I am bursting with excitement to be back at the @ngvmelbourne working with the conservation team again and on THIS exhibition! I missed the @vamuseum exhibition back in 2014 as I moved to Melbourne before the exhibition opened, but was lucky enough t
A lovely set of Japanese hand embroidered silk panels needing some conservation before being framed. A gentle vacuum and humidification to relieve some of the creases was applied. A silk crepeline adhesive support was applied to the areas that were h
A nice stitching job mounting two Hermès scarves for a client to have framed in her home. The red scarf is for her daughters room which is a lovely fairytale print and one I know my daughter would love in her room too. I used a fine Skala 360
Last week I had the opportunity to give advice to people looking after textile collections within their local museums and heritage centres through Brisbane Living Heritage . #Repost @brislivheritage with @use.repost ・・・ We had an enjoyable morning at
Here’s a sweet little Chinese embroidery that needed a surface clean, humidification and mounting onto some backing material for framing. We chose a blue grey material that is reflected in the embroidery itself. The owner purchased this from a
Closing on 18th April 2022, the perfect Easter weekend activity if you’re in Brisbane #Repost @museumofbrisbane with @make_repost ・・・ A new pop of colour added to our exhibition, City in the Sun ☀️ Textile Conservator, Louise McCullagh joined
I thought being on my second maternity leave I’d have plenty of time to post like I did with my first child…how wrong I was! This took place many months ago before baby arrived. Testing the threads of the tapestry with deionised water an
The next step for the tapestry was removing the hessian and previous wool repairs. The video shows the first patch of hessian being removed which was one hour’s worth of work condensed into 30 seconds. The other two patches were removed which
As a conservator working in private practise I never thought I would have something of this magnitude turn up on my bench. I assumed to work on a 17th century tapestry I would have to travel home to England and volunteer my services to an organisatio
I’ve just been given two bags of freshly shorn raw Alpaca wool from my midwife. You should have seen how excited I was when I opened them up! @your_midwife has looked after myself and my two babies over the last 3 and a half years with her amaz
I love collaborations between different specialties in conservation or working closely with others on projects. It’s an opportunity to learn how other conservators work on treatments and use materials and sometimes even pick up tips that can be
This project was for a colleague who inherited this cushion from her Aunt. Beautiful crewel work on Irish linen but years of use and the fabric was thinning and tearing. My challenge during COVID last year was trying to source the correct type of lin
Foxing on samplers and embroideries are a result of soiling and dirt on cellulosic textiles and can be accelerated by acidic conditions like using non conservation grade materials in framing. Luckily, we have conservators and framers that know how to
I don’t normally get the opportunity to work insitu. Most of the work I do comes back to my studio with me or I work in the museum’s conservation studios, however this project I found myself working 6 metres up on scaffolding (which I tho
Always nice to see the finished article after I’ve worked on it. I mounted the two uniforms and also worked on the blue handmade jewellery pouch at the beginning of last year. There were several holes in the fabric that required backing fabric
At the beginning of the year I was engaged by @statelibraryqld to demonstrate wet washing of newly acquired tops for the Deadly Threads exhibition which is now on display till 15th August. I spent the day with paper conservators running through the p
#Repost @theartofframing with @get_repost ・・・ At the going down of the sun, and in the morning , we will remember them. #anzac #anzacday2021 . . An Anzac flag I worked on last year for a private client that had mould damage and stains that were maki
Sewing a sleeve onto the back of a handwoven Kilim rug so it can be hung on a wall for a client. There will be two rows of herringbone stitches to ensure a secure hanging without putting stress on the rug itself. Spot the stitches on the reverse. Bec
A sweet little embroidery that needed a surface clean and wet clean before framing. Tests on each of the coloured threads was undertaken to ensure that a wet clean was a suitable treatment. The textile tested slightly acidic and was monitored closely