We had a super meeting on Saturday with over 30 members in the hall. We started the day with an embellisher demonstration by member Maureen Shepherd who brought along several beautiful examples of her work using the machine. Stitch Colour Cloth have two of these machines which we plan to make available to members to use or borrow at future meetings. Maureen certainly provided lots of inspiration and ideas for their use in a variety of projects.
Our speaker for the afternoon was Perth based Institute of Conservation accredited textile conservator Sophie Younger who gave a fascinating and informative talk about her career and work in museums, historic houses, Royal Collections and for private individuals. She shared images of her work at Dumfries House which can be seen as part of the documentary, Restoration of Dumfries House, an inside look at the skilled craftsfolk and artisans who have been part of the restoration of the rundown estate.
She very generously shared her expertise and advice and explained the variety of skills required at every stage of the cleaning, repairing and preserving of textiles. Sophie employs science , historical research, experimental methods alongside her skills as a stitcher and weaver.
Sophie explained that collection care in historic properties and museums is not only the preservation of a collection but also having wide ranging strategies and emergency plans as well as the very practical tasks of handling, packing, mounting and displaying exhibits.
For all textiles, regardless of age or significance there are a number of threats to be considered including light (visible and invisible); relative humidity; temperature fluctuations; air pollutants; pests; mould and the human interaction with items including moving, handling, cleaning, display, storage and disasters.
During the Q&A Sophie provided members with lots of hints and tips for storage and display of our own work.