For centuries women have used cloth as a tool of comfort and as an expression of beauty within their homes. Creating cloth for warmth, cloth for shelter, our female predecessors embellished these linens with hand stitch using laborious and time consuming techniques thereby enhancing the functional beauty of objects which enveloped and protected their families. Inspired by these women I hope my creations pay tribute to and recognise the devotion expressed in cloth by our female ancestors .







''the use of traditional often time consuming process alludes to the devotion of a mother''. c K. A. Ruane 2007







Saturday, July 5, 2008

Inspired!

I had a fantastic trip to London and there is so much I want to show you from there but first I must share this with you. I bought these lovely vintage stamps from Victoria which arrived just as I was leaving for my trip.

Not only did I get the stamps, she also sent me these gorgeous pieces of vintage lace, absolutely beautiful. I am sooooooooooooo grateful that I am going to shamelessley plug her new etsy shop!! Check it out here.



Back to London, I always return from here so inspired and revitalised. It must be the buzz of the place, the wacky (and not so wacky) people, the availability and obviousness of contemporary design, in shop windows, on posters, the street art, the architecture, I get such a buzz from it all. The main reason for my trip this time though was to visit this, the only place to see the best graduates from across the whole country. These , mostly young, people are so amazingly talented, they are excited for their future, buzzing with excitement and creativity, it is inspiring just to hold a conversation with them, the enthusiasum for their work, it can't fail to rub off. The two images here are from a selection of postcards I picked up at the show, I cannot take credit for any of this fantastic work, but I am sure some of these people will make their mark and you will hear more about them in the future. Whilst there I was fortunate enough to be allowed to photograph the work of two graduates, I will share that a little later!

How lovely is this cloth? How could I possibly resist? Well no, I couldn't, and here is the proof. I haven't a clue what I am going to do with it, for now it's enough to own it, touch it, smell it.


and my exquisite vintage buttons from Portobello Road,

There is a lot more to share from London, but ever aware that this is supposed to be an embroidery blog, I am off to embroider in order to have a post for the next time.
It's good to be back, I have missed you!

7 comments:

Jane said...

What beautiful lace. Good to see you back

méri said...

:)
It's excellent!

Anonymous said...

Loved hearing about London and seeing all your purchases. What embroiderer doesnt enjoy seeing vintage buttons and lace etc!

jennyflowerblue said...

Great hunter gathering! Love the ticking and the lace. Mum phoned the other day;'I'm having a clear out do you want........some net?...some big foam stamps?....a load of old lace?' duh? Funny how people teasure different things!

Victoria said...

First off, how sweet are you! Thank you so much Karen, for the lovely plug! I am thrilled that you like the stamps, and I am even more thrilled to have been able to share some of the vintage lace with you, as I knew you would appreciate it's beauty!

Your trip to London sounds fabulous! How great to get an up close look at all that fresh design inspiration! I am anxious to read more!

Beautiful cloth and buttons, too!
Welcome back!

Sew Bettie said...

The lace is to die for. I really like it.

Ulla said...

I'm glad to have you back and to hear you had a nice trip. And you have such nice things to show!