Cheery, Colourful and Bright - A Gift of Comfort

After the September meeting/AGM of the Lytham St Annes Embroiderers Guild; where we discussed all things business and were given a slide show highlighting the coming year's exciting events and workshops; I was thrilled to be shown these lovely ponchos that one of our members had knitted. 

Using donated wool, threads and fabrics she quickly sews lap quilts or knits up twiddle muffs and blankets for the elderly patients suffering with dementia who often have long stays at the local Clifton and Victoria hospitals.

These lovely items provide warmth and comfort whilst the Twiddle Muffs are something that keep the patients hands busy and help to reduce their stress and worry at being in an unfamiliar place.

The latest item our kind member has added to her repertoire are these colourful ponchos below.

Here are 9 ponchos on the sofa having a photo shoot. 

They were made in just a few weeks with left over tapestry wool and spools of thread that had been donated for the Sales Table at our recent exhibition in August. Ponchos have also been made with string and ribbon, so long as it is soft and not scratchy, pretty much any 'thread' can be used

I am told that the Ward Sister requested the ponchos as the blankets, whilst fine wrapped around a patients shoulders when sitting, were falling to the ground and becoming a tripping hazard when the person stood up and forgot about them.

Ponchos are a simple rectangular shape with the short sides sewn up and the top left open to go over the head. They are knitted on large needles using donated wool and left overs that cannot be used for anything else. The challenge is to make them bright and cheerful as much of the donated wool seems to be grey, maroon, navy blue, bottle green and black but our clever knitter uses a spool of Lurex that she was given and mixes that with the dull colours to brighten them up. 

Several hundred ponchos have been made so far and more are always needed.

Calling all Members - CAN YOU HELP?  Do you have any left over yarn, tapestry wool or threads that you no longer need? If so please consider donating them to this worthy cause and bring your surplus along to our next meeting/s. You can clear out a bit of space and it would all be put to good use to help to keep elderly patients warm and comfortable. 

Lovely Things - Highlights from the 2019 Exhibition

Here are a few more snaps from the Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild Bi-Annual Exhibition. 

I am not sure if this post has a 'theme' but all are Unique and the Stitchers Own Design and Free Style - my kinda stuff! (if you can come up with a better title, just let me know!)

This is Rosie the Elephant, below, in Sumptuous Purples.

 A Klimt Inspired Wall Hanging, above, was made using the students own stamps to make prints on velvet using metallic paint. The class called Klimt Reworked in Stitch and Textiles was led by Wendy Cotterill during the 2019 North West Regional Summer School.
Below, is a wonderful quilty mixed media scene called Under the Sea. 

This Crazy Patchwork really sparkles in silky blue fabrics with a pop of purple. It was made on a Workshop led by the lovely Linda of Creative Threads in Garstang.

A wonderful Book Cover using snippets of sheer fabrics and threads that are free  machined over, looks cheerful in its blue and gold colourway; above.

Below, a Mosaic of scrunched coloured papers sewn together makes a Unique Pouch for keeping important scraps or cuttings from magazines.

Below, pretty sheers and voile have been free machined to embellish before florist wire was machined on the edges of Butterfly shapes to make this 3D piece called Flying By.

I hope that these items have inspired you to let you imagination run free to make your own Lovely Things? 
Thank you to everyone for allowing photos of your creations to show on our Blog.

Trees and Tie Dye - More Highlights from our 2019 Exhibition

Here are some pieces that were taught in workshops by our very own Sue Bennet - our talented longtime member and teacher of exciting new techniques and Free Machine Embroidery.

These first few were taught in a Woodland Scene Workshop at another branch a while back.

 Not having taken this particular workshop, I am not quite sure of the techniques but think that the trees are mostly made of Woollen/Yarn threads couched over the hessian threads that remained after removing most of the horizontal threads.

Using various colours of yarn makes the scenes look totally different according to which season you want to create.

Flowers add another dimension to the woodland scene.

I could not resist taking these snaps of a page by the Parbold Branch in our North West Regional Travelling Book. Click onto the highlight to read the previous post and also one here. 

How cheerful and succulent do these Fabric Pears look?

Above, a close up of pears and below, notice the cute bee.

Up next are some completed Tie Dye pieces from our recent Tie Dye Workshops with Sue Bennet. Read the posts here, here and here.


Here is a Sweet Heart embroidery using the tie dye as a background.

A pretty Blue Flower made by a piece of dyed lace on the Bulls Eye tie dye design.

Another Bulls Eye tie dye design called Purple Madness, below.

One clever member made her Tie Dye pieces up into this fantastic bag, below.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to today's Post. 

Fun Stitchery - More Highlights from the 2019 Exhibition

Here is another post of lovely stitched items on display at the
 2019 Bi-Annual Exhibition of the Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild. Enjoy!

 This is Mediterranean Mog - a colourful Cat that comes in a Kit from Dizzy & Creative.

Below; another colourful creation, this wonderful Bird from a Kit by Rico Designs (sorry I could not find the link to the bird kit itself but they do have plenty of Embroidery Kits and many other craft items. Check them out).

This large piece is made up of several fascinating Desert Scenes that are in a book by Debbie Kelley called Thorns and Roses - Rose and Cactus Designs for Brazilian Dimensional  Embroidery.

Above and below - a sweet Sewing Kit House by Tilda ( aka Tone Finnanger; the founder and designer of the internationally recognised Tilda brand) is found in her book Tilda's Toy Box.

 This is The Parliament, a fun canvas work cushion and is the stitchers own design. 

Another lovely Canvas Work Cushion, below. Canvas work is any stitching or applied work on a canvas background and has been practised since the 16th Century. It is confusing as the main stitch; Tent Stitch which is also called Needlepoint and canvas work is also known commercially as Tapestry as it looks like a stitched version of a woven tapestry.

In the 19th Century when Berlin Woolwork was popular, canvas work was used to make slippers, smoking caps and upholstery with wool being the main thread used but today any thread is used to make textured and raised stitches. 
Hmm; interesting! I had always wondered how Beth ( the youngest sister in the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott) made slippers. I would hazard a guess that they were canvas work!

There are many versions of this fun Little Girl (and boys!) Knitting, most are wearing glasses but the designs seem to be Anacardia Dolls by Ana Carolina. Find her on Instagram to see more.

Well, that is all for now - with more to follow! Thank you to everyone who stitched items for the exhibition and allowed them to be photographed to appear on our Blog.

Silk and Sparkles - Highlights from the 2019 Exhibition

I thought that these next items would be nice grouped together as they all have a luxurious feel to them and more than a hint of sparkle.

Here are some beautiful Millefiori Button Brooches. Mille meaning 'thousand' and Fiori meaning 'flowers'; that were made on this year's North West Regional Summer School taught by Jenny Adin-Christie who trained at The Royal School of Needlework.

This is called Daisy Brooch, above; and below; a Rose Brooch, both are really exquisite.

This is the same Rose design but has just been called Millefiori Button Brooch, which does not detract from its loveliness.

Below, not sure if this design had a name but it is rather pretty and reminds me of a Sparkly Spinning Jenny ( of the tree variety not the machine of the same name).

This Pentagon Casket is Machine Embroidered and made in a class taught by Sandra Kedzlie; a member of the Parbold Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.

I hope that like myself, you all enjoyed looking at the photos of the pretty, sparkly embroideries. I cannot imagine the work that must have gone into making the intricate Millefiori Button Brooches. They would certainly add a wonderful touch of glamour to the plainest of dresses! If you would like to make one for yourself then click on Jenny's website here. There are a few designs and even a lovely Heart Shaped Brooch with a Rose in the centre - so pretty!

Thank you to everyone who exhibited and allowed their lovely work to be photographed for our Blog.

A Lovely Lampshade and Machine Embroidery - More Highlights from our 2019 Exhibition

These next photos from the 2019 Exhibition of the Lytham

 St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild have a Bird theme to them.

Here is a lovely lampshade that features free machined applique birds designed by Andrea Walpole of Raggedy Ruff Designs. She has some really gorgeous stuff on her site - so go take a look!

Yes, that is an umbrella behind the lampshade! Unfortunately, it was all I had available to block out all the other exhibits and glare from the overhead lighting; so saving myself quite a bit of photo editing. 
A big thank you to the umbrella owner who kindly lent it to me. Hoping to try out a fabric lined box in future... Oh the joys of amateur-ish photography!
Any tips would be really helpful...

This view, above is further around the lampshade. Love how the Birds are not just 'floating' on the shade but are on a pretty patchwork and appliqued design.
Below, no bird on this bit - except for part of the Black Bird's tail :-) but gorgeous all the same.

And here is the pretty Black Bird himself. Not sure what the other bird is - a Thrush?

This beautiful machine embroidered hand bag, below; has been named Be a Peacock in a World of Ducks... which is a great name as it is only called Peacock Handbag on the site. The design is by Sweet Pea.

The Peacock Feathers have been Machine Embroidered this time as opposed to Free Machined (stitches controlled by the stitcher, not the machine) on the Lampshade.

The lampshade and bag where made by the same clever stitcher who  is also a great source of advice on Embroidery Machines and Sewing machines in general. Go and see her at Bizzie Fingers in St Annes. They have a new shop now which is much larger and filled with all manner of lovely fabrics and sewing/haberdashery items and yarn. I doubt if you will be able to leave without buying some lovely goodies :-)

Fun Felted Creations - Highlights from the 2019 Exhibition

Here are more pictures from the recent Exhibition of work by the Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.

These all have a 'felty theme'.

This Happy Hare was made from a kit by Lincolnshire Fenn Crafts. Check them out on the link above, they have a Blog as well as a Shop and few felting videos on You Tube that show how to felt the ears etc

Meet Luna Lapin - the lovely Rabbit that you can make and dress following the patterns in the book Making Luna Lapin by Sarah Peel.

This striking Monochromatic Felt Abstract piece was made during a North West Regional Summer School taught by Valerie Wartelle.

Above, this colourful felted piece was made by the same person as the Abstract and is called Under the Sea. It is the makers own design.

Here is a charming children's book made from felt. 

It tells the story of the Weather Hut that magically changes the weather for you should you need more wind so that you can fly a kite on the beach. 

Or maybe you fancy watching a Natural Lightening Show or even building a sandy Snowman.

The Story that comes with the book was called We Live by the Sea and it has a very sweet ending.
Thank you to everyone who put their felted creations into our Exhibition.
Look out for more Exhibition Posts coming soon.

Fused Fabric Creatures - Highlights from the 2019 Exhibition

Here are some wonderful sparkly creatures that were created during the long awaited Fused Fabrics Day School with Nikki Parmenter. 

This beautiful Purple Butterfly was really suited his large scale being about 7 inches across. 
Some creatures were made in 3D, like this lovey Bird with 2 Butterfly Friends, below. I would love to know the method behind the leaves on the background fabric. Bleach pen maybe?

Many of you will remember the fabulous funky foam pieces that Nikki generously passed around the audience (and allowed us to handle!) during her talk on Experimental Textiles in April 2017 at our Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild. Click on the highlighted links above to read more and also here and here. 

Next are two lovely Sea Turtles. Some wonderful machine and hand embroidery ladies.

This large Turtle with an orange shell has been made up of several parts which have been stuffed with wadding/fibre fill to make them 3D.

Here come the Sea Horses! Who doesn't love a sea horse? This pale Blue and Gold Sea Horse, looks regal mounted on purple silk fabric.

This lovely Lilac Sea Horse is twined around some embroidery thread 'seaweed'. What a great idea!

Now a Trio of Aqua coloured Sea Horses, one awaiting fibre filling to make him 3D, another embellished with sparkly Vermicelli beads and another is hand and machine embroidered.

All the creatures used the same methods of making but all turned out very differently.
Many thanks to all who put their work into the Exhibition and to Nikki Parmenter for teaching us on the day.
Click on the link to learn more about Nikki's technique, see more of her work on her Website Gallery or to take a Workshop click here.