The Knitting and Stitching Show 2014, Alexandra Palace, London – Part 1 – The atmosphere of the show

What a totally decadent, long weekend – I managed to go to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace  for three days this year.  Workshops, exhibitions and shopping…… how indulgent!
The show was full of traders from all over the UK and beyond – I arrived with my shopping list in hand and filled my bags with some lovely goodies….. Every year I tell myself I don’t need to buy anything, and yet every year I am astounded at what I do find to buy.
This year, my mind has been filled with embroidery, threads and surface design (especially following my recent visit to The Ashmolean Museum)  – so I was drawn to the Goldwork stalls of Benton & Johnson (who hold the Royal Warrant) and The Golden Hind. I had several workshops, ranging from Paper Lamination, Gelli Printing to Hand Embroidery with the very talented James Hunting  – What a fabulous chap!
Here are some photos from the show – more posts to follow…

Catherina Von Isenburg and her work ‘This Curious World’… she has an Etsy Shop too….
Caroline Bell and her Eco Printed pieces
Lots of shopping, lots of visitors….never enough space !
Demonstration of Tapestry Weaving by Carolyn Perry of the British Tapestry Group
By Helen Sill
By Gina Ferrari
By Ann Wheeler

A pair of these ‘Sheffield made’ Wright & Sons Scissors came home with me…. love them !

Work by Jean Bennett
The Sailors’ Society have a Wooly Hat Competition
The large stained glass window at Alexandra Palace
Happy Shoppers at the end of the day
The view of the City of London from Alexandra Palace

MODA – Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture

Over the summer The Museum of Domestic Art and Arcitecture (MODA) in London, offered a rare opportunity for the public to view their exclusive collections… which include the work of the design house Silver Studios (1880-1963), Crown wallpapers’ archive, vintage textiles and selections of vintage magazines and journals. The MODA collection includes lots of other goodies, but I was particularly taken with the vintage hand cut, Japanese Katagami mulberry paper stencils used in making indigo dyed fabric for kimonos.

Here is a flavour of the day.

Large tables for viewing the collections
MODA Archive
MODA Archive
MODA Archive
Hand cut, Japanese Katagami mulberry paper stencils

 

 

They are so fine

 

 

 

Here are a few pages from the wonderfully colourful vintage magazines in the collection

 

 

Had to share this!

A Day in London – Tate Modern, Matisse Cut-outs, Shakespeare’s Globe & the Millennium Bridge

Tate Modern, London is a building and a half. The former power station is architecturally impressive and awe inspiring. This was my first visit, and to tell you the truth I found it quite overwhelming – I had heard of the Turbine Hall, but the scale of the open space it offers is so huge, families picnic in it!
Before viewing the Matisse Cut-outs, I had time to visit the fantastic cubist collection on public display – Picasso, Gris, Kandinsky to name but a few – lots of wonderful inspiration for mixed media and textiles.

 

Turbine Hall
Freidrich Vordemberge-Gildewart
Robert Delaunay
Georges Braque
Juan Gris
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Wassily Kandinski

The Matisse Exhibition was not at all what I expected… it was better!… all I can say is that two hours of my life were spent in colour heaven. All the cut-outs were created in solid colours, all cut from papers painted in gauche ….. lots of colour, colour, and more colour. The scale of his work ran from small journals to designs for huge, stain glass, church windows. I am stunned at what Matisse could create with failing eye sight, plain painted papers and a pair of scissors.
There was ‘no photography’ allowed within the Matisse Exhibition, but here are a few images from the shop that give a flavour of the display.

 

 

…. Then a quick look next door at Shakespeare’s Globe and a wander along Southbank and under the Millennium Bridge….. another brilliant day in London… I was on a high all the way home.

Shakespeare’s Globe
Millennium Bridge