Art Trail Approaching

Accessible Artists in All Corners of the Borders and Beyond!

In workshops, homes and village halls throughout the West (Friday 31 to Sunday 2 Sept) and the East (Friday 6 to Sunday 8 Sept). You can meet Crossing Borders artists and makers, see their work and learn about their practices, have a blether, try your hand in some workshops and indulge in a little quality retail activity if you choose.
Many makers work in comparative isolation and it's REALLY NICE to get to talk with interested people, so do venture out and see what's going on across the region. 
You can download your guide here or pick up a printed copy in lots of locations.

At the Roberts' venues - W11 and W12 - you can enjoy coffee and cake while blethering, and in Tart HQ I will invite you to add some paper leaves to my Tree of Life. It's looking a little wintery at the moment with bare branches and I would love it to be smothered with leaves by Sunday night!

I received a lovely present last weekend - a vintage Huntley and Palmers box full of salvaged buttons and buckles. There are some very dated shapes and styles which makes them all the more fascinating, of course!

 The box lid is a work of art in itself.

 Do drop in next weekend; we'd be delighted to see you. (And it would save us eating all the cake ourselves...)

Rural Life!

Yesterday was our annual Southdean Show - it rained, and the wind threw alarming gusts at the marquee in the morning, necessitating further novel methods of anchoring it to the car park - but it was still a great wee show with many happy visitors. 
The bagpipes, the ferrets, the cockerels and the Pimms were all pretty popular.
The Industrial entries in the Hall were much admired, not least the impressive number of chocolate cakes, and there were ten separate entries in the 'six best eggs' category!
Caroline has put fine images up on Southdean Hall's Facebook page for all to admire.

No prizes for noticing this is another blue post. Below are most of my fabrics from a pack of kekfesto indigo blue printed Hungarian cotton that Mirjam and I bought at the Festival of Quilts. We split the 50 differently patterned squares between us (amicably!). No specific projects in mind yet, but too good to pass up. (The pale bit in the second row is just a patch of sun.)

And these? I have wanted to try sashiko stitching for a while and took the opportunity to buy the genuine article at the Festival. Soft thread, long sturdy needles and loose weave cottons. Now I just need to apply a little self discipline and make nice even stitches.

The top picture? Well, it's nearly annual ART TRAIL time and my signboard sheep has had a repaint. She is now sporting a painted blue rug over her back, and will be pointing the way to Tart HQ on 31st/1st/2nd. 
Not got yourself an Art Trail guide yet? 
Follow the link and download one, then treat yourself to a day or two or three out and about in the Borders, visiting us all!

Textile Stars

Some literal, some just awesome talent.

A few images from the Festival of Quilts for your delight.

 Kaffe Fassett's starry quilt in shot and stripey cottons with a lovely wiggly quilted design

 Sweet Song from an Old Fiddle by Lea McComas

 Lovely denim quilt by Mandy Pattulo

 This one is by Terry Donaldson, inspired by Cornish seaside holidays

And this one I am afraid I forgot to spot the maker's details but it was lovely. 

There were many and varied stalls at the NEC too, of course. 

I may disclose some of my purchases in another post....

Venturing south

tomorrow and to the Festival of Quilts on Friday! A first for me, and I am hugely looking forward to it. So much textile creativity in one location - a multitude of gallery exhibitions from international artists and groups, masses of quilts in all shapes and sizes, and rather too many suppliers for my purse to cope with. 

I am lucky to be travelling there with a fine textile artist friend, and we will be staying with a couple with great taste (heavens, they rented our cottage when it was a holiday let - of course they are lovely!)

Two Indian exhibitions I really want to see there are:

Banjara - historic textiles, and in particular rare items showing patchwork techniques combined with embroidery from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

 

and Godharis (quilts) from Maharashtra, made by individuals in their homes. It's not an official industry, and nor is it organized by any NGO. Each piece comes from a different location in the state, often from remote villages and settlements. Each godhari is layered with old clothes and weighs up to 6kgs. 

Then, of course, there are masses of contemporary pieces to see, from all over the world. Like Karin Oestergaard from Denmark, who uses plants, birds and cows in her quilts....

I do hope I can take photographs....

Coming to see us?

Friday and Saturday I will be at Boundary Bank in Jedburgh, home territory for the WARPED group. We'll have great supplies to tempt embroiderers and felters, paper makers and quilters and curious passers by! As well as creative essentials, there will be examples on show of the kind of goodies you can make on the workshops we have planned for later in the year. 

Open 10 till 4 both days, and signposted off Oxnam Rd (the road off the A68 by the swimming pool).
Read more on the website and book up that workshop!

And on Sunday it's Harestanes Fair time for me. Lots of stalls, as well as the permanent workshops to visit, stuff for kids to do, cafe, walks, lovely setting and all in the central Borders. Open 11 to 4.

A Fine Weekend

...spent at the Border Union Show!
The sun beat down. Farmers and horseriders, feed merchants and bankers, fisherfolk and woodworkers, tractor men and insurance brokers, prize winning butchers, awesome ice cream makers, motorcycle stuntmen and the Countess of Wessex were all there. So were my wonderfully talented artist and maker friends, in the Craft Hall and in The Story of Wool marquee.

I didn't capture much on camera as I spent most of my time treadling my trusty spinning wheel (and blethering, and snacking...) but I did snap my neighbours, Laura (fab felt bags) and Rod Grant (handbuilt spinning wheels - that's Mrs Rod early on morning one before the visitors reached us)

Lovely Ruth was running kids' woolly workshops when she was not modelling her tarty handknitted bikini. I was also delighted to see the bag she had brought which she crocheted in Herdwick wool and my handspun.

 Rob and Katie visited briefly on a break from promoting Crossing Borders artists in the Craft Hall.

And I thought it was appropriate that I was spinning imperial purple when the Countess called by.

..

Nearly Show Time!

Getting all my new stock together, plus spinning wheel and fibres, ready for the Border Union Show at Kelso on Friday and Saturday. I will be in The Story of Wool marquee, along with some great textile makers. It's going to be a humdinger of a show this year, being the 200th anniversary one.
 You can see more of what's scheduled right here. 

There are over 500 classes for all sorts of stock and 250 trade stands, including Hugh's for Far x 4, and Crossing Borders 

and the sun is going to shine!!

The Glorious Borders

seen here on the walk we did across Bowden Common, along the side of Bowdenmoor Reservoir, over the saddle between the Mid and West Eildons and back round to the village. It was braw!

I remembered the camera

 but forgot to post the pics after last weekend's stitch-in. 
Eleven happy ladies being creative with block prints. Yet again elephants were the adornment of choice for panels and bags as we worked in the cool of the hall. 

 
As this amazing weather continues I have been balancing Tart work with maintenence duties outisde, like painting sheds and weeding and cutting back the undergrowth that threatens to climb in the windows.
Hugh and I did manage a walk last Monday and plan to make time for another tomorrow. If it's still hot and sunny I will need to know there's an ice cream at the end of it....

All set

   for a busy workshop tomorrow. A full house at the Forman Hall at Roberton south of Hawick for a day of stitching. We'll be making Indian-inspired envelope shaped bags using lovely Gujarati block printed cottons. Also involved are various embroidery threads and a good dose of bling, of the sequin, bead and bell variety! 

MUST remember to take some pictures of the day. 

On Monday Hugh and I hung our joint exhibition Landscapes and Threadscapes in the Hayloft Gallery at Paxton House. near Berwick. It runs until 21st of the month and we'd be delighted if you happened to visit there and let us know what you think of the work.

  
After that there will be just a few days before the Border Union Show in Kelso. Hugh will have a stand for Far x 4 and I will be spinning at my stall in The Story of Wool marquee. It's the bicentennial of the Border Union Agricultural Society so this show is bigger and brighter than ever. Friday 26th and Saturday 27th July.

Lots to think about

the inside of my head

how I'd like it to be

Today I spent a very informative time at Heriot Watt University's School of Textiles and Design learning about the fantastic facilities and technical support I could access through subscription to Resource, a new opportunity funded by Creative Scotland. It's open to all artists, designers and makers and you can learn more here. It's a great chance to access equipment and expertise for anyone based in the Borders and beyond.

Hmmmm, need to do some serious thinking...

 

Collage destined for Paxton next week

My days just evaporate

...must be the sunny weather, I reckon. 

When I am out with the dogs and walking through dappled shade I realise that yet again I have failed to bring a camera with me to capture the patterns of the leaves. Having said that, those of you who know our enthusiastic dogs (ill-disciplined? lively? nuisance?) will appreciate that I would need another pair of hands to keep them in check and take photographs. 

Anyway, despite the attractions of the great outdoors, stitching continues as the deadline for our exhibition at Paxton House rushes ever closer. Hugh and I are showing work in the Hayloft Gallery at Paxton from 2nd to 21st July. The House has lovely grounds to walk in and a pleasant cafe so is well worth a visit even if you don't want to tour the house itself, and you can certainly visit the cafe and gallery for free.

 not everything in the exhibition will be blue...

Happiness...

  .... is a sunny day and the freedom to roam in the garden. That probably goes for all of us but none more so than Henry and his girls. He struts about, announcing his presence loud and clear, while they quarter the ground in search of tasty morsels then recline in the recesses of the unpruned blackcurrant bushes. 

Our garden is sorely neglected in comparison with my mother's days but there's an appeal to the ever multiplying poppies and lady's mantle. Just a shame that the march of bishop weed and creeping buttercup et al is quite so quick.  

Work is continuing in indigo and other shades, is preparation for my exhibition with Hugh at Paxton House in July. But June is packed with events too - there the Artist's Book Fair in Gateshead on Friday, World Textile Day on 21st, Woolfest the following weekend...can I justify going to them all?