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 30th 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:
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| 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.
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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)
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