Dorset Buttons With A Difference

Each week at City and Guilds we have 'Show and Tell'

of the previous weeks samples and this week

we were looking at the buttons made and fastenings.

I demonstrated Dorset Buttons and as you can see

Gill has made some of her own and in different ways.

I was taught these when I did my City and Guilds and have used them ever

since and in many different ways myself. 

I use them as embellishments,

they often appear in my sculptures or in part on my embroideries.

I love teaching Textiles and seeing the skills interpreted in many ways.

Circles in Textiles

City and Guilds Creative Textiles cover many areas

of making textiles and techniques.

This week, along with circles of all descriptions, 

we have been looking at Fastenings.

Buttons, pop studs, hooks, eyes and zips etc.

It's a chance to make and learn different ways of using them.

 Also, have the opportunity to use different feet on a sewing machine.

Above, you can see a mixture of artwork and samples.

While looking through some students found antique

fastenings in their collections. 

It was great to see and also date some of them too!

Circle Quilt

At City and Guilds Creative Textiles we have been doing

all thing circular these last couple of weeks.

Jenny brought in her Circle Quilt which she had made at a 

Summer School Workshop.

It has fantastic piecing.

It's great to see a good label on the back explaining the quilt.

Well done, Jenny and thank you for sharing.

Embellished Flowers

Pat has been Embellishing for a while. She has her own machine.

Theses flowers are just beautiful, based on Poppies.

She had begun them and then got a book on Embellishing for Christmas,

 there is a similar picture within it.

You often find this, you are inspired to make something.

Start looking around and you find similar ideas and items.

Pat added some of the techniques the book covered and enhanced 

her flowers.

Beautiful.

To see more click on the written labels below or 

visit Embellishing on my portfolio site

HERE 

Garden Cushion

This is a cushion that Val has made using a photo transfer technique.

Its beautiful and I love to see the various techniques combined.

Suffolk Puffs, in the corner we did those the week before

and I wrote an article about them 

HERE 

Cut Back Sheers

Textile Tuesday at The Art Room, is always busy with lots of 'Show and Tell'.

Me demonstrating and everyone doing their own projects

or the inspiration of the day.

This Tuesday, it was Cut Back Sheers.

As you can see by the class samples above they are all different!

So, once you have layered up your sheers, threads and snippets,

you can then freemotion stitch a pattern or in areas so that you can

then use a soldering iron to burn back to reveal back to the sheers.

Health and Safety here.

 Well ventilated room. 

Make sure you have a stand for your soldering iron.

Make sure you are working on a protective surface. 

Use a tool to move the hot sheer out of the way.

Caroline!

Since moving to The Art Room Dereham,

I have a new assistant called,

Caroline. She has helped me so much give even more

service to my clients and I thank her for her patience!

Caroline is an Artist and goes to the Art Classes with Claire

at The Art Room Dereham.

Now little did she know that she would be hooked!

I showed the Embellisher machines on her first afternoon,

so she could get the machine and all the things out with it when a

client wants to embellish. 

Caroline made her piece and she was a way!

She now has her own Embellisher Machine and there is a sample of her work in the first pic.

She has been with me three weeks and has brought a second hand sewing machine

and is using a Moda Jelly Roll to make her first quilt blocks.

Her dogs haven't got away with it either,

with all the cold weather they now have their own coats.

Well done Caroline and it's great working with you.

Cases with Zips

Another virtue in sewing I have been adapting is,

The art of using 'zips'.

For some reason many have been put off by over zealous 

Needlework teaches and have never sewn in or considered doing them since.

I show a very easy bag and here are two different versions of it. 

Made by Jo and Mandy.

The top is the flat bag and the bottom picture shows it with

the zip in the middle and has sugar bag corners.

just made with a square of fabric and your ZIP!

Nikki's Bag

Nikki has finished her bag made with the fabric made from her

Alpacas. Notice it has buttons too!

This has been a challenge due to the tweed and it wasn't able

to turn inside out of the lining so a binding was used.

Great bag and Nikki is now making her next one.

It takes 16 squares and a little origami!

Sugar Bag Corners

Jo has made this bag with lots of details.

The main body of the bag is lots of patch worked pieces. 

The sugar bag corners are on the outside of the bag and decorated 

with buttons.

The handles are able to move up and down with the buttons

and button holes.

I have been extolling the virtues of buttons and button holes

this month at class and lots of students are trying them for the 

first time. They are finding out how liberating it is 

to finally be able to do and make them.

Well done Jo for liberating your button holes.

I tell everyone it take a bit of practice.

Bags and More Bags

Textile Tuesdays are wonderful for 'Show and Tell'.

We always have a lot of bags. 

I started it off two years ago by making several different bags 

each month and sharing the making of them at class

and it has just taken off. 

We are now officially Bag Ladies!

Some take up the challenge more than others!

Beryl's bag above is made with Amy Butler fabric and looks

wonderful and is a great Summer Bag.

Pat has made hers out of recycled upholstery fabrics and 

it for those awkward and last minute things that when you are going away are always

left over and you don't know where to put or pack them!

See more bags by clicking the written label below.

Cotillion Bag

HeatherAnne has made this wonderful bag made from a kit by Quilters Trading Post. 

It is called a 'Cotillion Bag'. Now 'The Cotillion', is a type of dance made popular in

18th Century France and became very fashionable because it was performed in formation.

 Couples made up a square or opposite lines, making it a very social and very popular.

Now a lady of this time would have had a bag,

 to put her 'other shoes' in and some 

'overnight' things just in case it was a dance too good to leave!

Or a well invitation came her way to stay at the family house!

It made me laugh as HeatherAnne wanted to adapt the bag for her

Church Books! 

A very novel way of distorting a history of a bag!

It makes her giggle and the rest of us that she is taking her dance overnight

bag to Church!

Sampler Quilts in the Making

Eileen and Janet are both using Sampler Quilt Patterns 

to make these two very different quilts.

The colours are just wonderful!

See more quilts by clicking the written labels below or visiting 'Quilt"

on my art portfolio site,

HERE