Keswick Embroiderers' Exhibition - 6th July 2012

Hi everyone, I type this under severe pressure with no first letter the key does not work..........so I commence with b if you see my point.....It is going to be difficult but I must try.

Our exhibition went down very well with the public, so I intend to show you some of our work.

Only eleven of us could turn up for it but we enjoyed ourselves.

So I offer snippets below with terse comments without the letter before the B ........

Cushions

Felt work

Close up shot

Still life

3D effect

Needle LAce

 Got one to work there but only coz it's fiddled............

Mixed MediA

Add caption - don't know the medium/technique - sorry

Top two silk pAper

A huge diversity shown here

Stumpwork? or something including goldwork?

A snil - remember I've keybord problems.....

Embroidery on Mini Quilts

Big Quilt  - no embroidery here

Red Squirrel

Mixed MediA

Silk PAper purses

Boxes MAde esy using zig zg stitch

Well I did it; just. If you ever feel like trying it yourself, my only comment is it's blinking difficult....

Now for my next trick I need to get my keybord fixed pronto, coz it's driving me md.

Keswick Embroiderers' Guild Exhibition - Friday 2nd July

3 years ago I made this banner to hang outside the Moot Hall in Keswick on the day of our exhibition and I just took it out of storage and checked it was still ok because I need to use it again next Friday 2nd July for our new exhibition.  So if any of you want to see what Keswick EG ladies have been up to this last 3 years then make a note of the following:-

Moot Hall, Keswick Market Square, 2nd July from 10am until 4pm. Entrance FREE

On show will be all the many interesting items we have made including my award winning Wainwright Quilt and some of my silk purses from my workshop I ran in the Spring.

There will be hand made items for sale and also refreshments i.e. homemade biscuits and cakes.

I do hope you can come in for a chat as we are a small friendly group who love talking about our creations.

Preserves and purse

We had a weekend away and I gave our hosts some home made items as I know they like that sort of thing.
I made some Whisky, Seville Marmalade last month and put some in a presentation jar as I knew it would be going with us. Then nearer the time I made some orange and lemon curd which I popped into another jar the same. It really is worth collecting odd decorative jars when you have eaten the contents and then decorating them with circles of pretty fabric. These two jars had originally contained mixed olives with lemon, from Greece. I gave them to the one with the sweet tooth.

Next up is the other home made which was a new silk purse of course! I just happen to be in production mode for them at the moment so I made one especially for my friend. She was very pleased.

Well this is all for now as I need to do some chores, with the days lengthening, the greenhouse has been much warmer and the auto vents have started to open in the Spring sunshine; the garden is starting to look more inviting too but it means that I have plenty to do so I had better go.

Another purse made at the workshop

I was sent a photo of Marilyn's purse which she finished after the workshop, its stunning, so neat, but then she is an expert felter so silk paper making was a doddle for her. I am so glad it worked out ok and love the way she changed the fastening just slightly from my idea. If anyone else sends photos I will post them too as I think they are very pretty. I heard from our Secretary of the Keswick EG yesterday that she has finished her purse too and wants to make some more so who knows what I might have started. We are having our annual exhibition at the Moot Hall in Keswick Market Square on 2nd July and it will be great if more purses are finished and put on display then, I shall be right chuffed. The purse was made by laying down dyed Tussah silk and then it had throwsters waste (Stef Francis) added on top, with tiny snippets of 22 carat gold leaf added in next and then a tiny amount of Tussah again to keep the sandwich together; the resultant paper was embroidered when dry with french knots and the fastening added. Then a lining was pinned to the inside and the whole thing blanket stitched up the sides to make the purse and across the front opening (inside the purse) and the front flap.

I hate colds.

Feeling a bit low as I have a streaming cold. I felt it start on Friday and its just got worse and today I have not done any work properly on my website. Thursday's workshop for the Keswick Embroiderers' Guild went very well and the purses looked great but I did not have my camera as DH took it with him up Helvellyn. Friday was sort out and tidy up day ready for some real work all weekend that was the theory until the bugs struck.....

Anyway, I am fighting back tonight and so I thought I would post some of the new purses I made for the workshop.  First up is a little number I made at the workshop and just finished adding the beads at home.
It does up simply by pushing the strand of beads inbetween the two fabric buttons, really neat and they hold it closed very well too. It consists of Tussah silk with silk throwsters waste laid on top and then some snippets of 22 carat gold leaf ...   atchoo,  sorry but the hankies are needed constantly.... I'm through a box already.

This next one is made with Mulberry silk which is a bit harder to lay down but worth the effort with throwsters waste on top. Next I simply added a few snippets of organza bits and pieces in lighter pink and green and then decorated with some crosses which I tried to make look lazy. Finally, a handmade Dorset button sets it off as a simple fastening.

The next one was made smaller and is inspired by Brides and the idea was to make a small purse which could contain a favour for the Bridesmaids or special guest etc. It could even be a ring holder for the Bestman to keep in his pocket. Anyway, it is made in Tussah silk which is undyed and then beaded and given a few french knots. The small gilt button and the simple fastening finish it off. Oh yes and it also has a few snippets of 22 carat gold leaf incorporated in the paper.

It looks a bit yellow but I could not seem to get a better photo and I was not in the mood to mess about.

This last purse is my personal favourite. Hey I am having finger trouble tonight too, this blog has just jumped to publish before I finished, must be my head is a bit fuzzy. Anyway, don't try blogging with a bad cold is my advice. So as I was saying this is a pretty little purse which I like because it is understated and because I made it with just throwsters waste and then added some tiny snippings off a previous throwsters waste purse (the cut out left the exact shape I needed) So I added it to the edges of the purse and then did a few french knots. I found an old antique looking filligree button which is stunning and this is it......

I did not take a photo of the inside but this one has more of the purple silk paper under the flap which is really cute. Anyway, I have more in the pipeline as I made quite a few really good bits of silk paper. Also the lampshade might just be improving and if it looks good enough I might post a photo. Now if only my 'dose' would stop glowing in the dark I might be a happy bunny and get on with finishing my website tomorrow.

Teaching tomorrow

Well I have my teaching aids ready now and I made up 16 silk purse kits too. That actually took much longer than I planned, don't know why but the Mulberry silk fought back when I gently eased the tops apart to make up smaller batches. The Tussah silk gave way without a murmer in contrast, but its all made up into batches for the purses now....I also finished the lampshade but I am keen to make another one because I think I can make a better job of it. The silk paper was fine but having to make a frame for the shade was always a long shot and when I made up the shade I had to tug it into shape a bit and a tiny bit of the soldering gave way.

I spoke to DH and he said that 'soft solder' could always be a problem so the result is the shade is a touch wonky. I can live with it but we both agreed that what I really needed was lamp shade frames. But I don't see anyone in the UK doing them anymore in a good variety of shapes and sizes. It's ok in the USA and I wish I was in Palm Springs sometimes because you could find anything you wanted near there except of course a fabric shop......and the climate was divine..droool, oops better stop day dreaming.

So I need to do some scouting around and find out where is the best place for lampshade frames or I need to visit thrift shops again and buy up old ones cheap. But I am going to make another lampshade because its bugging me now.

I will take photos tomorrow and post them up as soon as I can, but the website I am designing is back on the agenda for Friday so I am a busy bee at the mo. No time to clean the fridge which had an accident with a beer bottle last week and their is brown sticky in the bottom............

More purses finished

I have made another two purses ready for my class on Thursday at Threlkeld, but no photos yet as I think I will keep them as a surprise on the day. I am really looking forward to taking this class as I like teaching and don't get to do it so much now that I am no longer lecturing full time like I used to.

The lampshade is still being worked on because it has taken longer to dry the fire retardant than I expected and every now and then I go and give it another coat to make sure. I am also very busy at the moment getting all the programme ready and the website for my summer occupation leading walks out on the mountains of Lakeland.

I look forward to Tuesday night (Shrove Tuesday)because I love making pancakes.. and I usually make some savoury ones to eat first followed by plain ones with lemon and mascarpone or something similar. Bella is a big fan of pancakes too and I usually make her a small one of her own. So have a good weekend and I will try and finish all my projects and show them to you soon.

Doesn't time fly when your having fun

I have been making more examples of silk paper ready for the workshop I am giving our EG group this month. So first up I decided to play with some 'Throwsters Waste' and this was the result.

I added tiny snippets of 22 carat gold leaf the sort used by artists and the result really did please me. Then I had an idea, because the paper was very finely made with small gaps in its composition, I decided to back it with gold lamé so that it would glint through the little holes. The effect was magical and the whole piece sprang to life.

Next I made the paper into a small purse which does up in a style I have seen on old medieval leather pouches. You add a simple button and then place a 'thong' above it which you wind once around the button to hold it in place; simple but effective. So this is the little purse after I lined it with some matching felt.

I still have not finished the lampshade from my previous post. I know I said I would do it last weekend, but I simply could not get round to it. It is sitting accusingly on my work table as I type. But I will be confronting it soon because I want to show off the lamp next Wednesday when friends are coming round in the evening, so I had better go now.....

What a busy week!

It is sometimes hard to know where to begin to describe a hectic past week, therefor I will start simply by showing a few photos and then maybe inspiration will strike for the rest. So here is a photo of a felt bag I finally embellished with a few 'dangly' bits last week after having made the initial bag at our felt making day last June, when Marilyn Hughes gave a superb workshop at Threlkeld.




The reason I am including it is because part two of felt making will be in February (again at Threlkeld where water slopping onto the floor is not a problem) when Marilyn will show us how to make NUNO felt. More information will appear on this blog soon, so keep a look out. I promise you it will be an exciting day, so if you missed the last workshop do try and come to this one as Marilyn is a very talented and inspirational teacher and an expert at making all kinds of beautiful felt. You can see how good she is by this bag which was made by me, a complete novice.

Marilyn like myself and several other ladies in the Keswick branch are also members of Cumbria Patchworkers and last Wednesday we gathered in Kirkby Stephen for a Christmas Party. We all made some food and took it along to share out. This is my pavlova in the oven.


And these are the chocolate coated strawberries waiting to go on the top as decoration later, along with whipped cream and Greek yoghurt + redcurrants and chocolate with an icing sugar dusting, phew!




The final putting together was done on the morning of the feast, so I don't have a photo; sorry. But you must use your imagination for the party food itself which was delicious. All of us took along home baking and it was dainty and tasty too.




I did manage to take a photo of the present we left for our hostess, the idea was to each make a felt heart and decorate it and then put them all together to form a wreath which was given to the lady of the house.

Here it is on the tablecloth which was pretty Christmas fabric.





Speaking of Christmas I have been busy making presents for people and here is a small pouch for jewellery I made using some silk paper which again we made at an Embroiderers' Guild workshop in June 2003 with Pat Lewington from Newton Rigg college. I always keep all scraps just in case I need them and silk paper is so versatile so I usually have some if I have a rummage about. Gosh it looks so beautiful in the photo that I would love to make some more. I made a simple envelope with the paper and stitched the sides together with 'machine buttonhole' then embellished the top with French knots and some Swarovski crystals and lastly a Dorset button I had made when I was a student doing City & Guilds Stage 1 Embroidery.

This next photo shows some lovely flowers we made after our AGM in September. Gloria had given me a present last year at our Christmas Luncheon decorated with one and I fell in love with it..

So of course I asked her if she would kindly show us all how it was done and she did us proud. Well done Gloria and thank you so much. These by the way are my effort as I did not have my camera with me that day, a real pity as our ladies did some wonderful work.


My last project (Union Jack pillow cases) was more ambitious and involved an element of shabby chic! An idea I had picked up whilst on holiday kept nagging at me until I had a go. Here are the finished presents on my bed but what is that terrier doing there? You know you can always trust a pet to steal the scene... Merry Christmas everyone as this may be my last posting until after the festivities.