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Monday 20 May 2013

Sunday Workshop


Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Gawthorpe Hall, home of a fabulous collection of textiles amassed by Rachel B Kay Shuttleworth, where I was teaching a workshop on knitted wire jewellery.  The ladies who joined me around the library table had a wealth of experience: fashion textiles, dress design, sewing, beading, knitting and all kinds of craft but everyone came to the workshop to try something new.  

Knitting with wire is a special kind of alchemy.  The wire is slippery and not at all stretchy so it takes a while to get used to handling it.  When you start knitting it looks like a spider's web made by a very drunk spider!  But keep the faith, follow the pattern, and with gentle manipulation of the knitting you will find that beautiful lacey shapes appear.  I had designed these lovely fuchsia earrings for the course, the vibrant red and purples look great together.  By the end of the afternoon we had a selection of earrings and bracelets to take home.

I have also gone back to my knitting machine this week to make some more rose brooches using stainless steel and wool yarn sourced from Habu Textiles.  I just love using this yarn, it's so soft and yet the wire core means that it keeps the open knit structure and shape.  These corsages are perfect for a wedding outfit or to customise a hat.


2 comments:

  1. I loved attending the workshop on Sunday. I've written a short piece in my blog about it. I'm inspired to try out mixing wire with kidsilk haze to make corsage flowers. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for an inspiring worship.

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  2. So glad you enjoyed the afternoon!

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