Exciting news

A new course at West Dean College!

Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd September 2023

For all textile addicts with open minds. Manipulate threads & fabrics using textile & lace techniques to produce exciting experimental samples.

A selection of interesting yarns used .

Here fabric has been torn up, used to make bobbin lace and to create a structure.

Basic beginners lace samples can be used within textile work. Here is another example.

A photograph of a flower was transferred onto fabric. Wired trails of bobbin lace were made, manipulated with beads and applied to the background to create a 3D picture.

This workshop is an exciting opportunity to introduce textile enthusiasts to the basics and delights of contemporary bobbin lacemaking without the need to buy equipment.
The course will give you all the time & practical help to experiment with ideas which will develop techniques you can include in your textile work.
On Friday evening you will learn basic bobbin stitches. All the equipment & materials will be set up for you. During the course you will be able to experiment with shape and learn how to manipulate colours & threads.
You will be able to experiment with a variety of unusual threads such as torn up fabric, string, weird knitting yarns, wire, machine made cords etc to produce exciting samples. You can experiment with shape, 3D ideas & discuss how beads, paint, dyes, machine or hand embroidery could be used within your future lace textile work.
Jan will demonstrate how to make simple bobbin lace stitches & you will receive individual instruction and the opportunity to share ideas with the whole group.
Jan will give a short power point presentation on the work of contemporary lace makers on Saturday evening.
By the end of the course you will have learnt basic bobbin lace techniques, produced experimental samples & discussed new ideas of how to incorporate these techniques in your creative work in the future.

For more information - https://www.westdean.org.uk/

OIDFA CONTACT DAY

RAMSTER EMBROIDERY & TEXTILE ART EXHIBITION

This is a brilliant exhibition and well worth a trip.

The building is beautiful and is also used for weddings.

I have three pieces in the exhibition!

Here they are in the exhibition.

Here they are in my studio before delivering them to Ramster.

I really enjoyed making them.

They were based on a print that my husband bought me when we were

in Accra Ghana.

Here is how I made them.

I traced the design on the back of the base fabric.

Laid fabric I wanted to use for the clothing on the right side.

I then stitched around the design from the wrong side.

These photos show the fabric for the items on the head & the tunic top pinned to the right side & having been stitched on the wrong side.

The excess fabric will be trimmed away on the right side as shown in the next photograph.

The figures are now cut out from the base fabric and then placed on my dyed background.

They are now stitched down.

Do visit the exhibition, it is well worth it!

Family Christmas Tree decorations!

Each year, since the millennium I have made Christmas Tree decorations for my family. I thought that as my three sons would soon leave home and have their own trees, it would be good to give them some personal decorations.

In the early days I had to make 7. This year I have made 12. I now have two daughters in law, one fiancé & 5 grand children. I also make one to send to my German pen friend. I originally told the boys that once they had children I wouldn't make them any more! There was an outcry & I compromised by giving them one between each couple.

Each decoration has their name on it and the year. My youngest son Alan lived in Australia for 5 years & I somehow didn't make him the 2011 decoration. He now lives in the UK & has been nagging me about the one missing decoration! So I made it for him this year! It is the large star in the photo. There are two in the photo, the other one is my personal one.

I have I have been a bit slow and only finished these decorations on 17th December!

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a Happy & Healthy 2022.

Sarah's Beautiful Bedfordshire edging completed.

Sarah has been working on this Christine Springett designed pricking for some time. She has made a wonderful piece of Bedfordshire. Congratulations Sarah!

WEST DEAN COURSE

5th-8th November 2021

Keep an eye on the West Dean Website to book.

https://www.westdean.org.uk/study/short-courses

Inspired by Period Living

Back in the 1990's I attended a textile workshop and I started to work on an embroidery of the houses we have owned.

I then enrolled on a 4 year City and Guilds Creative Textile course and the houses were packed away safely.

During lockdown, various unfinished projects have been worked on.

Last year the magazine, Period Living ran a feature on 'House Portrait Challenge', showing shortlisted works of art.

It reminded me of my unfinished houses but at the time I was busy with other projects. This year I finally got them out and started work.

Here are photos of our first home in Twyford near Reading.

The Twyford House was our first proper home.

The embroidery of the Twyford house was practically completed and just needed to be mounted. I am a bit of a hoarder and luckily still had maps of the time, some that were given by estate agents and normal maps. This turned out to be a perfect background and I was also able to mark the position of the house on the map.