Schoolhouse

No. 1 The Row was the schoolhouse - like the Post Office there are lots of nice features and alcoves where I could display my work.  I have thought about placing an old school desk here but it didn't seem quite right........my inspiration came from visiting the exhibition in Tyneham schoolhouse which has been fully restored, giving an idea of what life was like all those years ago and the children who were educated there.

 Ideas for place

There is a saying written high on the wall........

I have created a piece in response to these words.......I thought about the lichen and moss that grows in Tyneham and how I could grow the words........I looked into ways of doing this but with so little time left the lichen would not grow quick enough for what I wanted, so I decided to stitch the words........

I have used this large piece of bark to display the words.....I like the fact they blend in with the background and only discovered upon closer inspection........

The making of George's Smock

This piece has been made in response to one of the great characters in Tyneham.  George Richards lived in a run-down cottage on the north side of the village, he was the last person in Tyneham to wear a smock, all his life he had been a farm labourer and is remembered as a very old man tending to the turnips in the fields.

You could tell a person’s trade by his smock.  If you were a shepherd you would have a crook embroidered but George’s smock was different; his had flowers and leaves and it often was a conversation piece as no one knew where it came from.

This smock has been a labour of love for me.  It has taken almost 100 hours from start to finish but despite having to teach myself how to follow a pattern and smock something I’ve never done before I’ve really enjoyed seeing it progress.  This craft is a dying trade and there aren’t many people making them now and I can see why.  When people only had each other for company it seems a lovely way to while away the hours.

I have hand stitched everything apart from the assembly of the garment which I did on my sewing machine.  The stitches, both the smocking and embroidery are traditional and used during the time George would’ve owned his smock.

Measuring the fabric - old bed sheets

Trying to follow the pattern

 Smocking Dots

 The long task of joining the dots

The first pull.......

 ........smocking is addictive

the top of the sleeves.....

 .....and the bottom

 The back of the smock

It looks like I measured right.

 Detail of the front and back

 The embroidered panels from left to right, collars, yokes and cuffs, showing leaves and flowers

Yoke detail in chain stitch

 Hours of work

 Assembling the smock........11 hours later........

 Almost finished........