Samantha Hayes, a Tudor re-enactor who every Summer becomes Peg the Dyer at Kentwell Hall missed all the excitement at the Launch of Rural Collusions at Thornham Walks on Easter Saturday. Sam (along with Jane and myself) dyed a lot of the textiles used in the work so it was about time she saw the fantastic creations of Jane Southgate finally displayed in their beautiful surroundings.We popped over there for a walk and straightaway spotted something fantastically fungal that is exactly the sort of thing that gets Mushroom Jane so excited and inspired...
I loved seeing the weaving again - the yarns are such beautiful colours and some are dyed with plants that grow nearby. The moss round the base of a tree is particularly beautiful to look at with so many different yarns used and all knitted in moss stitch - it looked a quite different in the woods to when Sam last saw it all being sewn together at Wednesday knitting!
The second part of Rural Collusions is at Lackford Lakes, near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk and again we spotted some inspirational fungi shortly after arriving!
Surely the inspiration for these incredible bracket fungi that we've all become so fond of at HH HQ...
Woad-dyed cotton for the 'gills' and felted Gedgrave Flock fleece which has been dyed with madder for the tops of the fungi.
Not forgetting the rather pretty puffballs in a variety of colours...
My favourites though have to be the Reeds - made in a combination of Colinette Point Five yarns and cotton dyed with reed heads (one of our favourite seasonal dyes) giving a lovely green colour despite being so very, very purple!
Hope you enjoy seeing the photographs but to get the full effect you really ought to pay a visit, I may even bump into you there as I shall be returning to see them fairly frequently throughout the year!Nic x
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