Bankfield - The Happy People

One or two members managed to visit 'The Happy People' exhibition at the Bankfield Museum recently. It ends on 5 July. There are a range of costumes, artefacts and photographs of the Miao minority people of South West China. It is a fascinating display and the embroidery is exquisite. All decided they were too old to be considered to undertake any of the needlework as there was a very limited period during which the Miao people were able to achieve the exacting standards required. One assumes their eyesight was damaged by the microscopic detail involved in producing the designs.

It was nice to see one of the actual Miao books, with all its pockets, used for storing embroidery threads. Some members had actually attempted to make one of these at a workshop in the Summer of 2008. There was a second type of book on display which might be worthy of further investigation for a future project!