Can it really be November?

The rhythm of the year ebbs and flows and here we are, reaching the conclusion of this year’s NFWI Craft Judges’ training. We came home from the Netherlands ready for me to do a quick turnaround and scoot away to Denman College where I looked forward to spending a couple of days working with the class of 2019. The resident assistants were there ready and waiting to offer their support.

Late October at the college is always interesting and there’s a quiet stillness in the grounds.

A cold snap made us all wrap up a little warmer and appreciate the little group of nerines outside my bedroom all the more.

The days were busy and I probably talked far too much but as always, there was so much ground to cover, so much information to share and when we are all interested in the same things, the chatter is pretty much non stop.

I try to find interesting pieces of work for them to study; things to admire and which bring a smile to everyone’s face.

Though generations of NFWI Craft judges have done their best to find something encouraging to say about the white rabbit, who has lived in the craft collection for some years and whose wonky eyes and scruffy fur do not improve with age.

This year, however, as I opened the box containing the craft collection, I discovered a new treasure. I have no idea where they came from or who put them there, but this beautiful pair of hand knit/crochet socks (or would they be stockings, more accurately?) were there for us to admire and wonder about. Who made them? For what reason? I hope to find out, but for the meantime the work that had gone into creating them was admired and appreciated by us all.

I was happy to see my favourite embroidery out on display again, hanging in the teaching centre. It’s a sample of inlay work created by Mrs Christie for Samplers and Stitches. This piece can only be seen in later editions of the book, but the sampler entitled The Quarrel is in the earlier ones and can be seen online here

The reflections on the glass were too distracting, so I simply caught the colours and the top corner of the piece, which is lovely “in real life”.

Taking the route through the Cookery School entrance one morning, however, I took note of the plaque on the wall and remembered another inspirational woman. Barbara Gill was my friend and mentor. It was she who inspired me greatly and I owe her a great deal for her encouragement and wise counsel. Her sudden death in early November 2005 came as a shock to us all, just days before she and I were due to meet in London to enrol a significant woman as a member of the WI in Gloucestershire.

Can it really be fourteen years ago?