As if by magic, time flew to September 2010 and our annual event in Winchester, Pilgrim Stitchers, organised as ever by Sue Blomley (www.pilgrimstitchers.org). I just don’t know where the intervening 12 months go, because we just seem to pick up from where we left off the previous year. Loch Fynne treated us to another wonderful introductory meal and the start of what proved to be another special time together.
Chilcomb House, the home of Hampshire county’s textile archive, was where we spent our first day. It was so lovely to welcome back John and Carol of Pearsalls Embroidery. They arrived with their wares and John gave us a wonderfully entertaining potted history of his dyeing anecdotes. Ruth Smith then made a welcome return to our gathering. This year we studied Miao and other Chinese borders before attempting our own. Many Miao groups work their embroidery on narrow strips of stiffened cloth and these are then applied to their garments with bands of decorative weaving and wax resist. We were all stunned by the beauty and depth of detail in the original pieces we saw from Ruth’s own private collection.
After lunch we had our first session with Sue and her exquisite recreations (yes, I did say recreations!) of Sarah Drafgate’s 1688/9 sampler, the oldest sampler in the county collection. Sue had spent many happy hours recreating this for us on two different counts of fabric. Sarah obviously loved Montenegrin stitch and we are all very grateful to Amy Mitten’s study of this stitch, a challenge for us all. Sarah had also used Holbein, Algerian Eye and Satin stitches, all indicative of a very competent needlewoman. Sue had designed a biscornu based on the sampler, for us all to work on, giving us practice in the stitches and a lovely little needlework small in the process. Sue had been able to find out some information about Sarah. Sarah had married Samuel Deykin in 1674 in Walsall and they had six children, all before Sarah set out to stitch her sampler. Could this mean she had help with childcare? How else would she find the time to work such an intricate piece with little ones around?
Our second day was a trip to Parham Park in Pulborough, West Sussex. Well, what can I say? If you’ve never been, you NEED to go if you are in any way interested in needlework. As the guidebook says, ‘Parham Park is home to perhaps the finest and most important collection of seventeenth century embroidery to be found anywhere in the United Kingdom’. The Hon. Mrs Clive Pearson and her mother, Ethel, Lady Brabourne, were very keen needlewomen and had collected all their lives, culminating in a legacy for future generations to enjoy. My breath was taken away by the volume and the beauty of this collection, which includes Stuart embroidered pictures and panels, furniture and bed covers, samplers, and fine examples of embroidery also from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We managed to dodge the heavy showers and also enjoyed the beautiful gardens, and my first sighting of wild mistletoe.
All too soon it was our final day. We returned to Chilcomb and spent the morning and early afternoon with Sarah, studying the original alongside Sue’s recreations. As if we hadn’t had enough excitement, Alison then treated us to yet more exquisite pieces from the county collection. There were samplers, a beetle wing embroidered panel, a quaker pinball, miniature quilts, tea cosies which will feature in a forthcoming exhibition, and we were so fortunate to see the most exquisite casket, dated 1655, up close, what a privilege (follow this link to see photographs and a description http://www3.hants.gov.uk/museum/dress-and-textiles/casket.htm). And if that wasn’t enough, we were then allowed into the costume archive area, where we could only imagine the times when such elegant and beautiful gowns and jackets would be worn.
We are always teased with next year’s project and we were thrilled to discover that there would be two. The first belongs to the county collection. We have affectionately called this one a Christmas Sampler, as it features a verse ‘On Christmas’ and it was stitched by Roseanna Clark in 1797. The second project is Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra’s sampler, housed in the Jane Austen House Museum. Well, we have recently learned that we will be able to stitch this in Jane’s home in Chawton, I can hardly wait. You can see details of both of these samplers on Sue’s website.
As always, Sue (and let’s not forget husband David) has worked extremely hard and we thank her so much for all that she does. I do so hope that next year the event will be full, what more could you want than the opportunity to be Austen girls for the day? Make sure you have September 6th – 9th 2011 pencilled in your diaries now!
Carol