Author Archives: Kathleen

Ally Pally

The first day of The Knitting and Stitching Show opened today and was packed all day. There seemed to be more people than last year or is it that I’m another year older and it just appears like that.

Quite a odd set up this year as I am directly across the aisle from Margaret Beal of Burning Issues and I think we were both a little uneasy as to how we would do trading so close to each other. Good news is that it doesn’t appear to be an issue and we both did well for our first day even if between us we managed to bung up the isle with interested customers.

Journey into the show from our hotel is terrible but thankfully it’s only once a year.

Tomorrow I want to go in early so I can look at all the yummy exhibitions and find out what’s new this year.

My new kits for the show are going down well with my little boxes and fan kits walking out fast. Dragonfly canvas is yet to get going and may need a push tomorrow . It’s a LOVELY kit.

Hanging Lantern Boxes in The Raw

I made theses boxes as a cut work needle project for Husqvarna but have since realised they work beautifully with my organza and soldering iron technique if not better.

They’re only a prototype at the moment but if I can sort everything out with assembly and decoration they will become a new kit for Alexandra Palace next week . I hear myself say “no pressure then” ha ha!

Mind you those who know me well know I leave all my good ideas until the last min and even though I complain about the extra pressure it always gets done

Lutradur

I am running a class at Tudor Rose Patchwork shop soon on Lutradur and how to use if and what can be done to it to aid textile work. I have spent a really pleasant day experimenting with it. I like the way you can use it to create the most wonderful raised texture by applying a heat gun to its surface and making it lacy or you can cut it out using my “Best Friend”, the soldering iron. That’s without printing on to it with stamps or putting it through an inkjet printer and the million and one other things that can be done to it. Shame I don’t have the luxury of playing with it a little longer as I was just getting into it.

Never mind I will have to come back to it when I break for the Xmas holidays.

Machine embroidered boxes

The ladies at Patchwork Corner worked really hard yesterday machining their small casket boxes. They painted their pelmet vilene at home and came to class ready to go for it. They drew their pattern out and settled straight into adorning it with either programmed decorative stitches or those who were more confident set about free motion embroidery.
I always enjoy working at Patchwork Corner as all the ladies are great to work with and try everything with great eagerness. The day was successfully with a number of finished boxes at the end of it all of which were very nickable

No Sewing Today London Eye Here I Come

Well the big day has finally arrived and I have been down to London and had great fun sharing my Best Friend’s 50th birthday present. I was quite nervous about the whole thing because I don’t do heights and movement but it was so much fun and so stable that I hardly knew I was moving. It was so good that I want to do it again. Just stopped for coffee and then it’s time to fight my way home on the train.

Stripped Stitched and Heat Zapped Folder Workshop

Spent a bright sunny day with the LOVLEY ladies from Tudor Rose Patchwork shop stitching layers of organza on to pelmet vilene with decorative stitches. They then heating the organza causing the layers to melt together and create stunning texture for their folder fabric.

They worked so hard all morning creating their new fabric, each being very different and unique to its maker. The good bit came after lunch when they nervously applied heat and waited to see what happened as it melted and merged together. We then painted lutradur and soldered out leaves and flowers to apply as decoration. It was hard work and takes a lot of time to create your own fabrics but it was well worth the invested time to get the finished result.

Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching Pressure

Hi all,

Sorry I haven’t been very good with my blogs lately. In fact they have been none existent due to a really busy period running all over the country and trying to restock for the big show of the year.

I have spent the last two weekends, one in Harrogate giving a talk to the LOVELY ladies of Yorkshire and visiting the shops where YES they have a Lakeland and last weekend I was in North Wales giving a workshop to the keen ladies of Wales.

All of this week has been work work work to re-kit the stand which is going well and hopefully will leave me with time to finish some new pieces of work for my display.

This weekend is looking like trouble as Julia my eldest is moving out and into her first house so everyone will be needed to help her and I doubt I will get any of my stuff achieved. Mind you next week will then be quieter so I will get things done double fast hopefully. Failing that I can always get distracted by Fudge the puppy who has settled in very nicely and he and Archie the older dog are now firm friends and mischief makers.

China Painting at The Kiln in Bedford

On Thursday I spent a really pleasant time with all the ladies in our family at The Kiln in Bedford where we learned or experimented how to paint our own designs on to pottery or china. It was something completely new to us all as we are all very busy people with lots of different craft techniques between us but never had we sat down and painted china.

It was made so much more pleasant because you could order tea and coffee plus various cakes to relax and enjoy while you painted.

We spent several quality hours creating our master pieces, chatting and catching up with each other, followed by lunch along Bedford river. I really enjoyed it and can recommend it to anyone and for all ages. I can’t wait to go back and collect our creations next week once the shop had fired them and glazed them. What great fun and completely different from the norm.

No Sewing Due to the Arrival of New Puppy

It seems like ages since I last blogged and caught up. That’s because I’ve become a mummy at the right old age of 49.

You may laugh but when I picked Fudge up from the breeder last Tuesday it was just like having a new born again. “You can’t understand them, they howl all night long, they eat and drink followed by peeing on the floor or worst doing the other”.

You’re on duty 24/7 and it’s so tiring. But he is so cute and adorable that I have been distracted from my sewing which I shouldn’t allow because Ally Pally is only 6 weeks off and I have a stack of things to make and organise.
Never mind I here myself say followed by “You work well under pressure”. One more day playing with the puppy won’t hurt.

Who am I trying to kid. Panic will set in shortly followed by artistic blockage and several days of bad tempered mood swings as I try to get myself organised and in the swing of it.

But just for now I would like to introduce Fudge the golden Cocker Spaniel who is the most adorable distraction ever.

Festival of Quilts

What a fantastic exhibition and show.

The quilts were out of this world and the craftsmanship so impressive. I felt quite inspired to come home and relive my patchwork days and make a quilt.

The heat zapped books that I taught on the learning curve went down well although I nearly died of embarrassment because I had the time of my second class in my head for 1.30pm and it was infact 1pm. (Moral of the story is I should of checked after teaching the first class) I was ten mins late and could have really kicked myself.

The long and short of it was that the keen ladies stitched like they had the wind behind them and luckily for me, caught up to achieve fab little book covers (I owe them all and thank them for their understanding). I won’t be making that mistake again as my teaching nerves won’t stand for it.