Author Archives: dorothyag

TRAVELLING BOOKS

Nothing for months and then the posts come along like buses! 🙂

Some branches of the Embroiderers’ Guild have started travelling books and my branch (Lutterworth) is taking part. Basically what happens is that participating members are divided into groups of six and each member buys a small  (5 x 5″) spiral bound sketch book. The book one starts with ultimately becomes yours at the end of the process.

I worked page one in my own book and then at the next meeting passed it on to the next member in my group of six……. and so on. We have just come to the end of the first round and below are the pages I made. For some reason one is missing, but you will get the idea.

This week we will hand these six books over to a new team and receive theirs in return. Then begin the rounds again, until the books are full. At the end the first one becomes mine to keep.

I am finding it is fun and not too onerous as the pieces are small and one has a month to finish it.

Page one in what will become my book at the ed of the process

Page one in what will become my book at the ed of the process

Detail of page one

Detail of page one

It just happend to be Christmas when I did this one!

It just happend to be Christmas when I did this one

Daisies, stamped and embroidered

Daisies, stamped and embroidered

Abstract flower on my own dyed fabric

Abstract flower on my own dyed fabric

I called this Perfect Day . It is painted Pelmet Vilene and hand stich

I called this Perfect Day . It is painted Pelmet Vilene and hand stich

CATCHING UP TIME

Well it has been so long since I blogged that there really are no excuses… so I will just start from here!

I have been enjoying a series of Collage workshops with Donna Downey so I thought I would share those here.  We are at number 10 of the series now. Clicking on the image will enlarge as usual.

21-01-2015 lesson 2

Week 2

04-02-2015 Lesson 3

Week 3

18-05-2015 Lesson 4

Week 4

04-03-2015 lesson5

Week 5

18-03-2015 lesson 6

Week 6

30-03-2015 Lesson 7

Week 7

15-04-2015 Lesson 8

Week 8

30-04-2015 lesson 9

Week 9

March 13th lesson 10

Week 10

I have enjoyed learning new techniqiues, not always successful in my hands of course. However, all learning is fun isn’t it?

SECOND VISIT TO THE LUTTERWORTH EXHIBITION

I took more photos on my second visit so I am sharing them here.

Our new Tablecloth had it’s first outing this time.

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Next we have the young embroiderers’ display. Very mixed ages, haven’t they done well?

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I apologise for the reflections of the church windows in some of the exhibits, rather difficult to avoid them!

I loved the elegant boots and the Mary Poppins especially in the first collage. The beading was part of a workshop we had with Eliza MacClelland. In the second collage we have free machine embroidery Reflections and Frosty Morning.

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I enjoyed this rather splendid piece embellished with gold work too.

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Several different techniques in the first image but the tiger image in the second is a lovely piece of mixed machine and hand embroidery .

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Finally some dolls. Miss Buttercup on her special chair and Bobbie, a beautiful old porcelain doll in his newly knitted clothes. He was quite tiny… no more than 6″ high I think.

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Next a couple of tarts for you! Just look at HER with her nose in the air! 🙂

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All in all a very successful exhibition showing the wide variety of talent we have in the Branch.

 

 

 

EXHIBITION AT LUTTERWORTH EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD

We held a very successful exhibition last week. Lutterworth was celebrating Feast Week and also holding various events as it’s memorial of WW1.  The Guild had an exhibition of work made in honour of those who served in WW1 as part of the overall exhibition. Here I am showing you selected works and will upload some others tomorrow.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE A LARGER VIEW.

The first two are from the WW1 exhibit. In the first collage the top two images of poppies are remembering the men of Ibstock. The bottom left image was very beautiful but hard to focus on as it consisted of several layers. Bottom right was in hand made felt with appliqué additions.

The second collage of the boots was all free machine embroidery, very skillfully done. I have included a close-up.

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The next image shows some of the entries for the Chairman’s Challenge this year. The top one is the winner and is a very  lovely hand stitched box. I have also included a close-up. The other two images are my own selection of the rest of the entries.

2014-08-12 Luuerworth EG Exhibition

There was a workshop on Permanganate and batik printing and some indigo dyeing, which are shown in the next images

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The lovely teddies below are made from old embroidered tablecloths.

I love the bright clear colours in the patchworks below too.

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I also like this little velvet picture with it’s beading.

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more images later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GARDEN WALK ON 1st AUGUST

After spotting a butterfly I hadn’t seen in the garden before, I went out to see what it was up to !

Brimstone Butterfly

It was a brimstone and was investigating mainly the marigolds, which although colourful are the bane of my life as they have spread all over everywhere.

While I was out there I did my usual walk around the garden to see what else was out. There isn’t much there now as most of my flowers have gone over. I really need to do something about the gap in the seasons here.  I NEED autumn colour.

Cosmos

The Cosmos are still gorgeous. And of course the gardians of the garden are always there looking very affable… but cross them at your peril!

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IN THE GARDEN TODAY

Found some nice flowers when I looked around among the weeds! 🙂

My gardener only does general gardening on a couple of days a week as he is mainly a landscaper. So if the weather is really good he needs to get on with what really brings in the money I guess, then  mine has to wait. It’s worth the wait though.

Anyway here is what I found to share today.

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I love the curly weed bottom right in the picture below as well as the many different colours on the hydrangea.

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Close up of one of the above…. love the little flowers in the centre of each flower.

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MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOP Day Two

Today I want to share some of my own work from day 2 of the workshop.

If only it hadn’t been so hot, it would have been really fun. ( just kidding. it was anyway. )

Here the top two images are made over black and white wrapping paper. Bottom left is on some thick paper with flecks of gold in it and bottom right is the back of an image that had previously been an unsuccessful screen print

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Some altered stencilled, gelli printed images.

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In the folloing image, the one on the right  is a failed screen print on fabric, which has been overdyed and stencilled. The right hand  one is a monoprint which has been over dyed and paint with a thin glaze of gold acrylic which doesn’t show in the photo.

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Two sketchbook pages are next. The bottom one is another sparkly one in the right light.

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Bottom is another sketchbook page which has bee worked over with layers of dye and stencils

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MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOP Day One

I have just enjoyed two very hot but very enjoyable days at the Bramble Patch with Hilary Beattie. This post is going to show some random images I took of what was happening around the room.

(As usual you can click on the images to enlarge them)

This week we were working with re-cycled papers, fabrics etc. in order to make more images from which we can choose when we come to the design workshops later.

The following two collages are a selection of what I saw other people doing.

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Next we have our fearless leader dispensing pearls of wisdom to some of the students. Hilary went round the class doing this for us all so that we had a good idea of what we still need to do before we get to the design stages of our final pieces , which will be started in September.

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CATCHING UP

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This is what is out in the garden at present.  Whilst I was looking around I heard birdsong coming from somewhere and I couldn’t see who was singing…. then I looked up and there it was, on the overhead telegraph wires. Rather a long shot but I did my best. The song seemed so loud I thought it was much nearer than this.

Bird on a wire

Finally a page from the summer journal I am doing with Myfanwy Hart’s Be Creative group on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/journalingfun/

Day1

 

STITCHING DAY AT FROLESWORTH WITH E.G. FRIENDS

I had such a lovely day yesterday sitting stitching with friends from the Lutterworth Embroiderers’ Guild. We have a few of these throughout the year and we take what we are currently working on and just get on with it.

It is great to walk around the room and see what everyone is doing and it is always very varied.

I took some photos and will share them  with you.  All the photos will enlarge if you click on them.

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Above we have friends chatting while doing unmentioable things to dolls legs! Some Machine embroidered post cards being made. Some beautiful beading, sorry it isn’t in perfect focus. 😦  The last one is an image from a vintage embroidery book from eBay that my neighbour brought to show us.  It was fascinating, so well illustrated also still very relevant today in many ways.

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Work in progress on an Autumn Field, Knitted blanket squares with crocheted edges and this gorgeous doll. Front and back views.

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I was working on the front and back covers for my book about daisies.

I was given this 🙂

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Which I then ate! Yum Yum, delicious.

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