Penny Mackinder – “A History of (mostly) English embroidery” – what it is, what it isn’t, and whodunit.

Today we had an inspiring talk by our secretary Penny Mackinder. Penny is a very keen embroiderer with a passion for the history of her art form. As well as a comprehensive presentation, Penny brought in some antique samplers (dating back to 1810) and showed us how to execute a Bayeux embroidery stitch.

Some interesting information from Penny’s presentation

Tapestry vs. needlework

A tapestry is the creation of a fabric. It starts with the warp in place, and the fabric is created by adding in the weft.
Needlework is used on the surface of an already created fabric and is used as a decorative element.

Crewel embroidery is a free form style of needlework done using woollen thread on a linen fabric.

Detail of a fanciful leaf in crewel embroidery on a curtain, c. 1696, Victorian & Albert Museum T.166-1961

Mary Queen of Scots was a very skilled needlewoman. During her time under house arrest in England, she and her custodian Bess of Hardwick created many examples of cross stitch works using coloured silks on canvas.

Catherine of Aragon was another famous embroiderer. Blackwork was already around in England, but she made it a very popular style. It became very fashionable during the reign of her husband Henry VIII. Catherine would make and embroider shirts for her husband, even after their divorce.

Portrait of Katherine of Aragon, c.1560 English School. Blackwork embroidery can be seen on her shirt collar.

Bayeux Embroidery Stitch

Bayeux Embroidery Stitch (multiple colours used for demonstration purposes, use the same colour thread throughout the steps to complete your stitch.)

  1. Using 2 or 3 strands of embroidery floss stitch long horizontal lines to cover an area of desired size. (Yellow)
  2. Using the same thread, stitch vertical lines down at equal intervals over the horizontal lines. (Red)
  3. Complete the stitch by using tiny stitches across the vertical ones to secure them in place.(Blue)
More resources:

The Bayeux Tapestry will be loaned to the United Kingdom in 2022 and displayed in the British Museum – definitely a must see!

Weavers of the Clouds: Textile Arts of Peru is an exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey, London.

Although this exhibition has now finished, you can download the exhibition guide from the FTM website.

 

Magical Mystery Tour led by Richard Porter

We spent a pleasant afternoon on the busy streets of London being taken around the Beatles’ London haunts. We started in Soho Square where we saw Paul McCartney’s offices and continued onto other sites that included the mural in Carnaby Street, the public toilets in  Broadwick Street and Trident Studios (not just a Beatles site; Queen, David Bowie and Elton John have also recorded there). Of course the tour ended with a trip to Beatles hallowed ground – Abbey Road Studios. We had great fun taking pictures on the famous crossing.

Party time!

We had a fabulous time at our annual Christmas Party. Many thanks to Janet for hosting us this year. On the way in guests were treated to an elder flower cocktail followed by food and nibbles made by all our members, the food was delicious! We also had very fun party games organised by Rachael – our favourite being “The Sock Game”. We had to guess what was inside socks only by feeling the outside – this proved much harder than it sounds!

AM and Quiz With Prizes

Tonight we had our Annual Meeting where we have elected a new committee and president. We would like to thank all the members of the committee for the past year for all their hard work and are looking forward to what the new committee members will have in store for the next year ahead.

Our AM was followed by a quiz with prizes headed by our resident quiz master, Denise. The quiz included all the traditional topics of everything from the arts to geography, as well as a bonus sheet in which we had to link 30 fictional characters to their novels.

Musical comedy from award-winning Funny Woman: Harriet Braine

Harriet entertained us with a look at some dead white men, 1 live man and 1 live woman. We thought about mostly artists, from Hokusai ( of “Wave” fame) through to Tracey Emin, (from Croydon by way of Margate) On the way we glanced at Matisse, Matisse, Matisse, Mati-i-i-i-sse (to the tune of “Jolene”), Frida Kahlo’s vaguely famous artist husband, and the hitherto unsuspected abilities of Lancelot “Capability” Brown. Thank you Harriet for a hilarious and fascinating evening.

Written by Penny