THE LORD BYRON PUB
by Jane C

B2 Lord Byron Inn

What’s your name?
Jane Chapman

Where do you live (which road or which part of Trumpington)? Royal Way on the Abode development

How long have you lived in Trumpington?
I’ve lived in Trumpington 2.5 years but I’ve always lived in Cambridge, mostly off Queen Edith’s Way (as a child) and then for 20 years in Cherry Hinton.

Can you tell us a bit about your panel?

I made the panel of The Lord Byron Inn (which used to be called The Unicorn).  This is partly because I find the pub to be visually appealing but also because I have been to this pub on several occasions over the years.  I was particularly attracted by the quaintness of the pub, its colours and also the fact that I would be able to embellish the design by embroidering some of the flowers that stood by the railed fence.

I was very excited to see that this project was taking place, as it meant I could meet like-minded people who enjoy sewing. It was also the chance to take part in a creative project and feel part of the Trumpington community.

What materials & techniques did you use? 

After attending some excellent Stitch in Time workshops with Clare Collier, I chose to make a picture out of fabric.  It was great to have lots of fabric samples to rummage through and easy to pick the roof felt-like fabric and the textured sandy fabric for the walls.

I worked gradually on the panel, starting out by painting the sky with fabric paints.  The pub itself was a combination of pieces of fabric, which were placed in the correct places over light sketching on the panel and then ironed onto the panel using fusible interfacing. When sufficient pieces were in place, I machine embroidered some areas to give definition and also to ensure the fabric stayed in place.  I gradually worked my way around the panel and lastly hand embroidered some of the flowers and red-hot pokers in the foreground.  I loved being able to use a variety of materials and find suitable colours to build up the scene.