This little 3D piece, made from grey Merino and found objects, is the first of a collection of pieces I am planning to make with the theme Memories of Ullapool…
The next piece, Rock Pool, is approximately 38cm diameter made from Bergschaf, Merino and found objects and features shibori, resists, inlays and stitching….
This framed work was made from a very thin layer of black, grey & white Norwegian wool, wet felted and sewn onto white muslin fabric using hand and machine stitching.
Wet felted black, grey & white Norwegian wool. Hand and machine stitched onto white muslin fabric.
My Nuno felted Autumnal Collar has been left to dry overnight and this is how the finished piece looks……
I was pleased with the shape and size of the grey merino collar I made recently so thought I would stick with those proportions to make an Autumnal Nuno Collar using the “tile” technique.
Colour scheme based on a Charity shop silk scarf.
A shop bought yellow/orange/purple silk scarf formed the basis of my colour scheme. Using a set of Colorhue silk dyes I mixed a yellow and purple to use on Uzbek silk to tone in with the patterned scarf. The colours were incredibly vibrant and brighter than intended but the “Dune” Superfine Merino from World of Wool has knocked it right back and it looks very subtle in the finished scarf.
Uzbek silk painted with Colorhue silk paints
All together there were tiles from four different silk fabrics, this close up shows some of the wonderful textures that have resulted from them.
Nuno felted collar, still wet but looking lovely!
Tomorrow I will post a photo of the finished collar……once it’s had time to dry out and show its true colours.
When I’m teaching workshops I get a lot of satisfaction from motivating students and from seeing their finished work, but not everyone gets to finish their project in class. So I get particularly excited when someone takes the time to photograph their finished piece and email it to me. This week I’ve recieved images of Jane and Pams Tyvek Leaves, beautifully executed and framed, which they created at the workshop in Billinghay last week.
Also Deborah sent me this photo of her wonderful Bergschaf wall hanging which was made at the workshop in East Keswick earlier this month.
This week I travelled back up to East Keswick for day two of my Yellow Poppies Workshop at Simply Stitch.
In the morning we concentrated on our designs and needle felting the key elements onto the backgrounds. By the afternoon all of the ladies were free machine stitching the detail into their work, including four ladies who had never done free machine work before but who are now hooked!
I’m encouraging participants to use their own design and colour scheme on this workshop so I’m thinking I may need to change the title …….”Yellow Poppies aren’t the only Flower”……..maybe not, I’ll work on it!
By the end of the day we still had some finishing off to do but the ladies had produced a beautiful collection of work, each with their own distinct style……
Thanks to Nicola and all the ladies for a lovely two days and I’m looking forward to working with you all again when I come back up in November.
Yellow Poppies wet felted wall hanging
Earlier this week I travelled up to East Keswick, a small village just a few miles from Wetherby, to deliver the first of a two-day Yellow Poppies Workshop for Nicola Hulme at Simply Stitch.
Nicola with a selection of her work on the wall and my work on the table
14 ladies attended the workshop, some had previous experience of felting while for others it was to be their first time. 
Once the basic techniques had been explained students were given the option to recreate my design or to develop their own and it was good to see some of the ladies working on their own designs and alternative colour schemes.
The time flew by, it was a lovely day with good company and Simply Stitch proved to be a hidden gem! The beautiful studio is large, bright and very well equipped. There is a fantastic choice of classes and courses run by Nicola Hulme, including patchwork, machine sewing, purses & bag making, hand embroidery and much more! The studio also hosts regular visits from well known specialist tutors in a variety of subjects. On sale are up to the minute patchwork fabrics and all the other essentials such as threads, wadding, notions, etc.
Simply Stitch studio
Nicola was a terrific host and ensured that the tea, coffee, biscuits and cake kept flowing! Watch this space for photos from next weeks workshop including images of the finished wall hangings.
Find out more about Simply Stitch visit www.simplystitch.co.uk
I’ve been busy making samples for a Nuno Collar Workshop which I have been asked to do at the Thomas Garrett Rooms in Heighton in the Autumn. I deliberately steered myself away from my usual pallet of greys and muted colours and I’m really pleased with the results. These collars are incredibly lightweight (approx 35gms) making them very comfortable to wear. Each one is held in place with a Tyvek brooch.
The weather in Lincolnshire has been dull, wet and miserable but I’ve had a fantastic day felting in Barton on Humber at the studio of IFA tutor Vivienne Morpeth. Vivienne creates wonderful Nuno felted wearable art which I saw for the first time back in April and I knew I had to have a workshop with her.
A small sample of Vivienne’s work on display in her studio
Vivienne’s studio is very light and airy and she made me feel very welcome. I learnt a lot from today as she is incredibly generous when it comes to sharing her knowledge, built up from her many years experience of felt making.
Laying out the silk
I chose to work with a neutral palette (no surprise there) creating a wrap using very fine Merino tops, Uzbekistan Silk and Habotai.
Adding the pebbles
Making this wrap really helped me to appreciate how much work goes into one of Vivienne’s Nuno dresses and, having done it, I’m even more keen now to make a dress! I’m sure this workshop will go down a storm with my group at Belchford!
Vivienne and my almost finished wrap
I’ve brought it home to finish off…..just need to tidy up the edges so will post photos of the finished item once it’s dry. Thanks for a fantastic day Vivienne and look forward to hosting you in Belchford sometime soon.
I’m really pleased to be announcing that I will be holding a two day workshop in August to recreate one of my favourite pieces, the wet felted wall hanging I call Yellow Poppies. Since my quilts started touring with Grosvenor Shows earlier this year I’ve received more email comments about this piece than any other, which is really nice, with several ladies asking when I will be running a workshop.
The venue will be the beautiful light and airy Simply Stitch Studio at East Keswick owned and run by textile tutor Nicola Hulme. The facilities are perfect for encouraging creativity and with over 400 bolts of patchwork fabric from Makower, Lewis & Irene and Cloud 9 as well as Hobbs quilt wadding you can take the opportunity of a little retail therapy if the mood takes you! Nicola offers an extensive workshop programme so it’s well worth taking a look at her website to see what’s available.
Lincs In Stitches 