Fabulous Fused Fabrics

Do you remember a talk a while back where the speaker brought in many amazing textile creations made with all kinds of beads and embellishments the most surprising of which was Funky Foam? And remember our joy when she not only showed us these treasures but passed them around for us to handle and inspect regardless of several beads falling off to which she simply replied 'no matter, I will just stick them back on'. See some huge creatures here and wall hangings here).

That lady was Nikki Parmenter and she came back in February to teach the first Day School of the year here at Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.

The technique Nikki taught was Fusing Fabrics to make 3D insects or fish, but before the post showing our works in progress; here are a few photos of Nikki's own work that were kindly sent to me by a member who attended the class.

A whole plethora of colourful and imaginary sea creatures, below.

A circular plaque with a seahorse, fish and turtle, above and up close showing the detail, below.

A funky coloured Jellyfish or Sea Anemone, above. Love that vivid blue fringe around it.
Below, is a rather happy looking Flying fish.

Another Fish, above. This one has more delicate fins and is nibbling on a few Sea Flowers. 
An amazing Blue Lobster, below.

Nikki is not afraid to show Artistic Licence in making her creatures in wonderfully vivid and striking colours that really catch the eye and add a fun element to her work.
There was not time to make such detailed and complex pieces on the day but students were able to start off their Textile Experiments with a simple layering and fusing technique. Watch out for that in the next post.
Many thanks to Nikki for bringing so many pieces to inspire our students and for a most enjoyable day.