Category: News
Fabric Coiled Pots Workshop
Yesterday we made some fabric coiled pots out of fabric scraps – a great way to lighten the load in scrap baskets but also a great way to recycle clothes that are no longer needed.
After a demonstration from Karen Teal, tutor for the day, there was a flurry of activity to rip up fabric ready for the project in hand. Then it was heads down to get started
And by the end of the day there were some very colourful pots to admire
It is important to point out here that the hand sewers weren’t slacking…. their pots were work in progress because it takes a lot longer to hand sew than sew them on the machine!
Keris’ finished pot
And, as usual, the group found an alternative use for the pots – as hats Tommy Cooper style!
Another Busy Day of Sewing and Socialising
Yesterday was another lovely day of sewing and socialising with the usual enthusiasm to show off completed and work in progress to give inspiration to others.
Make Do & Mend is creating some interesting experimentation. Jaci was busy using old tights to see what she could make – and there was certainly potential for a bundle of goodies!
Jan had finished her boro bag – which looks amazing – a great blend of colours
The tablecloth is progressing well. Jaci has now handed it over to Caroline L to carry on with the Welsh ladies
And Truda was wearing a beautiful brooch – made by Miss Clementine – using a vintage buckle, fabrics, buttons and lace
At show and tell Marie showed a book cover that she had made at a recent workshop
And Sally had made a wall hanging for a friend’s daughter’s ceramics workshop
Mary brought along some Christmas decorations that she had made 30 years ago and was planning some repair work 
And she had a piece of vintage patchwork, bought in a junk shop in the USA, which she was planning to mount in a picture frame
Chris was busy making a bag for a friend – using recycled denim and designed to house mobile phone cables and easy to spot in the suitcase!
Caroline L was making a dazzlingly coloured quilt with Kaffe Fasset fabrics
And Corinne was making progress with an embroidery being created over a printed image – lovely colours
And Dilys and Janet were busy working on projects for grand children. Dilys was making drawstring bag for toys
And Janet was making a cushion with pockets for little felt toys to sit in
Such variety and imagination – well done everyone!
Christmas is Creeping Up!
Yesterday’s Dying to Paint Session was as productive as ever with a focus on various topics, including Christmas!
Pat seems to have mastered the art of marbling and produced some amazing samples
Corinne and Keris were working on garden books that they started to make last year with Frances Pickering. And these lovely birds will be included in the books
And Jan not only printed peacock feathers she started to embellish them as well
Chris was trying out techniques to transfer a telephone image onto fabric
And Fiona and Jan were busy getting ready for Christmas – so organised!
The usual busy and enjoyable day painting, stamping and printing with friends – what more could you want!
An Extra Dyeing to Paint Session
Today’s DtP session was additional to our usual schedule – we just couldn’t wait until September before meeting up again!
And as usual, there were masses of wonderful ideas and creative juices were flowing.
Pat was on a mission marbling – with amazing results
And she was busy trying out Indian wood block printing
Rosie was printing fabric which she planned to use for making cards
And showed us her lovely recently completed denim bag
Liz was painting fabric which she intends to use to make gift tags
And Maggie was experimenting with stencils
Monica painted paper and then stencilled over it – another idea for making cards
And Caroline was using Indian print blocks. She is planning to overdye the fabric with Procion dyes in the future
As usual, a flurry of activity with lots of plans to use the papers and fabrics created today. Looking forward to September’s session already!
All Sewn Up
Today was our last session of the year and, as always, members were full of energy and enthusiasm for all things sewing!
There were some amazing quilts shown after ‘morning prayers’. Kerry had bought a panel in Florida and turned it into a work of art with a beautifully blended border fabric, neat machine quilting and the inspired addition of hot fix diamante. We are looking forward to exhibiting her piece at our forthcoming exhibition.
She had also been experimenting with Inktense pencils
Caroline brought her recently completed quilt into show us – intricately paper pieced and machine quilted. A wonderful family heirloom.
Amanda showed an equally stunning piece of work lovingly made with all her fabric scraps – and a joy to behold both front and back
And Jan, whilst not with us today, had sent on a photo of a quilt that she had completed whilst pet sitting in Brighton
Jaci demonstrated her talent at crochet when she showed some little plant pot holders.
And Monica showed a small sampler that she was hand stitching – which is a bit of a first as she is not usually into slow sewing!
Pat was busy finishing another one of her lovely leather bags….
Chris was sharing her knowledge with Caroline to help her complete her denim bag
And Janet was busy checking out the Sissix machine to see whether it would cut foam sponge – and was thrilled to find it did. A good job that Salinder brought so much of the stuff with her then!
Finally, it was lovely to be able to welcome visitor Sue Toner who came to see what we all get up to – hopefully she will be back with us in September.
We now have a break and reconvene in September. Until then, wishing everyone a lovely summer.
Marbling in the Sun!
What an amazingly sunny day today – great for drying!
There was a frenzy of activity when the new marbling inks appeared, with samples made on paper and fabric.
And whilst this was going on others were busy on various personal projects. Mary was printing with a collagraph image that she had made
Corinne was revitalizing a picture that had faded in her conservatory
Pat was busy blockprinting trees
Keris was printing and stencilling the birds and the bees
and Liz was focused on elephants
So much to do and so little time!
Another great day and now we have to wait until September before we reconvene again! Happy holidays everyone
Stitch Happy!
Another busy day at Cutting Edge with plenty of projects on the go and some lovely pieces of finished work on show
Sally was focused on finishing her denim bag and keen to model it as a flak jacket in case she decides not to finish it! Wonderful shells appliqued on it
Kerry had finished her denim bag which features Spiderman
And being a Red Devil’s fan she had made some fabulous place mats
Glynis had been on a mission making bags – which as ever, were lovely
Ruth, who was making her first visit to the group was engrossed in beautiful crewel work
And Sheila’s family of animals is growing by the minute!
Salinder had finished a small wall hanging that she started at Dyeing to Paint – and which will be included in our forthcoming exhibition
Helen showed her completed giraffe quilt – lovely bright colours and as always beautifully finished
And Julie has been making in roads into the embroidered tablecloth – which is looking fabulous. She has taken it home again this month to continue embroidering the Welsh ladies. And we will be looking for more volunteers to continue the process next month.
We’re looking forward to seeing Fran’s next project completed – what a lovely dog!
Always a great variety of talent on show and always an enjoyable and fun day with lots of chatter and good humour. Well done folks – what a great team of ladies you make!
