When those taking part in the Metals Day School arrived, they found a wonderful display had been set up by Sue Bennet. It included finished pieces of work alongside many excellent examples of the various techniques she was was about to show us.
She began by telling us a little about how she had got to where she is today. After being a Primary School teacher and then teaching cookery to adults, she did a B.Tech and City and Guilds course, and had also been a student, for about 13 years, of Agnes Wilson who taught embroidery in Lytham.
She began by telling us a little about how she had got to where she is today. After being a Primary School teacher and then teaching cookery to adults, she did a B.Tech and City and Guilds course, and had also been a student, for about 13 years, of Agnes Wilson who taught embroidery in Lytham.
As usual with the Day Schools, everyone came with bags full of things which might be useful, the main ones being - tomato paste tubes, the silver covering from margarine tubs and foil cooking dishes.
During the day Sue was going to show us various ways of embossing, texturing and colouring metals. The tomato paste tubes were smoothed with scissor handles and then cut into small rectangles. A design could then be embossed by pressing hard with an old biro or an embossing tool. An alternative was to cut a small rectangle out of the centre of the metal piece, emboss the frame which was left and use it to surround a piece of both embroidered and beaded velvet.
Textures could be produced on margarine foil, copper shim and other fine metals, by rubbing gently over a textured surface.
Textures could be produced on margarine foil, copper shim and other fine metals, by rubbing gently over a textured surface.
Sue also had a gadget that looked like a cross between a handbag and a mangle. It is produced by Sizzex and is called a Texture Boutique. It comes with a selection of textured plastic sheets and a plastic folder. We passed the metal in the folder through the machine, and out came textured metal, which looked really nice. This gave us an idea about the possibility of a new use for our pasta machines at home?
Sue also had a splendid set of punches which could be used to punch out flowers, leaves and so on, these could be added to your work. Designs can be pierced onto metal using a very sharp needle, but some very effective results can be obtained by using a sewing machine without thread. Some automatic patterns produced lovely effects, especially on margarine foil.
We discovered that copper shim can be coloured permanently by heating it with a heat gun or candle. After a time, it takes on the colours of the rainbow.
Sue brushed black acrylic paint onto an embossed piece with a stencil brush. Rubbing the paint gently from the raised surface emphasised the design. If textured, margarine foil when treated as above, produced a pewter effect. Spririt based marker pens can be used to colour metal, and wax crayons (when rubbed over foil which has been textured) creates a coloured design.
Another way to colour is to place sheer fabric over the textured metal, then work some free motion embroidery to emphasise the design followed by burning a little of the fabric away with a heat gun or candle. Sue showed us how wire had been wrapped with strips of fabric and coiled around a knitting needle to form a spiral. She had gathered some of these together to make tassels for a bag she had made from one of her husband's shirts.
We discovered that copper shim can be coloured permanently by heating it with a heat gun or candle. After a time, it takes on the colours of the rainbow.
Sue brushed black acrylic paint onto an embossed piece with a stencil brush. Rubbing the paint gently from the raised surface emphasised the design. If textured, margarine foil when treated as above, produced a pewter effect. Spririt based marker pens can be used to colour metal, and wax crayons (when rubbed over foil which has been textured) creates a coloured design.
Another way to colour is to place sheer fabric over the textured metal, then work some free motion embroidery to emphasise the design followed by burning a little of the fabric away with a heat gun or candle. Sue showed us how wire had been wrapped with strips of fabric and coiled around a knitting needle to form a spiral. She had gathered some of these together to make tassels for a bag she had made from one of her husband's shirts.
All through the day , everyone kept busy and worked with great enthusiasm, and the resulting samples produced at the end of the day showed what a successful course it had been. Sadly, by then, the battery in the camera had run out. Hopefully we will see some of these techniques appearing in work in the future.
Our 'Travelling Books' project continues this month, and here are a few photographs of our latest work.
 Those who did not wish to take part in the day school this month worked on their own projects in the back room. |  With lots of chatting and catching up to do. |
To return to Agnes Wilson. When Agnes died her family contacted Preston EG and asked if we could go and collect all her embroidery materials and dispose of them. Preston members, Beryl, Jackie and I will never forget going over to Lytham and coming back with three cars, each full to the roof. One very special thing was a beautiful black mourning jacket from the beginning of the last century. It is now in the Harris Museum.
It seems ironic that Liz Holden should turn up on Saturday with what seemed like thousands of skeins of stranded cotton in every possible colour, which she had been asked to get rid of. What is it with us embroiderers that we keep so much 'stuff' to the bitter end?
With thanks to Mary Holden who kindly wrote our June blog.
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