3D Felt Embroidered Birds

I have been working on a new idea for a workshop.  I saw some robins at Christmas and thought it would be a lovely idea to take a robin shape and embroider it.  The birds are made from hand dyed felt but you could easily use hand made felt.  I love playing with colours and you can use all your colourful left over scraps of felt to good effect.  Wouldn't they make super bunting!

 

 

Craft4crafters Exhibition

A few days ago I visited the Craft4crafters Exhibition at Westpoint Exhibition Centre, Exeter.  All the photographs are of work done by members of West Country Guilds, Clubs, Groups and Bicton College.  Poppies were a recurring theme this year to commemorate the start of World War I. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each block of the Poppies quilt was made by a different person, therefore all the poppies are made with different techniques.  The blocks were later joined together and machine quilted to create a  quilt.  It was stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Needlefelting at Bicton College.

 

 

 

West Country Embroiderers, Cornwall South AGM

A few days ago I took my 'shop' to Perranwell, near Truro for the West Country Embroiderers, Cornwall South group AGM.  I have been several times before and it is always a very enjoyable event.  There was a display of items made at workshops over the year which covered a wide range of techniques.

 

 

 

Patchwork



 

 

 

 

Felt Pots

 

 

 

 

Rag rug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a superb buffet lunch the guest speaker was Di Wells who creates the most spectacular patchwork.  Some of her work is extremely small and her hand stitching is unbelievably neat and even.  Her talk was a real joy and made a great impression on everyone.

 

 

 

 

A jungle scene

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Log Cabin made with 1/8" strips

 

 

And finally...

 

During the AGM a mobile phone rang and a lady rushed out of the room.  When she entered the room I could not hear what she said.  She then apologised and said she would turn her phone off but all her friends told her to keep the phone on.  About ten minutes later the phone rang again and the lady left the room.  When she returned she was very emotional and said in a loud voice, "We've got a girl".  Her daughter had just given birth to a baby girl!!!

Seascape

As the weather is so terrible at the moment I thought you might like to see a picture that reminds me of the summer.  The picture is a seascape with blue sky, sun shining on to the turquoise sea, golden sands and gently flowing surf.  The back of our house overlooks the bay, so I spent many happy times watching the effect of the sun on the water.

 

 

 

 

I have made the picture using machine knitted felt but it could easily be made using fabrics, hand made felt or needle felting.  I have continued the wool theme and used textured wool yarn couched down to represent the waves.  Finally running stitches and French knots of varying thicknesses were added for additional colour and texture with a few Tumblechips sewn on to catch the light.

 

At the moment the skies are charcoal, the rain is pouring and the waves are crashing on to the beach driven by the strong winds.

New Blog

Due to the deteriorating health of my parents and husband, I have, regretfully, decided to close the sales website and the original blog as from the 31st December.  I will continue writing on this new blog, so I hope you will be able to join me for more creative fun in the New Year.

 

This image was taken in 2004 as we rarely get snow in South Devon, which is just as well as we live half way up a very steep hill. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and will have a safe New Year.

Fabric and Felt Cakes

Here are some cakes to get you in the Christmas mood, cakes made from fabric and felt.  It is huge fun making these cakes and you can really get carried away.  The best part is actually buying the cakes - for research, of course - study the cakes in great detail and then eat them!!!  Give it a go, it is very rewarding.  Try making French patisserie cakes, yummy.

 

 Fabric cup cakes

 

Fabric Devon scone with jam and cream, felt battenberg (my son's favourite cake), felt chocolate gateau and felt Devon scone with jam and cream.

 

 

The real thing bought for research!!!  Tarte aux fruits 

West Country Embroiderers Torbay Branch Exhibition

Today I went to the West Country Embroiderers Torbay Branch AGM and Christmas lunch.  This is my branch and we meet once a month and at our Christmas meeting we have a small exhibition.  Firstly we had the AGM, a very relaxed and jolly affair followed by lots of yummy homemade food.  There is plenty of time to discuss embroidery and life in general and admire the items on display.  The images are those which caught my eye.

 

 

 Book covers.  Several layers of organza which are burnt back to reveal the colours of the underneath layers.  Embroidery is then added.

 

 

 

 Picture - Layers of organza with lots of machine stitching.

 

 

 

 A picture made by using the Embellisher with machine and hand embroidery added.  It is possible to create the same effect by needlefelting, it is just slower.