TThis is a piece called Sweet Diamonds made for the Diamond Jubilee challenge as part of the exhibition last weekend by the Essex and Suffolk Quilters group based in Colchester. Not quite the traditional red, white and blue but more experiments using quality street wrappers and lots of layers of sheers all stitched and burnt back. I am fast running out of wrappers so thank goodness Christmas is coming - save all your QS cellophanes for me.

Out of the Fold Textile Group will be exhibiting at 'Textiles in the Church' in the church at Bradfield St Clare, Suffolk from Friday 24th August 2012 until Monday 27th August and then again for the weekend 1st and 2nd September. 10.00am until 5pm each day. This is not a new exhibition and will largely feature work which has been previously shown at Cavern 4 in Bury St Edmunds or at Textiles in Focus at Cottenham. However I am submitting a newly finished small framed piece called 'Blueberry Bright' which started life as a teaching sample for Texture Adventures and then started to come alive with more stitching. I think it turned out out quite well.

  

Texture Adventures

I ran a 2 day workshop at the end of July as part of Creative Stitch Suffolk called 'Texture Adventures. I had 11 lovely ladies in a room with 12 sewing machines, 3 soldering irons and 4 heatguns going on what must have been the hottest day of the year. We spent 2 days playing with sheers, lutradur, tyvek and other burnable fabrics to create a variety of textured surfaces. Here are some of the experimental pieces created.

 A lovely delicate piece by Barbara Comish incorporating painted newspaper.

 A lively use of colour by Dorna Owen

This was Liz Aylett's very first attempt at free machine stitching (and on a borrowed machine).Didn't she do well!

Textured chenille sample by Pat Keenan using a recycled chiffon scarf - it works really well.

Sue Smith is starting the City & Guilds Machine Embroidery course with Annette Morgan at Creative Stitch Suffolk in September  - you are going to love it Sue!

Distressed lutradur piece by Val Watts


I will be offering another Texture Adventures course later in the year so watch out on my website www.marymcintosh.co.uk for details

Tin Hut Textiles Exhibition

The very first exhibition by Tin Hut Textiles - the group formed from the C & G Diploma students who graduated with me last June - is due to go up on Friday 29th June.  There are 7 of us and we have to create 3 pieces each for this exhibition. The first one needs to be a piece based on the theme of 'TIN' in keeping with our group name. I found this really quite inspiring and had loads of ideas. This is a glimpse of my 'Tin' piece - all very textured and using a variety of different media. If you want to see the whole piece and the other 6 'Tin' pieces all mounted on canvas plus lots of other THT work then come along to Whickam Market Village Hall on Sat 30th June and Sunday 1st July from 10am to 5pm each day. As well as the Tim Hut Textiles exhibition there will also be the Graduate Show for the the Creative Stitch Suffolk City & Guilds Patchwork and Quilters plus the Machine Embroiderers - so lots to see.

Mary

Inspired by Kim Thittichai at an ArtVanGo workshop last year I am still playing around with paintednewspaper chenille and hope to work up a couple of 3D items for the Out of the Fold exhibition at Textiles In Focus at Cottenham College on 17th Feb. I just love the idea of using what is essentially free recycled material to make something new and interesting.