UK 2014 Trip: York

Each time I go to the UK, I try to work in trips to exhibitions and private collections to complement my research and studies (and some just to have fun!).  I orginally thought I would put it all in one post, but it quickly became way too long.  Over the next couple weeks, I thought I would share some of the exhibitions that I really enjoyed and the private collections that I had the wonderful opportunity of viewing.

My first stop (outside Durham) was York.  I got to stay with my stitching friend, Denny, whom I had met 5 years ago on my very first goldwork course with Tracy Franklin at Hampton Court.  It is Denny, Uschi, and Christine (all who embroider for YorkMinster) that I can credit with really introducing me to ecclesiastical embroidery.  Yes, I had seen pieces before, but I had never met anyone who was passionate about ecclesiastical embroidery.  Sometimes it takes meeting those enthusiastic people to make you pay attention.  After meeting them, I went home and started my research into embroidery of the British Isles (starting with Opus Anglicanum) and have been completely and utterly hooked with the subject since then!

Mount Grace Priory

Taking a short break from my weekend stitching, Denny took me to see Mount Grace Priory and the North Yorkshire Moors.  Mount Grace Priory was amazingly beautiful and had the most wonderful stillness about it.  What I found most interesting was the fairly lavish accommodations for the monks.  Each had their own private house (bedroom, work room, living room, space above, outdoor bathroom and garden).  They had working plumbing and running water from the spring on the mountain.  Pretty incredible to me considering what the rest of society was living with at the time. 

Quilt Museum and Gallery in York

- "Setting the Scene":    This exhibition paired costumes from recent period films with historic quilts of the same time frame as the costume they were presented with.  It included pieces from The Duchess, Downton Abbey, Portrait of a Lady, and Jane Eyre.  I thought the set-up was really interesting because you really did see the correlations between the fashion fabrics of the time with the quilt fabrics.  My favorite was the costume from Jane Eyre.  The pleats were spectacular, but the detail that stole the show for me was the minute piping that was inserted into every seam!  It was beautiful!  

- "Dressed to Quilt" by Ineke Berlyn:   I loved reading about Ms. Berlyn's process in making these pieces.  She used so many different printing and mark making techniques to create the materials that she then used in creating the quilt dresses.