LINQS…our first meeting

October 5, 2014October 6, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

A selection of David Hockney books displayed on a table.

A selection of David Hockney books were available to browse.

Yesterday saw the first meeting of LINQS, the Lincolnshire Quilters group which is responsible for the David Hockney Challenge. The challenge is open to anyone living in Lincolnshire.

15 ladies turned up for our first get together at The Coach and Horses in Billinghay and to quote Mary “there were no shrinking violets”! It was a lively session with lots of ideas, enthusiasm and encouragement.

Work in progress….it’s easy to see the Hockney influence in this colourful mini quilt.

Several of us took along quilts we have already started, while others were keen to talk through the ideas that they have in mind. Some of the members also brought their copies of various David Hockney books for the rest of us to browse.

Unfortunately the photograph below doesn’t do justice to the wonderful piece of work this lady is creating. The influence here is the colour and movement that Hockney displays in his work as the small, individual pieces of layered fabric gently ripple.

Work in progress….the influence here is the colour and movement that Hockney puts into his work.

An open sketchbook showing photographs of the countryside on the right and hand written notes on the left.

Fiona’s sketchbook ideas

Fiona has been taking photographs of the local landscape while out walking her dog. She has pasted these into her sketch book with notes of how Hockney might interpret these scenes if he were to make a quilt. This is the sort of thing I always tell myself I should be doing…..I just need to start doing it!

The Sitting Ducks…..

October 2, 2014October 6, 2014 / Karen Lane / 4 Comments

Three of the ladies busy at their machines.

This week my friend Molly and I spent a day sewing with the ladies at ‘The Sitting Ducks’ quilting group. The group meet once a month in the Village Hall in Branston Booths.

The Sitting Ducks Quilt Group

This months session began with one of the ladies demonstrating how to make a reversible ‘thread catcher’. It was a very simple design, made from eight strips of fabric, with endless possibilities for embellishing. Although intended for holding scraps of fabric or threads they could be used for holding all sorts of different things. These are cute little things to make and a great way to use up any scraps you have.

The basic shape of the thread catchers starts as four double sided strips of fabric.

There is a very good tutorial here which I am guessing is the one that Margaret based her workshop on.

Small square shaped container made from four different patterned fabrics

My finished thread catcher.

Sue with her finished thread catcher

Using the same pattern and technique, Denise chose to make a larger version, adding straps, and made hers into an attractive tote bag.

One of the ladies at The Sitting Ducks quilters group showing her handmade blue tote bag.

Denise with her Bag.

Some of the ladies chose to continue with their own projects, including Fiona seen here with the striking zigzag quilt she is currently working on.

A bold patterned 'Zigzag, quilt in white, red, green and grey fabrics.

Fiona and her zigzag quilt.

All in all it was a great day and I am planning to set aside the first Thursday in the month to return to The Sitting Ducks on a regular basis. Many thanks to all of you for making Molly and I feel so welcome.

David Hockney gets a scarf…..

September 28, 2014February 4, 2015 / Karen Lane / 1 Comment

A felted scarf and my David Hockney mixed media quilt is nearly ready for quilting!

This evening David Hockney got himself a dark red Merino wet felted scarf so now he’s nearly ready to be put together and quilted.

To finish off I’v machined four rows of stitching at the back of the figure to represent the newsprint columns, quilted around the edge of the figure and added a black border.

My finished quilted version of David Hockney’s self portrait

Hockney gets a shirt…..

September 27, 2014February 4, 2015 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

Work in progress

The mixed media Hockney quilt has been shelved for a couple of weeks but today I made a start on his clothing. Based on his 1954 self portrait, I am bringing him into the next decade. Along with his iconic dyed blond hair and round specs I decided to swap his check shirt for something a little more flamboyant!

Patchwork Bag by Annette Cooke…..

September 25, 2014October 6, 2014 / Karen Lane / Leave a comment

Denim patchwork and appliqué bag

Yesterday I saw this fabulous ‘recycled denim jeans’ quilted patchwork bag at the Wednesday ‘Sit & Stitch’ Session at Stitchcraft in Grantham. It was made by Annette Cooke, one of the local crafters, and is covered in all sorts of beautiful, vintage style applique and embellishments.

Detail showing the contrasting lining.

My friend Molly and I spent the day sewing with Annette and her friends and soon discovered we had chosen the ‘lively’ table to sit at! Thanks for making the two of us so welcome. We are looking forward to seeing you all again very soon and hopefully I will get to include more of your work on here.

Side detail

Delft Quilt….

September 13, 2014February 8, 2015 / Karen Lane / 10 Comments

Hand embroidered Delph Quilt designed and made by Liz Hands

Delft Quilt by Liz Hands

I first saw a version of this Delft quilt a few months ago at a show in Woodhall Spa. There were lots of quilts on display but this one really caught my eye as it was so dramatic and fresh and the hand embroidered detailing was fabulous. I immediately fell in love with it and, after talking to its owner, I discovered that she had made it during a series of workshops run by Liz Hands at Stitchcraft in Grantham. The next day I called Stitchcraft and booked straight onto the next “Delft Quilt” course which is being held one day a month and started this Wednesday.

Although I love the traditional blue Delft shades I chose to make my quilt using these gorgeous, fresh teals with matching embroidery threads. For the background fabric I am using a delicate ivory patterned cotton.

First of 25 blocks

There are ten of us on the course and it’s a very friendly bunch. Liz has a relaxed style of teaching and is very approachable, which is great for someone like me who hasn’t made a quilt before. This week I almost completed my first block during the class (just got to finish the 2nd leaf) and I now have the next three blocks cut out and bonded to the background fabric ready to embroider at home. All I need now is time……..

The first four blocks cut out and bonded to the background fabric.

Hockney Challenge…..adding the hair.

September 9, 2014February 4, 2015 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

I want my version of Hockney’s collage ‘Self Portrait‘ to be a fun piece constructed from a mixture of materials and methods. The face is being built up with layers of synthetic fabrics, bonded together using an 18w Antex soldering iron. My first attempt was with a 30w iron and a fine point bit….it was awful! The fabric burnt and I couldn’t control the cutting edge as the iron was too hot and the point too thick. I took advice from Margaret Beal on her website and bought a lower wattage iron with an extra fine bit…..it’s a lot easier when you use the right tools!

For the mop of blond hair I chose to use a technique which I originally saw demonstrated by Jan Tillett on Youtube. This involved free machine sewing onto water soluble stabiliser which was held in an embroidery hoop. I traced the outline of the hair onto the stabiliser before sewing back and forth with yellow and cream thread, overlapping the stitches so that they held together once the background fabric was washed away. The hair took shape very quickly and I am really pleased with the texture. The next job will be to select fabrics for the clothes.

Creating the hair using soluble stabiliser.

Portrait of Hockney made from fabric and thread.

The mop of blond hair plonked in place!

LINQS David Hockney Challenge…..

September 8, 2014October 6, 2014 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

Are you living in Lincolnshire? Do you enjoy quilting and fancy a challenge? If you can answer yes to both these questions you might like to join the ladies in LINQS (Lincolnshire Quilters) and create a quilt inspired by any work of David Hockney’s, past or present. Quilts can be made by an individual or a group and the work can feature any technique or style, including traditional.
The criteria we have to adhere to is…..

1. To be a quilt it must have 3 layers

2. The size must be either 30″x40″ or 30cm x 40cm portrait or landscape. If you want to make a larger size quilt you can hang several smaller ones together.

3. No matter what style we use we must be able to link the finished piece back to DH’s work.

For more information or to register your interest click here.

I didn’t really know Hockney’s work before signing up for the challenge but, after talking to one of the members of LINQS, I took a ride up to Salts Mill to see it for myself. Salts Mill is in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, a few miles from Bradford and it houses a permanent display of Hockney’s work. It also has a terrific book shop and a restaurant serving delicious food on the top floor.

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate

Background of my monotone quilt.

Trees are added to stand away from the background.

Detail of foliage at base of trees.

I’ve started work on two ‘mini size, quilts, the first is based on The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate. I decided to strip it back to a monotone colour scheme and started off in a fairly traditional way using machine and hand stitching on the background. I wanted the trees to stand out so I used black acrylic paint on vilene, backed with black felt and attached them with my glue gun. The foliage at the base of the trees was cut from a piece of lace which has also been painted with acrylic. I’m not sure how I am going to finish this one…..do I add the large leaves and the vines? I’ll sleep on it a bit longer before deciding my next step.

The second piece I’m doing is based on Hockney’s early self portrait collage. This is going to be a mixed media quilt using paper, paint and fabric. The background is the ‘Newsprint’ wallpaper from my last post. I have stuck it onto cream netting using PVA. Once it was dry I turned it over, soaked it with water and gently rubbed the backing paper off until the image was showing through. This has created a nice thin layer which I can quilt at a later stage.

Hockney 1954 Self Portrait

Starting work on Hockney’s face.

More shading added to the face….the glasses are tried on for positioning.

Rather than copying Hockney’s 1954 self portrait I have chosen to show him as he styled himself in the 60’s with his trademark dyed blond hair and thick black round specs. After drawing the features onto cotton fabric I am trying a new (to me) technique for colouring the face, using a soldering iron to fuse layers of organza. I got the idea after buying the Margaret Beal book New Ideas in Fusing Fabric. The work in this book is so inspirational I had to buy the iron and have a go! I’m hoping to get some more of this quilt done this week so will post an update when I do.

Show & Tell…

December 9, 2013March 3, 2015 / Karen Lane / 2 Comments

Every other Monday a group of local ladies, myself included, meet at the Community Centre in Horncastle. Our one common bond is that we all enjoy doing crafts of one sort or another, whether its knitting & crochet, patchwork & quilting, felting, rag rug, lace making, cross stitch…..the list is endless! For a couple of hours we chat and work on our individual projects, sharing a mutual enthusiasm for all things handmade. Today was ‘show and tell’ which involved everyone bringing something they had created and showing it off to the group. There is such a lot of talent around, and so much of this creative work would otherwise be hidden away, that I thought I would put together a collage of some of the pieces to share with you, I hope you enjoy them.