ccompaning Di this weekend, we went to see Threads of Feeling- an exhibition that is showcasing fabrics never shown before to illustrate the moment of parting as mothers left their babies at the original Foundling Hospital, which continues today as the children’s charity Coram.
In the cases of more than 4,000 babies left between 1741 and 1760, a small object or token, usually a piece of fabric, was kept as an identifying record. The fabric was either provided by the mother or cut from the child’s clothing by the hospital's nurses. Attached to registration forms and bound up into ledgers, these pieces of fabric form the largest collection of everyday textiles surviving in Britain from the 18th Century.
The pictures above are rom those ledgers....not a dry eye at the exhibition!
k I know it's cheating to post images of work done ages ago, but I was looking for some pillowcases the other day in the mess I call my airing cupboard when I found a cot quilt which I lovingly stitched for Finlay 14 years ago! ....as I have not painted, photographed, or created anything worthy of a post this week, thought I would show these pics instead. I used Francescas' and Christians' drawings and turned them into the applique pieces on each square, using a wonderful coloured linen from our trusty John Lewis.
ollies everywhere in my head at the moment as I'm frantically trying to produce some styles that would be more commercial than the ones I have done before......this dolly would be for a much younger age group hence the velvet/velour style hair which would be more suitable than lots of wool, and much softer.The face needs a little more cheering up though as she looks a little non plussed sitting in my armchair!
seem to have become a little fixated with the idea of collage-which is basically alot of tearing, glueing and then wondering why I have been making such a mess on the dining room table! Was inspired by some russian dresses in the christmas issue of selvedge....I love the idea of the same dress pattern collaged in different patterns....Jone reckons I should hang them all in a row with little wire coat hangers...
alentines day has brought me a delightful lavender infused paper heart from Julie all the way across the atlantic, here with another lovely paper heart all the way from vintage fairy tales in sweden.....as ever, this day brings unexpected surprises!
ust finished combining all the watercolours onto a background for the spoonflower contest which is 'year of the Rabbit' to celebrate the chinese new year....no chinese rabbits in my entry as I went for the very english look of a portrait wall of many years of rabbits instead! I downloaded the background from a fabulous website called