Author Archives: Kathleen

Goldwork flower

I have just finished my next project and it’s now ready to teach later next month. This project isn’t to complecated and is designed to get to grips with couching gold cord to an outline and how to apply padded and raised gold leather. Add a sprinkling of sequins and seed beads, along with some straight stitches and you get this modern flower window that could be mounted on a book front cover or used as a box lid. If you have never tried gold work before this is a good one to get you started

Machine embroidery

Take a look at some of the wonderful machine embroidered flowers that the lovely ladies made on their residential at Alston Hall. Preston over this weekend.

They were all a great bunch and worked so hard on their embroideries

Traditional marbling

Today I played with floating marbling inks and paint on proper liquid size which I had to make up.

This technique is quite different from marbling using shaving foam and wonderful flowers and leaves can be achieved with a little practice as well as all the other general marbling patterns.
I used Deka marble medium and Methocel. They both worked but the Deka medium was easier to use and didn’t stink the house out like the Methocel did.
I would now use the Deka marble medium in preference as it also makes up smaller amounts and therefore is not as wasteful.
I also worked on to Indian cotton because I fancy making a quilt at some point but any fabrics or paper etc can be used.

Marbling fabrics and shaving foam. Wow great fun and so easy

This is my second go at marbling using hubbies shaving foam and I must say I’m very Pleased with the results. Okay I can’t get some of the traditional designs because in this technique the paints don’t float on the surface as they do with traditional size. But. Wow it’s so easy that I can go without the hassle of the traditional method or I can do the basics this way and get the others by going to the effort of mixing the seaweed size to float my paints.

Check out my results on the shaving foam technique




Marbeling fabrics and discovering from happenings

This whole marbling of fabrics has really got me hooked. It’s exiting and frustrating all at the same time.  Yesterday I played with the Easy Marabu marbling paints which say they are for fabrics until you read the small print where it tells you they can’t be washed ( this just made me cross) as that was why I had spent time playing with them . I packed them away at this point as they were messy and I could feel my patience going.

I sat for a while with mum and we brain stormed over the technique, finally coming up with mixing acrylic paint with cooking oil. Our theory being that the oil would float on the water and hold the paint. This produced wonderful bubble effects within the marbling that I really liked. The only thing was that I couldn’t comb through the water because the droplets of oil didn’t drag on the surface. As the comb went though them they just separated into more globules of oil. I laid my fabric over the tray and loved the captured result. 
The fabric was then laid on to brown paper to soak up some of the oil before being ironed between brown paper to soak up and remove remaining oil and set the acrylic paint to the fabric. I then washed it in hottish water and fairy liquid to make sure any lingering oil came out and that the paint had fixed firmly to the fabric.
Although not exactly what I wanted to achieve I have learnt that I could achieve bubble effects across my marbling by dropping oil on top of the design just before I lift a print from the size. I now need to test this further , just to make sure it happens like this every time. Watch this space and I will let you know

Marbling fabric on husbands shaving foam

Wow what fun. I really was quite hoping this was going to be a disaster, just because it was so easy to do.

Well I was dead impressed with the technique and my students next week will be too.
It was quick, easy, not to messy and the results were good.
I used Dylon fabric paints and normal acrylics to try it out and both were very successful . I even bunged them in the washing machine to check that they did remain permanent, which they did. 
Tomorrow I will try them on wall paper paste and traditional size.
I’ve never marbled before because it always seamed a lot of prep but this was sooooooo easy that kids can do it

Coming up at Alston Hall Preston 5th- 8th June 2014

If your in need of getting away for a short break without the hubby and kids, then why don’t you join me for a few days at Alston Hall Preston where the scenery is quite and stunning, the food is wonderful and the sewing relaxing. I am teaching one day on Indian inspirations ( hand stitching).One day an machine embroidered miniature tiles and two days across the weekend on machine embroidered and patchwork flora Bunda quilt.
If you fancy it, there are still some places left. Just visit www.alstonhall.com
5th,6th,7th and 8th June 2014