Stitching in the Dales

"Stitching in the Dales in May" - what a wonderful concept introduced by the Grassington Embroiderers' Guild for all those who love stitch work but would like to tackle new techniques in a little more depth. The two and a half day course, including superb lunches, allows time to learn and produce something a bit more adventurous than possible on a one day workshop.

This was my first "Stitching in the Dales" and I am already awaiting next year, a sentiment echoed by the other ladies in my group!

We had two tutors booked. Nikki Parmenter and Nicola Jarvis. Nikki provided experimental textile work while Nicola taught Crewel embroidery.

I had enrolled for the Crewel work, having never attempted this type of stitching previously. I began with Bijoux embroidery and then continued to the rudiments of Crewel....FABULOUS. Nicola was an inspirational teacher.

We opened the balcony doors and the spring sunshine shone onto our work tables as we beavered away. Nicola has worked at the Royal School of Neeedlework and offers a range of workshops so we hope to see her again in the future.

Downstairs, the "messy" group of textile artists were incorporating paint, funky foam and machine embroidery to create elaborate 3D pieces of art. Nikki's students produced some stunning work and continue to sing her praises. I hope to catch up with one of your courses soon Nikki.

The two contrasting workshops are always well supported, so anybody interested for next year, remember it takes place in May! Confirmation of the tutors will be included in our annual calendar for 2019. Hope to see you there.

Coming up in June

Next month we begin with a stitch morning and no doubt some of us will be busy embroidering stones to applique on to our Grassington square which will form part of the Yorkshire and Humber Embroiderers' Guild Banner. Each of the branch guilds have been asked to contribute a square to create the final banner.

After lunch, Jennie Rayment is coming to give a talk on "Pearls of Wisdom".

Jennie's work concentrates on fabric manipulation and surface texture. Unique in her field, she's now internationally known for her quick, simple, innovative and original techniques with manipulated material.

http://www.jennierayment.com/

Stitching in the Dales May 16-17-18

Stitching in the Dales is a three day workshop run by the Grassington Embroiderers' Guild. This year our two tutors are Nicola Jarvis - "Inspired Crewel and Silk Birds" and Nikki Parmenter -  "Small Worlds".

 Nicola's beautiful embroideries of decorative birds are influenced by the drawings and textiles of William and May Morris.
nicolajarvisstudio.co.uk/

Nikki is a Cheshire based artist who specialises in mixed media, textile based  pieces.
www.nikkiparmenterartworks.com/

May's Meeting: "Little Houses" with Janet Browne

Our "Little Houses" themed workshop with the Grassington Embroiderers Guild Group on May 2nd was another super day of creative sewing. Although Janet Browne was unfortunately unable to be with us, she sent materials and samples, and the day became a member-led workshop.
Drawing a simple design on dressmakers tracing paper, and then reversing the sketch onto a layer of wadding, a layer of calico and the background fabric, machine stitching could begin on the back using the traced design as a guide. We used a machine embroidery foot with the dog feed teeth down as this enabled the fabric to be easily manoeuvred.
The picture is built up by working from background fabrics to foreground fabrics. More detailed embellishing is done with machine embroidery and hand embroidery from the front.

 Have a look at Janet's web site for more inspiration.

www.janetbrownetextiles.com/