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May 2022- Dayschool- Whitework Hearts with Nicola Jarvis

15/5/2022

A bright sunny morning as we prepared for our workshop with a widely known tutor Nicola Jarvis.
The light in the hall was especially important today as the two projects we had chosen from needed good light as the stitching was quite precise and stitched white cotton perlé on oatmeal fabric.
Nicola arrived and set up her beautiful display of cushions, booklets, cards and tea towels with her own designs, material and kits to admire or purchase.

Nicola gave a short talk on the history of her journey in embroidery.
She trained at the Royal School of Needlework and worked in the British fashion industry as a sample embroiderer and was one of the team who worked on the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress.
Nicola staged an exhibition at the William Morris Gallery championing the work of May Morris his daughter whos’ work is often overshadowed by that of her famous father.

The two projects we were working on in this workshop were either a Mount Mellick work design, or a Carrick-Ma-Cross design, both these designs originated in Ireland.

The Mountmellick design was made up by an assortment of stitches on a small heart design. The stitches used certainly pushed some of us out of our comfort zone.
The Carrick-Ma-Cross design involved couching a piece of fine linen over a piece of net in a heart shape and cutting the surrounding linen away when complete. This was a scary process but looked very dainty and left a stitched heart shape in the centre surrounded by fine net.

Both designs were decorated with crystals and could be mounted in a frame or made into a small cushion filled with potpourri.
Nicola set us off on our work by instructing us in small groups of four at each table, she then proceeded to come round the tables at each new stage showing us what to do next or help if we were struggling.
Although the embroidery was a bit ‘slow going’ for some of us Nicola had provided an excellent kit and booklet covering all the process for us to carry on at home.

Members who were not taking part in the workshop were doing their own thing, which included, knitting a cardigan, crocheting blankets, experimenting with a snippet roll and making an underarm cushion for women who have undergone breast surgery.

It was a very productive and enjoyable day I am sure everyone learned new skills and it was worth the struggle for some of us to get our heads round the stitches under Nicola’s expert tuition.
Thanks to Kath H for writing the blog and to Steph for taking the photographs.

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April 2022- Workshop- Experimental Drawn Thread Work with Ann Reading.

6/4/2022

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Stephanie opened the meeting and welcomed the group members and our visitors. It was lovely to see so many people at the meeting this month.
The notices were read out before the workshop commenced.
There was a questionnaire prepared by Ann to complete. This requested everyone's views on the costs of the meetings, subjects for workshops and day schools, plus the direction people thought the group should take now that we are independent of the national organisation. Hopefully there was plenty of participation, so the committee can understand the members ideas and hopes for the future.
The NWR travelling book was on display, which was filled with some fantastic work and ideas.
Those attending the Nicola Jarvis workshop in May were asked to inform Ann of which technique they wished to use on the day.

The workshop was led by Ann Reading on Experimental Drawn Thread Work. There were over 20 participants who all settled down to a very enjoyable day.
Ann had a display of finished pieces, including wall art in frames, cards and book covers.

Ann explained that her interest in this technique started while she was studying for her A levels
(that will take us all back in time).
For the morning session we were aiming to finish a bookmark displaying the various techniques as shown on the handout.
To start the finished piece, we used hessian type fabric in an eight-inch frame.
The first task was to sew 2 rows of satin stitch 5 cm apart, this would act as the frame for the cut threads.

We then removed 8 to 10 horizontal threads (you had to be brave when cutting the threads!), which gave the base for the stitching that would produce the finished pattern.
Then we learnt the various techniques used to produce the final patterns including hem stitch, ladder hem stitch, zig-zag hem stitch and double hemstitch.

In the afternoon Ann continued to show us other techniques which could be incorporated into more experimental pieces, including interlaced hem stitch, knotted bar stitch, overcast and zigzag overcast bars, needle weaving and wheel and woven squares.

Some lovely work was produced throughout the day with many ideas shown on how to use this interesting technique.

Members have been busy completing other projects too. Tracey and Pat have finished pieces which will be shown in local exhibitions. Information is below, go along and take a look for yourself.
Tracey explains: The Green Man is finally completed, and I took him to be hung in the exhibition yesterday. This piece is for a particular exhibition linked to the Queen’s Green Canopy platinum jubilee tree planting initiative.
I chose to embroider The Green Man for the Green Canopy Project because for centuries he has been broadly interpreted as the god of the forest, vegetable and plant life, and all life on earth, whether human, animal or plant, depends on forests. Worldwide they provide habitat, prevent soil erosion, mitigate climate change, even give us the air we breathe, yet they are fast disappearing. “Trees breathe life into our world.”

And here’s the link in case anyone is interested to visit the event, which opens on Friday.
https://events.lancashire.gov.uk/search/event_details.asp?eventid=11398&q=&area=allVenue&venue=Gawthorpe+Hall&daterange=&

Pat R has had a textile piece accepted for Craft Open 2022 opening next month in the Platform Gallery in Clitheroe. Here’s a brief outline of the techniques she used. The fabrics are a selection of procion dyed and other fabrics, distressed paper, painted Bonda web and sundry items. She also stitched using free motion embroidery in a painterly fashion, using a selection of plain, variegated and gloss threads. She finished it off by adding small touches of foil.
Well Done Pat.

There were a few monthly challenge pieces on display as usual. This month the inspiration was a place. Look at the slide show below.

The April challenge pieces should reflect ‘Inspired by Gardens’.
Kath H had also finished several pieces of Kogin work from last month’s day school with Liz Almond.

Next month we look forward to the Nicola Jarvis day school- ‘Whitework Hearts’.

Thanks to Janet, Pat and Tracey who have contributed to the blog this month
Keep safe everyone and Keep stitching.
A.R.

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March 2022 - Day school - Kogin and Sashiko with Liz Almond

6/3/2022

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It was a bright and sunny Saturday with the sun shining through the windows making the room warm.
We set up tables with all covid restrictions in place.

Liz Almond, our tutor for the day, arrived early with her husband ‘ roadie’ as she described him. It was soon clear why she needed a roadie as she had hundreds of samples of her work to display as well as kits and equipment.

Lots of members attended and almost all took part in the class. Those who were not taking part brought their own work to do. There were also visitors who had attended to do the workshop but enjoyed the day so much they are now members.

Liz began the workshop by explaining how Kogin started in Japan in the 15th Century. It was used by the fishermen and their families as they were not allowed to buy cotton for clothing and used jute to make fabric. The Kogin embroidery was used as identification in the same way as Guernsey and Aran sweaters were used for fishermen in this country as identification. Each family had its own design. It was also used to secure worn out clothes together and to transfer into other garments to make new clothes.
Liz explained that the Kogin we were doing today was described as ‘in the style of Kogin’ and how colour changes the dynamic of a design.
Before we started our work, she emphasised that counting the foundation row was the basis of a successful piece of work and to count at least three times before starting to stitch.

Liz then went on to describe Sashiko, which is another form of Japanese embroidery used on garments. The designs are used for status and family crests [ Kamon crests]. This is a running stitch worked along the design lines.

The third type of stitching is Boro, which was used to make padded clothes or to mend garments. This consisted of pieces of cloth of different sizes and design arranged randomly on a base cloth or a garment needing repair. Liz said this is now used for bags and decoration. Boro is also very relaxing and easy to do as all the layers are pinned and tacked and then sewn in straight lines across the fabric. Other designs stitched on top also look very effective.

Liz had put together an extensive pack of Kogin and Sashiko designs with thread and fabric.
We then started work on our chosen designs. Some of us made more progress than others but Liz was very encouraging and helpful and we all ‘got it’ eventually.

Liz showed us a wide variety of samples. Some of these were stitched on ready-made bags she had picked up cheaply from supermarkets and decorated with Kogin, Sashiko and Boro.
Throughout the day Liz gathered us round the table to explain more of her wonderful and exquisite work. She also gave advice on the best equipment to use and how stitching had helped her and many others from around the world who are part of her Facebook group, throughout lockdown.

Take a look at Liz’s website: www.blackworkjourney.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackworkjourneydesigns/

There was also work going on at the back of the room by the people not taking part in the workshop, Sandie was working on an embroidered coral reef, Edwina made repairs on some very fine fabric, Carol was knitting and Pat and Janet were embroidering trees and landscapes.
The monthly challenge pieces showed a wide range of inspired pieces from the work of artists including Monet, Lowry, Hundertwasser, Klimt and Mackintosh

Some finished pieces from the Maria Livesey day school were also on display.
Everyone had an interesting and enjoyable day. Many thanks to Liz for inspiring us with the art of Japanese stitching techniques.

Thanks to Kath H. for writing the blog this month.

Follow us on Instagram: #preston_embroidery

Keep safe and keep stitching.
AR.

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May 2022- Dayschool- Whitework Hearts with Nicola Jarvis

April 2022- Workshop- Experimental Drawn Thread Work with Ann Reading.

March 2022 - Day school - Kogin and Sashiko with Liz Almond

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