Blackwork samples...

...have been done...

...ready for the Heritage event at Tretower Court this coming Saturday!!

I'll be down there all day...

...probably upstairs in the Solar...

...with samples and bits of fabric, thread and needles for folk to have a go.

The event is open from 10.30 to 4.30...

...come along if you're in the vicinity.




Now I'm off upstairs to finish off some teeth that have just finished cooking.....


x C

Tretower Festival Day

...was such a lovely event!!

I met loads of delightful people....many of them little people...

...who sat with me and made some themed tags.

Two little girls called Pippa and Tess will be taking theirs home to New Zealand...

...and a group of "Vaughns", over from the USA to travel and research their family history...

...will be carrying theirs back to California!

I got the Man to go walkies with the camera while I sat and cut out more white York Roses.....

The Living History ladies were in the kitchen...

The Crickhowell Guild of Weavers Spinners & Dyers outside...

Lute player in the courtyard.....

...and Whew....it WAS hot!!

....looked like the poor lacemaker's bobbins were melting in the sun.


All in all a gloriously enjoyable day!!!

x C

Tretower project playtime....

Oh! What fun I'm having!!

This Tretower Festival project is really giving me pleasure.

It's been a very long time since I did any serious research....

...back in my uni-days...

But, having spent yesterday at the Gwent Archives, looking at documents dating back to 1485...

...and trying to find other bits and pieces to use in my little workshops...

...the "Snooping-Bug" has bitten again.

The Vaughan family are such an INTERESTING bunch...

...AND there's a connection to "The White Queen" that's showing on the beeb on Sundays, too.

Thomas Vaughan (one of the family born at Monmouth), was an advisor to Edward IV and his son Edward V (who never actually got crowned because he disappeared from the Tower)....

....and Sir Roger of Tretower got embroiled in it all and ended up being separated from his head at Chepstow by a certain Jasper Tudor (uncle to the future Henry VII).

Anyways, yesterday I photographed some legal documents relating to land owned by Sir Roger and his son & heir Thomas, which had the family seal still attached.

So...

...the next thing was to fiddle with the image in Gimp to come up with a piece of "something" I can use on my tags.

Next job was typing out some poetry by Lewis Glyn Cothi, who had written some "awdls" for various members of the Vaughan family.

I used a font that looks exactly like the manuscript writings from the 14th and 15th centuries.....

 ...then washed and sprayed the paper with Dark Brown Brusho spray...

...and burned the edges with a jos stick.

Then, tags were stamped and papers prepared...

.....also embossed stamps of Medieval floor tiles....

...add a York rose for good measure...

...thus ending up with something that looks like this!
(It's not stuck down yet...so things may change)



My desk is a right mess...

...which means I'm enjoying myself!!    :-)))))


x C

Portal progress....

I've finished all the fabric painting....

...and am now getting ready to do a wee bit of stitching.

Not too much though....

(Oh Yeh!! I hear some folks saying!! :-)

x C

Tretower portal......W.I.P...

You may remember a few weeks back I posted some photos of Tretower Court...

...a place near here that is absolutely beautiful.

I'm doing some demos and mini-workshops there on 24th July....

...and have started some stitched pieces to put on show.


Here's where I'm at this morning...

The machine stitching was finished yesterday.... 

...and the painting begun a couple of hours ago....

...using Brusho Paints (with a bit of added thickener)

Original piccy of that glorious door!!

O! how I love doing these..... :-)))


x C

Recovery....and a reccy....

At last I've managed to sit down and do a blog post....

...after being completely wiped-out for most of the week since returning from Lancashire.

The Empress Stitch Show was absolutely BRILLIANT!!!

New and relatively small by show standards, but the whole experience was wonderful. As Richard Box commented, "Everyone was INTERESTED!". ...and he was right. The visitors were delightful....asking questions...making lovely comments....listening to learn about techniques....AND coming in rather large numbers too.

Both Saturday and Sunday were very busy days, and everyone involved enjoyed the weekend immensely. We have all said to Charles and Christine to "DO IT AGAIN" next year!! :-)

The journey back was a bit of a trial though...

...very windy (headwind this time), and with a caravan on the back, it was like dragging a large brick through a wind-tunnel...

...with the frequent tug sideways from all the passing lorries!

My arms, neck and shoulders have ached all week and I've been SO tired I haven't even sorted out the show boxes yet.

So, when I had to go out and do a reccy yesterday, it was the first time out of the house since coming back from up north.

The reccy concerned was at the very lovely Tretower Court & Castle, just off the A40 between Crickhowell and Bwlch. A REALLY lovely spot, especially on a day when the sun was shining and temperatures more like they should be at this time of year :-)

When I was at Wonderwool a few weeks ago, I was asked by a lady from CADW if I would do a workshop stint at the Tretower Festival on 24th July this year .

She particularly liked my little houses and wants "something" done around the , theme of "Tudor buildings", thus the photo-shoot yesterday.

The plan is to do some stitched/collaged pieces for the day along with some small projects that can be done by visitors to the event.

Just have a look at this doorway.....

...now WHAT could I do with THAT one!!??

I'm going to enjoy this.....

Have a good Sunday.

x C


(ps   Sorry for not popping around the blog trail much lately....I seem to have been half-asleep :-o)