An update on the new studio

We are nearing the end of the project up here in Yell. Here is what we are doing to finish off the work. 

Our new studio is looking great. Tidied up, it is now just waiting for the loom which will be here next week and installation date is 13th August. Way hay!

Kirsty has a super-duper new space of her own to work her design magic in, and Andy has repainted his office (picture left). They are both looking good and, we think, quite Grown Up!

New textiles have been hung in the original studio and older pieces taken down. It is farewell to the Edwardian children's theatre backdrop, Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland(picture right of Alice as a dodo) and hello to a French tapestry (pictures below of the space where the new piece is hung and of the piece itself so you can see the lovely colours in it). Gradually we will be replacing most of the pieces, storing those that have been on display for years and putting other fabrics up in their place. We are doing this to keep the fabrics from deteriorating in the strong light we have in the studio and to take the weight off some of the older pieces so that they do not develop tears and rips. 

It is always good to go through our collection. Some of the fabrics and textiles are old, some new, but all are interesting and going through the collection allows us to see things in a different light. Some of the pieces we bought when we were much younger are not that special while some of those that we bought then are much more desirable now. It has been great fun to have that trip down memory lane.

Here are a few more pictures of new things in the studio, 

including a knitted brooch of a bird skull by

  local knitter and jewellery-maker Helen Robertson and a stitched skull by our neighbour, embroiderer Shona Skinner which I put into an old Chinese laquerware box given to me by a Yell resident who has had it for years. On the lid I put a watercolour Christmas card from a friend, Pam Golden, of a quail's egg. It is in its original envelope but one day will be behind glass instead. We are very lucky to be surrounded by these lovely things, aren't we?!