Out & About: Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Each of the C&G Patchwork and Quilting courses I run have a four day summer school in June.  The two Certificate Groups each had a day out to the Botanic Gardens so we could be inspired, learn to look and to sketch.  

The weather couldn't have been more different between the two days.  For the first group it drizzled and wasn't very pleasant, making drawing outside interesting, especially if water soluble pencils were being used!  However, we spent some fantastic time in the green houses and the Keble Palace fernery. 

The second group struck lucky with the weather and I ended up with mild sunburn.  However, this meant that the glasshouses were not conducive to spending lots of time in them as they were so hot... and we are Scottish and not used to it.

The aim wasn't to create beautiful drawings, but useful sketches and ideas to then move into fabric.  And this was definitely achieved by both groups. 

Although beforehand some were a bit hesitant about drawing in public, I think everyone enjoyed it and we all agreed that you see so much more when you slow down and attempt to draw something rather than just snapping with your camera and thinking you'll do something with it later.  At least if you have tried to draw it when you come to do something later you understand it better.

The plants had been watered just before I took this photo

Having said all that, all of these images are photos that I took!  I did do some drawing as well, although, of course, I was there to teach the others, not to spend time coming up with new ideas myself.  I have already made some more drawings based on my photos and initial sketches and some thermofax screens of poppies.  So I've got plenty of ideas to work on over the summer when I'm having a break from teaching... not that I will have that much time as the kids are off from school!

Inspiration: Celts at the National Museum of Scotland

Tis the season of summer schools here.  With the first Diploma Group we had a trip to the Wemyss School of Needlework and the Fife Folk Museum.  Both the Certificate Groups are having a day at the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow (more to follow).  For the other Diploma Group, I thought long and hard about where to go, before settling on the National Museum of Scotland, because there is something for everyone there.  Everyone went their own way to explore and sketch and we met at lunchtime to exchange inspiration.  

Celts exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland

Whilst we were there, I went to the special exhibition on the Celts.  It continues until 25 September 2016, so there is still time to visit it if you can.  And you should!
The exhibition guided you through the idea of the Celts and their place in Europe from the earliest times right up to the revivals in the 19th and 20th Century.  The degree of interpretations was fascinating, from who viewed themselves as Celts and when the whole concept of the Celtic world was born.  The variety of objects was fantastic and there were many which totally fascinated me.  In particular, I loved the patterns and the repeats and how the shapes hinted at animals and objects without being totally explicit.  Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, although there are a couple of images on the website - http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/whats-on/celts/ 

pages from my very rough sketchbook

As the aim in taking the students was to encourage them to sketch, I felt obliged to do the same.  

More pages of quick sketches

However, it is the patterns on one object that really grabbed me - one which I couldn't really sketch at the time as it was circular in nature and circles are notoriously difficult to draw freehand. So when I got home, I got out the compass and drew the interesting pattern.  I scanned it and reprinted a couple of variations to try colouring in.  
I know colouring in is very popular at the moment, but those detailed colouring in books would drive me nuts.  I can't stay within the lines and all that concentration, just to be ruined by not being accurate enough...  

Coloured in with felt tip pens

I didn't mind doing these, but I did realise it would be a lot quicker on the computer, so that's where the second lot came from.  And all the colour is within the lines!

Versions from on the computer - nicer colours too

I've now moved into fabric, but that is for another post as it is in early stages.  I know where it is going, but all you can see at the moment is the insipid under layers.  

Books about British Quilt History

After our day out last week for the Diploma Summer School, we spent three days in the studio, enjoying historical quilts and getting frustrated with mathematical sequences and progressions!  Lesley, a reader of this blog, asked about books on British Quilt History and as this is something we have just been doing, I have all the information to hand for a blog post.  This is not a definitive list of books on British Quilt History, just ones I have in my collection and which I have found useful.  

This is the book I refer to the most.  Well written and researched, with many images.  Something strange is happening with my images, so either you are seeing this book twice or not at all!  Apologies.  It is Janet Rae's The Quilts of the British Isles in case it is not showing up.

Not a recent book, but for me, the one where all the interest in the history of British Quilting kind of started from.  Since it was written, much more research has been undertaken and more information has been discovered, but still a great starting point.

Part of the Shire Library series of short books, primarily on subjects you never imagined anyone would write about!  A good short introduction, written by the curator of the Quilters' Guild Collection

A great exhibition and a lovely catalogue, with large full colour photos and lots of essays written by different people, with different views and approaches.

Another good exhibition and related catalogue

The journal of the British Quilt Study Group of the Quilters' Guild, published annually contains papers presented at its conference on a wide variety of quilting matters past and present.

This book is titled, you just can't see it on the cover!  It is Making Connections by Janet Rae and Dinah Travis, all about the history of log cabin quilts

At the less scholarly end, the relatively new magazine Today's Quilter has had a couple of supplements about different aspects of  British quilt history over the past year, often abridged from books.

Most of these books are available on Amazon.  A word of warning: the prices on Amazon can be a little bit bizarre as some of these books are out of print and don't get offered on Amazon often.  You should be able to pick them up second hand for under £10 each.

A book that I don't have, but which I would like to own as it is very informative:

And finally, coming out later this month, so I haven't read it, but I do have it on order:

Jan has written a number of books on British quilting, and I know she has put a considerable amount of research into this, her latest title.  I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Which books have I missed or that you find informative?  Are there any gaps in the documentation of British quilting history that you think need to be addressed?

Out & About: Wemyss School of Needlework and Fife Folk Museum

Log Cabin Quilt at Fife Folk Museum

As part of the C&G Diploma in Patchwork and Quilting that I am teaching, the students are required to produce an illustrated history of the past two hundred years of patchwork and quilting.  This is an area that interests me and I have a number of books on the subject, but no actual examples for them to examine.  And seeing real quilts brings it to life.  So the hunt was on to find some antique quilts reasonably locally.  Whilst Glasgow Museums has a great collection of embroidery, there are not many quilts in their collection and apparently it is very hard to get an appointment to view them (I'm willing to be corrected and visit the collection if I've got this wrong!). 

One of my students in the other Diploma class, Catherine Palmer, had been investigating where she could see quilts and had made a visit to Fife Folk Museum last year, where a lovely volunteer, Margaret, had looked out all the information she could find on the quilts in their collection.   So I got in touch and on Tuesday we went to see the quilts.  As it is a bit of a distance from here, we combined it with a trip to Wemyss School of Needlework, which is relatively close by.  Wemyss does not have a huge collection of quilts, but it is also good to be aware of other forms of stitching and they had some lovely examples of embroidery.  

Viewing at Wemyss School of Needlework

The sun shone and it felt like a bit of a road trip - especially when the sat nav on my phone directed us to the waste transfer station in another village 15 minutes away!  
However, when we finally got to Wemyss, there was a lovely sense of calm in the 

Workroom.  

More of Wemyss School of Needlework

On the huge table there were some examples of quilting laid out for us, along with some exquisite embroidery and records of the people who made them.  Fiona Wemyss gave a great talk, setting the collection in context and then we were free to look around for a closer examination.  Photos of specific textiles were not allowed, but general shots were, which is what I have here.  There was also a well stocked embroidery shop, which was raided by many of the students (and me!).

Enjoying the sunshine at Ceres

On to Ceres, to Fife Folk Museum, and they had not fibbed when they told me it had a great cafe!  The cakes were wonderful.  We had a private viewing of the quilts which had been specially hung by some of the volunteers.  We had a lovely session examining the quilts and the records in detail, sharing our knowledge of quilts with the volunteers, whilst they filled us in on the history that accompanied those quilts.  

Unflattering student photo at Fife Folk Museum

My photos are not great or numerous as my phone battery was almost dead by this point!  

Blurry photo of a lovely hexagon quilt at Fife Folk Museum.  I got very excited by the red fabric, which had lots of regular holes in it - where a different colour dye has eaten the fabric

I'd highly recommend a visit to either place and will definitely be revisiting the Fife Folk Museum soon - it had lots of other interesting things to see, but we ran out of time.  Well, actually, we chose to have coffee and cake rather than running round the other galleries!

This silk quilt at the Fife Folk Museum had a lovely paisley shawl as its backing