When I was at Sheena Norquay's workshop, one on the members of Abbey Quilters informed us that there were places on the bus which Kelso Embroiderers' Guild had hired to go to see The Great Tapestry of Scotland. Of course I immediately put my name down, and on Monday met up with fourteen other enthusiastic stitchers to head to Cockenzie House. We had a slight hiccup when we got to Port Seton, and couldn't find the house. The bus driver pulled in to the side of the road while the trip organiser looked through her info for directions, which gave me the chance to take this photo of Cockenzie Power Station!
Rineke jumped off the bus and asked for directions, and within minutes we had arrived at our destination
although we were anxious to see the exhibition, we had just spent ninety minutes on the bus, so first stop was the tearoom for a cuppa ....... and a delicious apple and cinnamon scone
some of the ladies I was with had worked on the Tapestry (how fabulous is that, contributing to such a major project!). One of the organisers came into the tearoom with the hard-backed book of the making of the tapestry (a much weightier tome than the paperback that I bought). She asked the stitchers to sign the page with the photo of the panel they stitched, which they were delighted to do. Then we headed off to see the Tapestry ...... there are one hundred and sixty panels, and each time you thought you had seen what had to be the best one . you would go into the next room and find an even more stunning one! I was delighted to find that photography was allowed, so that I can share my favourites with you
this was the first panel to be finished
a little bit of our history - our house in Falkirk was on the line of the Antonine Wall
this is the only panel that wasn't finished on time - one of the stitchers took ill
if you think these boys look fierce .....
..... look at their adversaries!
another mention of Falkirk!
a sad tale of deceit and murder
enlarge the photo to see the detail of the stitching below her hem
there is an incredible amount of stitching on this panel .......
...... and the "knitting" is so delicate
these are places in the Borders - we can see the Eildon Hills from the house!
I viewed the exhibition with Tricia, one of the embroiderers. After ooohing and aaahing over all the wonderful stitching, we headed back to the tearoom, where Tricia treated me to lunch! The quiche was delicious, with onion, broccoli and potato
to finish, some of the little details which caught my eye
and this last one is for Stuart!