Tin Hut Textiles Exhibition at Makit Fenland Fair

The next Tin Hut Textiles Exhibition will be as part of the Makit Fenland Fair in St Ives.  This is a one-day event with several exhibiting groups plus a range of traders, demonstrators and guild stands.

Tin Hut will be showing the 'Seasons' collection, the 'Decay' collection plus some new 3D pieces.

When: 10am-4pm, Saturday 7th November 2015
Where: Burgess Hall, St. Ivo Leisure Centre, Westwood Road, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6WU
How much: £5.00 for adults (under 14s free)

www.makitfairs.com/fenland-fair/

the Tipsy Stitcher

This is a brand new piece - the binding stitched on last night only hours before it was due to be exhibited as usual - made for the Out Of The Fold exhibition at:

Workwise Cavern 4, 

Whiting Street

Bury St Edmunds

Suffolk

from Sat 24th October until Sat 31st October (closed Sunday and Monday) 10am until 4pm

This was a 'Moving On' challenge to take a traditional block - in this case the Drunkards path block - and move it on and make a piece in our own style.  

The Tipsy Stitcher 2015 - black linen wholecloth, discharged and bleached. Machine stitched.

The Tipsy Stitcher (detail)

Out of the Fold Exhibition now open

Applique Frame Quilt

My Ickleton and Fulbourn leisure groups will be tackling an applique frame quilt this term so here is the example I have made to show the sort of thing they can do.  All needle-turn applique so it took ages but I really enjoyed sitting in the autumn sun or (ore often) sitting listening to the rain bounce off the conservatory roof whilst I did all the hand stitching.

Follow the blog to see how the talented ladies of Ickleton and Fulbourn do with this technique.

'Seasons' exhibition now open

The Tin Hut exhibition 'SEASONS' is now open.

Pond Gallery
Snape Maltings
Snape
Aldeburgh
Suffolk

Friday 4th September 2015 - Wed 9th September 2015
From 10am until 5pm each day

Festival of Quilts

Come and visit my stand at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC at Birmingham from Thursday 6th until Sunday 9th August. It is stand QIA7 in the Quilting In Action zone.

My 'Copperplate' triptych will be hanging in the Quilting In Action Gallery and my 'Coppercoil' quilt will be exhibited as part of the CQ 'Elements' Gallery.

'Coppercoil' 

Cottenham Summer School

Had a lovely week teaching at Cottenham Summer School. Good venue, lots of light and space, nice food and friendly people. 16 students made a quilt in a week or worked on their own projects. Here are some of the results.

Beryl's Stardust quilt with her own embroidered motifs

Ruth's delightful quilt using vintage embroidered pieces combined with printed fabrics

Mel and one of her beautifully pieced owls

Shirley used a green batik jellyroll for her stardust quilt

Diane worked on a project using the Kansas Trouble block 

Veronica used a classic blue and white combo for her Sails quilt

Nora's Stardust quilt with lovely soft colours

Hilarie's first ever quilt

Judy's glorious bright batiks

Daphne and her Sails quilt

  

Work in progress - the final season

Near my house on the Essex/Suffolk border there is a most glorious bluebell wood. I have been longing to do a piece of textile work based on this for such a long time. It is a bit of a cliche and has been done many times but here is the first step in my interpretation.

This started as a piece of white wholecloth which now has a rollered impressionistic background using procion dye pastes. The plan is to add text on top, then lots of stitch. Watch here to see how it progresses...................................

Return of the native (work in progress)

Seasonal offerings

The third of the four 'Seasons' themed pieces is almost done. This has an autumnal feel to it. This ia a screenprinted wholecloth with appliqued sheer organzas. Stitched and burned.

The Woodlanders (detail)

The Tin Hut Textiles exhibition will have work by Annette Morgan, Cynthia Thomson, Marion Barnes and others as well as myself. Please come along. Snape is a lovely place to spend the day.

The Pond Gallery
Snape Malting
Aldeburgh
Suffolk

Friday 4th September until Wed 9th September 2015
10am - 4.30 

FREE entry

More 'seasoning'

Another of the 'Seasons' pieces for the forthcoming Tin Hut Textile exhibition at Snape Maltings in September.

This piece started life as a teaching demonstration on screenprinting using a vilene screen. Printed wholecloth. Appliqued with sheers. Stitched and burned.

Far from the madding crowd (detail)

To see this piece in full plus lots of other gorgeous stitched textiles by me and other members of Tin Hut Textiles come along to the exhibition at:

The Pond Gallery
Snape Malting
Aldeburgh
Suffolk

Friday 4th September until Wed 9th September 2015
10am - 4.30 

FREE entry

Prepping for Snape

The Tin Hut Textiles exhibition at Snape Maltings (4th - 9th September 2015) has the theme of 'Seasons' and all 8 members of the group are making 4 pieces with this theme for the show.

Here is a glimpse of my first one called 'Under the Greenwood Tree'.

Under the Greenwood Tree (part) 

To see the whole thing plus lots more of my work and the other (very talented) textile artists in THT come along to:

The Pond Gallery
Snape Malting
Aldeburgh
Suffolk

Friday 4th September until Wed 9th September 2015
10am - 4.30 

FREE entry

Yvonne's gorgeous piece

Yvonne Sauvier - a really talented stitcher - came on my Life's a Bleach! workshop at the Cosy Cabin recently. We had a great (but a little smelly) day discharging and bleaching colour out of black fabric.

Yvonne then went away and added further applique, stitch and beading to her piece. Is it not fabulous?

Yvonne Sauvier

Drunken Daisy

More playing with large Drunkard's Path blocks and combining with a simple Nine-Patch to create large interlocking flower designs. I need to think how to quilt it - lots of plain white jut asking for some free motion quilting I think - am I becoming a Modern Quilter?

Drunken Daisy - not yet quilted

Going Round the Bend

I have been enjoying playing with curved piecing recently and seeing just how large you can go with the Drunkard's Path block. This is a table runner which we will be making at the Ickleton Group this week and then at a Cottenham Village College workshop in November. If you look very carefully you will see that it is made from (subtle) Christmas fabrics.

Going round the bend table runner

City & Guilds Graduate Show this weekend

It is the Creative Stitch Suffolk City & Guilds Graduate Show on Sat 27th and Sun 28th June

10am - 5pm

Entry £2

Village Hall

Wickham Market

Suffolk

IP13 0HE

Traders will be Art Van Go, Eye Fabric Shop and Creative Stitch Suffolk and Quilters Haven is nearby in Wickham Market Village

Work will be on show from 14 Diploma students and 10 certificate students for the Patchwork and Quilting and Machine Embroiderycourses

Hope to see you there.

Mary

Scrappy Sails Quilt

Just finished a scrap quilt made as a teaching sample for the Ickleton session on 3rd June. My challenge was just to use fabrics from my stash, and nothing else. Turned out I had a lot of blues! Lots of different whites too if you look close up.

Scrappy Sails 45" x 45" 

If you would like to make this quilt there are still places left at the workshop on 3rd June 2015 9.30 - 3.30. Ickleton Village Hall. £30 for the day. To book please contact me on maryelmcintosh@googlemail.com or 01787 371992

Cottenham Lap Samplers

We had out final Lap Sampler session yesterday and here are six of the (almost) completed quilts. This has been the first experience of quilting for most and everyone has done extremely well and have produced some stunning quilts. Rosemary has definitely caught the quilting bug and is already making another beautiful quilt with Japanese fabrics. Cathy has bought a new sewing machine and Lisa has plans to make a charming Material Obsession design. Their quilting journeys have begun and I have been pleased to be their guide. Good luck and happy quilting.

Cottenham Lap Samplers

Cag Tyndall to appear in the FE Gallery at FOQ

So proud to announce that one of my City & Guilds students has been selected for the Further Education Gallery at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham this year.

Cag is following the C&G patchwork and quilting certificate course by distance learning and lives in Nottingham. Her work is of a very high standard and I was very happy to nominate her as an outstanding student - although several of my students are extremely talented and could equally well have been nominated - and delighted when her work was chosen.

You will be able to see Cag's work, along with that of very many more City & Guilds students at both Certificate and Diploma level at the Creative Stitch Suffolk Graduate Show at Wickham Market, Suffolk on Sat 27th and Sun 28th June 2015.

Cag Tyndall wallhanging (detail)

More Cosy Cabin Sampler Quilts

The second sampler group had their final session today and here are some of the completed quilts. Such a sense of achievement at the end of 12 taught sessions but many, many more hours spent at home. Don't they look great and still a few more to add when done.

Val's quilt (she is in the middle)

Dorothy's lovely quilt

Wilma's gorgeous creation

Denise's sophisticated greys and purples

Chris's quilt - she is particularly proud of that flying geese border

So I had better get on and finish mine...............................M

Cosy Cabin Samplers

The final week of the sampler quilt course at the Cosy Cabin and 7 (almost) completed full size sampler quilts. We have had some tears, laughs and bad language along the way but the girls have done really well. I am really proud of them all. 

Heather's quilt

Judy made her blocks into a bed runner

Gorgeous colour combination from Tracey 

Pretty in Pink from Pam

The first (ever) quilt made by Jane

Chrissie's blue wonder

Alison's lovely quilt

 The second group are due to complete this week so watch out for even more samplers - I might even get mine finished!

UFO 2

Another small quilt taught to a Cottenham College Saturday workshop earlier in the year. This was an alternative to the Hearts Applique  design but using the same method. This is a good first applique project and could be done in a day. This is my own, very simple, design and can be made from 3 Fat Quarters and a metre of fabric. This workshop will be running at The Cosy Cabin in Risby on  Sat 30th May 2015.  To book please contact www.thecosycabin.co.uk

'Colours of the moment' Applique circles  36" x 36"

'Love in black and white'  Applique Hearts  36" x 36"

UFO's

I have been making a bit of an effort to finish off some of the quilts started as teaching samples for courses and workshops. I have a big pile of these in the corner of my workroom threatening to topple over. I completed this one which was made from half a Jelly Roll and  was adapted from a Pam and Nicky Lintott design. This was a 5 week evening class for the Cosy Cabin Crew group.  My favourite printed fabric colours of the this year......grey, mustard and turquoise. You will be seeing more of those colours as the UFOs are completed. 

Cabin Crew Cactus Quilt - done!

Cactus quilt detail

My dream home

Just been to visit my daughter in her new home in a village in Kent and have found my perfect house!

Makit Fair in Peterborough

Tin Hut Textiles will be exhibiting the whole of our 'Elements' series at the Makit Lace and Needlework Fair at Peterborough on Sunday 10th May 2015.

I will also be demonstrating in the new Craft Haven area of the show so please come along and watch me playing with my soldering iron and heat gun.

The Peterborough Arena
East of England Show Ground
Peterborough PE2 6XE

On Sunday 10th May 2015
10:00am – 4:00pm

Entrance £5 for adults | Under 14’s Free

www.makitfairs.com

Life's a bleach

Sunday workshop at the Cosy Cabin in Risby playing around with discharge paste and bleach - my current favourite technique

Yvonne's cogs and wheels

Vicki's playing cards

Denise hard at work with the discharge paste

Sarah's work station with iron and freezer paper mask

My first magazine article

The new April/May edition of Stitch Magazine contains my Paper Mania technique. This combines painted newspaper with sheer organzas layered on top, stitched and burned away with a soldering iron. Image was taken from a photograph of a sunflower in my garden. Mounted onto a canvas textured with gesso and coloured with ink.

Paper Mania - sunflower

Paper Mania - pink daisy