Quilt Group Pebble Workshop

I have recently run a couple of workshops specifically to teach my techniques on Stitchscape Pebbles. It's a new thing for me to be teaching and I still feel that there are things that I can improve, especially on timings and expectations on what can be finished but I think that will come with practice. A pebble workshop is very different from a landscape workshop!
A couple of weekends ago I was asked to join a local quilting group who wanted to have a go at hand embroidery - quite different from their usual machine based projects! I often have machine quilters in my classes and they can get slightly frustrated at the change in pace and having to do it all by hand rather than whizz it up on the machine, but this lovely bunch of ladies took it all in their stride and made some really lovely little pebbles!

I actually remembered to photograph a few of them too which was quite unusual for me. Pebbles take slightly longer than you expect them to to make and, as several of the stitches also have to be taught and practiced, it took most of the day to put together two pebbles but the result, I think you'll agree, is fantastic!

One of the great things about making these little pieces is that you can experiment with colour combinations and embroidery techniques without feeling the need to cover a vast space. They are an intense little splodge of concentrated techniques (ooh that's a good phrase!) and anything goes. The types of stitches I was teaching were bullion knots, french knots, fly stitch, feather stitch and woven wheel stitch which is deceptively easy and rewarding to embroider.

I love the uniqueness of everyone's pebbles. For each class I print out extracts from my Stitchscape Pebble kit which have suggestions of combinations of stitch, but I have also continued experimenting with my own pebbles so examples I was showing had alternative options and, as the quilters became confident in their stitching, they came up with their own combinations and ideas which was lovely to see.

Hopefully I am spreading this Stitchscape Pebble addiction far and wide!!