STITCH CHALLENGE

  
We had a most enjoyable morning on Monday 9th February, 2015 for our workshop.
Carole Hood our workshop organizer had sorted three bags of words.  1.  Name of stitch. Cretan, herringbone, buttonhole, fly or chain.  2.  Shape of stitch. Regular or irregular.  3. Movement of stitch.  Diagonal, circular, meandering, haphazard, horizontal, square or vertical.






There were a few moans and groans from those of us who got regular - we can't do regular!!

It was surprisng what different effects were produced in under two hours.  So many varieties of colours, shapes, stitches.  To show how popular it was was we are repeating the class for next month which will be Monday 9th March.

Linda Danby - Cretan stitch, regular and square.

Carole Hood - Herringbone, Meandering, Irregular.

Stitch Magic

 I was going to save this review until later but in view of the next content of the next  Monday Workshop I thought it would be relevant now. This book has proved to be a most inspirational book. Jan Beaney  and Jean Littlejohn take stitch and thread and transform them. It is not a new book but I feel has become an exciting reference source carrying on from where Constance Howard left off. The authors assume that the reader knows how to sew the basic stitch but shows how the same stitch can look so different depending on how it is used. I like the 'Stitch Challenge' pages and wonder if this could be developed into a game of stitch 'Consequences' at a Monday Workshop. I would love to see comments from anyone else who has used this book.

Star Letter

Was wondering what to write as our next blog when along comes Stitch, Your Letters, Star Letter and Gill Roe(Guisborough EG). Well done Gill! The letter is about a piece of work that Gill made having been inspired by a Monday workshop about Dorset buttons. She says she found covering the rings with thread very therapeutic and something she could do whilst watching TV. With impeccable timing her letter arrived in time to be included in the copy of Stitch which had an article describing a project very similar to Gill's piece. We have a celebrity in our midst!

Monday Workshop

Monday Workshop 9th Feb is a Stitch Challenge! The idea is to explore a basic stitch in all manner of ways. Should be fun. You will need to bring: some fabric: threads in as many different thicknesses as you can, fabric and threads to look good together: basic sewing kit; embroidery hoop; needles to fit your threads. Sounds like a good follow on to last months workshop

Dionne Swift - Contemporary Textile Artist

Monday Workshop - Stitch Sampler

Our Monday Workshop in January is going to be a Stitch Sampler.  You will be taking a single stitch and working with it in different ways and in different threads.

A supply list will be available at the meeting on Saturday 3rd January 2015 and online shorty after.

In the meantime if you are interested The Constance Howard book of Embroidory Stitches is worth looking out for. 

More about Constance Howard can be found here....

Contemporary Applique By Julia Triston and Rachel Lombard

 

I think the outstanding feature of this book is the photography. There is a photograph on virtually every page, all to inspire. The book covers all aspects of applique from ancient times to the present day. It talks about cultural aspects of the technique and  traditional methods. There are suggestions to help with design and ideas for projects. It is not a project book but has a 'how-to' chapter describing materials and equipment, transferring designs, and applique by hand and machine. The last chapter is 'From tradition to innovation' and includes sections like 'Pushing the boundaries' and 'Breaking the rules'! There is a photograph of a saddlecloth made in the 5th-4th century BC and photographs of work made in 2013. The authors have definitely covered a lot of ground