Creative Stitchscape Workshop

 

I was very pleased to be back at Made and Making for a Creative Stitchscapes workshop last week. Creative Stitchscapes is pretty much code for, you make what you want, and everyone comes out with something totally different. I never know quite where a workshop will take us, what the focus will be, what skill levels I'm working with... it's a challenge and I love it. 

Sometimes I get repeat customers which is always lovely, but this time it was six total newbies, all very keen, who gelled together nicely and we had some great conversations and sharing of ideas. It's nice when strangers in a class have something in common because they all encourage each other and chivvy each other along which just makes the day so lovely. 

The workshops are never long enough to finish a piece - they aren't really long enough to get properly started but, in the time we have, the goal is to get your fabrics all chosen, cut out and tacked before lunch time, then spend the rest of the afternoon playing with stitches and talking through plans for how to finish the hoop. I will demonstrate the same stitch as many times as required and sit on the floor next to someone to talk them through a bullion knot or similar for as long as they need (as long as there isn't a queue of questions from the others). 

It would be lovely to have a Stitchscape retreat and spend a couple of days working on a piece in a beautiful location. 

By lunch this is where some of the ladies had got to (sadly I wasn't able to photograph all of them). Interesting mixes of cotton fabrics, felt and hessian in a couple of them, two sheep themed pieces, a seaside piece, a very bright contrasting coloured hoop - and the one I didn't photograph was a volcano! The first volcano in a Stitchscape. 

Attendees approach these days differently, they either just want to get out of the house and play around with something creative whilst chatting and drinking tea and having some 'me' time or. they really want to focus and learn and get the most out of the day, extracting as much information from me as possible and trying every stitch in the book! Rather than working methodically through the layers like you would normally do, it's often quite sporadic, adding different stitches here and there to get the feel of them before moving on - and actually that's the beauty of the Stitchscapes, it doesn't matter where you start or how long you work on a section, it's not going anywhere and there isn't a specific order. There is no right or wrong (which is pretty much my mantra). 

The above piece was lovely - you wouldn't know by looking at it but there was a lot of emotion being stitched into this. The trees in particular hold a special meaning for the lady who was stitching it which makes it all the more beautiful. You can stitch anything you like into these pieces, physical pieces of a memory or a holiday souvenir, or more ethereal thoughts and feelings that only you would know the meaning behind. It's up to you whether you share that or keep it to yourself. 

I love the seed stitch at the top of this hoop, all those different colours, it's delightful! There's gorgeous movement through the layers as well, you can follow them like a little ball rolling down them all. 

This is the first time I have suggested Suffolk puffs to be made and stitched onto a Stitchscape. I'm not quite sure why they popped into my head but we were talking about some kind of rock fall or jetty or harbour wall or something coming in to the side of the hoop and piles of fabric yo-yos (Suffolk Puffs) kind of came to light, especially with the lovely small pieces of batik fabric where the colours really bring together the yellow and blue of sand and sea from the layers above. I'd be really intrigued to see this piece finished!

We had a quiet doer in the class too, someone who gets on with lots of stitches to try them out and in this one I can see rows of back stitch, fly stitch, blanket stitch, woven wheel stitch, chain stitch, french knots and bullion knots! There's possibly a go at stem stitch too but it's slightly difficult to tell on that one. I love the colour combinations, it's really bright and bold!

Sadly the others escaped before I had a chance to photograph their work. The end of a class can be a strangely abrupt time where, as you are talking to one person, the rest pack up and try to sneak off with their work hidden in the bag! If I can't catch them they just - poof! - disappear on me with a smile and wave and a "thank you for the lovely day" wafting back through the door.