Texture and Pattern

I went to visit the East Ruston Vicarage Garden. Quite famous locally as the owner, Alan Gray does a radio show each week. There is always a lot to see in the garden, which is huge, and I found lots to capture with my camera... I was looking for textures and pattern and there are some great examples. Couldn't resist the lovely old car though! I wonder who was visiting?

Bright white Birch bark

Beautiful car!

Giant leaves I crawled under

Contrasting textures and colour

Colour and pattern

Enormous pot with weathering

Rustic chairs

Pattern contrasts

Giant trumpet flowers

Contemporary work

Here is a picture of my piece for the Contemporary Group Suitcase collection. The theme is "All in a Day's Work". This is what I wrote about it to go with my submission:

I made my piece to reference the daily efforts of women including myself to use woven textiles and stitch in their homes to provide a warm and safe environment for their family.

Woollen blanket scraps, some mended, backed with linen and stitched with old linen and silk threads as well as cottons. One piece of old grey blanket bears the eyelet as witness to its wartime use as a door curtain. There are buttons from my grandmother’s button box and these include a uniform fly button and liberty bodice buttons. I have added scraps of hand dyed blanket and coloured cotton.

 I don't hold out too much hope of it being accepted, I've not had anything accepted yet... still nothing ventured nothing gained! It'll be in the post tomorrow morning.

Costume Exhibition

Norfolk has the greatest number of preserved Mediaeval churches in the world. St Peter's at Repps with Bastwick is one of our local small churches with an octagonal tower, and was having a costume exhibition as a fundraiser. Some were made by a local lady who makes costume for the theatre and some were genuine old garments that had been preserved by local people.
There was a beautiful pink Ball Gown from the 1980s by designer Sandra de Ville:

Ball Gown

RAF uniform

And I did a double take at the RAF uniform as from the back I almost thought it was my Dad!
As a small child I called him "My Daddy who lives on a train" as we were always meeting him or waving him off... however from the front it was too androgynous a face, and no moustache. The fabric though felt so familiar, rough woolen cloth, must have been uncomfortable to wear in warm weather!



There was also a wonderful Victorian Day Gown in Pattered Silk worn by Caroline Mary Watson at Shropham Vicarage in Norfolk, lent by her descendant Caroline Watson. The detail shows the amazing amount of embellishment, lace and frills galore!

Victorian Day Gown

Lace and silk extravagence

The Church had interesting Victorian stained glass and you can see the crossed Keys in the chancel window, St Peter's sign. Wall paintings too.

Victorian Glass

Crossed keys for St Peter

Stencilled wall decoration.

Bracket Fungi

These may be less useful for the Journal quilt designs that I have in mind but they are very interesting shapes and colours. These too were found at Felbrigg.

Some were on living wood, some on dead and fallen trees or tree stumps. I loved the way the light caught the edges of the yellow one and made it glow!

Fly Agaric at Felbrigg

I went for a walk in the ancient woods at Felbrigg, a local National Trust stately home. There were some beautiful fungi there including one I'd hoped to see but didn't really expect to: the Faerie toadstool Fly Agaric:

Such a rich colour!
lovely stripey bracket fungus too..

Patchwork Purse

I've been making  little purse over the past few days, as a birthday gift. Mostly machined, because hand stitch takes me so long now and I end up with sore wrists...
but I enjoyed making these little button flowers.

Fungi

I've been collecting pictures of Fungi over the past month or so as I think they will be a good design source for my remaining Journal quilts. They are difficult to identify although I have borrowed a book with excellent photos...

Shaggy Ink Caps

Curly Toadstools

Clusters of custard yellow toadstools

Faerie grotto

The Faerie Grotto in Cindy's garden

They like a shady damp corner and rotting wood.