A. Resolving the styling of the dress and looking at options for the sash

Dress front thus far with the altered vintage photo incorporated into the bodice; daisy detail worked in eyelet and lazy daisy stitch to represent the embroidery featured on the girls' dresses; a line of poetry worked in stem stitch along the lower edge to represent my Aunt's love of poetry and the papier mache bobbins to represent the originals bequeathed to me by my Aunt:

The dress back with a central motif worked in hand stitched cut work to represent my Aunt's lace motif. I need to consider further additions of daisies to the bodice back and skirt:

Options for the sash: I had a vision of stitching a strip of my Aunt's poetry  along the length of the sash but it soon became clear that this would be too heavy and cumbersome. Instead I decided to use a length of cord machine wrapped with white, grey and silver threads which worked well couched along the lower edge of the bodice. An idea had been for two of the papier mache bobbins to be suspended from the sash but I was unhappy with their alignment; this was remedied with the use of two acorn cups  painted white and into which a hole was drilled to accommodate the ends of the sash which then wrapped nicely around the bobbins and allowed them to hang nicely as seen on the above photo of the dress front.      

B. Compilation of a book to accompany the dress to tell the story of it's conception

I have compiled this little book to tell the story of the  conception of this project and to demonstrate, through my own emotional responses, how I have used the dress to show and celebrate the worth and value of the work represented within it. I feel that through my own approach and artwork I have  brought past memories and the present together.

I made a batch of hand made papers with which to construct the book. I wanted to achieve a worn look and used a  selection of finer and tissue papers  to make a paper pulp which I felt would compliment the lace motifs made by my aunt. The book is composed of 4 signatures which are bound together in a basic codex method [information from Cover to Cover by Shereen La Plantz]. This basic structure has facilitated the addition of one of my papier mache bobbins to decorate the spine of the book. 

This is the front cover adorned with the lace motif which inspired the project plus one of the vintage photos featuring my aunt and my mother. I feel the papier mache bobbin attached to the spine compliments the textures of the hand made paper:

Pages of the book in first signature featuring the introduction and lace motifs worked by my Aunt:

Signature 2. The bobbins:

Signature 3 The bodice: 

Altered photos:

The bodice back:

Sleeves:

Signature 4. The poetry:

My Aunt composed and published many poems 'to paint with words' especially in her later life. I have chosen this font for the text as she used an old type writer to write as her hand writing deteriorated. She used a quote from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream to embroider a sampler depicting the family farmhouse, her own personal take on Shakespeare - which I have used to embroider the hem on the dress.

"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows." Personally I love the  suggestion of movement in these words as I conjure up my own memories of the hillside pastures she is referring to.

I have selected a few of her poems to reflect the love she felt for her homestead in rural Somerset. She used colour in her poems and describes her surroundings in a very painterly way.

My Aunt:

The next step will be to decide how I will present the dress as I prepare to exhibit it with The Stitched Textile Group in the Ace Gallery, Somerton,  Somerset.  I envisage suspending the dress inviting visitors to walk around it. 

I have a strip of embroidered poetry text from which to hang it in some way incorporating an embroidered 'daisy chain.' I need to consider this carefully. Feeling excited!