Six week workshop - Sunnybank Mills, Farsley

I am running a six week course to include the following techniques; an introduction to embroidery, english paper piecing (hexagons), hand stitched shibori and indigo dyeing which will result in an A5 book cover to treasure.

Venue: Sunnybank Mills, Farsley
Commencing: 18th May 2018
Time:  2.30-5.00pm
Follow link above.

Stitched Together Exhibition at Green Howard's Museum

The Stitched Together project finished last year which resulted in an exhibition at the Green Howard's Museum in November-December 2017.  

All the participants of the project created their own messenger bags which were very personal and individual and techniques used were English paper piecing, printing (eco and screen), applique, hand and machine embroidery and cyanotype.

Dionne Swift and I both created pieces alongside all the Military Wives messenger bags.  

Sadly this project and exhibition has now finished but we are lucky enough to take it to various shows, the first being the Creative Craft Show 8-11th March at the SEC, Glasgow.  I will also be teaching two workshops on the Saturday and Sunday.  Dionne and I will then take the exhibition to the Creative Craft Show 15th-18th March at the NEC, Birmingham.  

If your at either Show please come along and say hello.

I'm back!

It's been a long while but I am back and looking forward to some exciting adventures!

I am presently second Artist in the military wives project called Stitched Together in Catterick, Dishforth and Topcliffe.  Four wonderful groups of very eager people to learn lots of new skills.

Full details can be found here and the lead Artist is Dionne Swift.

We have introduced quilting, hand and machine embroidery, printing, patchwork, Shibori and there is much more to come. 

Plus news of my new workshops - details will follow shortly.  

Introduction to hand Embroidery
Shibori 

Hexagon English paper piecing

Eco Print

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CarolAnn

Finished dress

Well I finished the dress but made it far too big!  My daughter always tells me off as I buy clothes the next size up but in fact I made this dress two sizes up so it was loose..... So I will cut the pattern down and make it again - you learn.  The pattern was really easy to follow and I stitched (with lovely linen) around the yoke.  So I will get the linen I really wanted for the next project and try again.

Sewing bee inspired!

It's the great British sewing bee time again and I am feeling inspired.  Never done dress making before so thought I would give it a go.  I love Merchant & Mills website it's a modern day "old fashioned" draper with lots of style and brown paper!

So I am trying their lovely Dress Shirt with Japanese cotton and a little bit of linen thread, so wish me luck!

New studio

It's been a while!  Sometimes life just takes over and you take a break.....

I am now settled into my studio at Sunny Bank Mills, and at the moment just playing and enjoying settling in.  People keep asking me what I am doing - the truth is I am finding out for myself catching up with a few unfinished items (am sure everyone can relate to that!).  Personal Development is required and to remind myself that I learnt a lot in my degree and need to experiment, play and always always learn more and enjoy that process.

We recently had some taster workshops at Sunny Bank and I started a 'community cloth' project to encourage people to come and stitch memories of the mill and the village.   Some people drew then stitched their homes - it's an ongoing project and over the next few months on the last Friday of the month I will be in the gallery cafe on a  Friday afternoon hoping people will come along, learn some stitches and have fun chatting and creating.

So for now ........

Fashion for the drab

I own up straight away for pinching the wonderful post title Claire Wellesley-Smith.
http://clarabellacraft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/weekend.html

Last Saturday I went to her Muted palette workshop.  Had a very relaxing learning day discussing the muted palette and dyeing with French marigolds, walnuts, surprisingly Herb Robert ( Geranium Robertianum) of which I have lots in my garden, and many more.  As recommended by Claire I will leave them a while before rinsing and they will be used for quilting projects.



Key drab into google and it comes up with the following:

drab 1   (drb) adj. drab·ber, drab·best 1. a. Of a dull grayish to yellowish brown. b. Of a light olive brown or khaki color. 2. Faded and dull in appearance. 3. Dull or commonplace in character; dreary: a drab personality. See Synonyms at dull. n. 1. A dull grayish to yellowish or light olive brown. 2. Cloth of this color or of an unbleached natural color. [Alteration of obsolete French drap, cloth, from Old French; see drape.] I personally love the "drab" colour palette it's organic and natural qualities are certainly not what people use the term 'drab' for today. Thank you - as always inspiring, calming, knowledgeable - you always come away with wonderful historical facts about the amazing history of our textile heritage when you spend time with Claire.

Taking time

My daughter will be leaving for uni the end of this week so it's been busy getting together everything she needs etc.   I haven't been hand quilting as much as I had hoped but she also understands I don't want want to rush it and the quilt will be ready when she comes home for Christmas.

I haven't been sleeping very well ( and I know lots of other parents feel the same).  You want amazing things for your children but at the same time to be safe .  You do your best but then have to let go and it's that worry that you aren't  keeping them safe anymore it's out of your control!  But as long as they know you are always there to support them its the very best you can do.   To anyone who reads this post I guess you can tell there is a little bit of therapy going on here for the loss of my little girl - but hopeful that the friendship and love for my daughter turning into an independent woman.

Taking time


I wrote the above post  before taking my daughter down - Bristol is a beautiful city and it is lovely where she is living and studying, plus she has great flat mates.  So it was emotional and it's a new phase for our family at hope as her sister misses her.  I cried all the way back (same as lots of other parents I know) but feel happy that she feels happy!  As we walked around Bristol I felt very excited so look forward to visiting again (but not too soon!)

Now I need to get on with some stitching..............

Quilting and stitching with love

I recently bought Cassandra Ellis' book Quilt Love which is full of beautiful quilt projects - ones for memory, new born etc but the one I loved is the 'sending off' quilt.

My eldest daughter will shortly be going off to university so the idea of giving her something so personal as a hand made quilt appealed to me. It has taken quite a while to collect all the fabrics - Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett but also squirrelled away fabrics for 'that special project', then piece it all together.  I didn't actually follow Cassandra's design but I would really recommend this book for her projects.

Whilst I have been stitching I have been thinking about Imogen - remembering since she was small all the lovely walks discussing plants, snails anything to capture nature to your small child.  Also all the lovely creative things (along with her little sister) collecting leaves, conkers- making patterns in our garden, mud pies, easels on the lawn and wet paintings all over the garden.  This was an important part as a mother.  I hope the next step - apart from always being there for her no matter whatever,  is the  continuing mother/daughter friendship.  I want her to love university and do wonderful things but also enjoy coming home.

I love the idea of quilting bees and how family and friends sit together and sewed - what a lovely sharing way to create.  Thankfully I had the help of my good friend Sue to help me place it all together as it is large for a beginner!  Will post a picture when it's finished.  But alot of stitching is required before then.....

Embroidered Sweater for CHSI

I mentioned in my last post that I had embroidered a sweater in merino dk and chunky for the Fashion Show at the CHSI show in February so here are a few images.

The garment will also be at H&H in Cologne this week as part of the spinners (who I work for) show.

I really enjoyed embroidering with wool for a change and did alot of raised embroidery using knitting needles!



Busy Life!

I havent blogged for quite some time as life is very busy at the moment.  However I do have an embroidery project on the go for the CHSI show at the NEC in February.  This is an embroidered/embellished hand knitted tunic for the Fashion Show which is held each day.  It is a trade show so the spinners I work for will be showing and launching new products.

I still have quite alot to do so will post a photograph next week - its been lovely using wool on wool for a change.

This coming weekend I am at the YSP for a workshop with Mark Hearld and am very excited to meet him, see his exhibition and get something creative done for myself.

Steven MacIver - Dillon Gallery - New York

Prepare to be amazed!


Look at Steven MacIver's exhibition currently in the Dillon Gallery in New York. He uses Twilleys of Stamford Goldfingering in Gold and Silver for his installations.

Words from Dillon Gallery:-

"Steven completed his BA in Fine Arts at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen and his MFA at the Slade School of Art. Following his graduation in 2004, MacIver was honored with the Sainsbury Scholarship in Painting and Sculpture at the British School at Rome. His fundamental preoccupation with the creation of various types of space was deepened by his time in Rome and can be seen in his renderings of stadiums and coliseums. He uses these abstracted architectural studies to deeply explore how space is used and contained.

For MacIver, the fundamental aspect of art is the ability to draw a line well and this is clearly demonstrated in his explorations with internal and external space. He calls his artistic method a type of “excavation” because he uses a scalpel to remove paint in a reductive method from the canvas. The result is a structured surface that is both glossy and flat: a type of interplay between drawing and painting. His various compositions, made of a multitude of intersecting lines, create both a real and imagined space. Amongst the many awards and grants this gifted young artist has already received, the Rome Prize for study awarded to him by the Slade School placed him as one of the leading young artists from Britain. He currently lives and works outside Oxford."

Steven said it took 6 miles of yarn and 3000 trips up and down a ladder to prepare his installation.  

I wish him the very best for his exhibition which runs from 6th September - 2nd October in New York.  Amazing work.

Eco Printing

Around 3 years ago during my Blodeuwedd - The Flower Bride project I buried a silk scarf in our compost heap at home.  I placed rose leaves onto the silk then rolled it up and thought I would find it again after 3 or so months.  Well my husband found it 2 weeks ago, he passed me a dirty roll and said I presume this is yours!  It never made it to my project and unfortunately I don't have the original photographs to show the first step before burial.   My tutor at Bradford Hannah Lamb may well remember the missing piece from my files.  

Now that I have found it I hope to revive it within my ongoing project with vintage scarves.  I feel that I can add this (embroidered of course) as the only 'new' scarf - as it really was found and revived.

Claire Wellesley-Smith and Hannah will understand my delight at finding it - there is no comparison to the wonderful India Flint!

Natural Dyeing - Workshop with Claire Wellesley-Smith

I had a lovely weekend on Claire Wellesley-Smith's Natural Dyeing Workshop at The Hive in Shipley.  The two days covered an introduction to natural dyeing using plants from the garden and also kitchen waste such as onions.  The colour palette produced from plants/trees such as woad, elder, walnut, madder and indigo (to name a few) are joyous.  Although some can produce bright colours they certainly aren't harsh like synthetic dyes and really do echo the colour palette of your garden.

Claire is a very good tutor, calm, organised and very willing to share her wealth of experience.  It is not just about learning what you can do with plants etc but also the history behind natural dyeing. It was really interesting.

The other nice thing about attending this workshop was sharing within the group of people attending - all very eager to learn more, getting our hands (with rubber gloves on!) stuck in and delighting in the outcome.  This organic way of dyeing isn't always predictable - so its exciting to see what comes out of the pot and after its dry, the final colour.  Of course you can always dye your fabric first in onion skin dye, once dry (or rised) you can put into the Madder pot and out comes a lovely orange.  Gaining other colours comes with experience.

Claire's guidance produced a room full of colour in silk, wool, yarns, fleece and cottons.  This introduction was exciting and there is so much more to learn.  I am looking to using the fabrics within some patchwork which as I feel the 'slow' process of creating and the calmness it brings is perfect; therefore stitching into the fabric and making slow textiles is another important process.

Thank you Claire, your workshop was wonderful and inspiring.  I would recommend this to everyone who enjoys creating organically, involving the slow process and the excitement the whole process brings, learning a new skill which was just pure fun.

I will post more photographs this week but here are all my fabrics just drying in the sunshine.

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Workshop - Fiona Wilson

On 19th May I attended one of Fiona Wilson's workshops called Drawn Marks for Stitch.

Because we had completed our degree together (Fiona graduated the year before me) Fiona was worried that she couldn't teach me anything (I am sure she wont mind me talking about this).

I explained that even though a person has completed a degree etc sometimes life takes over and you forget a) how much you know b) how to think, create and just play c) you can lose confidence in your own skills.  Therefore I had a wonderful day, drawing and stitching, playing and remembering!  

Fiona is an excellent 'teacher' she is calm clear and very informative.  But most importantly she allows you to play in your creativity, which is something you quite often forget to do.  

If you think you cant draw - you can, if you are a relatively beginner to machine stitching - she teaches you skills to use your machine better - even if your machine only has a straight stitch there is so much you can do with it!

Thank you Fiona for a lovely day.

Found and Revived continued

Still progressing with my project but haven't found a "Winter" design scarf yet - I am looking for nylon, preferred age around 1950's/60's similar to the ones I have.  Ebay hopefully will be a source - but if anyone has an old scarf in a drawer they would be willing to sell me?

I really hope to find one with a label on (my spring ones just states Nylon, Italy) but I love the fact its still on.

I find some stitches more enjoyable - cretan, herringbone, french, whipped spider web and bullion are favourites - in fact I cant really think of any stitch I don't particularly like but I am sure you know what I mean when you have ones you just love doing.

With the wonderful weather I have been stitching outside in the shade, which is just perfect.

Found and Revived

I have a new project on the go called "Found and Revived" and here is a sneak peak.  I love vintage scarves even when they are slightly damaged and worn in places and by embellishment and embroidery you can revive areas.

They won't be wearable because they are too delicate - this is a Nylon one made in Italy (looks like 1950's/60's) and there will be four in total.

Susan Crawford

Last November I met Susan Crawford at the Knitting & Stitch Show in Harrogate and yesterday had the pleasure of meeting her again. She adapts vintage knitting patterns and resizes them - but stays true to the original design. She has written 3 books (two co-authored with Jane Waller) A Stitch in Time (Vol I&II) and Vintage Gifts to Knit. Vintage fashion, patterns and the history of British knitting are her obsessions (her words) and I would say she is unique in her style and adaptation, reclaiming and reviving amazing designs.

My knitting is basic to say the least but I hope sometime in the future I will have time to (try) knit one of her designs.

Studio Space

I have been using our basement for quite some time as my studio space but always sat in my dining-room to sew because of the large windows and the light being better. So I finally made the change into our spare bedroom upstairs which is a lovely light/bright space - I should have done it years ago.

A lot of de-cluttering has had to take place which is good and I now have a more creative room to work in. There is still a lot to move up here but essentially I can now work straight away which makes me feel so much happier. Light is so important when sewing.

Its tidy at the moment - not sure what it will look like in a few weeks time.....

The Library of Lost Books: Get Involved

The Library of Lost Books: Get Involved: This is a big project and it needs your help! The Library needs workshop facilitators - folks who would like to work with the public on ...

This is a fascinating project - have a look