tattoo's finished

I have just finished my tattooed man fabric. I have decided I am going to make it into a bag for my knitting, just makes me laugh! I have the remainder fabric so I will piece that together for the back and sides, make a couple of handles and there you go. Last weekend we went to a very cool Woolfest so I have started a pair of wrist warmers from some very fine multi coloured wool that in need of a home.

Kantha

I have always loved Kantha's, they are quilted covers made from old sari's in Bengal. The stitching is amazing on some of them.
I am designing a new class for people to design and stitch their own Kantha. This is my sample, I love the way the simple rows of running stitch give the background texture.
I am putting the class forward for a possible symposium class so I will not teach is before then if it is selected, so this is just a tease!

Icon finished

I have just finished my latest icon. I am thinking of doing a project like this for my book.

 

 The head phones are padded with layers of felt and then satin stitch over the top.

new icon started

I am teaching a couple of classes based on icons next year so decided to do a modern one to go along side my traditional goldwork one. I thought I would have a contemporary design too, it seems that everyone you see has something plugged into their ears!

 

I have applied fabric for the background and halo, now I am working the face in long and short stitch. The head phones will be padded I think. I then plan to work some embroidery stitches on the halo fabric. Its amazing that I took 2 years to master long and short stitch when I was training and now I love it.

random sketches

I keep a sketch book all the time, just to note down ideas or thoughts for pieces of work. I have a pile of old sketch books in the studio. There are ideas in them that ended up as pieces of work and some ideas that never got stitched. Ideas are all around us and time does not always allow us to drop everything and start a new piece of work there and then. I use a sketch book to remember the idea when I have time to do something about it.

designs from a book about Kantha, quilts made in Bengal using mainly running stitch.

Ideas for a workshop

Kit reading one night

Workings for a quilt, maybe, based on the lino in our toilet!

 

 

I am off to teach in Wellington for the weekend, I am staying with my parents, 1st mothers day with my mum in about 15 years.

Playing with new class sample

I have just started stitching a new class sample for a beginners/intermediate embroidery class. I will not teach the class until next year but workshops take a bit of planning. How much to put into the class without overwhelming the students is a big problem to solve. I always try to send students home with enough work done so they can finish it at home alone.

 

Also I have finished my Colour Quarterly challenge, I made a square of patchwork and then decided I didn't really need another small quilt, so I folded in the corners and made a large cushion. It will be great in our caravan that will be ready to use next summer.