Perfecting a Dutch Master!

Sue does some lovely work with the embellisher. She spoke about aiming for perfection and the need to experiment and to learn from mistakes.Accidents often happen while we work but rather than treating them as disaster we ought to embrace them.

She had been working with some tweed as a backing fabric and using silk fabrics and threads of related colours.She was using flowers from her garden as inspiration, focussing on the colours observed rather than the shapes.She has taken inspiration from the Dutch master painters and aims to create her own vase of flowers .We look forward to seeing this develop.

Sue took part in Kassia's Advent Calendar in December and enjoyed it so much she has enrolled in her 'Wanderlust 2020' project.If you are interested you can find information at 

www.everything-art.com

Bell ringing!

Jane had been playing with patterns based around Bargello and had come up with these lovely richly coloured variations.Will it translate into a quilt?

She had also pursued the idea of linking her textile ideas with her bellringing.Using bells1-8 she swopped the colour proportions to create patterns.Each bell is tuned to a different note and has a different weight.She has linked the opacity of the colour in proportion to the weight and created an idea maybe for a quilt or used to stitch out a design  on her machine.Hopefully,I have reported this correctly,Jane excels in technically difficult concepts.

No doubt we will see the outcome in some future meeting.

Obtaining colour.

Liz had visited Handweavers Studio in London for a course using a rigid heddle loom.She had produced the fabric above.She is unable to use wool so had produced it with alternative fibres.While there she purchased some yarns in lovely blues created from recycled jeans.

She continues her quest to create her own 'mudcloth'.In the piece below she had experimented with yellow and purple pigments bought from Clearwell caves in the Forest of Dean.She had used freezer paper resists but found the hard edges less than pleasing.It was suggested she might use flour paste as a resist .It might give more organic ,irregular edges.

She had also brought her avocado dyed pieces.These fabrics had been left to steep in the dye bath ,giving a deeper colour.

She has heard the addition of washing soda to the dye bath gives a deeper red.....more avocados to be consumed to try this out.

Lastly a book form that is three dimensional,

made by pulling on the last edge.Could this be translated to fabric?

Revisit and review.

Jenn remembered that she had done some work on Barriers for an exhibition with Stitch Textile Artists in Ilminster.She had unearthed her sketchbook ,

and discovered lots of samples and ideas she had created as part of her research.

Rather than begin another angle she has decided to 

explore what she has and try to take it forward.

House clearance and recycling.

Ira's husband had some large polystyrene packing blocks he was going to discard, that was before she got her hands on them! Always one to try things out she turned them into print blocks.These were her experiments on paper with another experiment-Hobbycraft Phosphorescence Gel,which was mixed with ordinary acrylic paint.We wondered if they would glow in the dark?We liked her little row of figures.

As part of her ongoing clearance she had discovered this piece done as part of her City and Guilds.

We thought she could reuse the thread in the tassels as there is a lot of it.

Back then she was into her glitz and lots of French knots.

Resolved and in progress.

Deryll had gone away and taken on board our suggestions for her background to this little felt piece ,all remains now is to fix it into the frame.

She had turned up this little tree piece done with lots and lots of French knots.the photo doesn't really show the scale but it can only be about 3-4"(7.5-10cm)A lovely colour palette too.

                                        

She had also been turning over her response to Barriers.A thought was to look at walls ,and had created some panels which she thought to cut up into brick shapes.We thought it might work better as a dry stone wall, with less regular shapes.Even though walls are often constructed to keep things or people out Deryll wants to explore how nature finds a way to take over.

Alternative stitching?

Carol had taken part in a willow weaving course at Stoke Lodge creating these useful and beautiful objects which will be put to use in her garden.

She had also been preparing some samples for the Embroiderers Guild next outreach day.It will take place on Wednesday 15th April at Blaise Castle 11am-3pm.

She also had information about the RED DRESS PROJECT, pic below. It is touring and will be at City Hall from 11am on 7th March.It is an opportunity to see this collaborative piece and add some of your own stitch.

She also shared a worksheet for creating a kimono.

She had also been thinking about what her work for Barriers will be .Carol had been researching with the Tree Association and found that each tree species has a particular fungi associated with it.She had created a large piece for UWE showing the Mycelium network of trees, so this will add to that work.

Do you remember these?

Viv had been busy after showing us these glorious fabrics last month.She had listened to ideas put forward and came up with this lovely wallhanging.It makes such lovely use of the Japanese fabrics she had been gifted over the years.Instead of being hidden in a drawer they will now be on show to enjoy.

Sally had brought these pieces she had made from her own photographs then manipulated on her tablet before printing on fabric.

She was not sure how to go forward with them so welcomed suggestions.Sue thought they might lend them themselves to Trapunto quilting, or couching and quilting which would enhance the stripes.

February 2020

We met on a bright February day, after the dismal skies and wet it sparkled. First with the sunshine and blue sky but also for the uplifting work and ideas we were presented with through the morning.

Debby had been considering her feather piece  which was  exhibited at UWE last year and had been toying with a companion piece.She had considered a crow feather and begun to stitch some tentative ideas.She thought about words associated with Crows ,from their attributes and folklore which will be incorporated not the piece.She has an idea that the feathers will be appliquéd .

Other snippets were these two transfer printed fabrics.

They were made from some almost, but not quite exhausted leftover transfer painted paper.

They were then free machined stitched and will probably have more colour added with Inktense and and further embellishment.