Postcards from the Isle of Wight

Last month I spent 12 glorious (literally, it was hot and sunny) days on the Isle of Wight. It was my first visit and one that I was really looking forward to as it has been on my places to visit wishlist for quite some time. The Isle of Wight did not disappoint, I really loved it and want to go back to see the rest of what the island has to offer.

I'm going to talk about our accommodation in a separate post as it was that super so here I thought I would share some of my snapshots of the island.

There is a marvellous mix of seaside, beautiful countryside, historical locations, walks, relaxing spots and ice cream. Really, the best ice cream  ever!

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen some other views.

Ventnor harbour

Ventnor bay

Ventnor

Sunset

Ventnor - dinnertime view

Osborne House

Osborne House

Osborne House

Bembridge

Appuldurcombe House

Appuldurcombe House

Freemantle Gate

St Catherine's lighthouse

St Catherine's oratory

An archive of wonder part two - 1960's-1980's

I talked about my visit to the Knitting and Crochet Guild archive in this post; I explained about the Guild, our day and the items that we saw from the 1920's-1950's. This post picks up where that one left off, from the 1960's-1980's. Yep - bright, highly patterned 1980's knitwear coming up!

This is a 1960's dress which is a brighter pink in real life! It is made from Bri-Nylon. The central back strap meets the two front straps to form a part halter neck. They are held together by a large crochet covered button.

It is just about possible to see in the first picture that the dress has a thicker panel of stitches over the bust area to prevent it being completely see through!

The next series of pictures are of a 1970's wedding dress.

This is an image form the original pattern which was published in June 1970 in Woman's Realm magazine.

The dress is crocheted in 3-ply yarn and is floor length. The dress looks a creamy yellow now but apparently it was originally white.

The bottom panel of the dress is trimmed with velvet ribbon.

It fasteners with these small, sparkly buttons.

This shows some more velvet ribbon trim and the decorative yoke of the dress.

The dress was given to the collection with it's veil - made from a net curtain.

Now we move to the 1980's!

This is a Patricia Roberts design called Harold and Maude. The design features bunches of grapes and cherries and is knitted in mohair. The cardigan was knitted by the donor's mother.

This jumper is also a Patricia Roberts design. It is not knitted in the recommended yarn and the inexperienced maker used two methods of colour work, firstly floats across the back and then intarsia. It was obviously well loved and worn as it has some stains on the neck from sun tan oil!

This beautiful grey tunic is a Jean Moss design who, as a patron of the Guild, donated it. It features lots of knots, bobbles, cables and colour work and is very intricate.

Kaffe Fassett is also a patron of the Guild and he donated this cardigan which is his design - The Three Virgins. It is knitted in cotton and is very vibrant and incredibly detailed. It fastens up the front with clasps.

That brings us to the end of the large selection of knitted and crocheted item that we saw to begin with. I think there might well be a part three to this as there are some tools, gadgets and some interesting household pieces yet to be covered!

From sheep to cloth

In West Yorkshire there is a beautiful village called Saltaire which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was built by Sir Titus Salt to house the workers for his mill. In the 1830's Titus Salt was one of the first people in England to work out an industrial process for turning alpaca fleece into a soft and usable cloth. Titus had over 3000 workers and once the mill was open in 1853 he kept building the village, with houses, a church, a school, almshouses, library, shops and a park. The village was completed in 1876. Titus Salt was recognised as a progressive employer who tried to make life better for his workers at a time when working conditions in textile mills were very poor and there was much danger and poverty. 

 

I could talk for ages about Saltaire but that isn't really what this post is about. Suffice to say it is a beautiful place to visit and it gives an interesting insight into industrial history. Salt's Mill is now part museum, part shops and part gallery with a large collection of David Hockney pictures. It is one of my favourite places to spend a few hours. It is absolutely huge and it is possible to imagine what it must have been like as a working mill.   In one gallery space there are a series of murals which tell the story of the making of cloth. They were painted by Henry Marvell Carr in the 1950's. They show the process from sheep to cloth which as a knitter, sewer and lover of textiles I found really interesting.

The sheep, looking very proud. Excuse the reflection, the first two paintings are behind glass.

Shearing time and a big pile of fleece.

Grading and sorting the fleece. Different breeds of sheep produce different quality wool.

Cleaning and scouring the fleece. It gets washed, rinsed and dried.

The wool is carded to produce clean, fluffy wool called roving which is ready for spinning.

The roving is spun to produce a strong wooden thread and wound onto bobbins.

 

The loom has to be correctly threaded so that it will weave the correct type of cloth.

 

The cloth begins to be woven.

Checking the thread quality. Obviously quality checking happens in tandem with the other processes.

The cloth being woven on the looms. 

The finished cloth coming off the looms. 

Quality control of the finished cloth. 

The cloth being folded and ready to go. These pictures really helped me to understand what used to happen in the mill. The area where I live would have been full of textile mills years ago so when I see them, standing empty or converted to other uses now, it helps me imagine how they used to be!

Alnwick Castle - or should that be Brancaster?

A couple of months ago I had a few days in Northumberland with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary. On one of the days we visited the spectacular Alnwick Castle which had been on my places to visit list for a long time. It was worth the wait.

Alnwick has been the home of the Percy family for the past 700 years! There is so much to see and do on top of just wandering around the castle grounds and enjoying the scenery. There is a museum about the history of the castle, an exhibition on the role of the people from the castle in the First World War and the Northumberland Fusiliers museum. The castle was used as a set for some of the scenes in the Harry Potter films and there is a dragon quest and broomstick flying lessons for children.

The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland still live here, using the State Rooms which are open to the public when they are not using them. The State Rooms are located in the building in the above two photos. Sadly, photography is not allowed in the rooms which is a shame as they are sumptuous. I did find this one of the dining room on the castle website. Imagine eating a meal in there!

State Rooms

As you may know, Alnwick was used as a location for the Downton Abbey Christmas special, and many of the State Rooms were featured as the interiors of Brancaster Castle. I love Downton and it was extra special to see it set somewhere that I had visited. It was filmed there for two weeks over the summer.

Christmas Downton Abbey

The programme was set in autumn 1924 and the family were invited to go grouse shooting at Brancaster Castle (Alnwick), an estate that Lord Sinderby (Rose's father in law) had rented. The interior scenes at Brancaster were filmed in the State Rooms of Alnwick and the grouse shooting scenes were filmed on the castle estate. I won't talk about the plot as I don't want to spoil it for anyone but you really must watch it!

Visitors to the castle in 2015 will be Downton Abbey exhibition which will feature props, photography and costumes from the programme. Costumes?! I might have to go! It may put me on until a new series starts!

You can find more Downton Abbey pictures on my Pinterest board.

Happy New Year everyone.