Agnes Halliwell, one of our own members, delivered part 2 of her interesting workshop on More ways with Threads. Agnes has a wealth of experience in a full range of embroidery techniques. She brought books of samples and individual pieces to show us the possibilities of using threads in more creative ways. Some of the beautiful inspirational samples are below.
Agnes started with knitting and by varying the size of needles and thickness of wools/threads we could produce differing effects to use in our embroidery.
Agnes explained that we could put fabrics behind the knitting or thread things through.
If you have ever watched people knit the way they hold their needles and their wool depends are where they were taught to knit. So next time you are on holiday and you see people knitting have a look at the way they hold their needles and progress the wool and it will depend on the knitting culture they were brought up in.
We were then shown some beautiful cords and a whole variety of ways we could cover and use them. We also rediscovered the cord maker which our guild owns!
By the end of the session we had all completed lots of samples but more importantly we had added new ideas and skills to our repertoires that we could use any time in the future in our stitching.
A big thank you to Agnes for sharing her experience, skill and creativity with us to improve our artistic use of stitching in future projects.
This month our workshop on mono printing was led by Sandra Kendall one of our own members who brought some samples to inspire us. [See below]
Sandra told us that mono print means one print but sometimes you can get a second "ghost print " and this is often the most attractive.
We worked mainly on paper because it is nor an exact science and there can be some waste. However, anything that can be printed on paper can be printed onto material.
The prints can make good backgrounds to embroider into or as a placement for an embroidery to set it off. They are also useful for sketchbook work.
We used fairly basic materials but the results were good enough for member to decide if they liked the process and take it further with more expensive equipment
Each member was provided with a laminated sheet to use as the plate and a plastic pocket on which to mix the paint. We used either printing inks or acrylics with extender to prolong the drying time .
The first few exercises were to practice inking the plate with the right amount of paint and practice getting the equipment ready before inking so there was no delay to let the paint dry. We aimed for an orange peel texture with a rasping sound!
After that members tried out various methods systematically -addition, subtraction using a whole variety of objects including plant material to make marks in the paint building up texture to produce a good print.
There was also opportunity to make a mask, funky foam stamp and a tyvek stencil to use alongside bought stencils and stamps.
Mono printing is not for everyone because it can be messy and there is an element of chance in the outcome but if you persevere you can often produce something unique with its own attraction.
Members who took part enjoyed the day and a thank you to Sandra for organizing the workshop.
This month we welcomed Janet Browne with her amazing array of reverse applique birds. Some examples of her birds are below and also include some of her drawings. They are simply stunning.
After looking at the samples members couldn't wait to have a go at making a small bird and not too complicated!
We started by making a very simple bird just to get the order of layering into our heads. The trickiest part was working from the back, layering from the back to the front.
Some of us drew our own and some used Janet's templates and then we started machine stitching.
There was literally a whir of activity as we set about our sample bird.
Some members carried on working on their sample bird adding more detail while others started a second.
It was an inspirational day and we took home our birds to finish off with embroidery and beads and I think many of our members will have a go at making more birds.
Many thanks to Janet for inspiring us and also supporting us through the technique.
One of Janet's many talents is her ability to draw and many of us after seeing her beautiful drawings decided to practice our drawing regularly.
Thank you to Janet for a very good day.
