Furry and Feathered Friends

Do you remember the report on our Summer School last year where we worked on the owl and squirrel designs by Nicola Jarvis?
Another member of our Lytham St Annes Embroiderers Guild Group has also been busily working on Nicola's kits so I just have to show you these wonderful finished Silk Shading pieces worked by Shelagh T.

Shelagh's work is so neatly worked - just look at the detail on the cute squirrel face! And he has fluffy bits :-)

And here is a close up of the flower on his upper leg. Nicola has taken inspiration for her kits from the work of William Morris and his daughter May Morris. Read about more about Nicola Jarvis, here.

Love those acorns!

You can also view Linda's finished Squirrel, here.

Another of the designs from the Hillwood Collection by Nicola is this regal looking Owl. Here he is worked by Shelagh.

His furry face and crown detail, above, and below shows his floral wing and lattice details of his feathers.

Beautifully stitched flowers on his stomach (this is a close up, the flowers are very small in size and a stitchers magnifying tool is very helpful).
The wavy edge of his tummy is a puffed couching effect that is not widely used and was demonstrated to us at the last summer school in Clitheroe by Nicola.
Hope you enjoyed viewing these gorgeous 'creatures' and many thanks to Shelagh for being so kind in allowing photos of her fabulous stitching. 
If you would like a kit of your own which comes complete with all materials, DMC stranded cottons, beads, needles and extremely detailed instructions, then click this link to Nicola Jarvis website where you can order the owl, squirrel, robins and various other lovely kits and merchandise or book on one of her workshops where you will learn the techniques from Nicola herself. You are sure to have a lovely time.

All Buttoned Up!

Here are some more examples of our work with buttons during a workshop created by Sue Bennet of the Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild. See the post here.

Lazy Daisy stitches over buttons, above and Straight stitches in pale blue thread look effective over blue buttons below.

More Lazy Daisy stitches above, with Straight stitch bars in orange thread, and below in variegated lilac thread the stitcher has worked Spiders Web.

Fresh green and peach coloured buttons look lovely with Pistil and Straight stitches in white Perle and the centre looks like the beginnings of a Spiders Web is being worked, below.

Above, this colourful Jungle print fabric is going to adorn a new 'play room' for this lucky stitcher. Various coloured threads used to Needle Weave and am loving the look of weaving over half a button. Buttonholed Bars are lying across the pale blue button upper right, like a starfish :-)

A is for........ Pistil stitches decorate the buttons in this monogram, above and lime green, white and yellow buttons make a spring time colourway with this Straight stitched piece, below.

More Spiders Web weaves its way around this grey button on brown background fabric, above. Am told that the bright, warm coloured design owes itself to a 'happy accident' as the stitcher ran out of thread. Love those moments!

What a good idea to use a striking vivid green thread for the 'spokes' and then to Needle Weave in different coloured thread around them? The grey background fabric is very contemporary and popular right now with the modern quilters designers.

Another great idea, above, using Straight stitches to connect to the buttons that encircle the central button topped with a sparkly pink one. Wrapping the outer buttons makes for a sumptuous look. Can't wait to see this one when its finished :-)
Below, is another luxurious looking design. One large black button looks regal with lime Needle Weaving and finished with wine coloured beads. A patterned background fabric adds to the overall effect.

These two samplers, above and below, are a fun way to try out all the various stitches on Sue's Worksheet. Straight, Pistil, Lazy Daisy and Needle Weaving Stitches are all used.

Our last photo is one that was 'done earlier' by an experienced stitcher who couldn't wait for the Workshop to have a go with her own button design. This lovely Flower Basket was worked by Barbara B on to black felt and framed by coloured card. 
Notice how Barbara has used the same coloured buttons and threads to give the impression of different flowers. Are the lilac buttons with yellow centres Forget-me-Knots?

Thank you to all our members for allowing their work to be photographed for these two posts and many thanks also to
Sue Bennet for all her hard work in coming up with the ideas, samples and worksheets for our 'Button' Workshop.
We all had a great time stitching, chatting and jazzing up our buttons. There are sure to be many more 'buttoned up' designs coming in the future.

Imagine a Button.....

How lovely it is to be writing the first post of another New Year. Seems that 2018 is well under way now and we at the Lytham St Annes Embroiderers Guild kicked off our first meeting of the year with a workshop led by Sue Bennet who taught us some very  imaginative ways to sew a button on.

Here are two of Sue's samples to whet your appetite. 

 A floral button tribute using Lazy Daisy stitch and Stem Stitch which would be easy enough for a beginner to do. Beads decorate the centres.
Below, using buttons to make your own Monogram. This time with Pistil Stitches and French Knots.

The designs got gradually more complex using stitches for the more experienced embroiderers.
If you would like to learn more, Sue is happy to discuss teaching your group; so get in touch by the usual Embroiderers Guild channels or come and see us at the address on the left side bar. You are sure to have fun and learn new ways with buttons and stitches.

Here are our group efforts - most are still WIPs but the following photos will show you what we were up to :-)

Above, white buttons decorated with green Pistil stitches and yellow French Knots reminds one of daisies, and below; in white Lazy Daisy and Pistils with Spiders Web in blue. 

Here buttons will be arranged around a central button decorated with pink pistils and a similar floral/circular arrangement below using Lazy Daisy.

Lazy Daisy stitches in a yellow thread looks effective, below.

Another floral arrangement, above, this time using straight stitches.
Getting a little more complex, below, is Spiders Web ( over one spoke back and under two forward each time) in lilac over the centre of the button with needle weaving under and over the thread 'spokes' that fan out in different lengths from the button.
Using a patterned fabric also adds interest.

Straight stitches can look satisfyingly complex, above and below. Using pretty shaped buttons also gives the illusion of a complicated stitch and is a good idea if you are a beginner.

Add beads for extra ooomph.... or use coloured and variegated threads in complimentary or contrasting colours to the buttons for a fun look.

Or go big and mash it up with different coloured threads and beads on a colourful background (green fabric more vivid in real life!) as below using Pistils and Spiders Web.

That is all for this post. Hope you enjoyed spotting your work - if not it will be in the one following.
Many thanks to Sue for coming up with some great ideas, providing beautifully executed examples to spark our imagination and providing a detailed Worksheet explaining the various stitches we could used on our own buttoned pieces. 
We won't be able to look at a button in quite the same way again :-)
If you fancy a go yourself, have a rummage through your button box and grab some thread ( Perle No 8 was used as its not too thick and less likely to split going over the buttons as a stranded embroidery floss) then let your imagination take over.
Or call in on us at our next meeting (details on right side bar) and ask for a worksheet.