Sussex Stitchers Open Day

I had the best time at the Sussex Stitchers' Open Day. It was the first event they had organised so no one really knew what to expect from it. The members of the stitching group had put together a really brilliant display of work, showcasing their own individual projects as well as projects they had done on specific themes, or group projects where they had each done a little part of something then compiled it together. There was also a selection of works which had been done during (or completed after) workshops that the group had recently had - including some of the seascape Stitchscapes from May time!

As well as their exhibition, they had their own little shop of textile or texture packs, plus books, the most delicious cakes... and they'd asked myself and another lady (a ceramicist) to have stands there to sell and exhibit our own pieces. 

When I was packing the car I thought I'd taken far too much with me as I wasn't entirely sure how much space I would be given, but actually I'd taken just enough and ended up with an L-shaped table that worked really well as one side could be more like an exhibition of my Stitchscapes, and the other side more of a sales table with kits and the Stitchscape shop. 

The ladies (no gentlemen in the group as far as I'm aware) had done a fantastic job of advertising too and it was so well attended which was lovely to see. The event was open 10am - 4pm which can sometimes feel quite long but, aside from maybe half an hour where it quietened down over lunch time, there was a fairly constant stream of people attending and walking around. They seemed to come from far and wide; I had two ladies come to see me (I'd advertised it online and in my newsletter) and the exhibition all the way from Rochester - over an hours drive away!

Did I mention that the cakes were delicious?

All of the work was lovely but I was especially pleased to see the finished works of Stitchscape art being given pride of place at the back of the hall. It's not all of the pieces that were started in the workshop but that's fine - there is no time limit or restriction on these, the beauty is that you can pick them up and put them down again whenever you like. 

If you'd like to just quickly look back to see what they looked like the last time we saw them, the blog post about the workshop is here. I did ask permission before taking these photos of the pieces as well. 

This piece was inspired by a painting of the coastguards cottages and the Seven Sisters cliffs and, if you compare it to how it looked before - there's been a lot of work done to the cliffs - they've changed colour with all of the wonderful overlapping green stitches adding wind-blown texture and grasses, movement has been added to the water with the pistil stitches and beads give an extra sparkle and frothy look to the bottom of the cliffs. The thatched roofs have also had another layer of colour added and seabirds now soar around the cottages themselves as if the occupants have just thrown out a load of food for them to feast on. 

Everyone has worked so hard to add in different textures to their pieces. It's all about layering and having fun, contrasting materials  and just seeing what works. How many different textures and components can you see in the below piece? I've spotted felt rocks, knitted yarn, sticks of beads (using bugle and seed beads), sequin tape, suede tassels, shells, deconstructed knitting yarn, french knots in a whole range of colours, jute twine in a turquoise colour... the more you look the more you delve into this fantastic little rockpool! There's even a fish, can you see him?

This lady is the one who taught me a couple of stitches at the workshop, and you can see why I was so intrigued by what she was working on. The cast on stitches have been used to make two little starfish, as well as other textured elements, contrasting with bullion knots, french knots and seed stitch all in the same space for height and texture. She's also got a few little cup stitches up near the waters edge too. 

There is such a wonderful use of materials. Each piece may have similar themes and ideas, but they've all got something really special in them or about them that makes them shine. I love the silky looking cord- which may actually be smooth purl wire coils but I can't recall properly now. Everything looks so organic, as if it really is growing there. 

Now this one has a bit of a story to tell - a few weeks ago I got an email from Jane, the lady who stitched this, to say that she had just finished it whilst on holiday but, shock horror, had left it in a bad position with a magnifying glass which had burnt a fairly significant hole into the piece at the top, going right through the cotton fabrics and charring the inside hoop! She was very lucky that it hadn't actually caught fire and set the whole holiday cottage alight really. 

Also luckily, she still had some of the striped fabric that had been burned so I recommended that she take it out of the hoop and patch the hole at the back with some more calico, then snip back the striped fabric layer as much as she could, before lining up a new layered piece which would just blend in because of the stripes themselves. She then worked more of the pulled tapestry yarn over the stripes to match it and remake what she'd done before, and re-stitched down the little dolphin bead which had survived the ordeal. You don't notice it at all! (And, safety notice - don't leave anything with glass/mirror in, in a window or where sunlight can reach it!)

I'm so thrilled that these pieces were on display, it's not that often that I get to see so many finished Stitchscapes in person (that aren't mine) and they have so much personality in them - as well as different techniques that I haven't used or hadn't previously considered so it's a real inspiration for me!

I think everyone would class the open day as a success, and I believe they had a few new members join as well which is just so wonderful. I had a great day, it was highly lucrative for me (thank you to everyone who made a purchase - I've had to re-order lots of stock for the Stitchscape shop!) and I had so many great discussions with people passing my table. They have mentioned holding another one, in case you missed this one, but perhaps in two years time to give them time to build up another fantastic body of work to display. 

I will also be back with the Sussex Stitchers next year for another workshop in the Spring so there's more to come from this wonderful creative group.