New Tricks

There is a saying that you "learn something new everyday", well last Friday I learned quite a few new things.  Jacobean style crewel work was the order of the day for me and my lovely sewing friends, with Viv leading the session and Marjorie contributing a wealth of books on the subject.  It wouldn't have been my first choice but it has a surprising charm in its simplicity.

We started by practising the basic stitches on a piece of calico and this was where I learned my first trick.  I discovered that crewel wool (and probably other wool for that matter) must be used in the correct direction:  if you run your fingers down the length of the wool it should feel smooth in one direction and rough in the other.  When you thread a needle the wool should be pulled through the cloth in the smooth direction.  Clever eh?

The stitches are fairly common place, stem stitch, chain stitch, seed stitch, French knots and a new one for me, split stitch which produces a very fine chain effect.  But by using wool, the overall effect is of more substantial cloth rather than merely decorative (it's also more forgiving!)

I chose a stylised daffodil motif that looked quite contemporary but was actually taken from a 16th Century design.  I drew it onto a coarse linen fabric and then worked the outline with a mixture of green wools.  Outlines in stem stitch or split stitch for the finer curves.  Infilled with seed stitch and French knots.  Chain and split stitch for the stem.

I can't say that I'll be decorating my curtains with crewel work but it's definitely something that I will try again

Old School Printing

Last year I visited the Country Living Christmas fair at Harrogate where I met artist Julia Burns.  Her work is stunning - beautiful pictures of farmyard and country animals.  I bought a print of a pair of pheasants as a present for my husband.  But I was absolutely astounded to learn that all her work is created using potato prints.

Like most people, I thought potato prints were strictly for children but I'm revising my opinion of this humble method of creating patterns and pictures.  This morning I armed myself with a small potato, a craft knife and an old metal skewer and made these prints of the fritillaries that grow in my garden.

Spring Greens

Last week's little project was a felted bangle devised by my friend Jan.  It's made on a framework of knitted wire tube and then needle felted to secure the fibres.

I was beguiled by the vibrant colour of green silk noil which gave an interesting texture but was a bit of devil to work with and turned out to be a tough match for the normally barbarous felting needles.  The other members of our crafting group had more sensibly chosen merino wool tops which gave a much smoother and altogether more polished appearance.  I finished it with some antique coloured beads stitched on in small clusters.

I'm pretty pleased with myself this week as my contemporary quilt/wall hanging Two Views of Withens was selected for the Yorkshire and Lancashire Craft Open and is currently on display at the Platform Gallery in Clitheroe.  I'm also running another knitting workshop for Gawthorpe Hall on Sunday 19th May.  Booking is via the Eventbrite website if you want to check it out.

This Time Last Week

This time last week (well Sunday to be precise but I'm a bit late with my blog post) I was basking in the Spring sunshine in Paris with my friends.  We sat close to this brasserie eating a late lunch and were serenaded by a busker playing a piano on the street.  I had eaten much better food during our weekend jaunt but the setting was perfect.

Here is my pen and ink sketch of the block that resembled the "Flat Iron" building in New York. The clear blue April skies are reflected in the windows and the plane trees have not yet sprouted leaves to cast shadows over the stonework.  I wonder what the views are like from the top most floors?

Favourite things

I've been working on a collage.  A mixture of fabrics, found objects, items that I have made and loved and not quite known what to do with them.  I've worked them up into a collage on the theme of favourite things.
Here's a little bit: hand dyed cotton organdie and silk, cotton lace bought from a French man at the Knit and Stitch show, a paper tree cut from a damaged book.  Every piece with a memory or a story to tell.

Gorgeous gifts

My creativity has been channeled into producing birthday gifts so I'm afraid not much time for art and blogging.  

Here are a couple of cushions that I've made for my friend's daughters who are 18 on Wednesday.  They have been reverse machine embroidered onto linen fabric using patchwork cottons and viscose threads for a bit of shine! They are finished with mismatched buttons on the reverse.

Goldcrest in my garden

Although there is still a lot of snow on the ground but the birds in the garden know that spring is on its way.  Last week a goldcrest was spotted in amongst the shrubs.  This tiny bird is smaller than a wren and has a distinctive gold flash on the top of its head.

I did a few studies in my sketch book using ink pen and water colours.  Then I started to think about how I might translate the picture into stitch and I remembered that in a workshop taught by Naseem Darbey, we had used wire as a drawing tool.  Its a clever device because it focuses the mind on capturing the essential features and creating a continuous line drawing with a length of wire requires a forethought and ingenuity. I used 0.3mm coloured copper wire in sage green bought as part of a sample pack from The Crazy Wire Company.