West Country Workshop

Monday past was a Sherborne branch meeting for West Country Embroiderers with Kate Paterson as tutor. Subject was making book covers but in a novel way - using brown parcel paper.

Wax crayons are used to cover the whole surface of the paper, it is crumpled and then rubbed with an ink pad. Once dry it can be sprayed with diluted brusho, silk paints or inks like 'moonshadow mists'

When the paper is dry, metallic wax or oil bars are rubbed over the raised surface of the crumpled paper. 

The plan was to adhere this paper to felt with bondaweb and to cut a frontal panel piece to be adorned as desired and then applied to the front of the book cover.  The metal shim is coloured with alcohol inks.  So my panel is complete and ready go onto my book cover.

HAPPINESS IS AN INSIDE JOB ........ WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD

Revise, Refresh, Revive

My friend, Maria, and I have set up a Facebook Group which we have called Revise, Refresh, Revive and we are using it to work through certain books that we both have with the idea of creating pieces that will remind us of some of the more simple techniques. We have both found that it is quite an excellent way of reviewing and refreshing ourselves and our work. Our projects at the moment are from the Machine Embroidery Workbook, produced for the Embroiderers' Guild by Maggie Grey and Val Campbell-Harding in 1998. Chapter One encourages the user to remind themselves about the importance of cleaning the sewing machine - something we are all guilty of ignoring due to our eagerness to start the next project, the use the correct size needle and thread for each piece too, to get the best results.

Chapter Two takes the embroiderer onto projects and the first are so simple, but when approached again with a different view, produce some exciting pieces. It suggests that fabric shapes are cut from various toning fabrics, with bondaweb applied to the back of each and then machine stitched to a background with just rows of straight stitch. 

The second project is similar but calls for a change of shape and the use of utility stitches on the machine. It also suggest that the thread colour and type is changed, shiny and matt.

I've used a brown cotton and a red rayon thread on this, with two different zig-zag patterns used and it's very interesting how it changes the colour effect of the fabrics used. Why not give it a try and join us on Facebook.

Working with Angie Hughes

Last weekend, along with my friends at Blackmore Vale, I was lucky enough to take part in a weekend workshop with Angie Hughes. Angie likes to take elements from artwork by people like Gustav Klimt and try to incorporate some of the ideas in her own work. This weekend was called exploring velvet - we each had a piece of white cotton velvet which we coloured with our choice of Dyna-Flo, sprayed on Quink and then removed colour with bleach and stencils.

There was more playing with bondaweb, misty fuse, foils and printing blocks.

On Sunday we got on with some free machine embroidery and covering with sheers. The aim is to then cut back or burn back some of the sheer - part finished piece shown here!
 

www.angiehughes.com

More Darning and Books, Books, Books

the finished piece of darning

now made into a book

The piece of darning finished, lined and neatened with satin stitch, and made into a book.

another book in the making - machine couched threads

another finished book

hand bound style books

folded pocket wallets

As is obvious, I'm slightly obsessed with making books at the moment - I've used the hand stitched bound style for three. This involves making signatures of the pages and binding them together. The hardback outers are covered with fabric, two here are hand dyed or hand printed and I really liked the little piece of japanese fabric for the small one.  The pages are black and white card, hand made paper and cartridge paper painted with brusho.  The darned cover and machine couched cover books are made with soft outers and the spine is tyvek - a small amount is bonded over the centre of the flat piece of fabric before the lining is added - this spine is pierced from the back, in two places, through the pages and then through the front cover and tied - with beads added. This means that pages can be added or removed and is a very useful way to make books and is so quick!  The pages are plain cartridge paper here because I wanted them to be ready for the Wessex Country Market today.

The two other little gems are folded pocket wallets and have numerous little pockets all over and are very useful - I credit Lynda Monk with the idea!

Darn It!

Yesterday was an extra meeting for our branch of the Embroiderers' Guild - the original had to be cancelled in January due to the snow! As that is often the case, we usually have members leading the workshops. This time we had three workshops for members to choose from; Darn It, Scrunch, Paint and Stitch and finally, Altered Textiles.  I chose to do Darn It and we were presented with hessian potato sacks (by one of our farmer's wife members) and we used a variety of threads, wools, ribbons and strips of fabrics to create our own patterns - very relaxing. I plan to make it into another book cover (my current obsession).

The tutor's sample - a cushion.

Paint, Scrunch and Stitch was painting acrylic paint onto brown paper, when dry, applying it with bondaweb to felt or a suitable fabric, crumpling it up and applying gold wax or markel stick. covering with another layer of bondaweb and covering the whole thing with a chiffon scarf to change the colours. A background ready for stitch.

Altered Textiles was taking the most awful pieces of upholstery fabric (which is always donated to textile lovers by well-meaning people) and once again, painting with acrylic to alter, change, disguise the background ready for stitch.  Further photos can be seen on 
www.blackmorevaleembroiderersguild.blogspot.co.uk