New and old....

Debby brought along a variety of pieces she had either been working on or had unearthed from the past.

This ,above, was some felt she had been using for her group in Stoke Lodge .She had wet felted the background and added Bronze Age motif in a contrast and was starting to outline in stitch.

She has been at home caring for her Mum and had found this pin cushion she made aged about eight.Never start too early.Then one of her first ever brooches.

A journal of stitch patterns.....

and a piece she is beginning where she will add snippets of fabric and hope to add to it everyday as a record of her year. It is portable ,needing very little except a needle and thread and can be picked up as time allows.It will give her some much needed calm.

 

Doldrums.

Kirsten complained of grinding to a halt and was in need of a challenge so was all in favour of us doing another workshop day together.

In the meantime to keep herself busy in front of the TV she had unearthed some UFOs. The first a Bargello quilt top begun some time ago .Such beautiful colour combinations and it looks too complicated to not have to concentrate on!

The second quilt top'  Millefiore 'from a pattern found in a magazine.Again tiny ,intricate piecing which  looks as if it needs a lot of concentration.

She had also been  utilising  some worked Tapestry kits by adding velvet backs to turn them into cushions.No picture of theses.

Then her trademark felt .......a mobile for a new baby .

With the gull holding it all together.

Looks as if she has been productive ,even if not inspired to work anew.

 

Returning.

Liz has rejoined the group after an absence .She has continued to create while away and has taken courses and collaborated with others to mount exhibitions .She brought a selection of work that is currently being considered for new pieces.

She has some beautiful fabrics collected through the years.This old indigo cloth from Mali fashioned into what is known as a Hunters jacket and 

 

lots of eco dyed fabrics pieced over old linen.She intends to make 'Healing Jackets' from them.

Tthis is a very personal project as she intends to embroider words inside the jackets to express her feelings about illnesses she has endured.

She has also been teaching at Cowslip workshops ,running very successful book making 

classes using strip cloth to create pamphlet and concertina books .She has been asked back to run more this year.Examples below show the variety.

In addition she is currently taking a course run by SallyTyrie with the very successful Fibre Arts 

Two ,exploring print and stitch.

 

New year ,prospective new members.

Sally and Viv were excited to report that their Miao textiles are set to go on to the Museum database .Already there had been an enquiry from the George Washington textile museum about ways of dyeing that had been employed.It has taken many ,many hours of negotiation and cataloguing the textiles and the end is finally in sight.They took their first trip in 1993 !

Viv brought along pieces we saw recently ,the above from the challenge set by the chair of the 1904 group.....

and this piece which has been added to since last time. She explained that she coloured the fabric before using Mistyfuse to add snippets of fabrics over the surface.Next comes machine stitch before the final layer of hand embellishing.

Carol showed the progress made on her thee dimensional stitching done with Sheila Davis of Celyn Textiles.

She had also started another of the Stitch club workshops with Jette Clover taking a stamp as her inspiration ,adding it into the piece.

 

Slim pickings.

Debby had been continuing with her Tetrapak printmaking, this time concentrating on fish.

She had taken a marbling course at Badminton school with Lucy McGrath ,creating some lovely

papers . She used some to create this bauble for Christmas.

More festive ideas were created with silk fibres for a little lantern  and a felt tree on a stick.

She had acquired some old wood bobbins used in the weaving industry and added some trees and a tiny felt robin.

Viv has been awarded the position of 'red feather 'Artist member in the 1904 group which is very prestigious . She will exhibit in their Annual exhibition and is planning to show the above work in progress.

Sally had brought a book on Tanka ,which are huge embroideries of Buddhism.See above.

Carol was in the process of finishing a crow from 'Bean Bag Buddies 'for her son in law .She had chosen fabrics left over from soft furnishings made for his canal boat.

.

She had made a festive bauble and some stump work acorns with Bristol Stitchers

                                                    

as well as attending a workshop with Lisette Smart resulting in the delightful piece ,below.

Kirsten continued the festive theme with her wreath.It was bought in a sale last year and she has added her unique mice and toadstools.

After this show and tell we enjoyed a festive American supper /lunch.