Thursday 9 March 2017

Knit and Stitch Olympia March 2017

Despite not arriving home from Rydal  until after 9pm on Friday, I was at Olympia for Knit and Stitch on good time , if a little weary.  I had volunteered to help out on the QGBI workshop ,  helping  visitors make log cabin  blocks for Linus Quilts . Despite having practised at home, even I got the odd piece the wrong way round! Some  lovely people: a lady who made tiny shoes; another who did embroidery and applique in Tracey Emin's studio; a young girl back for a second go so she could perfect her seams ( making a better job than I did!).
I had some time in the morning for a bit of retail therapy (12wt  threads from Barnyarns and some African strip cloth) but mainly a good look round the textile galleries. There may not be many of them  but they were all worth a visit. it was lovely to see my 'Eroding Margins' again in the CQ 'On the Edge' .  I  found the exhibits by the 62 Group and Quinary   thought provoking and inspiring  but what stole my heart  was 'What do I need To do to make it Ok?'  I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw the  Dorothy Caldwell  pieces !


I'm still hugely influenced by the class I did with Dorothy in Puglia and a lot of my  work is based on using old textiles , including 'Eroding Margins'  which is made of indigo dyed old quilts,  so this exhibit on darning and mending really resonated with me.  Her notebooks and samples on display were a delight, I love to see the process of people's thoughts and making as much as the finished work.



1 comment:

Heather said...

Dorothy's work is indeed a show stopper. I was lucky enough to do a workshop with her once too.