Woad Work

Have had time to put together a little collage this week using some of my left over bits of woad dyed fabric from Chateau Dumas last summer. I am returning in 2017 to run a slightly different course so why not spoil yourself and join me in the south of France? Full details are HERE. I don't have anything to do with the booking procedure as that is for Selvedge and Lizzie at Chateau Dumas to do so please don't contact me but go  straight through the link above.

Another lovely bag

I have had a lot of comments about my last post so here is another example of an embroidered bag from the Sami people. My absolute essential viewing this Christmas will be "All Aboard! The Sleigh Ride" on BBC 4 at 7pm.  A two hour sleigh journey from the point of view of the reindeer travelling across part of the Arctic Circle. There are no words but he is being herded by a couple of interestingly dressed Sami women. I have seen it before but can't wait! GB readers go and set your recording devices up now!

Reindeers and Christmas

At Christmas time I feel I can freely admit to loving reindeer and in fact all deers! Some of the best textiles I have seen this year  were in the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm.

Worn Out

The last and smallest room of my current solo exhibition at The Customs House contains my most intimate and personal work which mixes up my love of working on to the surface of old quilts and my love for my grandmother. It brings together embroidered quotes from her diaries, some of her household possessions and my beloved old quilt fragments. I still use the fork on my allotment.

Worn Out

In the year that Mandy Pattullo became a grandmother she has been thinking a lot about her own grandmother who died more than 30 years ago. She was a poor farmer’s wife and was worn out through trying to make ends meet. To supplement the income from the farm she sold eggs, raised piglets for sale and looked after the calves. In the lead up to Christmas she would sit in a cold barn and pluck ducks and turkeys for the local butcher. Looking through her diaries Mandy could see that she had many livestock and money worries, but  her own  good memories are of her working in the farmhouse garden, making clothes on the old Singer and her cooking for legendary parties at the farm. Reading the diaries and slowly sewing her words brings Mandy closer to her life and helps her reflect on her own role as a grandmother to Bobby.

https://www.customshouse.co.uk/gallery/

Worn Through

So to the second room of my exhibition "Worn" at the Customs House till 29 Jan 2017. This second room focused on show casing some really big pieces of work which have been constructed from taking apart old quilts, unpicking surfaces and then reconstructing.  I made some of the work for a gallery exhibition at Knit and Stitch a few years ago but have not had a gallery space big enough to exhibit it in the north east so it has been lovely to bring it home and also have the opportunity to hang some of the old quilts in their original state that I will be taking apart in the future. Here's what the wall info said

Worn Through

Mandy Pattullo treasures the old and worn and in particular the utility patchworks and quilts made in domestic settings which relate to the thrift and ‘make do and mend’ culture of past times. She collects quilts which are past their best and uses parts of these and other old textiles to create new patchworks. The precious fragments of disintergrating textiles and unpicked surfaces form evocative compositions which force the viewer to re-examine fabrics that have become flawed through wear and tear, to find in them a new beauty.

UKHandmade

My book "Textile Collage" has been reviewed in many magazines but I really like UKHandmade who are the latest to feature it in their online edition Winter 2016 so am creating a link not just so you can read the review of the book on page 82 but also so you can support them if you don't know about their excellent mag.

Here is the link

http://ukhandmade.com/magazine

Worn By

I am aware that many of you will not be able to see my solo show "Worn" at the Customs House over the next 7 weeks and as a few of you have asked me to share photos and info I am going to do three blog posts that reflect the three gallery spaces and stories.
In this first one the interpretative text said

Worn By

Clothes that have been worn reveal more when they are examined from within, particularly those from the Edwardian period used here. Turning the garment inside out you might find sweat stains and dirt from the wearer’s body, tears and rips from repeated wear and strain on the seams. There is also something to admire in the care with which seams and hems have been hand stitched and fastenings attached. Darning and mending was used to revitalize and keep the garment going. New shapes emerge as sleeves are removed from bodices and lace is cut away. A pile of unpicked, discoloured and worn out fabrics is a delight for the textile artist giving her the opportunity to refigure and mix elements of the garments into new collages  on to which she makes her own marks with tiny stitches.

Angels

2 more doll samples to tempt someone to join the workshop on Monday 5th in my studio to take the place of last minute cancellation. Course costs £40 and to book please contact me through my website. All materials included.