City & Guilds Level 3 Machine Embroidery - Class 3, 12/11/10

In this class we had a go at making our own printing blocks from specialist material and our own items, such as rubber, cork - whatever seemed OK to experiment with.

I based my blocks on a couple of drain and manhole cover shapes, the ones that I had used for my Level 2 sample book and which I planned to revisit as part of the work on my wall hanging.  I guess it would be useful to include a few pictures of my sample book and sketch book from Level 2 as they'll say far more than words could.

My sample book cover

And some sample pages from inside the sample book



My Level 2 sketchbook cover

And some of the work inside

So that's a lot of work that's gone before.  Now here's a picture of the results from this session of stamp making and printing.  The items in the plastic bag (top left) are the 'stamps' cut out of bespoke stamp sheets, and also a standard large, flat eraser that has a shape cut on each side.  Then I've tried out the stamps on both coloured card and a large piece of calico.  The stamps obviously worked, but I had my reservations about the way that I wasn't able to create a precise, crisp finish.  Some of that is due to the difficulty of  cutting a well defined shape.  Some is getting just the right amount of ink on the stamp, even using a roller.  Another problem is the way the paint slips on the card (so blurs) and soaks up quickly into the fabric but not necessarily evenly nor without the image being distorted by the weave of the fabric.  Lots to bear in mind for future reference from this experiment!

Laura Kemshall Workshop - 30/10/10

Back in March 2010 I was one of 10 people who were winners in the Butterfly Magic Competition organised by Flair Magazine.   Part of the prize was taking part in a Master Class by Laura Kemshall run at VSM HQ in Redditch, Worcs to took place later in the year on 30^th October so we had to wait a while for that part. 

When the day finally dame we all arrived complete with sewing machines, threads and other paraphernalia ready for a busy day – and what a busy day it was!

Laura introduced herself, saying that she had originally been taught by her mum.  She took a degree in embroidery, but since then had done more quilting, and for her it was all about stitch of some kind.  She respected the tradition of quilting, and indeed in recent years had had lots of success including competition wins for herself such as the Winner of the Quilter's Challenge Award at the Festival of Quilts with this masterpiece called Black Pearl:

Hand piecing, appliqué, drawing and painting with free motion quilting and digital quilting/embroidery

So what did we do at the workshop?  Well first of all for me personally we moved out of my 'comfort zone' and attempted to do 'proper' quilting.  Laura had brought along some pre-prepared fabric consisting of her own dyed fabric on top, batting in the middle and cotton backing.  Our first sample challenged us to produce continuous quilting lines, or as Laura called them "controlled marks".    We divided the sample into four and attempted four different stitches, point to point (continuous curves that formed almost a flower look), triangle vermicelle, crazy squares and contouring.  Laura advised that we should work outwards from the middle.  Of course we had no marks on the fabric to follow, so this was quite a test of machine control when stitching free motion.  Here's a picture of how my sample progressed:

OK, so it's very difficutl to see the stitching, but take my word for it it's not the best stitching in the world!  But it got me going and opened up a new area for me.

Then we moved on to creating shapes by producing a void.  For this one we looked for shapes created by the dyeing of the fabric, and highlighted them with taylor's chalk/fre zer paper/wash away pen or whatever method seemed best/appropriate.  Then we started to stitch found the area so that it became emphasised, ie we stitched the negative rather than the positive.  I found basic shapes that were a bit like butterflies on my sample, and here's a picture:

It's difficult to see, but there are two shapes that I've stitched around already, and three more marked up ready to stitch.  Laura gave us a handy hint for this technique: if we had a larger design then it is a good idea sto stitch less densely away from the motif so as to 'magnify' the non-stitched area.

For the third sample we did something similar, but different!  This time we stitched around the shapes that we saw in the colours on the fabric, keeping as continuous as possible and varying the stitch for interest.  Here's my sample:

I found this to be great fun, and enjoyed playing with the stitch length and width the vary the look.  I used a varigated thread which gave more dimension to the look.

For the last sample I played with couching threads in a series of continuous lines.  This gave a very dramatic affect very quickly and for me was the easiest sample to do:

I love the ease with which it is possible to create dimension and texture.

Of course there was quite a bit more to the packed day than just producing these samples, but publishing this on here brings back the memories for me.  Watching Laura sew, talking about her work, finding out about the other attendees, and, thanks to Liz from Flair Magazine and her mum, lots of lovely food to eat, including home made cake!  All in all a great day, and maybe at some time in the not too distant future I'll have a go at trying free motion quilt stitching again and become more adept at 'drawing' on quilted sandwiches using my sewing machine.

* * * *

As part of my City & Guilds Level 3 Machine Embroidery course we not only had to take a look into the history of wall hangings, but also research three textile designers who make wall hangings.  Naturally I included Laura as one of my three, and emailed her for further comments, particularly in respect of her work with SixArt (http://www.sixart.co.uk/) and a fascinating piece called 'Surrounded' against which she had said “As the fashion for art quilts grows, makers create quilts intended only for walls.”.  Her response included:


The comments about Surrounded are from a few years ago, but it still stands - my quilts are nearly all for walls. I idea with Surrounded was that the quilt was hung on a wall, but then peeled away from the wall and created a freestanding area that the viewer can stand inside. The concept was that although it was a wall quilt, it still offered the person some sense of comfort and protection that we associate with the traditional quilt. The inspiration for the surface decoration and form came from the tall hedges that are common in the landscape around where I live. They're commonly hawthorne or blackthorn and are at the same time quite forbidding, but also enclose space and provide protection.

Isn't it fascinating how one thing inspires is to create another, often in a way that would seem unrelated and possibly peculiar to an observer, but which makes perfect sense to those of us doing the creating?  Both the City & Guilds and OCA courses actively encourage the development of this skill in the student.  Not only do we need to become independent learners, but also to expand our creative potential.  I certainly think that this is happening for me.  However, chanelling that creative ability down specific routes when there are so many interesting potential diversions, and doing so in the restricted time that I have available, are definitely key challenges for me.  The personal contact with my tutor and peers on the City & Guilds course without a doubt makes it easier to be sure where you are and where you are going, and if you are on the right track.  The distance learning nature of the OCA course makes it more difficult to be sure that you are on the right track, sometimes leading you to start doubting your ability and what you have done, however carefully you might have endeavoured to follow the course instructions, and despite the fact that you're probably doing OK.  Perhaps as time goes by I will become more confident, but I often found that when I received the feedback during Textiles 1 I felt 'If I'd know that was what was expected I could have done that' because quite a few of the things that were expected weren't specified in the course material.  Anyway, I would certainly like to feel that an increase in my confidence levels will evolve.



PS:  Issue 18 of Flair Magazine included the following article and photos.  In case you're wondering I'm the one on the far right at the back in the cream top, nearly but not quite successfully hiding. ;o)

City & Guilds Level 3 Machine Embroidery - Class 2, 22/10/10

In Class 2 we did 2 key things:

1.  Agree our 'design brief' for the wall hanging we were going to make.  This is what I finally decided upon:

The Executive Business Centre is also my theme for Assigment 1, so I've got lots of things to thing about!

2.  Playing with coloured paper and shapes based on emerging ideas from our design brief theme.  Here are some photos of the results I've put in my sketchbook.

First of all playing with the curves that I've chosen for my theme, incorporating a bit of colour experitmentation - a bit like the fun of being back at school!

Then cutting out coloured paper and arrnaging the shapes to see what appeals.

Even if I don't use any/some/all of these ideas, it's a good way to get the 'juices flowing' and make me start to think about my subject.  So always a good technique to try, especially if you get 'stuck' for ideas as it can stimulate the grey cells.

Alexandra Palace, 09/10/10

The Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally never lets you down.  This year I travelled on a coach with the Bournemouth Embroiderers Guild (my City & Guilds tutor is a member) so with only two pick up points we were there by 10.30 am.  Coach upon coach arrived, and the place was packed with those eager to view the exhibits and spend their hard earned cash.

As with so many others my interest in several crafts - plus of course my need to view things as both a craftsperson and a student - meant that I had much to see.  To make things 'worse' I've exhibited at AP on behalf of The Guild of Machine Knitters in the past, and the experience of the 'other side' means that I know a number of the exhibitors very well.

This year I made a conscious decision that I would choose an area of work on display that I particuarly liked and concentrate just on that, rather than try and fit too much in: there just isn't time in one day to look at everything!  Once I took a look at the knitting display my interest was caught, and the following shows just why:


Just loved Sophie's knitted cushions.  Great use of colour and texture; very attractive!  Her web site is still under construction, but I've added my name to the list to be informed when it's up and running so I can find out more.

 Rosie Boycott-Brown had some interesting textures in her knitwear.  Personally I don't go for blacks and greys and an 'industrial' look, so the articles in themselves didn't really appeal to me, but I admired some of her stitch structures which reminded me of my machine knitting roots and made me wonder if I could find time to use some knitting experimentation in my assignment sampling.





Deryn Relph's work really caught the eye of everyone going by - and no wonder!  It's bright, retro yet modern, practical and yet ornamental, recycling combined with re-birth.  Her web site has lots more intriguing photos and descriptions of her and her work.   http://www.derynrelph.co.uk/

There was one display of non-knitted work located nearby so that I couldn't miss it and couldn't resist.  Lindsay Taylor's display was fantastic, and made me feel inadequate in so many ways.  The machine embroidered plants looked so real.  The machine embroidered shoes were a masterpiece of disguise among their backgrounds in the glass cases.  A visit to her web site http://www.lindsay-taylor.co.uk/ to get to know her and her work is a must in my book.  I'd love to see her in action and learn more about what she does and why.  I might get the chance too at some point, since she only lives a relatively short distance away from me on the Isle of Wight ;o)  I wasn't the only one blown away by her display - my old machine knitting friend Ruth Lee (http://www.webs-of-intrigue.co.uk/gallery2.htm) happened to pass by while I was there and she adored Lindsay's shoes as well, probably because of the 'White Shoe Installation' work that Ruth did (something I wrote about in Textiles 1).

I'm not really a competitive person; usually my biggest 'challenge' is to improve my own standards.  My mother always says that no one could be more critical of what I do than I am.  I don't want to 'beat' people like Lindsay, rather I aspire to produce creative work that displays my imagination and abilities in the way that hers does for her.  It doesn't have to be like hers, just have that same 'wow' factor.  Whether I'll ever feel that I've reached that point is something very difficult to say.

City & Guilds Level 3 Machine Embroidery - Class 1

Friday 1st October was the first day of Level 3, so I thought I'd add a quick post about how things went.

In the end 10 of us were enrolled, although it's a mixture of those doing the 'old-style' Level 3 and those like me doing the 'new-style', and those only doing the 'advanced level' and those like me paying the extra to be registered for it to be a proper certificated C&G Level 3 Award.  In real terms we shouldn't notice too much difference from class to class as our tutor, Trisha Forshaw, plans to make each session rather like an individual workshop.

Anyway, this time around we were all busy playing with silk fibres in their various forms to make paper, or perhaps more accurately fibrous layers, to add to our portfolio of samples and potential ideas for incorporation in our finished wall hangings.  We were all very industrious, producing samples from fibres that still contained gum in the morning, and more using those fibres without the gum so requiring the addition of textile medium in the afternoon.  Here are pictures of the samples I made:


Natural and green dyed gummed silk fibres ironed together



Gummed silk fibres and dyed silk fibres ironed together



Gummed silk fibres stitched with silk embriodery thread, ironed to blend together



Strips of gummed pressed silk 'rods' woven with other fibres and ironed

Ungummed fibres + textile medium



Ungummed fibres + textile medium



So there we are, the results of some fun and fibre!

I'm off on the coach to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace next Saturday, so hopefully will add an entry for some highlights - couldn't possibly include all! - of what I see there.

How time flies ....

Well, here I am again, but the weeks have flown by and I haven't made the progress I wanted to.  Other life just constantly gets in the way because I have not inconsiderable responsibility as a single parent and sole breadwinner :o( 

Bad News: First of all a strained back following some decorating laid me low for a week in August so I lost time just when I was trying to get everything put right in the house before both sons went back to school.  Plus of course I then had to spend quite some time helping them to get up and running with their new academic year; especially Steven with him starting at a new school in the 6th Form.  Then of course this is one of the busiest times of year at work - but you can't expect anything less working in a university I guess!  We're a member of staff down in my area as someone left a few weeks ago, and the new term starts next week for the freshers, so a number of us are working on Sunday to get enrolment, ID cards and so on sorted.  There'll be long queues of students but it's a great feeling seeing the new ones come in to start the next phase of their lives, but hard work for us all.

Good News:  I managed to get my finances sorted out so that I was able to enrol for City & Guilds Level 3 last week - hurrah!  I know that adds to my work burden, but mentally I feel so much better as this may well be the last opportunity to do it locally.  This has given me a new lease of life when it comes to completing my Textiles 2 Assignment 1 which can only be a good thing, so I'm doing odd hours here and there after work when it's nice and quiet sorting things out.  Of course I can't do that with the sampling etc, but at least it gets things moving along  Will have to confess to my tutor though and apologise that there's going to be a delay in submission which is something I hate doing ...

I've been busy putting together what the OCA notes describe as a 'book' - a bit of a frightening description! - from the observation I did back in May, adding in the photos available from work and taken by me, finding out original building plans and so on.  I am totally someone who does not get on with drawing and sketching.  I see whatever I do in that line as only for me and my use, and would never say that what I do is aimed at being useful to someone else.  My Mother always says that I am extremely self critical, and she's right.  I don't like drawing because I can never do it well enough to my own satisfaction, and so get more and more frustrated.  Yes, if I had hours to spare I could practice more and get a bit better, but I could never become good at drawing, and in all honesty I have no inner desire to be so because it's just not my natural medium.  It never ceases to amaze me that I've produced two sons who are extremely good and drawing and sketching and both are doing art subjects.  Give me fibres/thread/fabric in preference any time!

But, that said, the sketches and scribbles I produce do mean something to me, which is what I think is important in the long run.  When I looked back on what I'd done during the observation - the sketches, notes and photos - a few months ago now it all came back to me, and I remembered how positive I'd felt at the end.  My emerging themes were keeping things simple, using small splashes of colour and developing the various curves that I came across in the area.  Since I started looking at this once more I've become a bit obsessed with the curves, particularly the ones on the side of the paper coffee cups and again in the Liscio (coffee shop) logo.  I keep seeing them everywhere now!  One poor member of staff arrived yesterday wearing a tie with similar shapes in the pattern and I think he was totally bemused by my desire to have a closer look at it ;o)  These themes will definitely be part of the essence of my 3 finished samples.

I also feel drawn to use the suggested living space theme of "a quiet refuge away from a noisy family".  If I was creating a refuge it would be a textiles workshop away from the televisions and Playstations and Wii's and teenage boys and their visiting friends going backwards and forward.  I have to work in the dining area of my house, which is open plan with the kitchen, and so a through route to food and drink and clearly not always as quiet as I would like!  Still, I am lucky that it's an old house and a reasonable sized area, albeit packed with drawers and boxes of fabric, cutting out table, ironing board, sewing cabinet and machine etc.  Beggars can't be choosers, and perhaps if I did have a totally quiet work area I might not like that either.

Anyway, here is a picture including the Liscio logo and the curved lines I like so much:

I really took a liking to the patterning around the mirror frame as well:

I couldn't help wondering who designed it and where they got their inspiration from!  I tried doing rubbings of this and attempted to sketch the patterns too, so I must have liked it!

The coffee cup is a nightmare to copy/scan because it just doesn't show up the lovely curving ridges very well.  Still here's the best attempt I've been able to make and hopefully this gives the gist:

Well, it's gone 8.30 pm now and I have to cycle home in the dark so I'd better leave things there and hopefully report back again on some progress soon.

Textiles 2: a new start

This is my first ever post on a blog  Having used a written monthly diary for Textiles 1, I decided to expand my horizons and try out using a blog for my new unit.  Well, it is recommended by the OCA!

This definintely can't be a daily blog, and I might not even manage a weekly one.  After all, I signed up for Textiles 2 a couple of months ago, but home and work commitments have prevented me from setting up a gmail account and entering the world of blogging until today.  Ho hum, c'est la vie and all that jazz, but I can't just ignore the fact that as a single parent with two teenage sons plus working full time, so I've got more than enough to be going on with before I get to the fun of textiles work.

Recent bad news:  microwave expired, vacuum cleaner gave up the ghost and drains decided to block requiring my plumbing expertise - too expensive to call out a professional :o(

Recent good news:

• I gained a Distinction grade for my City & Guilds Level 2 Machine Embroidery Award - hurrah, all that hard work paid off! 
• Older son (Steven) passed GCSE's so is off to 6th Form at the end of next week; younger son (Andrew) gained a few GCSE units as well, prior to entering Year 11 ;o)

Visits:  Managed to escape with my Mum (her annual birthday treat!) to The Quilt Show at the NEC last Saturday.  So many quilts that it's hard to take everything in.  Some amazing pieces of work.  Great fun having a look around the stands and spending a few pounds on some bits and pieces such as stuffing a bag with as many buttons as you can for £3, a couple of rollers for spreading paint etc from Art Van Go (just couldn't stretch to afford a screen printing frame at this time), and some reduced price pieces of brass and copper sheet/grid to experiment with.  I won some vouchers to spend on Amazon recently and so treated myself to a copy of The Art of Stitching on Metal by Ann Parr and am fascinated by the idea of using this technique.  Only sketched/noted a couple of things, but I believe in quality and not quantity and noting things that interest me rather than doing a lot of scribbling for the sake of it.  Don't suppose the OCA official line would agree, but nothing is going to make me love sketching, unlike both of my sons who have artistic talent, especially Andrew.  I'm creative and need to work in a way that suits me.To my mind my sketch books should remind and inspire me, so I don't want to take copious notes about what I don't like, although a few warnings about difficult techniques etc are very useful.  Anyway, did gather a few leaflets, business cards and postcards to add into my sketchbook for future reference as well.

Plans: 

• Need to work through Assignment 1 by the end of September if at all possible!  I did the observation before I signed up for Textiles 2, so there is a gap between then and now that I'm picking it up again for the assignment.  I actually think this is a good thing, partly because I'm coming back to it with fresher eyes, and partly because as I finished my Level 2 C&G and looked through some work that my tutor (Trisha Forshaw) had done for her Diploma I noted a couple of techniques that I want to experiment with as part of the assignment.
• I'm desperately trying to sort out the funds to do the Level 3 C&G as well.  This may be the last chance I have to do it through the local adult education system (they don't like C&G admin systems and my tutor may decide to give up teaching) so I really need to do it now.  The cost has doubled due to the loss of the Government vocational funding so it's £500 for the year!  I had a bit of a 'debate' with Dorset Adult Education who started off saying I could only pay this in 3 instalments, but my email of protest seems to have struck home and they've agreed that students can pay over 6 months.  That will still mean payments of around £83 a month - a lot of money to someone like me, especailly as I'm commited to paying my fee instalments to the OCA as well - but I figure it's worth the struggle in the long run.  My Mum, in her usual fashion, says do it while you're still young enough, but I'm on the slippery slope to 50 now, so I'm not that young!  Anyway I'll do the best that I can ...

Right, that's enough.  This was only going to be a brief first posting, but as usual I've run away with myself by thinking fast and being able to type pretty fast as well after all these years.  Off to join the bank holiday traffic!