I know that I should have spent the day at the computer today but I couln't resist some sketchbook work.

Using this picture, which we took on our recent visit to Seville I have taken small fragments and made some quick sketches of them.

I am hoping to get some more time tonight to finish the page. It is nice just to sketch without a finished item in mind and just wander around the page adding snippets that I fancy.

I am also working on a page for pictures of my students work. That should be live soon.

Hope you have a look 

Bev

3D Forms and Somerset Stars

Last month my level 2 students were given a challenge to produce a 3D form using paper or card. This design exercise always produces some surprising results and today they didn't let me down.

Today we were exploring some folded patchwork techniques including Somerset Stars

These are made from folded squares of fabric and are built up in layers to produce star patterns. Great fun and wonderfully tactile.

Bev

Shrink

Over the last couple of weeks I have been experimenting with a product called "shrink". 

I have used solufleece before, where you bond the solufleece to the wrong side of the fabric using bondaweb or heat and bond. It shrinks away from heat in a similar way to tyvek. Make sure you use an iron cloth of baking parchment to prevent any residue being deposited on your iron. Also do not press with the iron, it is the heat not pressure which allows the fibres to shrink. If you press the fabric the fibres have nowhere to go and the result is not satisfactory.

The difference with "shrink" is that it is not bonded to the fabric. 

Stitch it in place and then apply heat from the reverse side as described above. 

All the samples have been stitched using a normal presser foot and with cotton thread. 

All the samples started as 6" squares and finished at 4.5" 

Narrow parallel straight lines

Small grid pattern

Large grid pattern

Parallel lines spaced apart ( sample sewn diagonally )

Parallel lines spaced apart. I love the 'smocked' look of these two samples.

Straight lines stitched in a spiralling design

Hope you like the effect as much as I do

Bev

A Mixed Bag

I have been meaning to write my blog for what seems like days now. Apologies if you have been waiting for the new post.

We are still travelling up and down the country when I am not teaching. I am pleased to say that my mother is recovering well from the subarachnoid aneurysm and is now back home. The fabric I ordered for her had arrived and we couldn't resist in auditioning it against the pieced top she had done before going into hospital. It is going to be a wonderful quilt.

My parrot patchwork is nearly finished and with a few tweaks to the design it will be ready for display at Tudor Rose Patchwork. If you would like to have a go at stained glass patchwork and make this fun pair of parrots please get in touch with them. The day school is on Monday September 28th.

Tudor Rose Patchwork

I have also been busy with a new beginners project for next Wednesday. Using the half square triangle block I have made this lovely Star table runner. A great project for anyone wanting to perfect the half square triangle block

 

 Using the half square triangles I was playing around with in the last post, I have made a simple bag. It is proving to be an easy way to take small projects and quilts to class and back.

As part of our '30 events for our 30th year' ( for our wedding anniversary this year) Alan and I pottered along to the BBC to watch a recording of the Radio 4 programme - The Museum of Curiosities. It was very interesting to see how these things are made. We also got a glimpse of the BBC news area and saw the weather reporter Tomasz Schafernaker presenting his report. However I have to say that I still fancy myself as the Doctors next companion. An older companion for an older Doctor????

I could do with a tardis for all the projects I have in my head.

Bev

Half Square Triangles

Things are slowly getting back to normal. My mother is on the mend and hopefully soon be out of hospital. I have entered her quilt in the Festival of Quilts and although she won't be able to visit with me this year I am looking forward to seeing it and taking lots of pictures for her.

It will soon be time for my students to have their summer break and it is going to be strange not having lessons every week with them. New courses will be starting in September, please get in touch for details.

A bit of serendipity was brought in last week by one of my machine embroidery students. Cyn free motion stitched this sample 

And by a happy accident didn't get the tension quite right, which has produced some wonderful whipped stitches, fabulous textures and effects.

This morning I had time in the studio to explore half square triangles patterns.  Which is your favourite?

   

 

We will be mastering the half square triangle unit on 1st July please get in touch if you want to book a place on the day.

Happy stitching

Bev

A Sketchbook Day

 Yesterday we had great fun in the studio. Two of my level 2 students, Julie and Tracey are finishing their Patchwork and Quilting course. We decided that it would be fun to start a new sketchbook so that they have a starting point for their own work.

You may have seen this photo from my Seville post a few weeks ago, Taken in the Real Alcazar palace. I love the textures and pattern in this tile and it was the focus for a sketchbook day.

We started by preparing pages by painting, adding scrunched tissue paper, salt and cling film to give different textures. This is a page which has tissue paper a paint wash and then highlighted with wax crayon.

When the pages were dry we made printing blocks using polystyrene pizza bases ( nothing gets thrown away in my house ) These are a great way of making a quick printing block. Using a sharp pencil you can carve lines and marks very easily. Don't forget to add a masking tape handle on the back. I have printed twice on this page which I think gives a depth to the print.

 The print had such a depth after printing that when I rubbed over the reverse side with wax crayons I got this lovely textured page.

This page was very uninspiring when it started. I had excess paint on a roller so I just painted a page with it. Over printing though has made it into a more interesting page. I really like the faded edges. Don't you love serendipity.

I have made this page the front cover of my sketchbook.. It has a line of tissue paper painted with a blue ink wash. The rest or the page was painted with an acrylic paint wash, printed and then wax crayon added

 

Here is a selection of my pages

And some of Julie's pages

And some of Tracey's pages

 We now have an exciting start to some new sketchbooks.

Bev 

A Parrot Post

Thanks for dropping by. Post will be a little sporadic at the moment as my mother was taken into hospital last week.

I did manage to get a sample for a new workshop started this week though.

It is based on a picture I took at the Real Alcazar in Seville just before Easter. One of my students came for a catch up day in my studio and it gave me the impetus to get started, thank you Mark.

This faded tapestry with colourful parrots and cockatoo's is the inspiration for a parrot panel. I have to also thank my husband for the wonderful camera he gave me for Christmas. The trip to Seville will be inspiration for many projects over the coming months.

A playful pair of parrots are for a workshop on Monday 28th September at Tudor Rose Patchwork. As you can see it is a work in progress at the moment.

Work that has been put on hold is my quilt for the Festival of Quilts this year. It will just have to be for 2016. It will be called Bluebells and blossom and is inspired by the walks into and around Ferry Meadows in Peterborough. And this year the cherry blossom and bluebells are putting on a wonderful show.

I have done a full working drawing and have started piecing the fabric but I know that I will not manage now to get it completed in time for this years deadline.

I also want to share with you this lovely book given to us for our Wedding Anniversary. Sue has spent many hours folding the pages of a book into a heart and I now want to give it a go. There are just not enough hours in the day for everything I want to do. Do you have the same problem?

See you soon

Bev