Christmas is coming

Preparing for the Christmas themed workshop coming up at Cottenham College on 22nd November. We will be making either an Advent Calendar (see image) or a Christmas table runner or table mats. 

Feels a bit odd making Christmas things whilst it is still 20 degrees outside

Knitting and Stitching Show 2014

Out of the Fold are exhibiting at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace from Wed 8th October until Sunday 12th October 2014 and 3 pieces of my work will be part of that exhibition which then goes on to Harrogate from 20th - 23rd November 2014.

The theme of the exhibition is 'The Journey Unfolds' and here is just a little bit of my hanging called 'From Shawl to Shroud' to entice you to come along and see the whole thing.

From shawl to shroud (detail) 

 There are 12 very talented textile artists on Out of the Fold with some exiting and original work on show. I will be stewarding the exhibition on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th October in Ally Pally so please do come along and say hello.

I just love ice-dyeing

I spent a happy morning ice-dyeing some fabric to sell at the Tin Hut Textiles exhibition now on in Bury St Edmunds (4th - 9th October 2014)

I got some OK pieces but also 2 glorious confections of ripples and swirls in gorgeous reds and pinks. Here is a glimpse of the results below. These pieces of dyed cotton poplin cloth are on sale at the exhibition.

1 metre ice-dyed fabric (detail shown) Cotton poplin £25

1 metre ice-dyed fabric (detail shown) Cotton poplin £25

Off to make more ice-cubes............................

PS I teach this technique as part of my 'Crazy About Colour' dyeing workshop. Next one will be held at The Cosy Cabin in Risby on Sunday 9th November  www.thecosycabin.co.uk

Tin Hut Textiles Exhibition

Just back from hanging the Tin Hut Textiles exhibition in Bury St Edmunds which opens on Sat 4th October and runs through until Thursday 9th October 2014. Open every day from 10am until 4.30pm.

The exhibition has all of the 'Elements' series which the group has been working on for the past 2 years with 'Tin' from 2012, 'Copper' from 2013, and 'Silver' from 2014 being joined by the latest (and probably last) series on 'GOLD'

Gold 12" x 24"

 The other theme of the exhibition is 'SUFFOLK' where each of the eight members of the group have tken some aspect of the county on which to base their piece. Mine is all of the things that can be found in a Suffolk hedgerow......

Suffolk Hedgerow 34" x 50"

 There is lots to see at the exhibition so please come along and I look forward to seeing you there.

 

Layer de la Haye

A new teaching venue is opening at The Old Pumphouse Water Treatment Works at Layer de la Haye in Essex and I will be offering a Quilting for Beginners Course starting in September 2014. We will be making the same 48" x 48" lap sized quilt as we made at Cottenham

Nine-Patch Wonder

Dates: Thursdays  11th, 18th and 25th Sept and 2nd October 2014

Times: 10am - 3pm

Venue: The Pumphouse, Water Treatment Works, Church Road, Layer de la Haye, Essex

To book please contact Abberton Rural Training
www.abbertonrural training.org

Cottenham College Summer School

I had an exhausting but exhilarating week teaching at Cottenham Summer School for the first time. The course was called 'Quilt in a Week'. We started with a pile of crisp new fabrics on Monday morning with the aim of going home on Friday afternoon with a completed quilt. We worked hard in steamy conditions and everyone achieved more than they thought possible and several people made their first ever patchwork quilt. A lovely group. Here are some of the completed 'Cottenham Nine-patch' quilts - didn't they do well!

Mica's First quilt - ever

Val's first quilt

Diane's first quilt

Jean's first quilt

Barbara's first quilt

Veronica's first quilt

Shirley's first quilt

Come and See Me at Festival of Quilts

I will have my own stand in the Quilting in Action Zone (QIA8) at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC, Birmingham from 7th - 10th August 2014.

My 'Finer Focus' quilt which won 3rd prize at Uttoxeter will be on display in the QIA Gallery and I have entered a quilt into the Guild Challenge Class 'In My Garden'  - here is a bit if the detail...............

In My Garden - dyed, printed and stitched

Cosy Cabin Lap Sampler Quilt

Eight very lovely and enthusiastic beginners have been making a 6 block lap sampler quilt with me at The Cosy Cabin in Risby over the last 5 Thursday evenings. Here they are showing off the completed quilt tops before we added the quilting and binding.

This course will be running again on Thursday evenings 7pm - 9pm from September 4th 2014
To book please contact The Cosy Cabin on 01284 811222 www.thecosycabin.co.uk

City & Guilds display at Embroiderers Guild Regional Day

Creative Stitch Suffolk was invited by the Embroiderers Guild to mount a display of City & Guilds work at their Regional Day on Sat 5th July. This was a great opportunity to show off work from both patchwork and embroidery students. It made me proud to see such a variety of work produced by some of my students.

Shrivel Up and Dye

A couple of larger pieces using the shrivel up and dye technique made for the Tin Hut Textiles exhibit at the recent City & Guilds Graduate Show in Wickham Market. Should have been a triptych really and I am hoping to have a third ready for my Quilting in Action stand at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in August.

Shrivel Up and Dye - artic wool fleece, lots of linens, cottons, silks and velvets. Stitched, shrunk and then dyed.
Pieced with dyed linen.

Green Man

Another image from the Sindano Paper Mania workshop.

Ursula's Green Man

Paper Mania day with Sindano

A workshop with the Sindano Textile Group who meet each month near Bury St Edmunds working with painted newspapers, layered up with sheers, stitched and burnt back produced some lovely results - a very talented group of stitchers.

A Paper Mania workshop, to make a similar piece, is running at The Cosy Cabin on Saturday 5th July. To book places please contact the Cosy Cabin on 01284 811222
www.thecosycabin.co.uk

More Adventures with Textures

Another Texture Adventures workshop on Saturday produced some lovely results.  Base fabric, layered up with sheer organzas, machine stitched and burnt with a soldering iron. All good fun. 

Vicki - completed piece with added hand stitching and beading

Vicki detail

Dawn's- before hand stitching added

Hilary' piece - lots more stitch to add

Lily's piece.

Cosy Cabin Sampler Quilts

Christine's completed sampler quilt

The 12 week sampler course at The Cosy Cabin in Risby ended recently and here is Christine's completed quilt. 16 blocks, sashings and corner stones and a full 12" border which resulted in a full double bed sized quilt - all machine pieced and quilted. A very ambitious project for a novice quilter and the results are stunning.

A new sampler quilt course will be running at The Cosy Cabin from October 2014  www.thecosycabin.co.uk

Jackie's Sampler Quilt

Same blocks (mostly) but a different colour choice for Jackie's Sampler Quilt. Bad picture - lovely quilt.

Finer Focus quilt wins prize at Uttoxeter

I entered my first ever competition at the British Stitch and Quilt Village www.quiltandstitchvillage.com quilt show last weekend and won third place - really pleased!

The competition category was 'Lest We Forget' to commemorate 100 years since the beginning of World War One and my Finer Focus piece first made for the Out of the Fold exhibition last year fitted the theme. 

Finer Focus Triptych. Each panel is 30cm x approx 200cm. Recycled calico coffin cover. Dyed, stamped and stitched.

Material Girl goes on a Texture Adventure......

Jackie Ives came along to a 2 hour Texture Adventures workshop I ran at the Material Girls group in Bury St Edmunds last week. Jackie selected a Rowan fabric designed by Phillip Jacobs called 'Petunias' as her starting point, added several layers of sheer organzas over the top. But it is Jackie's added hand stitching and beading which has made this a lovely little piece.

Jackie also teaches at The Cosy Cabin at Risby Barns near Bury St Edmunds and you can find details of her workshops on making a Roomy Bag and Beginners Cushion at www.thecosycabin.co.uk  

Texture Adventures by Jackie Ives 6" x 6" 

 I am hoping to post more images of completed TA pieces made by the Material Girls Group soon........

Sweetie Stained Glass

We had a lovely day at the Cosy Cabin yesterday playing with coloured cellophane and sheers to make some Sweetie Stained Glass pieces ready to frame. This day workshop will run again at the Cosy Cabin www.thecosycabin.co.uk on 20th Sept 2014 or is available to book as a workshop for your group.

Sweetie Stained Glass by Tree

by Hilary

by Pam

by Jo

by Dawn

by Lucy

by Lilian

Folded Flying Geese

I love both making and teaching the Folded Flying Geese technique with the easy folded curves which result. Here is just a few examples from the Ickleton Patchwork Group class where we made them into cushions. This workshop is being offered by The Cosy Cabin in Risby near Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 15th March 2014. Telephone 01284 811222 to book a place  

www.thecosycabin.co.uk  

Rust obsession

My obsession with rust dyeing continues and I have dyed several very long and thin pieces of recycled calico cotton with some old sofa springs donated by fellow Out of the Folder Jane Rowland which I have left to nicely rust up over the autumn. These are now yielding some very interesting marks and are crying out to be folded and stitched.

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