JETS make mini 'Field' quilts

Our Junior Embroiderers, who range in age from 6 to 13, had a fabulous session making mini field quilts this month.

They each layered a quilt base, then cut out fabric patches, some of which they had painted previously with acrylics.  

A great time was had rummaging through the fabric pile on the floor to choose which colours would look best.

Once the patches were tacked in place, the students stitched round the edges using the sewing machines.  Ruth brought in her manual machine and they enjoyed having a go on that too.

Next month: hand stitching to make the fields come alive with flowers and, apparently, sheep ...

Three of the students went home and bought sewing machines, and one persuaded his Gran to part with hers, and has been busily sewing ever since.

Textured Landscapes

Catherine Lawes gave us a great talk on her textile life and experiences from when she started sewing at a young age in New Zealand, then in the UK - and back again.  Catherine started her career in architecture, then turned to creating textiles, which has been her main occupation ever since.

The talk was illustrated with a huge number of samples of her work - the tables were groaning under the weight of panels and quilts, not to mention her stunning silk and patterned coats.

Catherine Lawes in her Hundertwasser influenced coat

The workshop next day entirely lived up to expectations.  A kit prepared by Catherine of background fabric, wool fabric strips and textured yarns helped us to get on quickly. 

We were aiming for 'abstract landscape', and once happy with the layout (this took far longer than anyone expected), we used wool yarns to stitch the layers in place.

By the end of the session, all that's left to do is to add any finishing touches, and mount/frame our textured landscapes.

  

A really satisfying day!