Royal School of Needlework, Private View, 25 May

John and I attended a preview of the Royal School of Needlework Hand Embroidery Degree Show last week at Hampton Court. The level of skill is exemplary as is the degree of creativity. The School is to be congratulated on the success of its Foundation Degree in Hand Embroidery, which was launched in 2009, and now has accreditation for a further five years. It is the only course of its kind in the UK and students come from not only the UK but also abroad to study here.

The winner of Needlemakers’ stitchcraft award was Charlotte Bailey and we look forward to welcoming her (and the second winner who will be announced on June 7) at our dinner in July.  Charlotte’s work was quirky in concept and very much in tune with an edgier contemporary lifestyle but the stitching was meticulous and in the finest needlecraft tradition.

Another exhibit that caught my eye, which was less about stitching but very quaint (in a modern way), was by Joanne Pyner.  The dolls’ heads are from dolls that have been given to her – abandoned. They are visually very attractive and at the same time slightly surreal and disturbing.