Yesterday was our crafty annual pilgrimage to the wilds of North London for the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace (‘our’ meaning Heather and I, partners in crafty crime). This year we’d decided to book a workshop, and found one on free-motion embroidery led by Molly Brown. This was something neither of us had tried before, and of the available workshops it was also the one we thought we probably couldn’t teach ourselves.
Molly took us quickly through the workings of the Janome Atelier machines we’d be working with, and then explained the process she used for making the tree embroideries. We started by tracing our trees onto pelmet Vlieseline, then delving into piles of organza scraps to create our background. We enclosed these in net and stitched around to hold them all in place (in my case, I managed to stitch the instruction sheet in as well), and then flipped the piece over to embroider the basic tree shapes.
Once the trunks were stitched we turned our trees up the right way and used the thread to ‘scribble’ in the branches, fill in the trunks and add any details we wanted. I added some smaller plants on the ground, and the ninety minute session finished far too quickly. It’s a technique I’d like to try again and I know I can drop the feed dogs on one of my machines, I just need to remember which…
The rest of the show was busy – I don’t usually go on Saturdays, for this very reason, and the usual crunch spots like Black Sheep Wools were packed with people rummaging through bargain bags. Anywhere there was a wandering Bee was also busy, of course! In a moment of sensibleness we’d taken packed lunches – food is reliably overpriced and disappointing – so we picnicked overlooking the ice rink before tackling the second hall.
One of the highlights of the Autumn Show is the exhibition section: graduate showcases, quilting winners, textile galleries and more. Many of this year’s shows appealed to my inner magpie, with mixed media pieces blooming with shiny things and found objects.
The final exhibition was The Duster Project by Vanessa Marr, which you can read about here. This is a collaborative project, which explores contemporary perspectives on the everyday lives of women.
Heather and I were very restrained, coming home with only a sewing pattern each and a few bits and bobs. This was mainly because neither of us have finished the kits we bought last year, and in my case also because earlier in the week I’d used the Obby voucher that was my leaving gift from Young V&A. I now have a jesmonite casting kit and a felted pebbles kit inspired by Kettle’s Yard.
Other things making me happy this week
- Early morning coffee with Amanda
- Ice cream and a wander round Roath Park
- Getting up to date on the temperature supernova
- Breakfast and speedview session at New City College
- The Undertones supported by The Rezillos – so good!
- Series 5 of Ghosts
Today is Apple Day at Copped Hall, so it’s family outing time again…same time next week?
Kirsty x
What I’ve been reading:
This Is The Night They Come For You – Robert Goddard
The Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams
Written in Dead Wax – Andrew Cartmel (Audible)
An Utterly Impartial History of Britain – John O’Farrell
The E. Nesbit Megapack – E.Nesbit
What Kirsty did next 