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In the fall of 1999 and again in 2000, Ehrman Tapestry sponsored a trip to the United Kingdom. In addition to meeting other needlepoint enthusiasts, the sights and London theatre, I'm sure what drew most of us was the opportunity to meet and stitch with several of Ehrman's designers.

NOTE: Click on the small photos to view the larger photos.

The first Ehrman trip to the U.K. brought together 19 people from across the U.S. - both stitchers and non-stitchers. It was a blend of workshops and sight-seeing and obviously appealed to fairly wide range of individuals. We had a mother/daughter pair, a husband and wife and several sets of friends in addition to those of us who arrived on our own.

The tour began and ended in London.  We started with a visit with Hugh Ehrman at the Ehrman shop in Kensington.  The shop is a treat - the walls are just covered in completed needlepoint pillows and rugs. And there are always a choice of kits at sale prices - so low that none of us made it out of the shop without one or two (or more). They served us a lovely lunch and Hugh treated us to a peak at Candace Bahouth's Diana Memorial Pillow which was to be released in the coming weeks.

From there we headed to Kensington Palace to tour the textile collection.  This includes historical clothing, a tailor and a dressmaker's shop, a collection of dresses worn by the Queen and other royals. We were fortunate too be able to view a collection of Diana's gowns that had been auctioned by Diana to raise money for charity and that were currently on loan to the museum.

Another highlight of our stay in London was a trip to the Museum of London where Hugh's wife is the textile curator.  We were treated to a look at some exquisite examples of needlework through the ages including a pair of shoes worn by King Charles III.  Other pieces were used to illustrate a discussion of how young ladies learned the art of needlework, their first piece usually a sampler.  Their final piece was usually a "kit" of sorts, where the designed was drawn by a tradesman and then stitched. Another tradesman would upholster a small chest with the completed needlework piece. We also looked at the process of maintaining historical clothing. and tapestries.

From London, we headed north to Calke Abbey and our first workshop with Margaret Murton.  Margaret choose a design from a chair that we had seen during our tour of the house. She and her assistants provided us with a complete set of materials and step-by-step instructions to work a single passion flower from this design. The only thing we were missing was time.  Afternoon tea was at her home. Both Margaret, and her husband Roger, work with wood. Margaret's striking paintings are done on wood and Roger designs and builds furniture, utensils and architectural devices in wood. Their home is filled with their work.

We spent a the evening at Stapleford Park, a large estate that has been converted to a spa.  We all dressed for a rather formal dinner - lots of crystal and silver. In the morning a few of us had the opportunity to take advantage of the facilities and, all too soon, we headed off to Wales. 

Elian McCready and her husband Noal live in Conwy, North Wales and today's workshop was at her home.  Again both husband and wife are artists and their home is filled with their work.  For the occasion, Elian said she had all her work on display (normally out of the reach of the cat) and we really enjoyed seeing the originals of so many familiar designs.  Noal gave us a short slide presentation on the Wales they so clearly love while Elian made coffee.

Elian had prepared a workshop on random longstitch which she uses in her large wall hangings.  Soon we were all sitting around stitching and chatting away surrounded by her many beautiful creations.  She gave us free run of the house so we had a chance to see where she works. On a frame in front of a large window was her current piece - a cat. The finished design called Naxos Cat is on the cover of this year Ehrman catalog.  

Our trip ended in London where we attended Kaffe Fassett's opening at the Catto Gallery.  It was interesting for us, who are so familiar with his needlepoint designs and knitting patterns, to see his work in yet another medium. And, of course, it was a pleasure to meet him. And so ended the first, of what we hope may be many, Ehrman Tapestry Tours.

The theme of the 2000 tour was Elizabethan. The tour group was considerably smaller than the previous year which gave it the feel of a  group of friends traveling together.  Five of the eight participants had attended the 1999 Tour and four of these had spent a stitching weekend together in the spring.

The tour started in Ashby-de-la-Zouche, a small town near Manchester and home to Margaret Murton.  Margaret Murton, who designs for Ehrman, had arranged a stitching workshop at Hardwick Hall, a National Trust site built in Elizabethan times by Bess of Shrewsbury.  Bess was a wealthy woman and an avid collector of tapestries and needlework. Her home is filled to overflowing with excellent examples of Elizabethan needlework.

Our first workshop started with a short tour of the building and and a slide show on the topic of old tapestries, the dyes used and why some  colours fade and others remain.  It became obvious as she spoke, that Margaret chooses to recreate designs in these faded colours which gives her pieces an authentic look. For our projects, she chose several designs from pieces in the house. We were provided with photos and materials and given the opportunity of stitching in various rooms open to the public. This caused considerable interest and comment from those touring the building. The full day was spent at Hardwick Hall and most of us made great progress on our "little piece of tapestry".

The following day was spent with Joanna Crane, a garden designer and friend of Margaret's.  The topic was Elizabethan gardens, more particularly the formal geometric gardens which became popular in this era.  We spent the day learning about these 'knot gardens', the types of plants which would have been used in Elizabethan times, and the taking of 'slips' or cuttings for the periodic replacement of plants. After a wonderful lunch, we toured Joanna's gardens and designed a 'knot garden' of our own.

The theme of 'slips' was continued the following day at Margaret's home.  Needlework 'slips' were small pieces of needlepoint that were stitched and appliquéd to fabric. Being small, perhaps only a couple of inches in diameter, they could be carried in a pocket by Elizabethan ladies to be stitched at their leisure. We each choose a pattern, transferred it to canvas and stitched our own 'slip'.  We stitched in a marvelous workroom with 2 glass walls facing her garden.

Our next stop was Stratford, the home of Shakespeare and the Royal Shakespearean Company. We spent the day sight-seeing and attended a performance of Henry V in the evening.  Unfortunately, we were unable to take the backstage tour that had included costumes for this season's performance of As You Like It designed by Kaffe Fassett.

The following morning, we headed south and paid a visit to Warwick Castle.  Then on through the Cotswold's with short stops at Chipping-Camden and Bibury for lunch and shopping. Our destination was Bath, the home of Jane Austin and Gainsborough, the site of old Roman baths and a visit with Candace Bahouth.

After a visit to the Roman baths, we walked around the town and visited a gallery where Candace Bahouth was displaying her mosaics. The following day, we visited her at her home, an old converted chapel. Her home is filled with her work - needlepoint, weaving, mosaic and many other kinds of artwork. It was certainly a treat for me to see her designs, hears what inspires her and see how she designs and works.

Our final destination was London.  We had a city tour, visited the Ehrman shop, went to the theatre. Most of us stayed for a couple of extra days to meet friends or husbands, sight see and shop. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. We had fun, learned a lot, made new friends and cemented old friendships, and we shopped...