometimes feel like a thankless task.

If there is anyone out there reading, I wish you a 2010 filled with the joy of textiles, in all their forms.

Sally Tatters

'Unfolding', an exhibition of textile art. Weaver's Gallery, Ledbury. November 30th - December 6th 2009

2009-12-02T19:24:00.003Z

I have brief information about this only, and can't find anything better online.

At the Weaver's Gallery, Ledbury. An exhibition of textile art by Di Wells, Anne Weldon, Liz Broke Ward. Until December 6th 2009.

Manchester Art Gallery. Costume Collection Online

2009-11-07T09:40:00.008Z

Hours of lovely browsing on this site, with the costume collection categorised in themes, and each page cross referenced with related themes. It is a masterpiece of website design, and an elephant trap for any textile lover who thinks they can take a quick look and then get on with something else.

The site describes the Gallery of Costume as housing 'one of the largest collections of clothing and fashion accessories in Britain, containing over 20,000 items. The collection contains clothes worn by men, women and children, from the 17th century to the present day. '

The site themes are:

Designers; Dressing Up, Dressing Down; Clothes for Work; Recycled Fashion; Sexuality; Materials and Making; Close Up; Sports and Leisure; Underwear.....

http://www.manchestergalleries.org/our-other-venues/platt-hall-gallery-of-costume/the-collection/collection-themes/