Stroud International Textiles

punctuating a collection with a trail of red tennis balls

Milliken’s at Lodgemore Mill (the last working mill in town) have kindly offered to make me some red tennis balls which is great news. It is great to work with the only tennis ball fabric manufacturer in Britain. I maybe also should try and work with the only tennis ball manufacturer in Britain  too.

It is very sad news about Alexander Mc Queens death ..I have been reminded of this 2009 collection which is punctuated by red.  watch HERE

red museum object: abacus                       

  red strips on tennis ball: grass, shredded stroud red cloth on n. american artefacts

nap

In the finishing process of manufacturing , after the cloth is woven, it goes through processes such as washing, fulling , raising the nap, and trimming the nap. After the nap is trimmed, the fabric is considered finished. The raising process, which draws out the ends of the fibers, is done on woolen  fabric. There are ways to ‘raise the nap’, most of which involve wire brushes such as raising cards. Originally, dried teasel pods were used and were still preferred for use on woollen cloth for a long time. Woollen fabrics, which must be damp when raising the nap, are then dried and stretched before the nap is trimmed or sheared.

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in the museum this week and having a busy week with lots of visitors and ideas developing !

red museum object: plastic buttons             

  love =nothing in tennis

I have been discussing words associated with my research with poet Tawona Sithole and we were talking of tennis terms and the irony of the word love in tennis.

‘Tennis players never say a player’s score is “zero” or “nothing” when that player hasn’t scored a point in a game. They say “love” instead. No one knows for sure how this word came into use, but it probably happened like this:’Centuries ago, French tennis players drew zeroes on their scoresheets that were oval in shape, and looked like eggs. So, the zero became known as l’oeuf, which means “egg” in French.This French word sounds very much like “love,” so players in England began to call the zero “love,” and that word has been used ever since.’

OPEN SESSION I will be at the Museum in the Park 9 - 13 February , Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF

OPEN SESSION I will be at the Museum in the Park 9 - 13 February , Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF

 my stars today mention tennis !!!‘

You may have the sense that something is going on around you that you just can’t seem to grab hold of. Your mind is bouncing this way and that as if you’re watching a ball in a tennis match’.

red routes

stroud water  

  I will be back in the Companys arms  next week ..

 next OPEN SESSION at the Museum in the Park, Stratford Park Stroud GL5 4AF 9 - 13 February

wool….felt….silk….fur….thread….beads..

weaving..washing..felting..dyeing..cutting..stitching …glueing..

backhand….backspin….block….break….court…doublefault…down the line…error…forehand….frame..gamepoint…game set and match…let…lob…long…love…match…matchpoint…net..no mansland…out…poach…readyposition…receiver…return…roundrobin…seed…serve…set…setpoint…

shot…sideline…slice…smash…strings…stroke…sudden death…sweet spot…tennis elbow…top spin…two handed backhand…unforced error…volley…wide…

shot:  An attempt to score in a game. The firing or discharge of a weapon, such as a gun. The distance over which something is shot; the range. An attempt to hit a target with a projectile.

no mans land :Land under dispute by two opposing parties, especially the field of battle between the lines of two opposing entrenched armies. An area of uncertainty or ambiguity.  An unclaimed or unowned piece of land.

sudden death:  (General Sporting Terms) (in sports, etc.) an extra game or contest to decide the winner of a tied competition.  An unexpected or quick death

red museum object: soldier on horse            

when i was last in Stroud i heard about the stroud pound. I have been thinking about Stroud cloth as a currency of sorts in the past travelling  over the world through trade.

”The Stroud local currency (‘Stroud Pounds’) is an initiative to support and stimulate the local economy.  It has been designed to benefit consumers, traders, businesses and local charities.”

“The notes, designed by local artist Ronan Schoemaker and produced by local currency collector Steve Charlwood, are like miniature histories of the economic and cultural life of the Five Valleys. The most prominent local celebrity to feature is Laurie Lee, author of Cider with Rosie, who was born in Stroud and is buried in the Slad Valley. Local wildlife is represented by the rare Adonis Blue butterfly found on Minchinhampton Common. Stroud’s economic heritage is commemorated by the teazle itself, while the lawnmower, invented in Stroud, the green felt cloth that is still made in the town and Thomas the Tank Engine also feature”.

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 back to the top hat and the beavers …

” In much of Europe during the period 1550-1850, hats made of felted beaver fur were fashionable because the soft yet resilient material could be easily combed to make a variety of hat shapes, including the familiar top hat.  The demand for beaver  pelts in Europe ultimately drove the animal to near-extinction. The booming demand for this type of fur helped cause the dwindling of the supply of beavers in the new world, and fueled colonial expansion to a significant degree as more people sought the fortunes of the trade.

Used, smelly winter coats worn by Native Americans were actually a prized commodity for hatmaking, because their wear helped prepare the skins, separating out the coarser hairs from the pelts.

The demise of the beaver hat came around the time that silk hats became vogue.” 

demand …vogue…colonial expansion…seeking fortune

 mixing it up ..

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