An interesting day out.

Today the sun has been kind to us and my friend, G, and I decided to have another day out and go over into Cumbria to see an exhibition of the work of the embroiderer, Alice Kettle. The exhibition was in Farfield Mill, a converted mill building on the Eastern edge of Cumbria, at the foot of the Howgill hills, where they join the Yorkshire Dales. It is a pleasant journey through the complete Wensleydale - and with the sun being low in the sky it showed the hills and dales up to perfection.

The exhibition? Well, I have the greatest respect and admiration for Kettle's work, she is a master at the human figure and its portrayal in machine embroidery. However, she has moved on. I know that artists have to keep moving on and exploring new ideas, but I didn't like her new exhibition "Allegory" as much as her earlier work. But because I know she is capable of the most excellent stitch, I had to see her 'sloppy' stitching as a deliberate act and it took some getting used ot. But I am glad I saw it, it was certainly food for thought. Sadly photography was forbidden, so I can;t show you any of the works. But I am sure she has a web site if you are interested in looking into it further.

We had an excellent soup and sandwich lunch in the cafe and then set off on our return journey through Dentdale. I took some photographs from the car as we went along. Where there is a viaduct there is the Carlisle to Settle railway, and the little village with the narrow street is the village of Dent itself. The river is the river Dee.

Back home again late afternoon and now we have to go out to a party tonight. The weather is clear and very cold, so we don't feel like turning out. Have a good weekend.

Photos left to right top to bottom:

Dentdale farm and viaduct. Dent Viaduct.
Dent village. River Dee running through Dentdale.
Farfield Mill. Dentdale.
Mill beck from upper window. Top floor of mill showing old looms.