Inspiration For Hand Stitchery

Last weekend, Bob and I visited various locations as part of the Norfolk Open Studios Fortnight. It was good fun, and we must have looked at the work of around two dozen artists in total [many combine at one location] We say painters, printmakers, jewellery makers, woodworkers, ceramicists, textile artists, glassworkers and more. Our final stop was The Old Workshop Gallery in Corpusty. [The village's unusual name is from the Viking for 'Raven's Path']

This lovely building is also the home of textile artist Jill Hill. Her family have been there many years.

Bob picked up a flyer headed "Inspiration for hand stitchery" about a workshop Jill was running on Friday and Saturday. No need to book, just drop in, No fee, just a donation for the NSPCC. "You should go" he said.

So I put in my new scissor ear-rings [Aren't they cool? A gift from a dear friend who knows me very well!] and drove off to this quaint little village. Just three of us turned up - the table was piled high with fabrics and threads, and Jill showed us a number of pieces she had produced using simple stitches on basic fabrics. 

Some were just small rectangles, ideal for greetings cards - others were mounted on larger backing fabrics to be wall hangings.

She had a huge stack of vintage embroidery books, from 1930s-1970s to inspire us.

Jill uses a lot of scrim - lightweight, loose woven, inexpensive cotton fabric. The name has been around over 200 years, but nobody is sure of its origin.She stitches it, dyes it, uses it as a foundation for patching and lots more.

I decided to take a strip of scrim and do lots of rows of different stitches, then subsequently mount them on a larger piece [similar to the hanging on the left]

I worked from 11 till 2 without a break. I'd selected 5 colours of thread. 

red/ caramel/ orange/ yellow/ beige

I chose stitches from one of Jill's books.

I did not finish my strip by 2pm so I plan to work on it in coming days. I brought home a heavier piece of cream cloth to be the backing. It was a fun day out and I met some interesting and gifted people.

In last week's great sort out, I discovered some M&S loyalty vouchers and a garden centre gift voucher [which I thought I'd already spent!] So I ordered a new shirt - and on my way home from the workshop, called in at the garden centre and bought some bulbs. The daffs, tulips and narcissi will have to be planted in the coming week. 

My SIL declared on Thursday evening that Craft Workshops are the way forward [she has already binge-watched the whole of Make It At Market] and we are waiting to see what the new Craft Café in Dereham offers when it opens at the end of the month.

Have you been to any good Craft Workshops? 

What have you learned?