Thursday 10 December 2015

A Bit of Making at the Harrrogate Knitting & Stitching Show

Summer days are gone
I love the Knitting & Stitching Show - it's an annual highlight.  There's loads of inspiration from a lot of talented people.  Of course there are endless supplies you can stock up with (and no, I have never managed only to buy what was on my list and yes I do still have things I bought years ago that I have yet to do something with!)   

I do like to try out a few workshops when I go - sometimes to learn something new and sometimes for a bit of a rest from looking round.  This year was particularly good.  I have to say my favourite was Alysn Midgelow Marsden's "Time for Tea" which I managed to complete in the time allowed and which I was pleased with (see above - Summer days are gone).  Great fun collaging and stitching with tea bags, fabric, feathers & paper.

Dark blue cabling - almost there, light blue cabling = success

I also learnt how to cable with Monica Russel.  You can see from my efforts that I didn't get it right first time but seemed to have mastered it in the end.  I have even gone on to do a couple of extra pieces as homework so that's a thumbs up! 

Cotton scrim indigo shibori


Vivien Prideaux showed us shibori with indigo which was very interesting not least because I learnt that indigo has antiseptic qualities and that it's a substantive dye (e.g. doesn't need a mordant), that there are some Woad Houses in Toulouse that are worth a visit and that I'd like to try out a smocking machine (must find out if our EG has one to loan out!) 

Velvet indigo shibori

And finally I did some needle felting with Fi Oberon to make a little chick.  It took me a little longer than the hour we had to finish it but Fi gave us lots of helpful tips and info especially about those legs which I particularly wanted to know about and which I still need to work on!  (Last year I made a head - so there's a recommendation as I came back for more!)

Needle felted chick in the rain

So all in all a very enjoyable time!

Friday 4 December 2015

Graduate Showcase etc. at the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show 2015

Helen Sill and her work

Helen Sill was exhibiting this year as the Embroiderers' Guild (EG) Education Scholar.  This is a new project which Helen is involved with which aims to "to reinvigorate the teaching of stitch in the classroom by providing ideas and top quality resources for teachers that will be linked to the new National Curriculum". The EG hope to roll this out in 2016.  Helen's work made quite an impact because it's great and because of her use of a single colour (red).

Julie Heaton - Camera

Julie Heaton's work was fantastic. The detail and precision are amazing.  Very interesting to have a traditionally male subject (car engine) represented through a traditionally female medium (stitch).

Julie Heaton - Car Engine

I also found Sarah Tran's sculptural origami and Holly Hart's 3D assemblages interesting.

Sarah Tran - Sculptural Fabric Origami
Holly Hart - 3D assemblage

And Alice Selwood's cushions were fab (no photos allowed)

The Kingston University & the WI Celebrating 100 Years of Craft Knitwear Project was also on display which I blogged about earlier this year.


Bonnie Gibbons - Kingston University, Karen Griffiths & Audrey Wilson - WI

If you want to read more about this year's Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrogate then I have some more blogposts about the Textile Gallery:

Click here for the one about the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland "Entwined Memories", Stella Harding or New Zealand Contemporary Textiles

Click here for the one about Michala Gyetvai, Isobel Hall, Amanda Clayton & Vivien Prideaux, Helen Pailing & Festival of Quilts Winners - Catherine Groves & Joy Salvage.

Altogether another great show!


Tuesday 1 December 2015

Textile Gallery at the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show 2015 - Part 2

Michala Gyetvai - Rhapsody of Colour

Michala Gyetvai's colourful "Enchanted Landscapes" were great.  Worked on wool blanket with fleece, machine and hand embroidery her pictures capture the changing seasons and light on the landscape. 

Michala Gyetvai - The Jewel

Michala Gyetvai - Sea of Grass


Isobel Hall's "Adventures with Colour and Texture" were inspiring with beautiful bags and vessels on show.  Her mixed media techniques employ multiple layers of stitch to create shape, texture and structure.
 
Isobel Hall - Forest Vessel

Isobel Hall - The castle on the hill

Isobel Hall - Briar Rose

Inspired by a poem, The Other, by RS Thomas, Vivien Prideaux and Amanda Clayton's exhibition juxtaposes Vivien's colourful dyed fabrics with Amanda's pale stitched works.


Vivien Prideaux - Dyed Fabric
Vivien Prideaux - Vintage Japanese kimono silk dyed with natural indigo

Amanda Clayton
Amanda Clayton

The Festival of Quilts had a Winners' Gallery.  These were my two favourites ...

Festival of Quilts - Catherine Groves
Festival of Quilts - Joy Salvage
Joy Salvage - Detail

Helen Pailing's exhibition "Glass Stitch" recrafts waste borosilicate glass from the lampworking process into new work incorporating wool paraphernalia. 

Helen Pailing - Glass Stitch
Helen Pailing - Glass Stitch

Jill Denton and Sue Dove "Our Artful Selves" was also a great exhibition but no photography was allowed.  I also liked the Sophie Digard exhibiton - beautiful scarves!  And there was lots more.

Coming up soon - a quick tour of the Knitting & Stitching Show Graduate Showcase.