Bridget Bernadette Karn at the Embroiderers Guild

Glorious in Defeat - Bridget Bernadette Karn

Bridget Bernadette Karn came to the City of York Embroiderers' Guild to talk about her work recently.  Bridget uses wet, dry and needle felting techniques to create pictures in wool.  She builds up her pictures in layers, starting with the background and finishing with the needle felted fine detail.  Working from her own photographs, Bridget's work is amazingly detailed, realistic and fantastic!

Sunflowers - Bridget Bernadette Karn

Although, Bridget has had many different roles she has always considered herself an artist and before taking up felting as a technique, was a potter.

Waterlilies - Bridget Bernadette Karn

Last year Bridget was thrilled that one of her pictures was accepted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and this year is submitting her work "Glorious in Defeat", pictured above.

Geese - Bridget Bernadette Karn

Bridget also talked about the need to price her work at a realistic and sustainable level and the importance of social media and a web presence in promoting her work.

Until 15 March 2017 you can see more of Bridget's work at Blossom Street Gallery in York along with Carol Coleman, Fran Brammer and others in the exhibition "A Celebration of Textile Art".  Do go and take a look!

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!