Stitching onwards

You know how things happen, a phone call, someone telling you something and them life just seems to fall apart. Well that was five weeks ago and I'm back. I still have some appointments with DS2 at the local hospital to see a consultant and then decisions to be made.

I have been doing lots of teaching over the past weeks both at the studio and around the country. I had a fantastic time at The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. Both stitched origami book workshops were full and it was good to see some stitched up in the hour. If you are going to The Knitting and Stitching show at Harrogate in a few weeks I think there are a few spaces left for this workshop. I am teaching six workshops across three days so lots of kits to make up.

There has been a sampler quilt class at the studio for the past six weeks. I just love seeing how the same block looks in different fabrics. Karen's quilt is at the top and Claire's below.

 My very talented group who meet at a Children's Centre have been playing with Shibori techniques. I'm sure that I took some of the dyed fabrics but can't find them at the moment!

I have also completed some stitched landscapes using woad and other bits left over from my larger landscape that went to Festival. I am off to see the exhibition tomorrow so will hope to take some photos. If you are fairly local to Lincolnshire it is at The Carre Gallery in Sleaford.

Summer School - Day Three & Four

Day three and the sun continued to shine. We explored a relatively new product called cold water batik wax.  This looks a little bit like PVA glue and was able to be brushed and stamped onto cotton

Once dry, which was very quick today we painted over the top with procion dyes.

These pieces were steam fixed to both set the colour and melt the wax.

Wednesday afternoon saw everyone painting their own threads to be used in future projects with fabric paints.

Thursday was painted shibori. We used a pole wrapped technique and then applied fabric paints for some stunning results.

Everyone created so many fabulous pieces of work that a longer washing line was needed. This just doesn't show the colours achieved.

In the afternoon we explored the effects of adding fabric paint to a stitched and quilted surface.

Slowly stitching on

I've been too busy to post so here is what I have been working on -

These are of the latest shibori cloth I have been working on.

Pearoom ladies, this traditional block is the next BOM, it will be in the post later this week.

The binding finally got sewn onto the HST pinwheel quilt which has to go to it's new home very soon (Golden wedding anniversary present).

Finally this is a peek at a project I am doing for Oakshott fabric and the Quilters Guild.

Shoes and stitches

The Hub, Design Centre in Sleaford has a new exhibition of shoes designed by Vivienne Westwood and I was able to visit last Saturday. It is on until May 2nd 2011 and well worth a visit. The shoes are just stunning and I could imagine many of them on my feet. This isn't meant to be sexist but from talking to several people I think you need to be female to appreciate the beauty of shoes.

Unfortunately the gallery was quite dark and all the shoes were in display boxes so very difficult (no impossible) to get any decent photos. I did google Vivienne Westwood shoes and the images below were all in the collection.

On Saturday I stitched into a long, skinny piece of cotton to experiment with a little shibori. If it works well then it will be the basis for a much larger piece of work. The aim is for it to go into an indigo dye bath this week, there I've said it so will have to try my best and get it done.

And it all started out like this.............

Busy Times

Well. life has been busy here and the run up to Christmas has definately started!! Lots of teaching, I have taught a mini shibori evening twice in the past two weeks. Its a great, if not busy two hour workshop and everyone goes home with a wrapped, stitched fat quarter in a bag of dye to rinse at home.

Last weekend I was up in York at the Quilt Museum, my project was Christmas birds. Some of the children are regulars up there now and  they have excellent machine skills. This time they learnt how to use a long doll making needle to sew a button through the stuffed bird. which secured the wings.

My Thursday smocking class is going well. We have practised lots of stitches and now we are moving onto making some smocked gift bags. The light wasn't great when I took the photo of the sample below.

I also have resurrected my sock knitting, not that I have any time on my hands at the moment but need something to fiddle with. I also must get on and just finish my diploma quilt.

I am hoping for a restful weekend as DS2 is going off to his respite carer so we are left to catch our breath and regain our strength for the next few weeks. DS is having a sleepover though with his closest friend and (thankfully)  the Scout environmental day has been cancelled due to the weather. I suspect a little Christmas shopping will get completed as well.

Have a  great weekend whatever you are up to.

Workshop Day

This weekend my LQG had a talk and workshop by Madeleine Millington. She drove all the way from Exeter to Lincolnshire to give us a fantastic time. It was so great to have a day to forget about C&G and do lovely woolly hand stitching. Everyone was working on something different, using Madeleine's work as inspiration. She uses recycled wool blankets which have been dyed and lots of discussion started  about charity shop prices.



At the end of the day we had a show and tell, Sweetiepie was there in the stripey t-shirt. I'll show you what I did once I have sewn on some beads.

At the end of the day Mary showed me her Shibori quilt using fabrics that she dyed on a workshop with me earlier this year. It's fantastic, the photo (with Mary hiding behind) doesn't do it justice. She used lots of embroidery stitches with hand dyed thread and which I should have taken a close up photo of. Well done Mary.

Stitching, visiting and antibiotics

Yesterday morning I went down to Unique Cottage Farm Studio for the monthly textile group. I love going down there as often as I can because there are spinners, quilters, embroiderers, mixed media artists but everyone has a love of fibres and is happy to share techniques. These tulips caught my eye as a sign of a belated Spring

I meet up with a lovely lady called Sarah who had done a workshop with me last year. Have a look at what she used her fabrics for -

Isn't it fantastic, I threatened to slip it off her chair and take it home with me. She has stitched so much detail into it and also made the knotted fabric buttons.

I went back home to play monopoly and try and be domesticated before going out in the evening. I went round to see a friend who lives quite close to me but we haven't had a catch up since before Christmas. We ate chocolate cake, drank tea and had a relaxing time. She also sorted out my knitting so my aim is to finish it this year (don't ask when I started).

I came home feeling really tired, at ten o'clock I said I was leaving then we chatted for another hour! If you are wondering about the antibiotic in the title well, today feeling very rough again and with a serious pain in my left chest I took myself off to the doctor. I wasn't expecting more antibiotics, chest x-ray and a diagnosis of pleurisy. With DH being so ill as well, we have spent over £30 on prescriptions this month. I'm not sure if it is psychosomatic but I am now feeling very sorry for myself and need to eat Green and Blacks white organic chocolate to cheer me up. It's a bad time for me to be ill though as I have several teaching days booked in for next week and I must finish my journal quilts.

This and that

I haven't done much blogging over the past two weeks but lots of creative sewing for my C&G diploma has been done. I am now working with designs taken from sprout stalks growing in the fields around my house. Life has not been very good this week, culminating in my mobile phone stopping working. Of course this had to happen when DS2 was late home from school, and DH had a piano lesson! Anyway after a long phone call to T-mobile an upgrade was agreed with lots of extra goodies including unlimited Internet access for the same price. I must say that T-mobile were really helpful, I know they probably need the business but they answered the phone straight away, no waiting and were very polite and helpful. The new phone will be delivery on Tuesday and then I can play. I hope though that the diary entries are saved onto my sim card as I know I have two workshops booked for 2011 that I had not transferred to my diary.

Yesterday I taught a Shibori class to an enthusiastic, wonderful group of ladies. I did take my camera along but often forget to take photos. There is a lot of hand stitching in this class and they all rose to the challenge. One lady had already done this class with me and she came with a wholecloth design on some cotton fabric. She spent the day sewing this but wasn't quite ready to start pulling up.

I always get a sense of concern at the end of this class as the fabric goes home in dye and the final result is out of my hands. I have asked for photos to be sent to me so I will post when I get some.