WIPW - Travelling with TAST

It is Work In Progress Wednesday. Go to Pintangle for more WIPW delights.

The Swedish wool embroidery wrist warmers are completed, so I started a new TAST summary project. I will add the more recent stitches, but also include some of the older ones.

I have a piece of charcoal grey/blue cotton, and outlined in chalk pencil there is a circle and some lines made with the help of my cz stencils.

While travelling cross country with 'British Rail' I worked the following TAST stitches: #73 Portuguese Stem, Back (not yet a TAST stitch), #14 Stem, #2 Buttonhole, #75 Woven Zig-zag Chain, #22 Buttonhole Wheel (half) and #15 French Knot.

Stranded floss and Perle #8 was used.

This fabric is photo shy and does not show up its beautiful shine, nor its lovely colour.

Festival of Quilts 2013

Festival of Quilts 2013 in Birmingham, UK is over and I have a report to write. However the internet connection where I am staying at the moment is slow and sporadic so I will keep the report short. I am sure there will be many other summaries on other blogs, head over to Piece 'n Peace for example.

Although there were changes to the show from previous years, I found that what I wanted to see and the traders I shop from, were all there.

I met up with Margaret and she was every bit as funny and kind as she is online. I saw a lot of other friends too.

Here are some pictures for you from the show. I'll be 'patriotic' and start with a Japanese:

Winner of Traditional, Amateur and Best In Show:
'Thank You Father' by Kyoko Yamauchi

A crowd stopper!!!

Grace by Sandy Chandler, second prize Traditional. Stunning machine quilting, wouldn't you say?

Kumiko Frydel received the First Prize Miniature, for her Rose of Versailles.

My own Bellaflora is looking very pale in the bad light.

Actually I have been wondering how the quilts would look in real daylight. Unfortunately the light in the hall is an orange sickly light and spotlights are only used in the Galleries, not for the quilts in the competition.

Answers to the Textile Quiz

You made some clever suggestions and gave some correct answers to the Textile Quiz I posted earlier in the week.

I love looking at textile and often take pictures of what I see. On this occasion it was easy to find lots of interesting objects.

So what occasion was it?
It was a visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tours, or shall we call it the Harry Potter Museum. North of London, near Watford Junction, you will find the film studio where much of the Harry Potter films were made.

It was most enjoyable and educational. I saw many of the sets, lots of props and costumes.
So the answers to the quiz are:

1.This dress belongs to The Gray Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw House.

 2. The tapestries are hung in the Great Hall. They are printed copies of  The Unicorn is in Captivity and No Longer Dead.

3. The wool patchwork quilt belongs to Hagrid and is in his cabin.

4. The pink tailored dress does indeed belong to Dolores Umbridge, it is seen here with two other pieces from her wardrobe. Like everything on the set, they were just beautifully crafted, and the perfect style for this sweet but, evil headmistress.

Here are some more examples of textile as seen in the Harry Potter films. In the Gryffindor common room, Harry and his friends can enjoy the beautiful tapestries of The Lady and the Unicorn. A fantastic reproduction, all printed of course, but not very different from the impression I got from the originals I saw in Tokyo a couple of months ago when they were in an exclusive exhibition.

Fancy cutting a hole in them for the doorway!

If you've ever wondered what Harry's invisibility cloak looks like, here it is. It is a beautiful fluid velvet. The green lining makes it possible for Harry's body to become invisible on screen.

TAST #76 Vandyke Stitch

It's TAST time again, we've reached #76, the Vandyke Stitch, which is new to me. Go to Pintangle to learn how to do it and take part of the TASTfun.
Oh, what a delightful stitch! It has flow, structure, curves well and can become 'organic' and plant like or stay stiff as a poker. If I have anything to complain about it is that it is hungry and eats thread!

While sitting on a park bench in one of London's lovely gardens my needle just went on and on stitching. You see the colours of the border. They will give you a hint to where the pictures in the textile quiz were taken!