The weather was perfect for us to work outside during our Indigo! workshop last month.  It meant we could spread the dipped fabrics in the sunshine so that they could fully oxidise and turn the wonderful shade of blue we love from indigo.  We even had a go at dipping Khadi paper and sketchbooks into the vat...

We are excited to announce that once again we have been selected to exhibit at Farmham Maltings Thread …a festival of textiles which is a showcase for the many and varied textile notions. Hear expert talks, attend a range of workshops, see demonstrations by local guilds and be inspired by exhibitions of contemporary textile work. 

Thread also has a bustling marketplace with stall holders selling artisan fabrics, dressmaking patterns and haberdashery, plus lifestyle products from designers working with weave, print, embroidery and more!

Thread…a festival of textiles will be on Friday 26 & Saturday 27 September 2014. Open Friday 12pm – 6pm and Saturday 10am – 5pm.

http://craft.farnhammaltings.com/portfolio/thread-festival/

It is the last day for our ITS students.  They have had a busy, creative year working in their sketchbooks and on the stitched pieces inspired by them.  Over the summer we shall be uploading a gallery of work for each course, but in the mean time here is a sneak preview of their work!

The sun is shining and this summer is already feeling like the ones remembered from childhood!  That will probably make it rain now....

The year-long courses are drawing to a close, but the ITS students are still busy making work inspired by the sketchbooks created this year.

Fabric is being coloured with textile paints ready for stitch.  Denise has been working on bridges this year and the starting point for this latest piece of work is an image of The Severn Bridge taken at sunset.

Nina has coloured all her fabrics using Procion dyes.  The patterns have been made using a variety of techniques including mono printing, stamping and mark making.  Once the fabric collage base in in place she will the heavily stitch the surface using a range of different weight threads.

It is always good to sample a new technique or idea.....and Jude is busy making hers.  This year Jude has been inspired by the doors and windows of Ghardarmes.  Using her hand dyed fabrics which have resist patterns on them for the backgrounds, the resulting designs have been cut out of white fabric and will be covered with a sheer before being machine quilted.