Follow the herring

A coat for a boat

A coat for a boat

I really shouldn’t be here this evening but today I found a “must share”.  The ‘Follow the Herring’ exhibition of knitting and crafts is travelling down the east coast of England and today I caught a preview in Hartlepool Art Gallery.

How do you knit a coat for a boat?  The coble boat, made by the North East Maritime Trust, will be at the centre of each exhibition, brought to life with locally made artwork.

A travelling show, ‘Get up and Tie your Fingers’, uses the background of the 1881 Eyemouth Fishing Disaster to tell the story of the ‘herring lassies’ who followed the fishing fleets down the coast to meet the catch at each port of call. With knives at the ready and strips of cloths tied around their thumbs and forefingers to protect from the blades, they gutted, salted, and barrelled the ‘silver darlings’, the bountiful herring that were destined for markets across the world. Sometimes at the cost of their menfolk’s lives.

The herring!

The herring!

A friendly gull

A friendly gull

Safety first!

Safety first!

The wave of herring

The wave of herring

A wooden ‘wave’ has been constructed and at each venue a section of local handiwork is added. The exhibition set off from Musselburgh in Scotland and the shoal will be beautifully and creatively increased by the time it reaches Hastings on 3rd July.

Departing from Musselburgh

Departing from Musselburgh

More details about the exhibition and the show can be found on this link to The Customs House.

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Sea glass

Sea glass window contributed by students at Catcote Academy

An amazing collection of work, isn’t it?  You can even download a ‘Follow the herring’ knitting pattern and join in on the website.

But my favourite exhibit has to be the boat

My favourite exhibit just has to be the coble

I probably won’t be able to respond to many of your comments until I return from the Algarve next week.  The laptop is going into rehab, but I thought that this was a nice way to leave you.

 

122 comments

  1. Wow so many comments from remarkable people ! Really creative Jo. So glad you shared it! PARIS! That is wonderfully romantic Jo. ♥

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  2. Oh my goodness, lucky you! Well, lucky us too for your sharing it here. The kitty and all those little fish is just adorable. Did you post that photo on Facebook? I’d love to share it….it’s just a delightful photo. Happiness is, all the fish you can see!

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    1. Thanks, Karen 🙂 D’you know, I never get round to posting on FB these days. The WordPress link is put up automatically on my Restlessjo page so I only visit to catch up with friends activities, and even that’s a struggle.

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  3. thanks for leaving us with such wonderful art – and the sea theme – oh so nice. the traveling show looks great – peace out my friend – and have a great time. ❤

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  4. What fabulous colors!!! I absolutely love the sea glass. The herring might wind up taking the place of my owls! Ah? No! But still, gorgeous!!! Missing you and working my way back. Be well, sweetie. ❤️

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    1. Jewel bright, aren’t they, Gem? 🙂 🙂 (so sharp I’ll cut myself one of these days)
      So glad to hear from you. I was having a ‘worry twinge’ and I’ve scouted up some more owls to help out.

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      1. Got the one. Thank you so much. Too many phone calls and appointments keeping me hopping!!! Like a bunny. 😉
        But I’m making my way back. I look forward to the owls-always! ❤️

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      1. I flew back on Monday. Happy to be back to the blogosphere. Looking forward to walking with you next Monday 🙂

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  5. Just come upon this post…what fun! What creativity! Have fun in the Algarve, look forward to your posts when you come back….

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  6. Wow! Such a unique, inspiring, beautiful work of Art. And the story behind it takes you back in time and make us reflec on both the blessings of the past and the present. Thanks.

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    1. They were hard times to make a living in, Mr. B, but lots of people still have hard lives, don’t they? It’s character building, they say!! 🙂 Fabulous imaginations to make it happen!

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  7. This is incredible!! I’d love to be there with you. I’m knitting myself a pullover now – some friends in Norway inspired me. It’s good to feel inspired, but even better to inspire other with your creativity. Thanks for sharing this, Jo.
    Have a great weekend.
    Greetings from a very hot Bonn, phew…
    Dina 🙂

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  8. How incredibly creative Jo! Wonder who comes up with these ideas? Glad you found time to visit and share this with us. Enjoy the Algarve 😉

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      1. Any suggestions gratefully accepted, Paula. We want to visit Versailles, Giverny and Fontainebleau if possible so location is a little tricky. I’m going to look at lots of options.
        My battery is still playing up so I may suddenly ‘disappear’ 🙂

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    1. Amazing what you can find in the local galleries, Elaine, but this was a stunner. I understand they’ve been yarn bombing Saltburn pier again, in aid of the World Cup, so I’ll have to pop and have a look, soon as I can. 🙂

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