OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY....
Brace yourselves...craft is featured this week. Good huh? Pity it's not mine :-D All will be revealed in a minute.
First things first - I had a wonderful trip back to Wiltshire last week. Julia and I simply took up where we left off our conversation. We kept looking at our watches wondering just how another couple of hours had zipped past without us noticing. We went to Salisbury for a little light retail therapy...here we are outside Fabricland!
I love this pic! I bought a few things like zips, fusible fleece and thread, nothing earth shattering but useful nevertheless! Our time went too quickly - I'm already looking forward to the return visit.
We are entertaining our friend Kate, who is over from New Zealand. We went to the National Botanic Gardens of Wales...I wasn't expecting this....
It was like an alien had landed in the depths of the Carmarthenshire landscape! This held the desert and temperate plants, there was a double walled garden, wonderful water features, a folly and a butterfly house. Incidentally, it may amuse you to learn that the Welsh for butterfly is Pilipala!
There were exhibits of sculpture dotted around the grounds as well. Seven massive tree stumps were arranged on the ground - they were fallen trees from the Gabon, representing the deforestation there and have been sited in Trafalgar Square, Oxford University, the Earth Summit at Copenhagen before coming to their final resting place here. They were enormous and very poignant..
There was also a gallery featuring a textiles exhibition - here comes someone else's crafting!!
This piece was against a window and was made from layers of voile with lace and machine embroidery..gorgeous.
This water feature is in the gardens and the embroidery caught it just right..the fountain sprays were made of silvery beads.
I loved this blue felt applique work...I could live with this on my wall...
The Botanical Stitchers had created panels featuring many of the plants found in the gardens....
...and they, together with the Carmarthenshire Embroiderers Guild, made this very large piece (6 x 8 foot) about the plants of South Africa - the detail was quite stunning.
We really enjoyed our visit there and intend to join for a year as it'll be a constantly changing environment - I can't wait to see the herbaceous borders in full glory.
Life continues to be rather busy, let's see if I manage to make anything this week, lol!
27 comments:
you are certainly enjoying showing visitors round your beautiful new surroundings - love the shape of the botanical garden building (is it me or does it look like a skull cap on a head?!!) and the gallery exhibits were fantastic - what handiwork! Gorgeous pic of you and your best mate! Helen #??
Super photo of you & Julia.
What wonderful embroideries - lovely photos.
Toni xx
Gorgeous photo of you both Jan....I bet your time together just flew. Amazing embroideries....wish I had the time and patience to produce something like those.
Hope you have a great week.
Hugs,
Annie x #7
Hi Jan, That is a lovely photo of you and Julia. Glad you had such a good time and got some retail therapy as well.
Bet your friend enjoyed the Botanic Gardens. The various projects were lovely, but the last one is my favourite.
Happy WOYWW
Sue #14
Woo Hoo! Looks like a great time will have been had by all, TFS pix. You are both looking terrific in the photo. Lovely projects too
Happy WOYWW
Kathyk
#12
What an amazing place!! May have to go visit there when we are next over at PJ's sister, she lives near Carmarthen.
Love all that stitching, thanks so much for sharing it with us all.
Have a good week
Christine (who is now ) #18
What a wonderful place to visit. Loving all the textile inspiration, need to have something in mind for when I finish my 2nd project if indeed I am to make this a year of stitching. BJ#9
Ah just soak up the inspiration and when you have a moment reflect and the making will come... I am using two years worth of memory resources from when we were too busy for me to even sit down let alone paint! It's how it goes, sometimes you need to soak it up, then something gives you a squeeze and all the soaked up creative juice gushes out (yuck actually that's not a pretty metaphor is it?) Dxxx #17
What a fabulous source of inspiration. If you didn't know those first two pieces were fabric, they could be taken as mixed media canvases with added texture. Glad you've been having fun catching up with friends. Sarah #4
Lovely photo of you and Julia, you both look fab, and so glad you had a great time! The Botanic Gardens are an amazing place to have on your doorstep - and what a fabulous textile exhibition, I love the voile trees and the floral embroideries - gorgeous work.
Have a great week,
Hugs, Diana xx
I knew you two would have a great time, lovely photo of you both.
The Botanic Gardens look amazing, somewhere I would love to go and the textile art is beautiful. There are so many talented people out there.
Have a good week
Hugs Lisax #25
Fab photo of you both! The textile exhibition looks wonderful - thanks for sharing. So many clever folk crafting out there! xx Jo
Great photos of you both and the gardens. Loving the textile exhibition.
sandra de @26
Loos like one fantastic day out, lovely textile art. Happy WOYWW Vicky #23
Fun photo of the two of you. So much inspiration from your visit. I can't help but be moved by that tree stump. I can see you trying your hand at making something similar to that blue felt applique.
Happy WOYWW. Yes, the Botanical Gardens are fabulous. We haven't been since last year (which was just a quick stop to their tearooms by the entrance). Must go on a sunny day when hubby has finally finished being super-busy on the farm - and lunch in the restaurant is a must. Perhaps we could meet up sometime? Ali x #27
How Lovely - need to visit next time i am up to see MIL.Hubby is visiting next week but not sure the textiles are his thing. Have a great week. Soojay 28 xx
What a wonderful place! I must go there! Love the photo of you and Julia - you ladies look very happy! Have a lovely week, Jan! zsuzsa #22
Hiya Jan, lovely pic of you & Julia. Those gardens look amazing, that has to go on the visiting list! Incredible work in the embroidery, and love how they've hung the hexagons together with buttons & loops. So many very talented people out there, aren't there? Lots of love and huge Hugs to you all, and Happy Birthday to Owen XxXx
As I looked at the voile piece I was preparing myself to say (write) something about it as it is so beautiful but then the pictures just kept unfolding until they ended with that utterly gorgeous brightly coloured piece at the end by the Embroiderers Guild. Magnificent and I bet in real life it is even more stunning. WOW certainly on a WOYW Wednesday.
Hugs, Neet 2 xx
Wow! Really beautiful. I love the photo with the tree in the foreground. It is stunning. At this time of the year when nothing much is still growing I find myself fascinated with trees and how they look.
Looks like you and Julia had a lot of fun! Nice to see a photo of the two of you.
Happy WOYWW
Sharon K #34
NIB envy? Surely not!!! However, if curious then Amazon do offer a selection (J Herbin, I believe) if you want to check it out.
Kathyk
#12
Nothing better than visitors to find all the fun places of things to do in the neighborhood! We never go to tourist places in Kingston unless someone is visiting, but we should! That dome is awesome, and the inside even better! my fav is the blue applique! Thanks for sharing, Lindart #38
Hi Jan! Long time no comment. I just had to say what a wonderful photo of you and Julia - she's looking amazing! I'm so, so happy to see such improvement - and she looks as if years have been taken off her, happy dance here! You look good too - your new life suits you! Hugs to all of you.
Di xx
Oh my! How much fun you two had! And absolutely love all the photos! Thanks for sharing!!!
Carol N #31
Hi Jan, that's a lovely photo - you both look stunning! Julia looks wonderful. Good friends always just pick up where they left off and shopping just had to be on the agenda. The photos taken at the Botanic Gardens are fabulous - very other worldly - and the embroideries are gorgeous and so inspirational too. Have a great week. Hugs, Elizabeth x #30
PS: still having trouble with my Internet connection but taking advantage of it being up now.
Well my gorgeous friend, even your selfies are pretty good..love your smiley face. You didn't mention the glass bra thingy, goodness what a lot to see. And...oh the tree stump...ouch to the damage we're doing, what a great way to illustrate it. Those voile pieces are just amazeballs, all requiring so much patience. And just look at the beautiful buttonhole thingies on the green panels...what skill. Can totes see why you need to become members.
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