Snippets from the Silk Road and other crafty musings...

A beautiful enamelled shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, part of the Silk Road exhibition at the British Museum (C) The Trustees of the British Museum

The small but trusty band of members who joined our Crafty Chat on the 25th Feb were treated to some fascinating pictures of textile-related items from the recent Silk Road exhibition at the British Museum.  Caroline, our chair, had visited the exhibition in January and treated us to a wonderful whistle-stop tour of some of the gorgeous artefacts on display.  The exhibition covered the period from 500-1000AD, and sought to illustrate the incredible artistic links and influences that spread across the world from the Silk Road countries during this time.  Highlights included an enormous silk embroidery from China, stunning in its size and detail, and two beautiful gold and red enamel shoulder clasps from our own Sutton Hoo burial treasure.  It was so interesting to be reminded that such skill and artistry is part of our ancient history, and that for so long human beings have been connected and inspired by their love of beauty and craftsmanship.

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​Discussion turned to the very modern craftsmanship of our own members, and Wendy showed us some beautiful embroidered ‘quilt as you go’ padded hexagons that she was making.  Details and examples can be found online, and she recommended a book called ‘Quilt As You Go’ by Carolyn Forster.  Anne-Marie showed us the latest in her collection of charming ‘Valentine’s Desk Quilts’ that she makes every year for her lucky husband, and Jane promised us that after being snowed under with paperwork, she would soon be returning to her experiments with Elizabethan ruffs!  As usual the conversation was lively and wide-ranging: we learnt about Caroline’s first forays into pottery, lingered over the design details of the Regency dresses in the recent BBC drama ‘Miss Austen’ (a series highly recommended for historical drama fans by our members!), and delved into the knotty technicalities of rag rug making – ‘hooky’, ‘proddy’ or ‘proggy’?  We were commenting on the social history literally woven into those rugs, and the fact that they documented family history through the textiles used to make them.  Deirdre told us about a display she had seen at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk where fabrics from a C17th rats’ nest were shown with an explanation of the incredible insight that they had provided for costume historians about clothing and textiles at the time. Perhaps we do all need to look at our scraps and rags with more respect – they may well be invaluable documentary evidence for the historians of the future!

​In passing, Deirdre also mentioned that Hemingford Grey Manor near Huntingdon, is well worth a visit.  It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain, and has some stunning gardens.  Some of us had come across Lucy M. Boston, who lived there and created the garden, as the author of the famous ‘Green Knowe’ series of books for children, based on her own house, but we also discovered that she was a prolific and influential quilter!  It gave us yet another creative rabbit hole down which to disappear one day!

​What a lovely way to pass an hour or two on a cold, wet afternoon, nattering to like-minded fashion, design and crafting fans.  There is always room in these chats for more, and they are relaxed, friendly and really inspiring.  Our next chat will take place on 1st April at 2pm – any Fools welcome!  Please do consider making yourself a cup of tea, grabbing a biscuit, and joining us.