Daisy's bit of stitching

I've been doing a bit of hand stitching lately.

Inspired by the great Julie Arkell, Janet Bolton, Jessie Chorley and

 Betty Pepper workshops I've been lucky enough to go on recently.

I've hardly been able to put my needle down!

I've been working out of a suitcase.

It's full of bits of gorgeousness but I've

found it incredibly relaxing to just use

whatever is to hand rather than being overwhelmed

with the contents of my sewing room.

I have loved sewing little scraps of loveliness together.

I dream in colour.

Do you?

This was a piece of smocking that I bought

from the Embroiders Guild box of goodies 

at the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate.

I've turned it into a cuff by adding a bit of

vintage fabric and a few press studs.

I adore using old threads too.

They compliment the mellow faded fabric so well.

'She loves the sea'

This dress is a project that has been

sitting in my head for a long time.

I have a collection of antique dolls clothes

but didn't really know what to do with them.

When I bought this French linen dress earlier in the year

the idea started to come together.

It was beautifully patched and so very easy to work with.

Each piece seemed to find its own place.

I have to say I have loved wearing it. 

It will continue to be a work in progress

as I find new treasure to add to it.

The last show and tell for today is 

'A shy rabbit'

I have no idea why she turned French but turn French she did.

'Where is she?'

The inspiration for this one came from

reading lift the flap books with Steve's grandson.

The delight on his cute little face when he sees

what's hiding!

'I am here'

 says my little pink rabbit.

I'm off on a trip to York tomorrow with the lovely 

Lemonade Kitty for a girly sewing day.

Will report back soon.

Have a lovely evening.

Hugs

Daisy xxx

Janet Bolton Day Two

We arrived back refreshed on Sunday morning

ready to start making our textile pictures.

Here I'm playing with colours for my flowers.

Janet showed us how to cut out the shapes
and sew them paying attention to both the
objects and the spaces in between.
Flowers made, stalks at the ready
and a vase made with an old piece of
 quilt to put them in.
 

This was the most enjoyable part for me.

I love needle turned applique.

Once I start I find it very hard to stop!

This is my finished piece.

I like the way it has moved into the frame.

We decided to call it Janet and Julie

as it has influences from both Janet

and Julie Arkell.

At the end of the day we all took our pieces 

to one table so everyone could see each others work.

There was some amazing work to photograph.

This was a beautifully designed piece

complete with shells and driftwood from

a recent holiday.

Janet showing 'Janet and Julie'.

Lovely retro colours on this one.

This one has to be my favourite.

So full of life!

Ladies with scarves.

Gorgeous purple and lilac in the border.

You can feel the warmth from this one.

(Loving that lace)

A beautiful angel with her halo at the ready.

This was made by my friend Anita and

had a fabulous shape to it.

Another friend Jenny created this one.

Flower Power.

A piece with superb texture.

This one was quite large!

I would love to see it finished.

We all learned so much this weekend, 

not only from the lovely Janet but from

each other too.

Sharing stories, techniques, inspiration and

lots of laughter.

A truly amazing weekend.

A big thank you to Janet and Louise for

giving up their mothers day to

give us all a perfect one.

Have a wonderful evening.

Love Daisy xxx

Janet Bolton - Day One

So here is day one of the Janet Bolton weekend

workshop at the Hope & Elvis studio.

We started the day with a walk up to the Harley Gallery to

see the SMILE exhibition to help give us some inspiration

and one or two of us may have purchased one or two pieces

but I shall mention no names!

This year I wanted to work with brighter colours.

These are a few of the ones I chose from Louise's amazing stash.

After a lovely talk by Janet telling us about what inspired her and 

her method of working we started creating our own pieces.

Choosing background and border fabrics.

I wanted mine to fit into this frame

and had great fun playing about with the fabrics.

       

Then the hand sewing began.

 

First sewing each of the border pieces together...

and then attaching them onto the middle piece.

I then stitched another border fabric (in blue)

onto the back to give it an additional frame.

This took me ALL day!

Lots of concentration going on here!

One of Louise's suitcases full of loveliness.

These are some of Janet's finished pictures.

So beautifully hand stitched.

'Mixed Blooms on Blue'

This one was my favourite.

'All Buttoned Up'

See you tomorrow for Janet Bolton Day Two.

Enjoy your evening.

Love Daisy xxx