I loved everything about today's letter. I started collecting women's handwork when I was in my 30s (1970s): handkerchiefs, table runners, embroidered pillowcases and tea towels, and quilts. Eventually I stopped collecting and started distributing my finds to others who cared. I'm happy to know you are keeping these arts alive. That tapestry sounds amazing. Every detail. I have a piece my friend Kate designed and embroidered for me on navy blue silk, it depicts a dream I had and told her about. It hangs above my bed and has for forty-five years. My home is filled with women's art, including paintings by my granddaughter and daughter. I kept the quilt made by my paternal grandmother for her own wedding in the 1800s. She hand pieced and hand quilted. It is worn and faded, but still loved. Your own works will live on, and I hope be appreciated and loved as they should be.
This was wonderful to read, Sandra! I love handwork of all kinds, i’m so happy to read that you do too. There is something truly special about these handcrafted pieces. The embroidery your friend made sounds absolutely incredible, thank you for sharing that!!
Your introduction to the Bayeux Tapestry and narrative about it are wonderful to read. So amazing that such a large piece has survived so beautifully after all of these years! I can well imagine wanting to go back to it again and again to look at the details. I wonder about things like what quality of needles they had? And lighting!?! I do thank you for sharing this! I also understand your interest in trying your hand at creating your own materials for your projects. Absolutely worth doing!
Oh thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed reading this!! I love thinking about all of the craftspeople who have come before me and what their work may have been like; I’m glad to hear that resonated with you as well.
What a fascinating read about the Bayeux Tapestry. I've learned so much! Your hand dyed Blue Faced Leister embroidery thread is such a lovely gold. Does it take a long time to spin? It looks very fine.
The singles are verrry fine, so it does take a little while - but I typically only spin a couple dozen yards when I do embroidery thread and it usually only takes me a few days. I’m planning to spin some more this upcoming week, and I think I might track the time I spend on it and see what the real numbers are!
Loved reading this. I made an unplanned visit to Bayeux this summer with my sister as we had planned to visit one of the Normandy Beaches where our late dad landed in WW2 but couldn’t find a parking spot. The old streets of Bayeux are beautiful to wander through and we found an amazingly quirky tea shop. The tapestry is wonderful to see close up although you walk past it in a slow moving caterpillar of visitors (with audio commentary headphones), so it’s not easy to stop and take in particular vignettes or fully appreciate the handwork. However, it’s really worth seeing IRL. And, we did get to the beach on the way home.
Oh, wow! Yes, Bayeux is so lovely - I really fell in love with the town. I also feel lucky because we visited the tapestry before the school holidays, and were pretty much the only people in there! I’m glad you made it to the correct beach eventually; we visited Omaha Beach on the same trip and it was extremely moving.
I loved everything about today's letter. I started collecting women's handwork when I was in my 30s (1970s): handkerchiefs, table runners, embroidered pillowcases and tea towels, and quilts. Eventually I stopped collecting and started distributing my finds to others who cared. I'm happy to know you are keeping these arts alive. That tapestry sounds amazing. Every detail. I have a piece my friend Kate designed and embroidered for me on navy blue silk, it depicts a dream I had and told her about. It hangs above my bed and has for forty-five years. My home is filled with women's art, including paintings by my granddaughter and daughter. I kept the quilt made by my paternal grandmother for her own wedding in the 1800s. She hand pieced and hand quilted. It is worn and faded, but still loved. Your own works will live on, and I hope be appreciated and loved as they should be.
This was wonderful to read, Sandra! I love handwork of all kinds, i’m so happy to read that you do too. There is something truly special about these handcrafted pieces. The embroidery your friend made sounds absolutely incredible, thank you for sharing that!!
Thanks for drawing my attention to this in the Notes!
Your introduction to the Bayeux Tapestry and narrative about it are wonderful to read. So amazing that such a large piece has survived so beautifully after all of these years! I can well imagine wanting to go back to it again and again to look at the details. I wonder about things like what quality of needles they had? And lighting!?! I do thank you for sharing this! I also understand your interest in trying your hand at creating your own materials for your projects. Absolutely worth doing!
Oh thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed reading this!! I love thinking about all of the craftspeople who have come before me and what their work may have been like; I’m glad to hear that resonated with you as well.
What a fascinating read about the Bayeux Tapestry. I've learned so much! Your hand dyed Blue Faced Leister embroidery thread is such a lovely gold. Does it take a long time to spin? It looks very fine.
The singles are verrry fine, so it does take a little while - but I typically only spin a couple dozen yards when I do embroidery thread and it usually only takes me a few days. I’m planning to spin some more this upcoming week, and I think I might track the time I spend on it and see what the real numbers are!
I imagine it is quite meditative. :)
It definitely is!
These updates are always so informative and inspiring!
Oh thank you so much!
Loved reading this. I made an unplanned visit to Bayeux this summer with my sister as we had planned to visit one of the Normandy Beaches where our late dad landed in WW2 but couldn’t find a parking spot. The old streets of Bayeux are beautiful to wander through and we found an amazingly quirky tea shop. The tapestry is wonderful to see close up although you walk past it in a slow moving caterpillar of visitors (with audio commentary headphones), so it’s not easy to stop and take in particular vignettes or fully appreciate the handwork. However, it’s really worth seeing IRL. And, we did get to the beach on the way home.
Oh, wow! Yes, Bayeux is so lovely - I really fell in love with the town. I also feel lucky because we visited the tapestry before the school holidays, and were pretty much the only people in there! I’m glad you made it to the correct beach eventually; we visited Omaha Beach on the same trip and it was extremely moving.