lincsInstitches

The Big Textile Show…..

/ Karen Lane / 9 Comments

Last weekend went in a flash! I was exhibiting for the third year running at The Big Textile Show which is held over two days at Leicester Racecourse. This show has a wonderful, friendly atmosphere and is big enough to provide a great day out but isn’t too large that you feel worn out by the time you’ve visited all the stalls!

My stall at this years Show

The exhibitions, which were displayed on the first floor above the food hall, included Feltmaking, Weaving, Beading, Quilting, Lace Making, Rug Making as well as paper sculptures and so much more! There was a room full of inspiring work to fire up the imagination as well as many of the items being for sale.

The trade stalls were located in a separate building, which unfortunately I didn’t get chance to visit this year. From what I was hearing there was a terrific variety of stalls and lots of opportunity to increase the size of your stash! These are just a tiny few of this years traders…..

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello and for all the wonderful feedback given by visitors to my stall. The Big Textile Show is always held over the last weekend in October so be sure to put the date in your diary ready for 2020.

My next show will be at The Quilt & Stitch Village, Uttoxeter Racecourse from 17th – 19th April so hope to see some of you there!

A Tribute to Three Worlds…..

/ Karen Lane / 10 Comments

Between Christmas and New Year I began work on a new art quilt which I have called A Tribute to Three Worlds.  This 44″ x 27″ quilt is my textile interpretation of a lithograph by one of my favourite artists, Maurits Cornelis Escher (1892-1972)

Black and white etching titled Three Worlds by artist Maurits Cornelis Escher

The original lithograph version of Three Worlds by Maurits Cornelis Escher.

I have been an admirer of Escher’s work since my art school days.  During a recent visit to Barter Books in Alnwick I bought “The Life and Works of Escher” by Miranda Fellows and felt inspired by this particular design to create my on take on it.

The first stage of the art quilt A Tribute to Three Worlds....trees and fish are painted and in position.

Background work in progress…..the trees are done and the Tyvek fish are painted and roughly placed in position.

I wanted to recreate the three different perspectives i.e. the trees above the water seen as a reflection, the Autumn leaves floating on the water and the fish swimming below the water, all of which make up Escher’s “three worlds”.   It took a lot longer to complete than I had imagined it would but I’m very happy with the result.

Three Worlds Art Quilt

A Tribute to Three Worlds

November Needle Felting Workshops

/ Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Joseph Banks A4 jpeg

My love of needle felting is fast growing into an obsession!  So much so that I decided I had to share my interest with others and found myself, last Saturday, launching the first of the  November Needle Felting Workshops which are being held in The Joseph Banks Centre on Bridge Street in Horncastle.  We had a packed house with a lovely bunch of ladies, some had tried needle felting in the past while others were completely new to it.  Various techniques were shown and discussed and everyone was given the option of selecting their preferred method of working.  All equipment and materials were supplied, including fabulous Merino wool and by the end of the two hours everyone agreed they had had a good time and each of them had produced a beautiful, unique felted brooch to take home.  One of the ladies contacted me the day after to say she had been wearing her brooch while out shopping and had received lots of admiring comments – not bad for a first attempt!

I will be holding the next session on Saturday 9th November from 10am – 12noon.  All ages/abilities welcome but please note that numbers are limited so please refer to the poster for contact details as booking is essential.