Category Archives: Uncategorised

Esssence of Black Work by Machine

Yesterday I spent a very enjoyable day at Patchwork Corner Hemel Hempstead teaching a lovely group of eager ladies how to achieve this lovely dramatic collaged panel of black and white flowers.

The technique appears to be very simple but it needs to be executed with a fair amount of control to get the neat and clean effect that suggests black work. All of the ladies worked very hard and many realised it wasn’t as easy as it first appeared to be but they all went home with loads of ideas and eager to get to grips with it. I like working at patchwork corner as it has very good amenities and is very well stocked both with fabrics and inspirational ideas and up to date projects.

An essence of black work worked on pelmet vilene bonded with white cotton and stitched with satin stitch in black rayon thread. Flowers cut out once stitched and beaded and sequined to help give the depth and tones that appear in hand stitched black work. The panel is made up of three blocks which have been collaged together on to white mounting board with narrow black ribbons forming a grid behind them bringing the whole piece together as one
Close up showing the added detail of free motion stitching to infill and give texture to inner shapes
Close up showing the beads and sequins worked on to the cut out flowers

Crochet Flowers

Oh I have been having fun. I came back from teaching at Alston Hall up in the Pennines and felt that I needed a complete change from working with Organza fabrics and the soldering iron SO i have been re-skilling myself in the art of Crochet.

There is nothing better to get the creative juices working again than doing something completely out of the norm and this certainly is not the norm for me as many of you will know as you view the pictures.

This little bag took one ball of variegated double knit acrylic wool
The handle is from Stef francis
This bag is a sackule type casual bag to be worn across the body and low on the hip
This bag took one ball of pale pink and one ball of cerise double knit wool .
handles made from left over wool and made using a cording gadget
Close up of crochet flowers with centres decorated with stamens and french knots worked in left over wool

Alston Hall

Arrived at Alston Hall today having driven through some of the worst rain I have experienced in a couple of years. HOW CAN THEY SAY WE HAVE A DROUGHT I’ve seen more than my fair share today and every reservoir I’ve passed has been full full full. Oh well I’m here now and ready to teach tomorrow.

Minstal landing
My bedrooms off of here

Love the arches!
I must do and embroidery with these as inspiration
Sky light at Alston reception
Lovely stained glass work
Taken from my window [Yes i know its blurred but you get the gist]
What a miserable day
Through the blur you can see a deer
If it ever stops raining I’m gonna read my book here when i get my free time

Another wet day. Another small embroidery done

After several very wet days today was no different although it did start bright going down hill as the day went on. Archie our mad cocker spaniel was dancing around bugging me for a walk and i kept putting him off saying i would take him later. I really should of taken him when it was dry because when i finally got round to it the skies had opened and it didn’t stop all afternoon hence Robert and i had to take him at 6.30 after work and walk him in the pouring rain. One bedraggled and smelly wet dog arrived home and then proceeded to try and dry himself all over my furniture.

I suppose I’m lucky Robert was able to walk with us today as yesterday the mad man was running up and down our very large garden, mowing the lawn with a mower made of metal in a thunder and lightening storm until i yelled at him and told him to get inside.

Apart from this i had a productive day sorting everything out for my residential week at Alston Hall Preston and even managing to finish mums miniature Baltimore quilt. Mum has been helping me with samples for up coming workshops and its a nice feeling to actually be somewhere on top of all the samples i have to produce.

Mum has mainly hand stitched her small quilt with simple traditional surface stitches such as stem stitch, fly stitch, french knots etc and added sequin flowers and buttons for the bouquets, wreaths and baskets. My little blocks are still being embroidered and sequined and hopefully will be assembled sometime next week to form a larger miniature quilt.

I will have to see what other projects are coming up and get mum going on them too.

Miniature Baltimore Quilt

As I have been quilting during the day i have needed to have some armchair fodder to do in the evening. As I have an ever lasting list of samples to work with deadlines for them to be completed it made perfect sense to me that the evenings need to be used for this. So I have been hand stitching my small blocks for the Miniature Baltimore hanging planned to be taught end of May.

These little blocks are 4″ x 4″ and are worked using simple hand stitched embroidery, seed beads and yes sparkly flower sequins which i absolutely love working with and if i could get away with it would stitch them to everything.

Later this week they will be sewn together and have a final pain border added around them before i finally embroider and sequin a swag design round the border. I might even bead the edge of the quilt just because i won’t be able to resist. We will see.

Mermaid Doll No 2 and Quilting with my Daughter

Today I finished another mermaid doll and I think I like her better than the blue/green one. I certainly enjoyed drilling and colouring the small cockle shells and then sewing them on to her body and tail to add texture and a 3D feel.

Yes I hear you say mermaids are not pink. But having never seen one and pretty unlikely that i ever will has allowed me artistic licence to create her.

She was a devil to turn through and stuff but patience being something at long last I have learnt enabled success in the end. I love goats as they produce this wonderful curly fleece which when dyed makes fantastic curly hair for any doll. Add a few beads and sequins to control the hair style and it makes wonderful idiot proof hair for many dolls not just this mermaid.

Julia has been very busy again today and has managed to make and finish another cot quilt for a colleague leaving in the next month or two and she is ready for Christmas having made up and finished her class room advent hanging. Shes so organised. I’m just getting over the last one let alone looking forward to the next.

Sewing over for today as off to the pics with Adam and his friend.

York Eye and Ocean Mermaid Doll

Hi
It’s been a while because i have been on my Easter holidays and have been walked off my feet round my favourite town, York.
Robert and I drove up for a quick visit and the weather was very kind to us. We had dry walking weather all weekend while it rained down at home. We stayed in our favourite hotel, The Royal York and had the added excitement of the York Eye being relocated to the hotels rather large ornate garden, SO it was one of those things you just had to fit in.

I hated it and now know that I will not be going on the London Eye which is much larger and taller than the York Eye. My best mate Carolyn will have to go on the London Eye as her 50th birthday treat with her daughter as I am a coward and can’t face it.

The shops were great to wonder round and of course I had to do some shopping. Who wouldn’t.

We hit home yesterday at tea time and I went straight in to finishing the Ocean mermaid doll needed for a class at Tudor Rose Patchwork shop in 6 weeks time. I was quite pleased with the result and have started a pink version too. I’m not a doll maker by nature but do really enjoy experimenting with a simple doll shape and embellishing to my hearts content. It works for me and that’s all that counts

Ocean mermaid doll Workshop at
Saturday 19th April 2012 10am-4pm

Goldwork Poppies

I recently taught this Gold work project with 10 new ladies. The day always goes so fast and you don’t seem to have much to show for it at the end of it. None the less this project should keep them very busy for the next couple of weeks and hopefully they will have enjoyed it and book on to the next class.

Lutradur Panels

Well I’ve had a lovely day playing with the Lutradur that Kim gave me and I’m pleased with the results. I used a plain piece of paper as i didn’t think they would turn out as well as they did and adhered the Lutradur directly on to it using my trusty old soldering iron friend to make designs in to it. I then peeled off any Lutrador not required leaving what i did want adhered to the surface. I over laid flowers and leaves on top of this and made marks in to them to adhere them also. They were then further decorated with machine stitchery and this afternoon i spent a pleasant couple of hours hand sewing in to them and adding beads and sequins along with pre  made organza leaves and flowers from my organza workshop scrap box

No pics today but work was stitched

Today was taken up with going to the hospital so no pic today. But i did get some sewing done in the afternoon wher ei started to stitch into and embellish the Lutradur samples i did for Vilene and Kim Tititachi for the N E C workshop area. You will all have to wait until tomorror with antisipation for the pics to be taken and uploaded.
See you all tomorror   Bye