Monday 17 October 2016

Open studio

Labour weekend has come round again and Helensville is having another open studio weekend. This means it tidy the studio time so visitors don't fall over anything when they come in. I will have work on display and the studio will be open for people to see where I create mess as well as work!!

I will be open 10 - 4 Sat, Sun and Mon. lots of places in the main street of Helensville will have maps so if you are in the area please drop in and say Hi.


Wednesday 24 August 2016

contemporary silk shading

I have just finished this piece of long and short stitch, sometimes called silk shading.
I am planning on developing this into a class for the future.

Sunday 7 August 2016

New Or Nue


I have just finished this piece of Or Nue, a gift for a school principle.

A close up to show how the metal threads changes direction which provides the piece with so much movement.

I then discovered that my computer can zoom into the picture and it show the stitches and the texture of the metal thread, which when you are using it looks smooth! amazing.


Tuesday 2 August 2016

exhibition open

I hung my solo show yesterday, this picture is before the lights were sorted . The show is at the Estuary Arts Centre in Orewa from now until the 28th.

Wednesday 27 July 2016

a couple of projects on the go

I have a few projects on the go at the moment which is not really like me but sometimes that's how life goes.
This is a small hanging for an exhibition based around the theme of Tea, called Any 1 4 T. I just have to put the binding on and then that's finished.

This is a piece of Or Nue that will be a gift for my sons school principle who is moving on to another phase of her life. I love Or Nue so this will be a pleasure to stitch.

My solo exhibition opens next week so I have spent the last few days putting hangers on the back of the work and typing up labels, I will hang the show on Monday, Estuary Arts, Orewa.

Wednesday 1 June 2016

workshops


I have booked 2 workshops in conjunction with my exhibition in Aug. A 1 day stitch sampler, a short bus queue and a 1 day Blackwork. Both will be held at the Estuary Arts centre in Orewa, just north of Auckland, details on their website www.estuaryarts.org






Tuesday 3 May 2016

Art N Tartan entry

In a moment of insanity I have entered a local wearable art exhibition/ competition called Art n Tartan. As you can guess the theme is tartan. I decided to make a kilt and jacket outfit using only upcycled business shirts and a suit. The show is in Waipu in July. I have almost finished my entry just a few finishing touches to add. I have called the tartan the McBusiness tartan. all pieced from old shirts.



Sunday 1 May 2016

goldwork and butterflies

This is my finished gold work, Wild Wrinkles. I am really please with how it looks.


 
And these are the last Monarch butterflies of the season, Not sure these last caterpillars will survive its getting a bit cold I think. The whole cycle of these butterflies is just beautiful, from stripes on the caterpillars to gold dots on the crysilis.
 



Thursday 7 April 2016

New Goldwork


This piece will be long and thin, I am planning on leaving the metal thread ends hanging on the surface, I am still playing with the idea of wrinkles and these ends look to me like wild wrinkles, just the sort I plan on having!

Saturday 26 March 2016

New work for exhibition

I have been working on some new pieces for an exhibition I have booked for August in Orewa.
 
I just love Long and Short, I could do it all day!


Lips are always my hardest part, these needed a nights sleep and a cup of tea before I decided on a colour, still maybe a bit pink but in the end not bad.

Friday 11 March 2016

Skull quilt finished

This is my skull quilt, all finished, I have called it Beautiful Bones. I have submitted it to Houston so I will see if it suits their exhibition. If it doesn't get selected I will have it on show in Levin when I am guest artist in October. In the mean time I will enjoy it being pinned up in the studio.



Wednesday 24 February 2016

new silk shading sample

I teach silk shading or Long and Short stitch quite a lot around the country so every so often I get board with my sample and have to stitch a new one. This time I have tried to make the design a touch more modern but still have all the elements that the students need to learn, and have a nice looking piece of work to take home. I will be teaching this new design first in Whakatane, NZ in May

 All worked in 1 strand of a stranded cotton, the background is tea dyed silk.











Wednesday 17 February 2016

contemporary sttch sampler

I have just finished another bus queue, this design will be a 1 day stitch sampler class. I am just arranging the date. I simple design that will cover the main embroidery stitches so good for someone getting into surface stitching or someone new.



Saturday 13 February 2016

Quilt top almost done

I have finished stitching down the skull and flowers, I had to add some more leaves as the ones I had just disappeared when you were looking at the quilt from a distance. I am pleased with how its looking, I will get those leaves stitched down next week, then on to the quilting, by hand of course and lots in the ditch I think.

Wednesday 10 February 2016

class is Berry

Berry Quilt and co have now got details on their website www.berryquiltandco.com.au  about the head class I am teaching for them in April. I met the new owner of this shop when I was teaching in Melbourne last year so it will be really cool to go over and see how her quilt is coming along.

Saturday 6 February 2016

latest piece of long and short

 
I started this piece when I was guest artist at the Christchurch quilt and craft show at the end of last year. It has been waiting to be finished since then. I decided to give it a fabric border and make it up like a tiny quilt.
The idea behind it is that if we only ever listen or look at things we choose we have a very one sided view of the world, rose tinted maybe! I read a book a while ago about how google searches are different for different people depending on what google thinks you want to see. I much prefer the library where you come across random bits of info in the process of looking for something else. Or listening to the radio where you get a collection of music some of which is very cool that you have never heard of.

 
 
 
Rose Tinted Glasses


I just love satin stitch lips!

Tuesday 2 February 2016

New class sample

This year my embroidery 201 class will be a class that takes the outlines from a patterned fabric and then translates them in stitch. using all the stitches from my Embroidery 101 class. It is an easy step into designing your own embroidery.
Please look at my class page to see what and where I am teaching during the year.



Monday 1 February 2016

weekend away

We have just returned from our 1st camping trip in our Purple 1969 caravan, it was fantastic.
I spent lots of time sitting in the shade doing the needle turn of my new skull quilt. Once all the pieces have been tacked down you can do the needle turn anywhere because nothing moves, great!
When Kit took the picture he even of a peek of my knitting needles that I had stuck in the arm of the deck chair.

Friday 29 January 2016

That time of year

This post has nothing to do with embroidery but I love it when my stock of empty jam jars starts to get full again. I am not a big fan of cooking but I love preserving. I even made my first tomato sauce today, with tomato's from my garden and its fantastic so I will be making more of that while the tomato's are cheap.



My first ever tomato sauce from the Ladies a Plate recipe book, fantastic.
 

Monday 25 January 2016

amazing nature

It is amazing that when you are in the garden collecting salad for dinner you notice that your cucumber plant has spelt your name!! happens all the time !!!

Saturday 23 January 2016

new quilt on its way

 
This is my new quilt pinned up in the studio. As soon as I saw the fabric I am using for the skull I knew it had to be a skull! it is just perfect! It will have green leaves and stems coming from the flowers in the end but I have just started the needle turn on the main areas to get them held down. I love it. Skull teeth are always tricky but these seem to be working OK.


Wednesday 20 January 2016

House quilt finished

hand quilting in the summer is not a good idea, I must remember that in future, just too hot.
I have finished my free cut house quilt. I made the blocks at a fantastic quilt retreat in November.
The Tula Pink green was perfect for the sashing, with Brandon for a border.




so glad I put a plain fabric on the back, you can really see the quilted house shapes.
 
My box of scraps still looks as full so not sure if making scrap quilts works!

Friday 15 January 2016

mixed media

This piece of work is stitched onto a page from an old book. The page is about the invention of the telephone. I bonded the paper to fabric then used straight stitched to create the tones of the face. I had entered it into a drawing exhibition but it did not get selected, so I can now post the full image. I am really pleased with how it came out and will put it into my next exhibition.


 
I have up-dated my class page for this year. If you would like more details about the classes or if you are interested in organizing a class please drop me an email dixdean@clear.net.nz