Day 10: Stitching, stitching.

There were very few takers for breakfast at 7.30 this morning. Most people drifted in after 8.00, perhaps worn out by our night at the theatre.

It was a bright sunny day in Stratford-on-Avon. It looked great from inside the hotel. Outside, though sunny, it was cold.

This didn't much matter, because we were stitching inside all day today - the best of both worlds, cosy and warm, looking out on sunshine.

Our group made good progress on the Blackwork in the morning, working a range of stitches and beginning the outlines.

After our coffee break we began the first of the gold work.

Like Nicola's project, Kate Barlow's is really well designed for the teaching time. There is a variety of stitches and techniques, all on an achievable scale so a stitcher has a continuing sense of achievement. The project grows quickly. I realise some like projects that are larger and require a lot of ongoing work after a class, but I very much want to get close to seeing the finished thing. This one is really doing it for me.

I have been meaning for days to go out and photograph the lamppost opposite the hotel. Melody told me about it on the day we arrived. I could see it from the dining room but did not realise for several days that it was the one Melody was looking for. Today I finally walked across the road with Melody and Genevieve to have a closer look.

There are three bronze figures - the owl from the Owl and the Pussycat, the Fiddler on the Roof and Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream.


The sun was not in the best position for photographing it, so I might try for some better shots early in the morning.

The lamppost was a gift to Stratford from the Israeli Government. The owl oversees the scene from the top.




























NickBottom sits on one side, playing what appears to be a lute and singing, seemingly unaware he has the head of a donkey.


On the other side of the lamp is a Jewish fiddler - fiddling on the roof .






Stratford has many lampposts donated by various organisations and countries. None I have seen are as elaborate as this, but I will perhaps go looking for others next week.



In the afternoon we did the needle lace strawberry. I was pretty pleased with mine The first row should have been tighter, but other than that it came out well.







This is where I was at the end of the day.

I was feeling very tired again this evening, a combination of the theatre, a later night than usual last night and a full, concentrated day of stitching.

Before dinner Prof Richard McGregor interviewed our five tutors (Jenny Adin-Christie is on her way to Australia/NZ) about their entry into embroidery and their lives as professional embroiderers. Richard is very good at this and there was much lively discussion and interaction. Most had begun their post-school lives in an area other than embroidery and found their way there through an encounter or idea. The Royal School of Needlework had played a significant role in  the lives of three of them.

For all of them, the hardest thing related to the stress of having to turn time into money. What they can be paid for does not cover the hours of preparation and conceptualisation that goes into a product.

It was a most stimulating session and the conversations it provoked went on for hours through and after dinner. A fabulous day - great stitching and stimulating conversations with like-minded people.
Deo Gratias.