Saturday 9th saw me teaching stump work dragonflies at threads n patches. 12 lovely ladies came out on a wet snowy day to learn how to make and assemble these delicate creatures and by the end of the day we had some real beauties
On Sunday just gone I spent most of the day wasting time instead of just getting down to it. So on Monday morning with a Million ideas rattling around in my head I started out to get my mixed media class sorted. Having spent the day before wasting time ( no thinking very hard) I decided to make a fabric with plenty of texture and then paint it with acrylics, inks and anything else I could chuck at it. I decided to use Angie Hughes, textile artist in this sort of approach as my inspiration (check out her book, it’s great) and I must say I really enjoyed myself . When I painted my created fabric I also painted papers in the same range of colours so that I could use them to apply to the fabric surface. I finally used my paper punches to punch the flowers and really enjoyed working with the air drying clay.
Now I just need the class to fill and my students can all have fun too
Well I now have sore fingers from all the stitching I have been doing lately but I’m now a dab hand at applying shisha mirrors which was the main aim of the project. Finished the Elephant last night while catching up with all the program’s we had taped on sky. I love to sit and sew when I’ve got plenty of TV to keep me entertained and I’m nice and cozy while the winter weather rages outside. I get most of my hand stitching done during the winter months this way
I have just spent the last couple of days sewing like crazy, mainly because I have a virus and have completely lost my voice so what else can you do but sit quietly and sew. This is yet another workshop coming up and I am quite pleased with the outcome. I have used simple surface embroidery to outline the horse and add his patterning . My problem came when I had to sew the shisha mirrors in place. They are not easy to do and all instructions are diabolical. In the end I watched an Indian lady on You Tube and after no five practice I achieved. This is number one embroidery of three to make a triptych and the elephant and camel will be following over the next week of evening.
I spent a pleasant couple of hours working these easy free motion embroidered flowers using two layers of organza between two sheets of water soluble film. I have worked them all with black thread on the top and bottom of the machine, reason being that they are for my learning curve stint at the Festival of quilts this August coming and it’s easier if the machines are pre threaded. ( Boy I am organised) I’m not really its just that Pam NEAVE who organises it saw me demonstrating several different types of flower making on the machine and thought they would go down well for those of you that like to embellish your work or have a raised effect . Due to the weather being so awful with snow snow and a lot more snow I have been somewhat confined to home the last couple of days and they were what I decided I wanted to play with. I just need to put them in a box for safe keeping and remember where I have put them when I need them later in the summer
It’s been a LOVLEY few days teaching at Hillscourt conference centre for the keep on stitching group organised by Pam Neave. Pam does an excellent job organising teachers to teach patchwork, creative machine embroidery, computer machine embroidery and dress making. This session was badly hampered by a major English dumping of a large amount of snow but those ladies who had booked on to the courses bravely ventured out and a steady trickle of snow wrecked but determined ladies arrived under terrible weather conditions to attend their classes The tutors of which I was one had dropped everything the day before and packed our cars travelling up the motorways prior to the course to avoid the incoming weather . ( so glad I did because I wouldn’t of attempted it like those brave ladies on the day)
Once everyone was settled we just shut out the continuous snow fall and got stuck into our classes. My class made machine embroidered flower vases and bowls and with wonderful food and a good supply of coffee the girls produced some wonderful vases which i thought were superb
I have been finding it hard to gear up again and get going on all my work samples needed for this springs workshops. I so enjoyed just switching off and not lifting a finger to sew all over the festive period that I’m now not focused and finding it hard to find my inner sewing goddess.
To get me in the swing I spent a pleasant couple of hours drawing humming birds for my gold work embroidery, and I did manage to get a final design which I quickly marked on to my fabric and hooped it up ready for sewing when I’m sat in my comfy armchair over the next couple of weeks.
Tudor rose patchwork shop is high on my list of things that need to be done NOW so I took a trip over and purchased my palette of fabrics to make the hanging that was buzzing round my head.
Antique flora bunda is the title I came up with all those months ago when I sat in my cozy bed one Sunday morning and made up my titles for my up coming workshops. Great fun when your creatively making them up. Not so good several months down the line when you have to make the project fit the brief but it does make me focus, many of them giving me a challenge and thankfully coming together each time.
I would like to show you my latest workshop where my students will learn how to free machine embroider these lovely flowers with their simple out lined leaves. The flowers look very controlled but believe me they are quite free and it is the choice of several colours of thread worked from the background to the forefront which give tone, texture and form to them.
I then pieced some together in a patchwork manor adding cream lace and gold and cream ribbon to create a background witch I then wadded and free motion quilted . Once I had a background I then worked more free motion stitched flowers which I carefully cut out and reapplied at random on to the background to give a raised and dimensional look to the panel.
By the time I had this project under my belt my inner sewing goddess was up and yelling ” Machine Embroidered Appliqué and Patchwork”.
She is now raring to go, yelling ideas and creative encouragement at me by the ton.
IM BACK ON FORM AND READY TO CREATE FOR 2013.
THANKS TO MY INNER SEWING GODDESS who slacks off for a rest at times but is never to far away when I need her.
Thanks to my whole family I have had a wonderful time over the festive week.
It kicked off on xmas eve with baking sausage rolls and mince pies with my mum and sister while at the same time I knocked up what is fast becoming my Christmas eve signature dish of carrot and chestnut soup with Stilton and ham puff pastry swirls to dip in it.
We all went to my daughters for festive nibbles in the evening and after several hours of pleasant chit chat we came home to find Father Christmas had visited us early and left lots of interesting parcels round our tree.
I set the lounge table ready for breakfast as I knew my Julia would be arriving at some unearthly hour on xmas morning and finally flung myself into bed around midnight. Julia arrived honking her horn and shouting merry xmas at 7am on said morning and I was ready for her .
Stockings were opened, cooked breakfast arrived on the table and then the serious task of opening all those presents began. I coincided myself spoilt Rotten and I enjoyed every item I received. Xmas lunch was very quite as Julia went to her future in lawsuit for lunch but tomorrow is panto time so I will need my ear muffs when I’m sat next to Julia.
It’s official
My Christmas has started
No more work commitments until middle of Jan 2013
The Christmas earrings are out of the jewellery box and ready to wear over the festive holiday and I have finished the final touches to the cream wreath I made Dec last year.
The tree is still standing and the two dogs have not had it on the floor yet so I’m happy and looking forward to this weekend at home doing festive cooking and making decorations to decorate my daughters new house
What more could a creative mum ask for!!!!!
Finally
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas break and here’s to a new and challenging 2013
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Look who popped in to give a paw full of help putting the Christmas tree decs up. Its Archie my daughters cocky spaniel