Found time to nip down my studio and play with the soldering iron and some coloured Lutradur. The colours available to purchase in light weight Lutradur are at first quite bright as they are Red, orange, yellow, brown, green , blue and black But with a little attention paid to what works with what, you can achieve bright pieces especially if soldered on to black backing fabric
As if I didn’t have enough to do. Have decided to design four new panels for my two day workshop out in New Zealand happening in July.
They are long panels rather than square and hopefully will also be my new kits for Alexander Palace Knitting and Stitching Show in October this year. Each design consists of making the background panel and then making extra elements to add and give relief. Some elements will be wired to the panel to give a 3D effect but as of yet I haven’t got that far as It all takes time and my time is always short and grabbed in between teaching. Just one mor panel to design and I’m thinking along th lines of hummingbirds and tropical flowers.
I have just got back from a long period of teaching and needed a fix with my favourite materials. ( organza)
I have spent a long time inspiring others over the last weeks and it was a real treat to find me time as nowadays it gets less and less.
This panel has been designed as one of four to be taught out in New Zealand this July.
I am going to make the panels flat and all the 3 D flowers and leaves desperately so that they travel and I can then assemble and demonstrate how to wire and attach them to the main panels at the workshop..In other words I’m going to do a textile Blue Peter Job
13 lovely ladies arrived on Friday evening for a weekend course at Alston Hall overlooking the Pennine hills . We had a wonderful three course meal and then I ruined their day and told them they were going to draw their own designs. After the initial shock they all settled down and produced really good strong designs before retiring to bed to get over the shock, some having to go via the bar for a strong toddy to help.
Saturday morning we layered up the designs and went to work on the stitching . By late afternoon some really interesting pieces were well on their way and I was so pleased with the ladies. By drawing their own designs they had taken ownership of it and once we started to cut back some of the areas to expose the hidden colours beneath, life began to flow through them. After lunch and into the evening the soldering iron took over and my ladies were happy. Everyone loves it when we get to the soldering iron bi of the technique.
I was so mores see with their work that I could of pinched every piece.
Sunday morning flew past fast with everyone trying to finish up so that we could have a final show of everyone’s work just before the finish of the weekend and lunch
Check out the ladies work below its awesome
The LOVELY ladies from up north worked really hard on their machine stitching to produce simple panels in black thread on white to resemble blackwork. The day went so quickly but that’s because a considerable amount of it is taken up with eating the absolutely scrummy food that Alston Hall keeps feeding us. The classes and class rooms are great, the views are wonderful, the food is awesome and the staff marvellous. What more could you need for a residential weekend of complete stitching
Well I’m here in Nottingham on the university campus waiting to give my lecture on Extra Organza having taught the basic technique all day yesterday. The organisers have done a sterling job of organising so many ladies who all have so much that they can do while they are here. Of course there are traders for shopping as well as many lectures, day and afternoon workshops and trips to local places of interest, not forgetting the reason for being here the AGM. This is a big weekend for the quilters guild were major issues and business is attended to and where many like minded people come together , some as groups and many on there own although you aren’t on your own for long as everyone is so friendly and welcoming
It’s so cold and wintery that I have no problem doing wintery themed projects. These are the prototype snowflakes made from layers of organza, machine stitch, cut back and finally soldered to embellish mine and a friends clothing when we attend a themed dinner later in the year. I plan to make a large and varied number of snowflakes which not only will they adorn clothing but I want to make a winter Mardi gra mask for myself and a wintery fascinated for my friend along with two across the body evening bags. So I am going to need quite a few snowflakes and while the weather is so cold it is a good time to get them done
Been working on this little box all week as a Christmas project for Kathy Troup of Stitch with the embroiderers guild magazine. This is the second go as the prototype colours turned out completely wrong. So it was back to the drawing board and different colours were put in to the layering system before I machined the design. I don’t mind making the item but I do so love putting it all together with all the twiddly bits and bobs that make it pretty. I am quite sad becoz I absolutely love covering the wire with machine thread by sewing machine and then bending or coiling it.
I just need to find a suitable box to send it in
Spent a great day at the Rhodes Museum in Bishops Stortford yesterday teaching Gold work to a LOVLEY enthusiastic group of ladies. They were given a choice of designs to work and once decided they quickly settled down to marking the design on to their fabric and setting it into an embroidery hoop. The two main techniques taught were how to couch a twist or cord round the design and how to pad and apply raised leather work to specific areas with extra tips and ideas thrown in along our journey.
All ladies were excellent with some even drawing up and starting their own designs which I look forward to seeing in the future.
Sat last night watching the telly and had fun with my basket of jumbled threads, picking out colours and using simple embroidery on a primitively painted fabric to create this country scene. You get quite a good result from simple stitchery
