For those interested in Conservation of textiles: Recently, we were referred to the web site of the North Downs Lacemakers: _http://www.northdownslacemakers.org.uk_ (http://www.northdownslacemakers.org.uk) One of the News items was about The National Needlework Archive, specifically conservation of "The Country Wife", created for the Country Pavillion at the Festival of Britain 1951. _http://www.nationalneedleworkarchive.org.uk_ (http://www.nationalneedleworkarchive.org.uk) The National Needlework Archive's Stitched Heritage program has the extensive remit of recording textiles held in public places, and possibly preserving them. So far, they have catalogued 9,000 pieces. They need funding, of course. Years ago, I had the privilege of meeting, and studying the works of, Constance Howard MBE (prominent 20th C. needlework artist in the UK) 1910-2000. She was the designer of this stumpwork-like textile, which I had only seen a murky black and white photo of in her book "Twentieth-Century Embroidery in Great Britain 1940-1963". One of ten books by her in my library. This past Summer there was a 3-page, in color, article in Mary Hickmott's "New Stitches" Issue 206 (a British needlework magazine) about this mural that is 18 feet by 13 feet in size. It contains many 3-dimensional figures of women. In the foreground they are worked to a scale of 5/8 the size of a average woman. They wear real nylon stockings. There are attachments of such things as wicker baskets, and furniture/toys are made of cane and balsa wood. Ladies in the mural are at work on canvaswork, patchwork, knitting, lacemaking, tatting, glove making and darning, and other activities encouraged by the Women's Institutes. The lacemaker can be seen at the extreme lower right corner. Though many worked on the mural, for continuity, all the faces were worked by Constance Howard. I thought you would find these documentation/conservation projects of interest, and "The Country Wife" very special and worthy of the special attention it is receiving 60 years after it was first exhibited.. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
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