The Textile Strand by Rosemary Shepherd

The plan is to create a largescale textile hanging to be permanently displayed in Drimpton Village Hall. It will include as wide a range of skills and techniques as we can produce in our multi-talented village.

Through the village newsletter I invited interested villagers to a get-together held on 28^th October 2003. ‘Old hands’ and novices turned up. We chatted and looked at inspiring books and sample pieces. As a result of that meeting we are to make a hanging made up of four panels reflecting the changing seasons locally. An image of village bridges will appear in each panel. The end piece will be linked together by our village stream.  I have submitted the following for the next village newsletter.

“Thank you to everyone who came along to the introductory meeting. It was wonderful to have so many people offering their time and talents and sharing ideas.

Local Artist Pip Benveniste works on the design.

Making the WINTER panel

 In mid-February three very willing volunteers and I went to Walford Mill, Wimborne, Dorset to the International Felt Exhibition. It was a wonderful day out and a great inspiration. We came back convinced that a winter textile created in felt was a definite possibility for our final seasonal panel. All we needed was an expert to show us where and how to begin. I found that person, by chance, giving a class at Ilminster Arts Centre. Geraldine Moses, from Taunton, agreed to come to Drimpton in March to do a workshop with us.

Six villagers had a fantastically creative day. We began by making our own small sampler to help us understand the various processes involved and to learn the basic techniques. We became increasingly enthusiastic, and poor Geraldine was bombarded with endless questions about how to create the effects and features we wanted.

We stopped to allow her and us to draw breath, and walked up the village bridge to look at the aspects of that area of the village which we might incorporate into our panel.

By the end of that day, Viv had created our telephone box, Kate had produced the bridge, Andrew and Jane pieces to be ‘needled’ together for the stream, and Jenny and I the sky. All in our own felt!

Since the workshop our ‘felt collage’ has grown to become an exciting representation of the centre of our village in winter. We have added trees and bushes, walls and rocks, and the unmistakeable white railings of our bridge.

The number of people involved in the whole Textile Project – making all the seasons – has now reached a grand total of 40+ since two more people volunteered to take home needles and instructions to knit pieces for the spring stream, and I have been recruiting ‘carpenters and joiners’ to make the large wooden frames on which the finished pieces are to be hung.

Thank you to all who have supported and assisted me through this mammoth task. We’re not quite finished yet and more help may still be needed. No-one in Drimpton needs to feel left out!