making progress

i've made a good start on TOT2 - this year it is one piece with the working title "signs of the times" - the other participants are stitching their names for me, all using the same thread and fabric supplied by me - i've been posting them here as they arrive - it's been lovely seeing what new little gem(s) come(s) through the post

the back of the fabric is left blank for me to cover with material drawn from or inspired by items in the delme-radcliffe archive - so far i have been stitching out a selection of traders marks from shipping manifests

         family signatures

signatures and marks (Xs) from a ship's crew agreement and a record of servants' pay



later i will be adding other elements representing "signs of the times" from the long period during which the delme-radcliffes owned hitchin priory

so far some of the themes i am exploring are:

• rhubarb - long before this was grown here it was imported for medicinal use, it was one of many items imported as a luxury by the family trading company - as i lived and worked in the yorkshire "rhubarb triangle" for several years i felt it was appropriate to pick this as a representative of the levant trade
• the silk road - aleppo was the levant base for the family trading company in the 18th century and a major land hub for the "silk road" - more like a river network with tributaries carrying goods between sources throughout asia and europe - it carried more than goods, being also a channel for knowledge and cultural influences
• traders marks - an earlier form of trademarks, logos and brands used to identify traded goods - these appear on shipping document recording cargoes  
• the dover account - this document, from around 1708, is listed as being handwritten by John Radcliffe senior -it relates the story of a man caught up in a Jacobite plot and his attempt to warn the government - reading this prompted me to find out about the Pretenders, both young and old - another history lesson brought to life and learned

yet again there are so many areas which reach out for my attention, i find it impossible to focus - but at least i think i have chosen a format for this piece which will allow me lots of variety ..... and plenty of wiggle space for changing my maind about what to include