Jess Grady workshop

Last Saturday at Seata we had an all-day workshop with Jess Grady. We had a late start as her train was cancelled, and Julie very kindly fetched her from Doncaster station.

Fortunately there was a good sales table next to where I had sat. Good news and bad, as even after I had a good rummage through at the beginning, I kept spotting other things of interest because more was added as other members put things on the table. Bargains too good to miss!

When Jess did arrive, she soon had her samples set out for us to look at and be inspired by. After a quick outline of the plan for the day (we’d had a talk by her pre-lock down, so had an idea of what to expect), we got started on flowers / abstract gardens. Jess came round to each table to guide us and make suggestions on how to push our own ideas further.

I’d chosen a neutral background of a soft, fairly heavy fabric, and used what I think was the wrong side because I liked the effect of the weave. I’ve no real idea what it is, possibly a cotton / linen mix. I’m sure it came from a sales table at some stage, but it’s good to stitch in to. Jess had brought a huge bag of recycled ready-cut circles in various fabrics, papers, metals and plastics (many packaging of some sort). I decided to work out of my comfort zone with the pinks, and then picked out a couple of threads that don’t stitch easily, the rainbow-coloured ribbony one and a slubby knitting yarn.

I made petals by folding and stitching down the pink and purple circles, folded smaller pink paper circles in half, made them into little cones and put them in the middle, and then a tassle-like centre in some mauve shiny rayony thread.

Then I twisted more fabric circles in various weights and textures, and stitched them down.

I went for another rummage and look at Jess’s samples, and she was working on gathering up a strip of fabric / ribbony stuff. She said it was a good way of using things that won’t stitch through the fabric. I tried unsuccessfully to reproduce her effect, but was very happy with the way the slubby yarn gives the impression of clover or lilac. I think it will be a very useful technique.

I twisted the rainbow-coloured ribbon into petal shapes, and put beads in the centres.

Jess was having another look at what we were doing, and suggested twisting some crepe paper. I didn’t like the pink she was carrying with her, but she said there were other colours at the front. I wanted mauve or purple really, but a yellow picked out the yellow in the ribbon. It worked well with several layers of petals and coiling up the last bits in the centre.

Jess also suggested using twisted wire to make some leaf shapes, but this is as far as I got by the end of the session. Another work in progress!

The top photo shows the variety of work achieved by the group by the end of the day.

Bargello cushion

A couple of folk (thank you) suggested Etsy for the Twilley’s stranded embroidery wool, and I’ve found the green (45) that I’d run out of so far. There were three skeins, and I asked if by any chance they had any of the other numbers; yes, number 49. How I didn’t spot it is beyond me, but turns out there are only 2 green, so I have a brown (49) on its way too. There’s more 49 available, so I need to get on with it quickly to see how many I might need: a good excuse to stitch.

I have been making progress anyway, athough I’ve done a couple of stitches too short (spot above!). I’ve been trying to use the tangle of threads left in the middle, which is how it was when I bought it in the charity shop. Some were on the back, and kept catching when I was working, so I brought them through to the front.

I have also tried to continue to the border with the patterns I’ve started, before running out of any more colours. In the end, I put in a tacking stitch to show where the lines and corner are. Now I’m waiting for the wool to arrive to finish the last few stitches in this corner.

Then I added some dark green, both sides of the pattern.

I used some of the ends to finish this section.

Now it’s just the green (45) to finish the row.

A couple of short bits and I just got there.

I wasn’t sure how to progress here but, seeing that I had three strands of the lighter caramel all attached, I decided to come down in steps …..

…… to the corner.

And I filled in the wavy lines to meet it. I’m trying to balance the colours and patterns to use the skeins that I have left and the ones that are in the post.

Bargello pincushion

I’ve continued with the abstract Bargello pincushion, mainly in shades of pink, but also made a level edge with mauves and purples at the top (or will it become the bottom?). I had done the longer stitch of pink, following the single stitch row of mauve, before I realised it would make the canvas piece too big for the pre-cut patchwork piece of cotton. I undid the pink, having counted the holes to make it square, but decided the canvas would fold over the three stitches of mauve. I should have counted and set my boundaries before I started with the fun bit, but was too impatient….. more haste, less speed. I did the fuschia pink pattern two stitches wide.

Then I followed that with a double row of yellow, picking up the colour from the variegated thread. Initially I thought it would be too dominant, but it balances out with the rows in the rectangles. For all the yellows I have, it was tricky to find the right shade, but in the end I was happy with the choice.

I continued to fill in the spaces with different shades, textures, matt and shiny threads, totally forgetting to take photos as I worked. I only remembered after I’d put the pale backing fabric behind the canvas (see Abstract Bargello), and machine stitched round following the edge of the canvas stitches, then the darker one for the real back leaving a gap to turn through and trimmed the corners.

I decided not to make the corners really square and left them nicely rounded, which somehow made it feel more cushiony. The top edge is ready to be ladder stitched once I’ve stuffed it.

Then I considered doing a beaded edging, and even sorted out beads, before I saw coral knot stitch being worked on another pincushion, and decided to do that. I tried a couple of thinner perlé threads then settled on two strands of perlé 5 in a dark purple, which tones with the back perfectly. By the time I’d got all the way round I’d got sore fingers. It was tough pulling it through all the layers, but I’ve learnt a new edging stitch and it’s finished, more than two weeks before I need it!

Abstract Bargello

On Monday morning I was trying to sort out my many projects and only take the current one to Alex’s “In the stitch zone” on Monday afternoon. Threads, etc., that were finished with, were put back in the appropriate places, and I could actually travel light with only one bag, and not need to take the several WIP’s I’d taken the last few weeks when I’d just grabbed a bag as I dashed out of the door.

While eating my lunch, I’d even remembered that I’d left my basic sewing kit pouch upstairs when I’d gone up to use the sewing machine (before getting side-tracked on to something else).

Only to get three-quarters of the way there, I realised that the frame with the Bargello was still sitting on the settee, and I had no other project, fabric or threads with me! It wasn’t worth going home to fetch it, nor time. I knew Alex had some canvas and threads that she’d said we could use, and it was the ideal opportunity to make a start on the pincushion for the Seata birthday party at the end of July, something that I’ve known about for months but couldn’t make up my mind what to do. I’d had lots of ideas, but nothing that had really grabbed.

I picked a pretty variegated perlé thread (above) from Alex’s box, knowing I have a card the same at home. These were not colours I would normally work with, especially on natural coloured canvas, but I didn’t want to use white as it would show through too much. I didn’t want to follow a traditional Bargello pattern but to do an abstract Bargello pattern, so started with a zig and a zag before using up the first length of thread. I then started at the edge and worked down first, deliberately not making it a mirror image, and on the up going “underneath” like in Celtic knotwork.

Then I continued across the canvas.

A change of thread and I followed the bottom line, making two stitches level at the new bottom edge, which changed the angles of the zigs and zags. Then I put some long stitches in the right hand rectangle, before doing a single stitch with the mauve perlé. Once again I got so carried away that I forgot to take photos. Some of this was done at home, once I’d sorted out more threads.

Here are possible threads, but leaning towards the pinks and mauves at the moment.

The bottom row is two stitches wide, the same length.

I started putting in a row of pink at the top, but then realised it would be easier to make it the right size if I were to put in the bottom edge, having already decided on the width determined by the pre-cut quilt square of cotton.

Then I had to choose the piece of fabric for the back.

There were several contenders, but the others were too pink, too pale, too patterned, etc.

It’s coming along nicely, and at least I’m not rushing it at the last minute (at least not all of it).