Published .

Carol continues her recording of Stitch club workshops in a detailed notebook.She can refer back at any time to remind herself of what was covered.This latest was by artist Julie B. Booth ,and was working with sheer fabrics and trapunto.The difference being the use of any recycled scraps to stuff the shapes created.Carol had taken  a leaflet worked extremely well and is another good use of traditional and modern technique.

Carol's brother is fond of poetry and had written a nonsense poem about a mole in a fruit bowl .He has published it under the pseudonym Stanley.B.Bear . 

Using her skills Carol had made an adorable Mole to accompany the book

and to dress him appropriately to match each line of the poem in his fruit bowl adventure.

 

April

We were very thin on the ground this month with two down with Covid and another nursing an infected wisdom tooth.

Sue had been sorting through various textiles and came across this ,an unfinished length of ribbon lace .The back ,above ,with its marked out pattern ,showing the tacking stitches holding the ribbon in place and the front face .

There was the book of instruction with patterns to follow and a ball of ribbon.She offered it to anyone who would like it ....needless to say there were no takers ,far too fiddly and intricate.

She also brought this slow stitch piece and a pile of fabrics we shall no doubt see in her embellishing at some point.

 

 

New and not so .....

Kirsten had 'gone large' and was in the process of making a Hornbill and a Dodo.You can see the scale from the photo . She has been working online a lot following Zoom workshops with filters from Russia and  Ukraine which has now ceased because of the troubles.She has been making pitcher plants but they had been left behind.There was talk of an online exhibition by the  International Felting 

Association ,Kirsten will no doubt keep us updated.

Jane has succumbed to temptation and bought herself a four shaft table loom which has a width of 50cm weaving area.She had already used it to create this scarf using up some wool from her mother's stash.for a beginner we think it looks very professional and intricate......who knows where it will take Jane ?

Sally continues with her window theme ,this time doing one of her favourites ...cutting up .

 Stitch Textile Artists have taken the theme of  'Collections' to inspire new work . Over the Winter Jenn unearthed a collection of old tools and has been slowly restoring them .She has enjoyed reviving her drawing and painting skills to begin to see how she might develop the theme .

 

Vintage inspiration.

Inspired by the Gwen Hedley online workshop ,Viv had repurposed a vintage linen hand towel.

She painted and made marks in egg yolk yellow and clear blue .It was then cut up at random before being pieced back together .She then added hand stitch to enhance the shapes.This was then edged with a blue fabric to make a runner for her table.Not another one like this in the shops.

While preparing for some redecorating at home this remnant of a previous wallpaper had been uncovered .

It gave Viv the  inspiration to start  a new piece to work on .With this in mind she used some old, but still active , dyes to colour various fabrics in vibrant yellows

and soft greens.

The Savages have opened their doors to women and Viv has been admitted as a guest to exhibit...How exciting !   She attended a play morning just recently and started to sketch ideas and cut out some shapes for appliqué.

It looks very promising.

 

Embroidery styles.

In March we met in the Guide hut to bring together our work for selection for the forthcoming Bristol Guild Exhibition in May.We had our usual show and tell ,lunch then business , though not all members had brought work to share .

Debby had attended a workshop at Quilters Guild.It was run by Angela Knapp who produces some exquisite work.This was creating a robin with fabric and machine embroidery.They were all supplied by Angela so that everyone taking part achieved a finished Robin.Debby enjoyed the time spent making but felt it was more prescriptive than she usually likes to work. 

She also showed this Chinese skirt and top she had been given.We pored over it and thought the Embroidery was stunning.The 'skirt ' had obviously been altered probably to fit a child for dressing up, as a 'petticoat' had been added .This was also of some age.

We decided that even though the colours were similar in top and skirt they had not always gone together.

 

Amalgamate?

Sally had continued working on her theme of doors and windows.This time photocopying her images before cutting them up.

She has then applied them to fabric and begun to stitch.

We thought that there was a close relationship between the work she did on the Gwen Hedley workshop.

                                                                                                                             

The colour palette is similar and the blocks are self made by Sally. They are her marks ,observed and internalised over years of looking and recording.

As she disliked the piece we thought it might be integrated with these ,cutting up and adding stitch and maybe more print.