Day 4 Retreat begins

The consensus amongst the locals in our group this morning was that the clouds were snow clouds. The blue-y colour was the give away.

During the day the forecast for snow over the weekend was, I understand, modified and it is less likely we will see snow.


During the morning, tutors and students continued to arrive. We now have 14 students, our two tutors and Phillipa making things happen and run smoothly.








We began formally after lunch, with a lecture by Melissa Mitchell, Assistant Curator at the Wordsworth Trust, on A Woman's Life with the Wordsworths - focusing on Dorothy Wordsworth.

Melissa used Dorothy's letters, journals and transcriptions to give us a sense of her life - both in terms of its chronology (orphaned at 6, separated from her brothers, placed in a harsh, uncaring environment, reunited with her brother, malnourished, ill and eventually bedridden) and in terms of daily domestic routines.

Evidence suggests she was part of William Wordsworth's tight-knit family, mending, sewing, embroidering, but also discussing, influencing and transcribing his work. Her work was vital to the family, rather than icing on the cake.

Melissa was knowledgable, enthusiastic, analytical, engaging and inspiring. We will be seeing more of her during the week. We are beginning to see the complexity of Dorothy Wordsworth's life before we begin embroidery based in her life and work.

We then split into our two stitching groups - 7 in each. My group begins with Jenny Adin Christie's project - a needle case in the form of a harp, based on one in the Wordsworth Museum, created by Robert Southey's daughter. Jenny has used contemporary technology and materials to enhance the original design, putting it together in an extraordinary The needles have been especially made in Japan by, the wooden knobs hand-turned and all the pieces laser cut and printed.


It is a treasure trove of materials.

We began by couching stems - but continued long past the session end time.












Jenny is a meticulous instructor, providing clear demonstrations and constant feedback and support.




Nicola's project is equally exciting - I won't get to work on that until Tuesday.

We are now the only guests in the hotel and the service is brilliant. Our dining room is set up with mostly tables for 2 with a couple for 4.This enables us to rotate and mix. The buzz in the dining room tonight was full of energy, laughter, shared knowledge and problem solving. It is simply wonderful to be back in this environment of creativity, shared interest and learning.