Yarn in the Cathedral

Norwich Cathedral and Cathedral School is currently hosting an exhibition by the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers.   I popped along a couple of weeks ago and found so much inspiration that I now want to try weaving!   To be fair, this is something I've fancied doing for ages, even to the point I have the schedule of weaving classes for this year from the Worstead Weavers' Guild.   I had no idea that this movement was so big - there are 120 guilds across the UK and eleven of them are in East Anglia.

The AGWSD puts on a show each year somewhere in the UK and this year we are lucky enough to have it in Norwich.   124 pieces were on display in the main exhibition space and these had all been entered in competition so that only the best of the best were on show.  

This jacket has inspired me so much that I have procured a pattern and thirteen (quite muted for me!) shades of yarn to produce a knitted version.  I've chosen a four ply pure wool for this - I wanted it quite close knitted to provide warmth in the winter.   It's taking all my self-control not to start it now, but I have a pile of things to finish before I start it.

This one is rather interesting, in that it uses mashed wood pulp along with the wool - ingenious!  

I love this one - it's a scarf that has been woven to produce a row of pastel coloured cottages.  I'm already trying to work out how to convert this into a knitting pattern.  

And these lamp shades were beautiful - really intricate but also highly engineered to get them into these fantastic shapes.  So much inspiration.

In the main part of the cathedral, I had a mini weaving lesson which I was very excited about.   This lady started weaving in her late forties/ early fifties, did a City and Guilds evening class in it and then chucked everything in to go to University to do a degree in textiles in her early sixties and she is now a professional weaver.  She was trying to tell me it's never too late - which is really exciting actually.  Even if I never get that far, just the thought that it's possible keeps me happy!   She'd fashioned herself a tiny little loom which she takes on train journeys as it's actually a much more portable craft than I'd imagined.  

Away from the main part of the exhibition, there is another display area in the crypt of the Cathedral School of bags.   Apparently, invitations were thrown out to ALL members of all 120 guilds to make a bag and there were so many shapes and sizes, it was amazing and breathtaking.  These two were my favourites - the top one had been made from french knitting and the maker had dyed her own yarn.  And the bottom one is woven - a beautiful little coastal scene.

These exhibitions are so dangerous to me - they don't exactly make me want to give up knitting forever, but they do inspire me to try other things.  I'm going to have to move to a significantly bigger house to find homes for all my projects!

Cottage garden

I'm trying to remember when I decided I wanted a cottage garden - but actually I don't think I ever did decide.  I think it just happened when I wasn't looking.   As the years have gone on - five years since I moved in here - seeds have been sown by the birds, me brushing against the plants as I walk through, Finn as he charges around chasing the neighbourhood cats, the wind that blows fiercely through here sometimes.   So we now are over run with poppies, aquilegias, foxgloves - in all colours and shades.

I've added two roses to the garden since moving in - the others were all here before me.  The ones I've planted are the pink Alnwick Rose which is now enormous and could do with a bit of a short back and sides.  The other one I've added is the peach coloured Bridge of Sighs which is gorgeous and doing its best to climb over the pergola that Dad and Nicholas built me.   The yellow rose - name unknown - is stunning - the flowers are really big and it looks perfect in front of my blue and white shed.

I do like blue and purple in a garden - I think that, if I had planned it - it would all have been blue, purple and white.   But luckily, Mother Nature had other ideas so we have a far bigger paint palette to choose from!

And now we're having a mini heatwave too - so lots of opportunities for sitting outside and enjoying the garden for a change.

Meadows

A couple of Mondays back, Finn and I went back to walk a stretch of the Marriott's Way we hadn't done before - the bit from Lenwade back towards Aylsham.  I'd explored it a little bit over the bank holiday when I was waiting for Amanda and Shannon and wanted to go back and have a better look.

It seems strange that so near the heart of Norwich, we have farmland and meadows and it feels very rural.   And actually there is quite a major road that runs the other side of these fields but you couldn't hear the traffic either.

It felt very tranquil walking along the track, lovely and shady with the tree cover.   We only met two other dog walkers and one cyclist - certainly very different to the bank holiday weekend that Amanda and Shannon had walked it and there were pedestrian traffiic jams!

Definitely a spot we'll go back to for another walk.

Fabric

I have a new obsession, one that has taken over from wool - fabric.   I have already managed to fill up two trunks and a small suitcase with fabric - and I've only actually been dressmaking since January!   Although, to be fair, most of the stuff in these trunks is made up of old clothes that I can't bear to throw away as I'm sure I can upcycle them in some way.  And if they're too far gone for reusing, then they can be cut up for patchwork.  I've got too many ideas and not enough time!

I bought this cloth when I was in Bhutan, back in 2006/2007 - can't remember very clearly - foreign travel belongs to the dim and distant past now!   Strictly speaking, it's not actually a piece of fabric, it is actually an item of clothing - a gho, the traditional national dress for Bhutanese men.   It's a long straight piece of fabric which is wrapped around - with the aid of magic - to form a knee length robe, which is then tied around the waist.   However, when I saw the fabric in a beautiful textiles shop, this piece of material screamed out "curtains" to me, I'm ashamed to say.   Luckily though, I've done nothing with this in the ensuing years since making the purchase, and am now aiming to make something much more special with it ..... I'm just not sure what yet.  I must admit I'm quite terrified of it - it's so beautifully woven with such care and precision and the gold thread is stunning - although very difficult to photograph.   And, of course, if I stuff it up, there's very little chance I'll be able to replace it with something similar and, more importantly, authentic.   This one is on the back burner.

I really should have ironed this one before taking the photos!   This one is also terrifying - but for totally different reasons.   The pattern is huge - and I've not done pattern matching yet.   If I mess it up, however, it's not the end of the world - it's only three quid a metre in Ikea!   I'm really loving Gudrun Sjoden at the moment - a Swedish designer who uses massive abstract flower prints in her clothes and homewares.   (She has a newly opened shop in Covent Garden and I swear Mary and I spent a good hour in there just before Christmas!)  I think this fabric may end up as a tablecloth - albeit a rather beautiful one.  I have found a pattern for a gorgeous wrap skirt, but I'm about a metre short of fabric for that.   I may have to put it on my shopping list again the next time we go to Ikea!

This is fun!   Who can't resist an all-over monkey design?!!   These are destined for pyjamas - for my nephew's twenty-sixth birthday present!  

This fabric retailer - based in Hong Kong - was recently recommended and I thought I'd have a mini-shop - firstly to work out the quality of the cloth and also the delivery times.  And I have to say I'm really impressed - the fabric is very good quality, it's very reasonably priced and it took less than a week to get here.  Bonus. They enclosed a free sample of the above owl fabric with my order - very sweet, but I have no idea what I'd use it for.   In the meantime, it's gone into the fabric trunk for safe keeping!

This one's nice, isn't it?   Not sure what I'm doing with this yet - I'm wondering whether it would make a lovely quilted beach bag?  

And this one's for me - it's a really soft corduroy, again with a scary pattern, but I don't feel quite so terrified with this one - I'm thinking a simple A line skirt with bright red buttons up the front and red top stitching.   Gorgeous!

There are just two obstacles to all this creativity at the moment though - a pair of creamy white trousers that I'm making in my sewing class, and the bright red dress I'm making to wear to a friend's wedding in FOUR WEEKS' TIME!   EEK!