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