Scottish textiles are more than tartans, tweeds and Fair Isle knits. A huge textile industry was once based in Scotland. Names such as Pringle, Mackintosh and Ballantyne were synonymous with luxury, and renowned worldwide. This exhibition from Panel and Atelier celebrates this heritage. Archive film footage is shown alongside promotional materials, artists sketches and knitwear. A row of Mackintosh coats line the centre of the room.
The usefulness of this item really hits home in rainy Glasgow, and its range is shown with the standard issue work coat of British Rail sitting side by side designers such as Katherine Hamnett. Complex intarsia knitting patterns, carpet patterns and Singer factory memorabilia are present. Scarves adorn tapestry heads by Elizabeth Radcliffe, with amazing texture detail.
Atelier have created a new collection which fits perfectly in the show, and a book to accompany will follow later in the year.
So this week I... 
Busy, busy, busy! What are you up to this week?
Last weekend I was in Belfast and got to see 'Fabrication' exhibition from Girli Concrete. The samples shown were a hybrid of textiles and concrete. Some even reminded me of fossils! Great to see something that is usually thought of as dull and ugly (concrete) take on real beauty when combined with textiles. Definitely worth a visit if you can!Also I have just posted my knitted strip for the Yarn Forward project in Manchester. They aim to cover the banister of the Manchester Craft and Design with knitted & crocheted strips from around the world. I picked some neon brights from my yarn stash to create a stripey strip reminiscent of opal fruits! (... or should I say starbursts :)
Yesterday I attended the Creative Stitches show at the SECC. I saw a lot of inspiring works, met some very talented people and had to resist the temptation to spend far too much money! I brought World Textiles: a visual guide to traditional techniques book that I had been lusting after. I attended a Lucet workshop, and brought an advanced luceting pack - I do like a traditional viking craft! I saw the wonderful work from the National Needlework Archive's Poetry in Stitches 2 exhibition. This has made me start thinking of a poem that I could interpret through stitch... the deadline isn't till 2011! And finally I got to see the fantastic Shaun the Sheep Great British Pic-Knit!
These were amazing to view, the detail incredible. One particular item drew my attention, this beautiful fox waistcoat.
Repeated fox faces, complete with tiny beads for eyes, and little stitches for whiskers.
It would certainly suit a fantastic Mr Fox.
The usefulness of this item really hits home in rainy Glasgow, and its range is shown with the standard issue work coat of British Rail sitting side by side designers such as Katherine Hamnett. Complex intarsia knitting patterns, carpet patterns and Singer factory memorabilia are present. Scarves adorn tapestry heads by Elizabeth Radcliffe, with amazing texture detail.
Atelier have created a new collection which fits perfectly in the show, and a book to accompany will follow later in the year.
Next a piece of velvet had some garden fleece ironed on to it (apparently nappy liners will also work). This was then painted with acrylic paints, and a pyrography tool was used to create the triangle pattern in the surface. 
Other samples were made with Tyvek, plastic bags & fusible film, kunin felt, wadding, metallic tape, plastic ribbons and a glue gun. 
Possibly my favourite sample is this:
Looks to me like a dinosaurs skin. What to know how it is made? If you turn it over the secret is revealed. 
Ironed crisp foil covered in acrylic paint!
