The Embroideress

The Future Museum site "provides free access to the museum collections of Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway and creates a valuable resource for people of all ages."

It is a modest site a present and some of its categories are yet unpopulated but under their arts and crafts designation is a page of handy information about Ayrshire Embroidery and photos of some nice examples of the work and tools. It seems the items are from Dean Castle

Now the Dean Castle site doesn't mention these rather humble embroideries on their site but they do offer up two of my other favorites -- Medieval Tapestries and A Keep!!!

Keeps call to me. I am enchanted at Dover and Rochester. A keep is the real guts of a castle. The last refuge, the armory, the great hall, the hub of the castle universe. When I step into an ancient keep I can smell the smells, hear the clangs and the curses, feel the drafts and the dogs rubbing up on my calves. Keeps have an aura in my book.

Tapestries are fairy tales come to earth for me. They are rich with symbolism and people and scenery. The are photographs of "The People of the Keep".

Now I am mighty tempted to put Dean Castle very far up on my must visit list.

Labels: Ayrshire Embroidery, Castles, Scotland, Tapestry