Sunday 25 November 2012

Knitting and Stitching Harrogate

Last week was a very busy one for us and culminated in a trip to Harrogate for me to see the displays again of the Knitting & Stitching Show.  I had seen the Show at Alexandra Palace a few weeks ago but didn't spend very long there so thought I would have another look while I had the chance.   

The 'Tales of the Unfinishable'  display featured again but in a more resplendent setting, if that's possible.




The marquee style display was set up in the glorious setting of the refurbished Harrogate Theatre.  If you follow the link and scroll down you can open the 2007 refurbishment brochure and read about its history.







This time I ventured inside the marquee and was surprised to find it filled with the sound of a sewing machine running and of recordings of the many explanations of how the pieces shown came to be unfinished.  The banners are the written explanations that accompanied the pieces.  

As you can see the theatre was also being used as a welcome place to take a break and enjoy a well earned cuppa.

Many of the stands either didn't allow photography or allowed it only for my own use so Ido not have a lot to share with you.  However, some were more generous.  The Textile Art Group, who had not shown at Alexandra Palace, had a fabulous display by some very talented artists and I was pleased to see again a piece by Lesley Bohanna that I had previously seen at The Beetroot Tree gallery earlier in the year.




Lesley is interested in "the ‘history’ of materials, focussing on surface wear and repair."  Her page at Textile Art Group gives more information on her working practices.




I loved this heavily textured piece by Margaret Brown, also a member of TAG. Her surfaces incorporate her own photographic images and are rich with texture.  


 
These three pieces pictured above are by Jackie Ford.





Some time ago I took a sneaky photo of some aerial views pictured at a nature reserve in Suffolk and these pieces reminded me of their overlaid images.  

The remaining displays I enjoyed were Cas Holmes, again, and Curiouser and  Curiouser and Curiouser by O2 Textile group.  Photographs were not allowed but their work was joyful and provided a welcome relief from some of the more sombre themed works I had seen and read about.  If you follow the link you can see and read more about this group.  

I was very good in the shopping department and apart from buying some machine needles (Sharps as recommended by Dawn Cameron-Dick) and some Matt Medium my own succumbing was to Sandra Meech's latest offering 'Connecting Design to Stitch'.  I was afforded a look at this very beautifully illustrated book by a lady who joined us at coffee in the morning and casually offered the books she had just bought to anyone who wanted to have a look!  Very generous I thought.  I probably shouldn't have bought it as I already have 2 of her earlier books but it does look a very good book and hopefully it will give me something to work with over the winter as there are lots of design exercises in it.

At the beginning of last week we went across to Macclesfield to visit some friends for  a few days.  More of that next time.




4 comments:

ju-north said...

Wonderful creative work! No wonder you need a sofa day! Well worth the visit though I imagine

Heather said...

What an inspiring second visit. Sometimes there is just too much to take in in one go. I love all the images you have shown us here and their individuality. You can never have too many books!

Linda Vincent said...

Oooh....now I wish I'd visited too! What a treat to see the refurbished theatre; it looks lovely.
And I remember Lesley Bohanna's piece from when we were at the BT gallery (you were especially inspired by that).
And you bought a book....good for you! :-) xx

Jackie said...

I love Margaret Brown's textured piece, too...how beautiful it is!
Thank you for the lovely photos of art textures that I will probably never see.
Hugs and smiles,
Jackie