A New Starting Point with Worthing Embroiders Guild - 15th November

A rather delicious 'pretty'.

  I apologise for the rather woeful delay in writing this post, I haven't been this behind for ages. What with teaching over the weekend and nid-noi.com being a bit busier I am a wee bit behind with answering emails and all the usual admin. 

I am rather fond of the Worthing Embroiderers Guild. Being local to me I have delivered several workshops and lectures over the past few years and many of them turn up from time to time on other workshops. So I was looking forward to spending a sparkly day with them last Thursday. The workshop was 'A new starting point' - my newspaper based one day workshop.
  
A few of the ladies getting stuck into their 'pretties'.

The Guild hold their meetings and workshops in a fabulous room with plenty of power and light, it was a great treat to work in there. The plan was to create some 'pretty' backgrounds to print onto and also create a faux chenille sample using newspaper and polyester organza. ('pretties' are layers of torn newspaper, painted Bondaweb and glitter and gilding flake . . and a few sequins)
 
  The ladies had great fun throwing glitter about with gay abandon.

The following six images are some of the 'pretties' before they were printed

 
 
 
 
 

  . . . .  and a few of the newspaper faux chenille samples . . . 

 
 
 
 
 

. . .  and some of the backgrounds printed with wooden printing blocks  . . .

 
  
 
  
 
 

 These backgrounds can be used for all kinds of decorative purposes. As you know I iron mine onto the heaviest pelmet Vilene (S133) and make brooches and earrings. If you iron them onto either of the new Decovil pelmet Vilenes
then you can use them for book covers. They can be further embellished with hand or machine stitch and then sealed with acrylic wax. Acrylic wax can bought from Art Van Go or Craftynotions.com, they both also stock the wonderful gilding flake that comes in many colour combinations. 
We had a great day, the group were good fun and even went along with the exercise session after lunch with us all stretching and twisting to ' Shake a tail feather' by The Blues Brothers.

Who would have thought you could have such fun with newspaper?
I also use old paperback novels, the pages take the dye colourwash well and the odd words that show are always intriguing - now you know what to do with Fifty Shades of Grey . . . !
 
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I will write up about the weekend printing block workshop at Foredown Tower in a few days time.

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I am starting to think about my next 2 workshops that are coming up - my brand new course written especially for Art Van Go - 'Colour Works' at Art Van Go December 4th - 6th and 'Jewelled Surfaces for Decorative Textiles' at West Dean College December 10th - 13th.

'Colour Works' will involve creating you own colour wheel and tints, tones and shades chart. You will learn the basic colour systems and better understand how to use colour in your work by painting, printing, stitching and manipulating papers you will create colourful vessels, boxes or wall pieces.
artvango.co.uk 

'Jewelled Surfaces for Decorative Textiles'. By layering old dyed and painted newspapers and painted Bondaweb we will create beautiful surfaces with gilding and mica flakes. These layers can then be stitched into by hand or machine and then ironed onto various weights of interfacing to make bags, boxes, jewellery or vessels – the choice is yours.
West Dean College 

There places left on both courses.

 x

Have fun and keep warm! 



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