Taking Matters Further

Today was one of those heavenly days that only come along once in a while. For a start, it was raining, so there was no guilt about having to be in the garden. And then, I didn't have to drive for miles for the fun, because the fun came to me! Ali and Rachel contacted all the people who have been on courses with them and invited them to spend the day making mats together. This post is going to be very pictorial!

First Maureen showed us the rugs she has collected over the years this one is a stair rug - the red bits at each side show where the stair rods would  have been - a real labour of love!

I love this tiger.

and this sheep!

Maureen collects rugs from all over - auction sales and antique shops an the like.

Ali and Rachel work at a variety of things including some work at the hospital in Newcastle in the waiting room of the Caner Treatment Clinics. Here they make mats with people waiting for treatments - like this one - a part of a panel that will be in one of the corridors. All sorts of people join in, or just sit and remember the stories of the mats their mothers used to make.  This one is really beautiful - fishes that will have another panel alongside it in paler colours.

We had food, like you do at these lovely events.

and many different styles of mats. I love that about crafts of all sorts - give people a form and they take the basics and interpret it in so many amazing ways.

This one (below) is Hayley's first ever mat! her second is well on it's way - a joint project with her whole family including 90 year old aunt.

The one below is from Tania. her mats represent the daily struggle of creating meals and clean clothing for her family. This may sound grim, but Tania is far from grim. I think that she likes to represent this stuff in mats so she can stop worrying about it and get on with enjoying life! This is another wonderful things about days like this one - you get to meet all sorts of lovely people!

Tania's washing line in progress - those are socks on the folded over bit at the top.

Alison's mat is going to be fantastic - inspired by her recent trip to Morocco - it is going to be so colourful

These three are very beautiful - stones that are a set of three - here Ali is trimming them and they will sit in the frames and hang in some very lucky person's house! Very subtle - you can just see the edge of my mat frame - very unsubtle.

so I might as well show you mine now - as a complete contrast to Ali's

These  are more of my obsession with colour - small squares inspired by Keith Haring and Tania, I found Fiona Rutherford on Google and I see what you mean about her work - though I think I am a long way from that kind of style!

and finally, but by no means leastly - Ann, who is making a cover for her footstool. This is going to look lovely - I especially like things edged in black like that, though I wouldn't be able to resist using wilder colours!

So - a lots of photos tonight.

Not too many I hope - are you still with me?
I have such lovely matting friends!

Comments

[Zoe]

Wonderful works of art. Looks and sounds like you had a really good meeting. I can remember my Mum having one of those hooks in with her knitting needles (this was a long long time ago when I was a child). I always wondered how they worked.

[brenda]

What a wonderful day! How long did it take to plan? I'd like to do a day like yours after we move...!

[weirdbunny]

How amazing. What brilliant group of like minded friends you have. Thanks for sharing the rugs with us.

[Tania (the grim domestically repressed one)]

What a fantastic typepad/blog thingy...(this is all new to me)! And a lovely diary of yesterday's day, which I so enjoyed. You have a fabulous way with words, Katie (particularly enjoyed your methodology for the filtering of childrens' books for Oxfam!), not to mention an incredibly colourful life! Yesterday was inspirational and informative and a treat. And what a lovely bunch of girls. I do hope we can make this a regular date. Keep up the Keith Haring/giraffe passing window stuff; I love it! And tell Geoff that I think his geometric flooring looks amazing.

[wendy]

Looks like you had a great day and what fantastic rugs.

[martha]

hey mother- good blog- am off to be good and revise for buddhism- hope that owen is too- see you soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Paul]

I understand the concept of stair rods. They hold the rug into the back side of the stair. So the red bits would be in the corner of the backof the stair but the outer edges of the rug curve in and out again from the red bits. Is that to compensate for the perspective of the rug on the stair? I am just curious about that rug. Can anyone tell me more about it?

[Acomplia]

Thanks for sharing!