Marvellous Melon Seeds

Painted melon seeds

Do any of you remember painting melon seeds as a child and then making necklaces with them?  It's certainly something I did and I can remember watching my daughter carefully threading some together to make a necklace for herself.  Well, I've been doing some more of that lately but not to make necklaces.  I was making a tree out of beads (yes, more trees!) and didn't have anything suitable for the leaves - so that's where the melon seeds came in because I did have some of those!

Tree (detail)

First, wash your seeds and let them dry.  After they have thoroughly dried, paint them.  I used acrylic paint in several shades of green.  Let them dry again.  They are then ready to use as embellishments for your stitching.  I sewed them on as if they were buttons using two holes that I just made with my needle as I went along.  You could just use one hole like a sequin and secure with a bead or a french knot.  You do have to be careful not to split them so don't sew too near the edge or use too fat a needle, or make the holes too close together.

Beads, sequins and french knots make up the flower details

I used bugle beads and the odd sequin for the trunk and branches, melon seeds for the leaves and sequins, beads and french knots for the flowers and grass at the base of the tree trunk.  Here's my finished tree...

Finished tree

If you want to be inspired further by amazing embellishment check out the work of Jess Grady and Kate Tume.  Or you can listen to them over on the Stitchery Stories podcast here (Jess) and here (Kate).  

Let me know if you use something unusual in your stitching - or if you have a go with melon seeds!

Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show 2018 - Part 1

Grass Lake (cropped) - Denise Oyama Miller - SAQA

The highlight of the textile calender, for me at least, is the Knitting & Stitching Show.  Whilst it travels to 3 venues, I go to Harrogate. London & Dublin are the alternatives.  It is full of amazing exhibitions, talented artists showcasing their working methods, a plethora of supplies and workshops where you can have a go at making something yourself.  Here are some pics of the work on show...
 

Electric Fields (cropped) - Elizabeth Barton - SAQA

The SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) exhibition, entitled Concrete & Grassland explored natural landscape & the constructed environment shown either separately or together.

The Cork Textiles Network had a Tales exhibition with works made in response to a chosen book...

Book of Phrases, Phrases to Live By - Rose Mary Cullen inspired by Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott

disleksia - Christina Jasmin Roser inspired by the English Dictionary

All The Lights We Cannot See - Clodagh Caulfield - inspired by All The Lights We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

In the Folk Tales exhibition by Anne Kelly we see her work combining the natural world and folk art.  Her collaborative piece "Travel Tags - Moving Memories which looks at travel and migration was also on show.

Small Suitcase 2 - Anne Kelly

Self  Portrait - Anne Kelly

Travel Tags - Collaborative Piece - Anne Kelly

In the Studio 21 - Colour Notes exhibition, the artists explore their use of colour in different ways...

Wedding Collar - Ross Belton

Protection - Jill Flower

Music of the Hills - Marion Glover

A Cumbrian Spectrum - Anne Froggatt

Cas Holmes' Tea Flora Tales, supported by the Embroiderers' Guild, is an ongoing collaboration with artists and makers to explore our relationship to the landscape and the work of Plantlife, a British conservation charity working nationally and internationally to save threatened wild flowers, plants and fungi. You could prune a bit of the display to take home for a donation to Plantlife.

Tea Flora Tales - Cas Holmes

Cas Holmes' Textile Landscape exhibition connecting people, landscape and place was also on display...

Blue Thistle (top L), Medway Gap (top R), North Kent Marshes (bottom R), View from Mallety (bottom L)- Cas Holmes

Llandiloes - Cas Holmes

The theme for the Embroiderers' Guild Members' Challenge competition 2017/18 was "Underfoot".  Here are some fab examples...

Carol Sutherland, Su Allington, Liz Smith

Elise Stewart, Janet Payne, Carrie Archer

In the Graduate Showcase I loved the work of Libby Vale and the work of Embroiderers' Guild Scholars Melanie Kay & Jessica Grady...
 

Be Everything - Libby Vale

Ironing Bored & Harm Chair - Libby Vale

Wash it Away - Melanie Kay

Gone With The Wind & Remember When - Melanie Kay

Melanie Kay

 

Jessica Grady

Jessica Grady

More to come later in Part 2...


 

Unusual Mixed Media Embellishments with Jessica Grady

My dyed mixed media embellishments - elastic bands, cable ties, cotton buds & more

Recently I went on one of Jessica Grady's "Make Your Own Mixed Media Embellishments" workshops which was great fun.  

Detail of Jessica Grady's work

More examples of Jessica Grady's work

 
Jess is an embroidery artist and is inspired by surface textures such as barnacles and peeling paint.  Her work is truly original, colourful and inspirational.  She describes her work as "encrusted" and makes her own embellishments out of all sorts of unusual materials.  Jess's work has been featured in various magazines - Fibre Art Now (Spring 2018), Reloved (Issue 54) and the Embroiderers' Guild members' magazine Contact (46), not to mention online at Mixed Up magazine & Art Reveal (Issue 38)...

 

Fibre Art Now & Reloved Articles

Jess taught us to make our own embellishments and provided lots of different materials to experiment with.  It was interesting to see how each material took up the colours. 

Dyed paper & tyvek

And when we were spray painting - the background paper ended up looking great too...
 

Painted metal, wood & plastic embellishments

We spent the day dyeing, painting, melting and foiling...

"Sequins" from melted plastic

 

Foil added to the painted embellishments

Now I have lots of interesting materials to work with - thanks Jess!  If you fancy doing one of Jess's workshops, you can see what's coming up here.

You'll be hearing lots more about Jess this year.  She has become the Under 30's 2018 Embroiderers' Guild Scholar and so will be exhibiting at this year's Knitting & Stitching Shows in London, Harrogate & Dublin & will be appearing at Art& in York as an installation artist. 

Some of Jess's work will be on display at the City of York Embroiderer's Guild Triennial Exhibition from 22-24 June 2018 at the Tithe Barn in Nether Poppleton, York. More details here.  Why not come along!

Bloom! - A Floral Festival in York

Paper Flower

I have recently had great fun at a workshop run by Deborah New for York Learning making flowers for the community art flower wall at York Explore (the main York Library for anyone who's wondering).  This is part of the Bloom! festival in York, running from the 5-8 July 2018 and beyond.  The festival is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Ancient Society of York Florists - who have held an annual horticultural show since 1768 - which is quite an achievement!  There are lots of things botanical going on and you can check them out here. 
 

Flower out of bin liners and pipecleaners

Flower out of old bags

Flower out of plastic bottle, fruit netting & more

 
Here are some of the flowers that were made by other people...

If you want to get involved why not make a flower or several - they could be knitted (if you want some flower patterns check out my blog here and knit them in any bright colour you like!), stitched or how about trying out some recycling or upcycling and invent a flower.  

Melted straw flowers

Since the workshop I've made a few flower heads from melted straws (thanks to Jessica Grady for the technique - watch out for more about Jess in another blogpost!).

So, if you want to get involved your completed flowers have to be with Claire Douglas at the City of York Council West Offices (open 8.30am to 5pm Mon - Fri) by 30 June 2018.  There are also more workshops on Sat 16 June 2018. Contact York 01904 554277 or email Claire at claire.douglas@york.gov.uk for more details.

Go on - make a flower - you know you want to!