Frittenden Sheep Stitchscape Workshop

Last week I was honoured to be asked to run a sheep themed Stitchscape workshop at a private event in Frittenden, Kent. It was a fabulous venue, where the lady in charge puts up a marquee in the garden over the summer and has all sorts of events in there with friends and family. She was one of the Rye Stitchers and asked me when I visited them in May if I would be interested in coming along if she could put together a big enough party of people to attend. 

The set up was quite similar to my usual one, and I had been asked to bring along partially pre-made packs with the fabrics already assembled for use. I tend to prepare the calico backing into the hoop ready to go and then have fun laying out different combinations of about five fabrics that fit the theme so that each hoop is different. The ladies can then have their own fun choosing a collection that inspires them, or just pick one and totally change the fabrics included - they don't have to stick to the ones given to them. 

One of the nicest things about this workshop is that two of the ladies (the host included) were from the Rye Stitchers and they had both finished and brought along the hoop that was started at that workshop!! It was a seaside themed one so lots of shells and fun bits were stitched on. This one is Anita's, who apparently went home after the class and unpicked a great deal of it because she wanted to include more items from her stash which she knew she had. I love that and understand perfectly the slight frustration of knowing that you have the perfect bits to add to a piece - just not where you are! 

We had chatted during the class about the use of purl wire (usually used in Goldwork techniques) and it turns out she had a fabulous collection of them and has used them to great effect to enhance her piece, stitching them into the dark green grasses you see (using smooth purl), as well as looping a beautiful spiral variegated one up and into/over shells. It is so amazingly effective! 

The big shells have been stitched down - I love those long bullion knots tangled up over that shell fragment piece - and then the little tiny ones she has glued on (I'm saying nothing...). There are all sorts of beads stitched down, what looks like mulberry bark strands, french knots in the textured surf.... so much to look at in one area and you see something new every time you look at it. 

I also really like the character that has been put into the ocean - there's not a whole lot of stitching at the top, it's not needed to be honest and balances out everything happening on the sand to give some breathing space - but the whale tails are so much fun, as well as the big oil ships right out there on the horizon. 

I'm so pleased that she finished it and that she's pleased with the effect (as she rightly should be). It apparently hangs on display in a bathroom in her house. 

The second finished piece also hangs in a bathroom apparently and is a totally different scene (remembering that these were started in the same workshop!), looking the other way entirely. Whereas Anita's looks from the sand out to the ocean, Jackie's is standing in the ocean looking back and is a beautiful contrast. 

These hoops are like little glimpses into other people's stash collection - the beach huts and seagulls look to be carefully cut from a printed quilt fabric or panel and work really well to add a cheeky element to this scene. 

So much texture has been added with lots of beads, some of which I think were deconstructed from a necklace and have a chunky, rock look to them as you can barely see the holes to stitch through, little tiny flower buttons in yellow, individually cut lace flowers in orange, jumping fish beads, and several different types of yarn and thread. 

The stitching on this piece is also absolutely tiny, and immaculate!

Aren't the little beach huts sweet? Texture has been added to these with french knots over the polka dots and back stitch on the stripes with chain stitch rooftops. I think that the bunting has been stitched across the top of each triangle and the boards have been glued so that they stand out?

Again, the more you look at this piece the more you see in it. 

I should have photographed the back of this as well because it was so neatly done - the fabric was drawn up as I would have but rather than being backed in felt, a circle of card was cut to fit and printed cotton fabric tightly glued around it, then that was glued to the back of the hoop so it had a neat, hard backed surface. 

The marquee for the workshop was very posh with windows and a carpeted floor! It was also big enough to house a sofa and lots of tables, some of which had tea and cakes on, some were for the ladies to sit around and then I had a couple to set out some example hoops which I try and take to all events as it's often easier to just show people what I mean rather than try and explain it. 

It also came with a sweet resident ladybug!

So, these are some of the hoops that were started and again, all very different! Each one included a sheep layer, and I'd split the packs so that half were the bright green sheep found in Woollydale II, and half the darker green found in Mini Woollydale. Then there were a selection of plain or patterned fabrics, and each pack had a batik fabric in as well to offer a different type of pattern. 

Not everyone wanted to use the fabrics they'd been given, and some ladies had brought bits of their own fabric so there was a lot more variety at the end. 

Day workshops are a funny thing - other mediums can promise that you'll leave a workshop with a completed item but in my workshops you've got far if you have tacked down all of your fabrics where you want them. Hand embroidery can take a long time and, if you aren't sure what you're doing or you choose a technique that is more labour intensive, it can take even longer. It's almost a two day plus workshop really, one day to lay the fabrics out and one day to really get stuck into stitching. 

We can only brush the surface of the stitching part in these workshops and focus really on stitches or combinations that are new to them or they aren't sure of (usually french or bullion knots) and, to be honest, when it's a group of friends out for a nice day with chatter and cake - finishing or getting lots done isn't a priority and that is absolutely fine. Sometimes it's just about getting something started, talking through ways to approach the layers and firing up those inspiration fingers and just letting them go at the end of the day to work through and have fun on their own. 

Interestingly, there were quite a few fussy cut sheep in this workshop - either moving them to other places like they had escaped their flock and wandered off into another field, or to hide upside-down sheep in the pattern to make them stand up. 

I had an absolute ball with this one, it was such a nice day (despite some horrible weather) with lots of laughter, and I really hope to see some finished sheep hoops in a few month's time!! Thank you to Jackie for inviting me to her lovely garden.