Sunday 1 March 2009

Hanging By A Thread and Dyeing


Yesterday I went to a workshop organised by Wombourne Quilters' and lead by Jacqui Calladine. The remit was to make a wall hanging from recycled fabrics which we had dyed in the morning and then stitched using Kantha stitching in the afternoon.
In our little fabric packs were plain old soft worn cotton fabrics and a few bits of lace and doilies. We also had some plain cotton thread. We used Procion dyes and I was obviously having a purple day. (I have obviously grown old and can spit with compunction).
We had a slight hiatus mid-morning as we tried to dry our fabrics with irons because the fuse blew and left us in the cold. The heating was already off for some reason. A caretaker was duly summoned, the fuse box repaired and we were eventually able to continue.
After dyeing some threads we were able to arrange some of the fabric how we felt best and began to stitch in a Kantha running style.
Looking at mine now I think it is rather overcomplicated but I shall finish stitching and adding some embellishments as an exercise.






I do love Kantha work though as I have said before because of the undulating effect it brings to the fabric. I also like the idea of it's rustic appearance.


Today I my daughter, who is seven, did her first embroidery in a hoop. She's tried cross stitch before but I think she prefers this. She's doing a little stitchery that we designed together featuring her pet rabbit Henry. He has very long ears and looks like a cartoon even in real life!







It really felt like the first day of Spring today. We played football and cricket in the garden and tried not to knock over the hellebores! Even the bust looked quite nice!

5 comments:

  1. I love your 'purple-work'... sounds like a very interesting class. and I love the pictures posted of your daughter's work! I really love to see young people and their creative endeavors, her work looks FABULOUS!
    Cheers,
    Dionne
    PS - the real bunny is cute too.

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  2. i like the purple wall hanging, but i really like Henry - in real life and in stitch. i have found the kids way more interested in stitching their drawings rather than doing x-stitch (although my bias may have influenced them). thats very neat stitching esp for a 7 year old.

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  3. Really beautiful colors and your work looks like a window if you look at it quickly. sort of like a window into a beautiful purple soul.

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  4. What very neat sewing, I love your daughters work and her rabbit. Well done!

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