Threlkeld show continued

My wool wadding winter quilt, usually on my bed.....

I was pleased with the hanging arrangements at Threlkeld, especially with one of my quilts which they had hung infront of a window which gave it a jewel like quality.  I must admit I thought seeing the construction seams through it would have been a problem but no I quite like the effect.

Gloria's appliqué
quilt

Val Osborn

Maureen Rushton

Liz Beresford

A Baltimore by Gloria Walker - took over 3 years to make

I cannot find any information on these quilts at the moment because we did not produce a catalogue for the show which, with hindsight, is a shame.  It's always good to have a keepsake and it comes in handy for the typist when she is doing her blog update  .........

There are more quilts, embroideries and knitting to see at Threlkeld and tomorrow is the last day, so if this small display has wetted your appetite go along before it is too late. I think the show closes at 4pm.

Threlkeld in stitches

Today was day one of a three day show of quilts, embroidery and knitting at Threlkeld, a small village which nestles under the mighty hill Blencathra. As I arrived this morning the rain was falling but the forecast was good so I quickly attached my banner to the wall and made a dash for the dry hall.

 

The place is a typical village hall and the exhibition was organised to raise funds to keep it from falling into disrepair.  Like so many public buildings in Cumbria the local people have to do a lot of work to raise money if they want to keep their facilities going.  Threlkeld village hall is no exception to this rule and a lot of hard work and enthusiasm from a few had gone into organising and staging the exhibits.  Whilst I am on the subject, that means that the ladies have to ask their husbands to hang the quilts and to help with the lifting and carrying and in this case even taking the money on the door.  So before I forget, well done chaps! We could not do it without you.

Once inside it was not long before I too was given a few jobs to do, but it was all for a worthy cause so I was happy to oblige. There was a good atmosphere even though in the early stages we had to wait for the customers to appear. But by lunchtime the place was buzzing. One of the events organised by the ladies was to help make a Linus quilt and in the photo below you can just see the quilt pieces on the left pinned up prior to assembly.  Members of the public were invited to sew a square (quick cathedral window) and this was where they were placed ready for making into the finished quilt.





I was stewarding all morning and I am back again on Monday, if you are in the area, why don't you call into the exhibition, it is well staged and the exhibits are lovely.  I will show you some of them in my next posting hopefully tomorrow.

Dumfries EG some of the photos

A pretty display up the top of the stairs

 The display was brilliant and filled two rooms plus all the way up the stairs, but photography is not always simple in such situations.  Some of the embroideries had glass over them which made it almost impossible to take a decent photo. So I have a taken ones I thought would show the diversity of their work. I did not have a catalogue so I cannot give all of the names and techniques here but I am sure you won't mind.

Shirley McKeand's Jacobean waistcoat

 I did recognise Shirley's work straight away as she is a very talented embroiderer and studied and worked in couture for many years.  She had quite a few jackets and coats in the exhibition and this was just one of them showing how she uses crewelwork to enhance a waistcoat.

Lovely silk paper slippers by Lynda Crowson

Some of you will know that I am particularly fond of making silk paper and then turning it into all sorts of objects, but I have never made a pair of tiny slippers, so these attracted my attention. I also liked the little needle punched puffins which you can just see below them, but I will post photos of them and other delights another day.

Dumfries Exhibition another snippet

Family Portrait by Maggie Goodyear

Well here is another reminder about the Dumfries show which ends this Saturday, 12th May; so go and see it if you are dallying before it closes.  The show includes quilts, embroideries and examples of spun and woven textiles. It is at the Gracefield Arts Centre Dumfries.

I will be posting more photos soon but meanwhile I thought you might like to look at these lovely birds as it is the nesting season, especially in my garden, where the sparrows, blackbirds and dunnocks have been particularly pleasing in their antics this year.

It's dry

Here's a close up of the really big flower which I had not shown before on its own.  I really need to make it up into something now and it looks like the cushion idea won.  I have some braid in a lovely pale sage green which I think will be perfect.  I do need to go and find something lovely for the backing though and of course a cushion inside too. Until then, I will leave it blocked out on the board with just a few pins to keep it still, it's the best place for it as I am teaching machine embroidery on Thursday at Keswick EG and I know I will make a hell of a mess tomorrow! I hope to have something to show you for it though as I am doing 'backgrounds' so need to make a few. I usually try and clear my mind and then 'go with the flo' so I surprise myself sometimes.

Blocked out



I have thoroughly wet the woollen embroidery threads and backing linen

This is it folks.  I have to wait about three days now for it to dry out and it must be kept flat like this.  It looks good at the moment but it was a bit scary at times when I removed it from the frame because some of the flowers were so heavily stitched that the linen puckered up around them, but it seems to have flattened out perfectly, phew! I am glad I am not making a full set of 17th century bed hangings though; imagine trying to block them out.......

Close detail of crewel flower

This is where I am tonight. I had hoped to finish this flower but tomorrow is another day and I only can work for so long in artificial light. It's photographed a little bit more orange than it is but I can't fiddle now and its getting late.  Anyhow, you can see how the soft shading is done, a double thread light pink on the outside with the needle going over the blue line and then the darker shade single thread is opposite, i.e. you push the needle through the stitches about half way down and then go down the flower with the thread.  But most of you probably know that better than I do! I might post tomorrow but I am not sure if I will finish it.

Creeping towards a finish

Yesterdays progress, today I have been working on a very large design, so it will probably be a couple of days in the sewing, then only one more intricate large flower.  Its looking good.

Crewel progress

Autumn Glory

Well I have been busy of late and no sewing has been done apart from the Crewel work and this is the latest flower to be finished.  I have most of it done in the right hand corner too so mainly 3 very large flowers to work on and then finito.....

I seem to have done nothing but attend meetings towards the end of last week which left me feeling a bit flat.  But the cold spell gave me the chance to get out on the hills this weekend and take my ice axe for a hike (once a year) and so that was good for me. We had very good conditions on the top with fresh snow so the axe was not needed. I did get my crampons out though and they are wonderful on crisp snow which was what we found on the windward side of the hill.

Well I must dash, I have a fair bit to do.

Quaker squares and how to turn a blunder into an asset!

Ok, I have some photos of the finished squares for the Friends Meeting House in Keswick which was devastated by floods in November 2010. So hopefully these will be going up on the wall in the room we hire off them and another 10 sets of four squares from some of the other ladies too, all in different colours of the rainbow...............



Crazy patchwork with goldwork

So first up is one I was still working when I took the photo last night. I layed some sticky backed stabiliser down and just applied the fabric in sections until I was pleased with the result. The orangy coloured piece is actually some ribbon and then there was a piece of velvet and some brocade and silk with gold embellishments added. I worked a bit of free machine embroidery here and there and lastly of all you see my needle and gold thread as I attach a gold edge which I am carefully twisting with some Linton Tweed thread.



Machine embroidered flower with beadwork

This one was a lot of fun to do. I started with a background fabric which was beige so I overlaid it with a piece of brown gauze from an old scarf. It immediately turned the black flower design underneath to chocolate,  hmm just what I wanted.  I then picked out the central motif and did my silver thread machine embroidery on the top after I had placed the whole thing in a really tight embroidery hoop so I could drop the feed dogs.  I was after a passion flower look and wanted it kept simple. So I beaded the centre with yellow and red beads and then radiated out with silver long beads; then finally added the pinky red beads around the flower. I added the edge which was Linton Tweed thread again and stitched it down with the same silver thread I had used on the flower it's by Madeira and called Jewel.




Little applique hearts with buttons

Here we have a simple background which was stabilised with sticky stabiliser again and then I added the heart shapes and buttons. I did a bit of machine embroidery around the leaves which were part of the background silk fabric. I cut out some more and added them to balance the effect. Lastly I added the edge trim again using scraps of threads taken from Linton Tweed and stitched with Madeira Jewel in red.






My little trees

This photo won't enlarge unless it is huge so I am having to put up with it.......I really enjoyed making this square and I simply took some velvet and satin stitched the tree designs on. The little red one was part of the giveaway I won last month, I simply detached it from it's background embroidery and re used it...... Then added a gnarled stump from a bit of old jute string and twisted it a bit to look like a tree trunk. I added a few red beads to the first 2 trees so they looked as if they had berries on them and finished off with a lovely satin stitch border. Then I had a snag because the square had pulled out of shape a bit so I had the idea of disguising it with the edge which is taken from Linton Tweed again. Its a wonderful glittery sort of riot of sticky out bits of thread.....Take a closer look and you will see what I mean. This was the 2nd square I made and when I had added the edge I realised that it was a good idea to do the same on all subsequent squares. So that's why I had the idea, to disguise my very non square design,  hmmm.   Where there is a mistake always turn it to your advantage.

Designing with the needle

I have been completing a project over the last few days and it took longer than I expected.  (It is ages since I posted so I am feeling guilty of neglecting this blog.) Anyway, the design ideas I had were not too bad because the problem is that I am good at some things with a needle but can't work up any enthusiasm for hand embroidery unless it is crewel work. So I like to think that I design with a needle.... I am simply making 4 inch squares again like the Rainbow Squares we made for the EG a couple of years back but this time they are for the Friends Meeting House (Quakers) who were flooded last autumn. The room which the Keswick EG hire off them needed a lift so the Quakers asked us to make them a rainbow squares type decoration. I was given 4 squares to make and the random colour was brown..... Now brown is not really a colour which turns me on, but I noticed some of the other ladies in the group were envious...so I thought OK I'll do brown. 

Tomorrow they will be finished, and I have been taking photos, so until then.

Busy is not the word

Don't know what happened to the 'things to do list' last week, but I know not many were ticked off. I have been struggling a bit with digitising a design for my jacket. As some of you know my other blog is about my job as a Keswick Rambles Mountain Leader.  Well I put my big foot in it when I offered to make a badge for us to wear for publicity purposes. I must say that I don't use Embird enough (embroidery machine software) I  bought it about 5 years ago when I bought my Janome 300e and although at the time I enjoyed it, have found lately that I have been having more fun with quilting and freehand machine embroidery. So the Janome has been on the back boiler and so has Embird digitising software. Well this week it was in at the deep end. I ended up doing 4 designs before one of them looked as if it would do. I am still sure I can do better, but hey with the guided walks starting on 28th March and the programme still to desktop publish and print, I am rather beyond caring.

So I thought I would let you see the struggle I had, as I bet you love to see things going wrong as well as right, am I right? Top left was my abysmal first effort, no good was my verdict. Too fiddly trying to put the boot prints on the top of the lettering too. Bottom right was better but still the lettering did not jump out. So Top right was my 3rd attempt, better I thought and the colour is coming on ok but some of the letters could be improved upon. So Bottom left was my 4th go, not bad but hardly professional.  However, as I said, once on the jacket it probably won't look too bad and I will at least have some sort of an advert on me. So I am going to cut this one out and attach it to my old black jacket, now reduced to gardening coat and see if it will pass muster.

I might do some more and make them larger, I wonder if Bella fancies a couple of badges attached to her coat?

More Rainbow Squares

Well I do have some more squares to show you and it seemed a good idea to while away the time...Actually, I am supposed to be doing the accounts for the year end but hey, I get fed up with all those numbers swimming before my eyes, so I need diversions and this is one.




This is a felt square and has been expertly made by Marilyn of the choc and courgette cake fame.

Next we have a lovely square made by Val who is very good at canvaswork






And now for something completely different..





Yes its a Sally Special!

Those of you who know Sally will of course instantly recognise her style. She is always stitching something different and has famously made many 'angels' for Christmas.

So I hope you like the squares and I do have some more if anyone wants to see them just let me know. Meanwhile, its back to the calculator.........aagh

More squares

I really do need to make more time for embroidery. The days are longer but the garden beckons all the time and the number of jobs to be done seems to grow rather than diminish. Right now I know I should be trimming hedges not blogging but hey its my life. So since I do not seem to have a moment to sit infront of my beloved Bernina, I am indulging on my new laptop instead.

Anyway, you have not seen some of the squares we made for the Rainbow Project. I do have a few here now and its only days until they will wing their way to Summer School somehow or other, (I am still trying to find someone local who is going as I object to burning fuel in my car unless it is necessary). Failing that there is the good old postal service.

So first up we have a fetching number consisting of a rather enebriated rabbit or is it a tipsy hare? You can guess.




This next one is much more restrained, infact it is a posy or bouquet of flowers. What they would call in the florists a 'hand tied bunch'.





We have more flowers next but these look like long and short stitch in crewel work to me.




These are the real thing and just a change from all that blue on blue theme.

I grow these every year in my greenhouse usually as they are so very special to me because my Mother gave me the bulbs which she brought back with her from Guernsey. She called them Guernsey lillies but of course they are Nerine. I have kept them going for many years in her memory and would never enjoy the late summer so much if I did not look forward to them flowering. This was taken in my old greenhouse last summer.




I am anticipating an even bigger group of them this year as they have been through a few doubtful years when not many of the bulbs flowered but this year they seem to be looking happier. But back to the squares. This one is a frilly confecton with a purple sparkly butterfly settling in amongst the petals, no doubt to lay some caterpillars which will start eating them. (I had to evict some earlier today from my brocolli.)



Next is an amazing appliqué bunch of flowers, and I have included it for Melanie who needs to see more of this type of embroidery so she can learn how to do it. So this is for you..M I hope you like it.




Lastly, here is another one for M, this one was very quickly made by me using old bits of underwear....I know girls old knickers and things, really shocking but you see they had blue flowers on the lace and they were too good to waste. I dyed the lace for the arch with some yellow and pink silk fabric paint and then dabbed it with a paper towel to make it blend a bit. Then applied the cut out blue flowers as if they were growing up the arch in the garden and lastly added a few bluish green leaves in a muted style so they would not stand out too much.



Well I do have many more squares but perhaps I have exhausted the subject..If you want to see more please let me know and I will see if I can fit them in. Next time I have a recipe for cake which is made with courgettes, so until then, enjoy the sun.

Time for a recipe

It has been a while since we had a recipe, so this one is included for those of you suffering from deprivation I wish I could claim the credit for it, but no, this is from Melanie who added the tip about Brandy; clearly she knows a thing or two.


CUMBERLAND CURRANT CAKE


Cumberland Currant Cake Recipe with Short Pastry, Mixed Peel, Currants, Mixed Spice & Sugar.
INGREDIENTS
Short Pastry
Mixed Peel, Minced
Washed Currants
Mixed Spice
Sugar

METHOD

Roll Short Pastry into an oblong strip 10 by 20 inches. Cut the strips into two 10 inch squares. Spread one square with washed Currants, undried, and sprinkle with Mixed Peel and Mixed Spice, then with Sugar. Brush the edges with water and cover with the second piece of pastry. Lightly press with a rolling pin, prick with a fork, and bake on a buttered tin in a quick oven (375F / 190C / Mark 5). Cut into four when cold.

TIP
Soak the currants first in Brandy or Liqueur for extra flavour.

Melanie also would like to have a demonstration soon on appliqué and its applications. If anyone else is interested in this subject just let me know with details so that I can progress this if at all possible in the near future.

I have done shadow appliqué for City & Guilds embroidery and also have used it on several quilts I have made but there may well be other applications which can be demonstrated too. As a rule I do machine appliqué but I am sure someone will know how to do hand turned as well. For instance one of the rainbow squares I photographed recently ready for sending off in July to the Summer School was hand appliquéd by Sally.





















This next square was machine appliquéd by me.





















So we may be a small group of embroiderers' but we are not lacking in knowledge or skills and I hope to be showing some more rainbow squares soon.

James Hunting embroidery

This piccie is an example of James Hunting's embroidery. I rather like his style, it seems to combine simple lines with wonderful floral emphasis.

News about Anchor threads

Janet gave me a page from 'needle and handicrafts' last week which contains important info regarding their colours. Please read if you use them.

Anchor cotton embroidery threads have always been dyed to international quality standards in terms of colour fastness & consistency. Likewise, health & environmental issues have always been important as part of the Coats policy. Due to recent European directives, Coats have changed dye sources & also bleaching processes to meet European legislation. As a consequence, specific colours are subject to a change of appearance when viewed (along with the original colours) under different lighting conditions. These lighting conditions relate to natural day light & artificial lighting and are known as a "Metameric" effect. The metameric effect affects 26 colours in Anchor embroidery threads & are listed below. To help identify the colours affected, an asterisk* has been added in front of the original colour number. To avoid disappointment, it is important that you do not mix the same colour with an asterisk*, without an asterisk in the same embroidery. E.g. Do not mix colour 70 & *70 in the same embroidery design. The inherent fastness & colour consistency qualities of Anchor cotton embroidery threads are not affected in any way by this change. For further information please contact Coats' sales office or sales representatives.





So be careful now! and thank you Janet for letting us know.

April and the sun is out

Hi everyone,

I seem to have had little time for blogging lately for the home improvements are taking over my world but I am beginning to think about new curtains and pelmet ideas for when the lounge is finished. At least the builder has gone and now DH is sawing up new skirting boards to fit etc and talking about sanding the wooden floor.

Meanwhile, I can escape for a couple of hours on Thursday because we are having an 'extra' EG day at the Friends Meeting House. The usual venue (Pat's house) is also under siege I believe as Pat's DH is decorating. So this Thursday at 11am at the Friends Meeting House bring along your exhibit for the Rheged Regional Day and don't forget to label it clearly and put a price on it for insurance purposes. Sally will also be bringing along the wall hanging and it is nearly finished so we can all see how it looks.

REGULAR MEETING
Our next monthly meeting, on April 16th, is a workshop with our very own talented Val Osborn, who is doing 'Beyond Canvaswork'. If you missed the last meeting when we made cloth dollies then you will not have seen the wonderful example Val brought along to show us, but never fear, here it is below:-





Isn't it stunning! I can't wait to make one....so here is the list of requirements

You will need,
threads of all kinds
beads and bits and bobs
an old 'watercolour' paintbrush
Baking Parchment (Val will supply if you have none)
usual sewing kit including a variety of needles

You may need,
Bondaweb or similar
fine fabrics such as chiffon, silk etc.
ribbons, feathers and lace
Crystal organza for stich and burn
sewing machine and manual (don't forget foot pedal & lead)
embroidery hoop
If you have a craft soldering iron please bring it for burning

Val will bring at the cost of £1 per person if you wish to partake
Angelina fibre, canvas, paints, wire, sparkly bits, felt, glue, paper etc.

Val will also have various flower photos for inspiration but if you have a picture which has an indefinate background, an interesting middle ground and a prominent foreground it can be used or adapted.

So girls, there you have it, an interesting day awaits with lots of fun too.

I still have not been able to do justice in a photo to my new 'Amy Quilt' but I will keep trying. So that will appear in a later post and I have a new recipe too. So until this Thursday 2nd April, take care all.