Another year has flown and we are heading back to Winchester for Pilgrim Stitchers 2009, organised by Sue Blomley (www.pilgrimstitchers.org).  It was lovely to reconnect with old friends and to welcome a new pilgrim, another Sue, from Normandy.  As with last year, we were given the opportunity to catch up with previous years’ projects before our introductory dinner, now an annual booking at Loch Fynne Restaurant, where we were also joined by two husbands, helping Dave (Sue’s husband) and John of Pearsall’s Embroidery to not feel so outnumbered!

When we left Pilgrim Stitchers 2008 we knew the event this year would take a new slant, as we had been given some insight into one of the two projects we would work on.  This was the first year where pre-stitching had been requested of a beautiful sampler belonging to the Hampshire Museums’ collection.  Jane Dennis stitched this fine delicate piece in 1817 and Sue had reworked it into two separate sections, which would form the cover of a Dong Book.  Sue had collaborated on this project with Ruth Smith, a lady we met last year who talked about The Basing House Embroidery, a research project of hers.  Ruth has also spent many happy hours, both at home and overseas, researching Dong Books and Sue and Ruth’s collaboration looked beautiful.  It was going to be our task to recreate this during our stay!

The Dong Book is traditionally a paper booklet which houses many three-dimensional compartments within it, which fold down flat and open up separately.  It is given its name after the Miao and Dong minority groups living in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, as the needlewomen there devised this way of storing their threads, patterns and needlework tools, often personalised with a family photograph.

Well, our first full day at Chilcomb House, home of Hampshire county’s textile archive, was very busy.  It began with a talk by John and he was back into his comfort zone this year as he explained colours, how they are measured and how he chooses new shades, all now quite reproducible with the wonders of advanced technology.  We also got to see some new space-dyed silks which we all had to come away with!  The morning then became quite stressful as we embarked on our Dong Books.  We were told that there would be no room for mistakes, our measuring and cutting would have to be accurate!!  Concentration levels were high as we measured and cut out our paper pieces from some beautiful hand-made paper.  By lunch-time the papers were all cut, with a huge sigh of relief all around, and there was some optional homework of beading the cover ready to incorporate our pre-stitching.  After lunch we met Elizabeth Smith 1762, our second project, a red sampler, again from the collection.  The original measures almost 8" wide by 11" high and Sue had recreated her beautifully.  We studied Marking Stitch as Elizabeth was totally reversible, but I don’t think there will be many of us recreating her in this way, good old vanilla cross stitch will look just as good from the front!  And if that wasn’t enough for one day, we were then treated to yet more beautiful samplers from the collection, including a seventeenth century band sampler, which Sue informed us would be the project for 2010!  We think we can keep Sue busy for many years as we oohed and aahed over different samplers, saying ‘How about this one, Sue?’! 

Blue sky and sunshine added to a wonderful second day, spent in Salisbury.  We were given a fascinating tour of the embroideries of the Cathedral by Jill Makepeace whose expertise is the Cathedral’s needlepoint collection of kneelers and cushions.  Jill also designed 43 new cushions for the Chapter House, they are exquisite, all coordinating with each other and depicting the saints throughout the year.  We were also able to see many beautiful altar frontals designed and worked on by Jane Lemon and the Sarum Group.  After lunch we gathered at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum for a behind-the-scenes look at some of their needlework collection, shown to us by Kim Chittick.  We were able to see many wonderful samplers, exquisite examples of surface embroidery, white work, a sweety bag, beaded buttons and an amazing collection of three/four samplers stitched by the same girl Winifred Jeffery , all stitched in pastel shades, early 20th century.  The museum itself has a wonderful costumes exhibit, with a stitched waistcoat ready to put together, a stump work mirror surround, a grand-mother’s garden quilt, and a petit-point card holder being some of my favourites.

Our final day was spent back at Chilcomb House, putting together the compartments for our Dong Book, under the watchful eyes of Ruth, who was very patient with us!   For those who had chosen to do homework, there were a few finished projects by the end of the day, but we all did finish the insides and had something to show for all the concentration of Wednesday morning.  As an extra treat we were able to take a look at a sampler quilt being conserved, ready for the Quilty Secrets exhibition later in the year.

All too soon it was time for goodbyes.  As always at these events Sue and husband Dave put in a lot of hard work to make things run smoothly and this was very much appreciated by all.  Well, roll on September 8th – 10th 2010. . .