Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos or sometimes known as Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout the country, but also in other countries around the world, in particular the US. It is a three day celebration of past families and friends, beginning on October 31st, and ending on November 2nd. On All Hallows Eve, children make an altar to invite … Continue reading Day of The Dead
Ray Douglas Bradbury (and the Douglas was used in a lot of stories…) was born on August 22nd, 1920. Bradbury was a science fiction writer…but that’s to categorize him unfairly, and far too narrowly. Even to call him a fantasy, horror or mystery writer, is to do the man injustice. Quite simply he was an artist. Best known for novels like Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked … Continue reading Ray Bradbury
August 13th sees the 28th annual Left Handers Day aimed at celebrating with pride all things left-handed, and raising awareness for those southpaws who have to make their way in a world designed for right-handers. The website http://www.lefthandersday.com/ provides a range of articles, including advice for parents with left handed children, and a wide range of merchandise available including scissors, knives, pens, and notepads. (and … Continue reading International Left Handers’ Day
The 2018 Festival and Quilts is opened today at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) Birmingham. It runs until Sunday and if you’re a fan of all things sewing its definitely worth a visit. The event is a great blend of displayed work (from some amazingly talented quilters); workshops and stalls selling everything you might need from books to buttons and fabric to fancy sewing machines. … Continue reading 2018 Festival of Quilts
For my second embroidery project I wanted to try creating a textile image of an architectural structure. I may have been a bit over ambitious for my first but I had a go at creating a representation of the Theatre Royal in Newcastle. I started with a line drawing which I then traced on tissue paper. Because I wanted to create a collage type effect … Continue reading Another Embroidery Project
Building on the techniques I learned on the recent course I completed I thought I’d start experimenting with some freer form creative challenges. The first I wanted to try was creating an abstract image with a strong cohesive feel. To get the cohesion I selected fabric samples of similar colours and tonal values which I extending into the selection of threads using only variations of … Continue reading An Embroidery Project – No.1
So final bit of the main course completed. Module 4.3 was all about exploring patterns. The video outlined the main objectives which were to focused on learning…. How to create various patterns with hand stitch appliqué How to make a mosaic inspired sample using irregular fabric shapes How to use repeated shapes to build patterns How to build layers of interest into your appliqué patterns … Continue reading Exploring Texture and Pattern Part 16
I completed 4.2 today. This part of the training was about exploring hand stitched applique to enhance stitched line drawings and I think probably my favourite challenge to-date. The challenge for this section of the course was to look back at the hand stitched drawing that we did in 2.2 and use applique and stitch to embellish the image. You start by taking the … Continue reading Exploring Texture and Pattern Part 15
So today I started the final module of the course which is focused on hand stitched applique. I’ve tried applique a few times both hand and machine with mixed results so was looking forward to learning a few tips and techniques and part 1 certainly didn’t let me down. It seems that the puckering I’ve experienced in the past was down to my order of … Continue reading Exploring Texture and Pattern Part 14
3.3 the last part in this module focused on needle weaving, which is pretty much exactly as it sounds, similar to strip weaving you following the same techniques of warp and weave but this time you use thread rather than material to create texture and pattern. The challenge was to create a six box grid making each area distinctive. It is a bit of … Continue reading Exploring Texture and Pattern Part 13
