100 Hearts - Commemoration of the ending of W.W.1

The Embroiderers Guild launched a project to commemorate the ending of W.W.1 one hundred years ago. Any member who wished to take part could send for a heart pattern and some felt. I chose the larger pattern and dark blue felt.
The design was then up to us.
I decided to use the information I had on my two great uncles who were brothers to my grandmother on the maternal side and were Scots. Both were killed in action.
James Mitchell was in the Scots fusiliers and was killed at the first Battle of Ypres in 1914. He has no known grave but his name is on the Menin Gate. The menin Gate is below and my sister and I visited Ypres in 2014 and found James's name. Every evening at 8 o'clock there is a small act of remembrance at the Menin Gate.

John Mitchell was in the Royal Scots and was killed at the second Battle of Gaza in 1917. He is buried in the War Cemetery in Gaza and his headstone is below with a photograph of the war cemetery supplied by the War graves Commission.

The two battle scenes on the pincushion are based on the paintings of Paul Nash.

The panel in the middle represents the beauty and peace of Scotland that they left behind.

My pincushion will be on display with others from the North at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show and at Leyburn in Yorkshire.

It was a war that scarred a generation and affected generations down the line.

Embroidery in the style of Richard Box

My embroiderers guild meeting this month was to make an embroidery in the style of Richard Box. I took a picture of a clematis as inspiration.

The first thing we did was to cut up material in the appropriate colours, varying shades. We then drew the flower onto paper and  cut out the first petal to expose the background material.  The purple pieces were  applied with a tiny drop of glue to secure them in place. Then the second petal was cut out and material applied and so on until the whole picture was covered.

Some stripes of pink sheer were applied to the flower to make the stripes.

The picture was machined in matching colours to hold down the pieces.

The edges of the petals and the stripes were machined to make them stand out from the background.
 By attaching a stuffed circle of material and then embroidering with bullion knots the centre of the flower was created.

 A stitched cord was then attached in various places to give the effect of a twisty stem.

It was  ready to be attached to the front of a sketchbook.

A few days in Scotland June 2018

At the end of June I went to Scotland to stay with a friend. She picked me up from Glasgow station and drove to her home in Drymond and then drove North to Dunkeld on the Tay where we were booked into a hotel for a couple of nights.
On our way North we stopped at Killie Crankie which is a very pretty wooded ravine with a river at the bottom. The site is more famous as the site of the battle of Killie Crankie between the government soldiers and Jacobites. The Jacobites won but were never able to take advantage of this.

After arriving at Dunkeld we had a look at the grounds along the banks of the Tay.

The next day we travelled North again to Blair Atholl castle, where there was a piper to welcome everyone.

There were all sorts of interesting things around the castle including Native American bead work.

I particularly liked these tabards on display in the great hall.

There was a display of the costumes from the TV series Victoria.

The walled garden has been restored and I was amazed at the size containing an orchard, ponds and perennial beds.

The next day on the way back to Drymond we visited Stirling once the most important town in Scotland. It was an exceptionally hot day and possibly the hottest in Scotland ever.
The castle is set on a high crag with a commanding view over the surrounding town and countryside.

The castle is undergoing extensive renovation and restoration.  This seems to have been done with sensitivity. The restored hammer beam roof is below.

The altar cloth had been embroidered with care and looked beautiful.

A series of tapestries had been woven around the tale of a unicorn hunt.

The gardens were very bright and cheerful.

We finished the visit with an ice cream to cool us down!
The next couple of days were taken up with exploring the local area around Drymond. Because of the good weather Scotland was on show at her best and it was a very enjoyable few days and no insect bites!!!!!!