A Paisley Peacock Struts his Stuff

Do you remember the Paisley sewing activity that we did for the North West Regional AGM? These pieces were to be collected and sewn onto a large Peacock as part of his tail feathers ( read post here and here).
Now he is fully complete and was on view at our Regional Day held April this year in Leyland.
Here are some pics of Mr Proud Peacock. See if you can spot your own paisley tail feather.

 Below is a close up of part of his tail ala 'flash' so that you can appreciated the bright colours of the fabrics and threads that were used.

 The rest of his tail, in normal camera mode, above and the more vivid 'flash' version below.

I think that you will agree that he does look quite splendid and therefore, should be proud and strut his stuff. Perhaps we will see him again when we all meet for the NW AGM in October. 
Many thanks to all who contributed a piece and a Special Thank You goes to our very talented creator  from the North Lonsdale branch, who not only thought up the Peacock Project but the 2015 Circles/Mandalas and 4 Lines of 2016. She always has such big ideas and they are all very enjoyable to stitch. 

More Aqua Covers!

As promised here are the rest of the entries to the M Scott-Priestly competition in April called (this year only) Got it Covered, where entrants had to incorporate a piece of aqua/turquoise shiny fabric into their piece.
Please enjoy viewing :-)

 Simplicity speaks for itself, above, the fabric was used to cover a small square box... you won't lose this in a hurry!
Below, is a pretty Mandala stitched in variegated thread and adorned with sequins to compliment the colour of the fabric. (apologies for the fading - the flash version had to be used to show up the detail of the very neat stitching which is much richer in daylight). It is a very 'happy' design though, is it not?

 The fabric design has been echoed in the stitching, here on this cover for a natty little needle-case, above, using silver and white threads. 
Take a look at the inside, below, its one of those clever mechanisms where it folds out and  then turn over and the ribbons are on the opposite side. As a child, I used to be fascinated by a money wallet like this that my father used to keep his notes safe.
I think that they are called Magic Wallets or Flip Wallets (thank you Google).

This is a rather luxurious looking cover for a note book, complete with a velvet page marker, above.
See the detailed stitch design on the heart (adapted from a Doodle by C Elmer on Pinterest) below, and the button flap closure also has a stitched heart to match. Lovely.

We all need a bin or trash can, as they call them in America. This is a rather posh one to hold all those ends of threads and bits of fabric that we always accumulate and sometimes reuse if we are being really conscientious!
See the beaded detail of the inserted vent below that adds a little extra sparkle. Just the thing to go on top of our sewing table - no need to hide this one away underneath :-)

What do you do with your Contact magazine whilst you are reading it? Does it clutter up the footstool or coffee table for a month or two, getting all tatty and ripped in the process?
Make one of these Booklet Folders and you can safely take it with you to read at the doctors surgery or on the train (if you haven't already taken something  'sensational' with you, like your diary, that is! Oscar Wilde fans will understand this pun). It certainly has more finesse than a carrier bag or plastic wallet that I usually use :-)

 Here is the front of the Booklet Folder, above, with a simple Fly stitches and beads following the outline of the pattern on the fabric.
Below, a sweet pink coffee cup with wooden hearts is on the reverse side. The pink cup co-ordinates nicely with the pink lining inside.

And the Winner is .........

 The lovely and very talented S................. who also won a 3rd in the North West Regional Aurifil Competition for Excellence in Embroidery with her Stumpwork Box that had an array of stitched and beaded fruit including raspberries, blackberries, red berries, blue berries and a strawberry complete with a white strawberry flower.
You may remember it when it was voted Visitors Favourite at last years Lytham St Annes Branch Exhibition held at the Assembly Rooms. See it here (third photograph from top).
Thank you to everyone for allowing their entries to be photographed. I hope that these pieces have inspired you to get out that 'I like it but what do I do with it?' piece of fabric that we all have in our stash and use it to cover something so that you can enjoy using it.

Got it Covered! - an Aqua Coloured Competition

Each April the Lytham St Annes Embroiderers Guild hold the

 M Scott-Priestly Competition with a theme set by our Chairman. 

Having acquired (as we all seem to do without even trying!) a roll of rather lurid fluorescent aqua or maybe its turquoise? fabric, she set us the task of using a piece of it, in or for  something that could be defined as having Got It Covered. 

So here are some of the inventive results.

A delightful little 'Treasure Chest' to keep bits and bobs was covered in co-ordinating colours of aqua, pink and lime green which nicely set off the sumptuous box top. See detail of top, below.
Gorgeous Button Hole stitches and French Knots surround sequins and 'glass' effect sparkles. So pretty!

Above, white is a good choice of fabric as a border to calm down the brightness of the aqua centre piece.
Detail of the stitches, below, show Fly stitch,  French Knots and beads to decorate the patterns on the fabric. Looks very comfortable but too nice to squash by sitting on it!

Have used the flash here below to show the texture of the paper that has been used to make a little book that holds several 'Stitch Studies' using the fabric in different ways. This is the Front Cover.

The six pages, above and below. look like they were fun to do. Just adding stitches and beads whilst enjoying using the fabric in imaginative ways. Great idea.

Here is a lovely little white square box with a rather grand flower sitting on top of the lid.
I hope that our stitcher forgives me, but I cannot tell if the gold stitching around each petal is done by hand or machine as it is so very neat. It must have taken hours of careful work, either way. 
Never realised it before but white really does compliment and give a luxurious look to aqua/turquoise, doesn't it? It can be a strange colour to wear but we all seem to love it :-)

This is a very nice way to use the fabric; as a sort of Mock Fastener to a Clutch Bags or Make-up Bags, made in a matching coloured silk fabric. Lovely.

Last up on this post, but not least is another Note book cover very neatly and simply stitched using Chain stitch around French Knot flowers. This will make someone happy whilst writing using this note book :-)

Everyone seemed to enjoy this challenge as there were so many entries. Look out for the rest coming up soon in the next post.
Thank you to all our stitchers for making such good use of this unusual fabric and allowing photographs of their work.

Contemporary Cutwork from the Folio

The last post showcased some the more traditional pieces of  Cutwork from the Embroiderers Guild Folios. Here are a few modern and colourful ways of using Cutwork. Enjoy!

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe this is Hardanger? using yellow, blue and red threads, above. It is very striking stitched in vivid colour.

A sampler worked on blue linen with ideas showing how the design could be used in practical ways around the home. This was another of my favourite pieces.
Below, a Hedebo sampler on white stitched by a self-taught student named Stephanie Louch. She also used the Hedebo technique more freely to stitch the wonderful jellyfish, starfish and fishes under the sea.

Threads Drawn from a loosely woven cloth can be stitched over by hand, as above, or freely by machine (drop the feed dogs first) and can make wonderful textural pieces like this. It is especially great for making a tree design.

Similar to Reverse Applique this free machined Cutwork piece on red suede made by Elaine Wilson has coloured pieces of silk remnants showing through. This is achieved by layering fabric and sewing the design before carefully cutting away different layers to reveal the various colours of fabric underneath.

In 1986 a stitcher by the name of Rebecca strong made these lovely delicate pieces of Cutwork using a sewing machine and metallic thread.

Below, beautiful Whipped Eyelets on blue fabric sit protected by their plastic cover. Another favourite.

Here is a very modern piece, not sure of the date but it was made by a Miss Manning. It looks stunning mounted on pink card, was that her intention, I wonder, or did someone curating the pieces at the Embroiderers Guild HQ in Bucks, have this idea?

Below, the last photo of our post, are free machined pieces donated by the East Kent Guild. These are on Organdie, the cutwork being made with a soldering iron. 

The green sample on the right was inspired by a design on an early English Tile at Canterbury.

Well, that's all from the Folios for now. Maybe our branch will borrow another in the future, but until then why not get cutting and stitching yourself or look out for our May post which will be reporting on the workshop we had creating Cutwork Butterflies. 
As always Happy stitching!