Jo's Oxford Bird

An Oxford lockdown bird....a rare breed created after the Workshop with Nikki....I had to dig out the hand sewing machine and after some serious backwards and forwards this bird arrived...I decided to stuff the body a little and back with paper. I really enjoyed doing this so thank-you Nikki and the Oxford Guild.

Bird
© Jo Edwards

Margaret's Seahorse

Here is my completed seahorse. I decided not to stuff him, but to make him virtually double-sided so when I hang him up in the window both passersby outside and we inside get a good view to look at! The first image is the front view, followed by a detail to show the beading by the eyes etc. The final one shows the back view. Really enjoyed doing this workshop even though I didn't do as much surface stitching as was suggested.

Judy's Butterfly

I have not yet cut between the wings. I will look at hanging in a window to see if it will catch the light. A fun project.

Butterfly
© Judy Siemers

Karen's Seahorse

A great workshop. I spent a lovely afternoon, snug in my workroom and finished the stitching. I think it might be a ‘Daddy’ seahorse as he has a little fat tummy (holding all the babies!) I took several photographs on different backgrounds and under different lighting – amazing how different it looks!

Seahorse
© Karen Rowe

Another Inspiration from the Maria Thomas Workshop

Another jacket! Completely different, but kickstarted by Maria's workshop. I am a big fan of old denim, stripy shirt fabric, and fish! And kimonos. This is a long overdue project, a Hanten jacket, using a whole lot of favourite fabrics. In kimono design a river symbolises continuity and the future so I have stitched a red river up each front, across the sleeves and they join together to flow down the back. I've started stitching over some of the fish in orange. Koi are a symbol of good luck and perseverance in adversity. I dyed a tablecloth indigo and used it as the foundation fabric.

Indigo Kimono Jacket
© Karen Rowe

Robin and Swift

Worked in free machine embroidery.

Robin
© Lynn Pilgrim

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Swift
© Lynn Pilgrim

Church

I was asked by my aunt to do an embroidery to celebrate one of her bridesmaid's 50th wedding anniversary. I decided to capture an image of the church where she married in Gloucestershire. The image was taken from a screen shot of the church which my aunt found on Google Earth and sent to me from Alberta in Canada where she now lives! It is hand embroidered with a little free machining for the golden tree. As I was also a bridesmaid (the little 10 year old one!) for my aunt it was rather a fun piece to do as it had a personal link.

Church
© Lynn Pilgrim

Carnation and Cornflower

Many years ago, one of my favourite designers, Amy Mitten, started offering a range of kits called Castket Keepsakes. These small, three dimensional, items where inspired by antique enbroidered items found in 17th century caskets. I have collected several of these kits but had not begun to work another until this year. The first four kits are named after the seasons. The first in the series is Winter but I decided to do Spring first as that was the season when I started stitching it. The first Keepsake in the Spring Caskets Keepsakes kit is a little silk drawstring bag which holds a thread winder. The petals of the Carnation are worked in 17th century techniques. The size is 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" not including the finger loop drawstring. The second keepsake is a tape measure in the form of a Cornflower. The tape measure is revealed by pulling on the stem and rewound by rotating the spindle. It measures 2 1/2" x 3". There are twenty petals made using the same technique as the Carnation. Both keepsakes are made using Amy's hand-dyed threads and antique metallics.

Carnation
© Carol Anne Conway

Cornflower
© Carol Anne Conway

Another Autumn Glory

I wanted to preserve eucalyptus leaves from my garden, but the glycerine darkened the leaves and they lost definition. Painting dried leaves with acrylic wax kept the detail. I tried a slightly ‘leafy’ stitch, which I didn’t like. The simple cross stitch was more successful. Eco-dyed silk and cotton fabrics, threads and buttons.

Autumn Glory
© Karen Rowe

Outcomes From Maria Thomas Workshop

I have finally finished I think. The jacket is mostly made of paper. When it came to putting scissors to my great grandmother's embroidery I just couldn't do it, so photo copies were made of some of the pieces. The jacket has little envelopes instead of medals because when we moved into my great aunts house we found lots of lovely embroidered pieces in envelopes. Thank you Maria I really enjoyed the course. Also thank you to the Oxford branch for making me feel so welcome. It was lovely to meet you all although only virtually.

The Jacket
© Joy Hall

Outcomes From Maria Thomas Workshop

The piece is called ‘Moth eaten’ and is really about ‘ broken, but beautiful’ I really enjoyed the challenge and plan to make another!

The Jacket
© Rosemary Meara

Outcomes From Maria Thomas Workshop

I inherited some lovely embroidered cloths from both my grandmother and mother in law. While I admit to some concerns about cutting them up, they have been hidden away for some years now and I would rather they were put to use than not. I still haven't finished the hem of the jacket. I think it might have the red pleats that I've pinned on but I'm not in a rush to finish it yet.

The Jacket
© Amanda Smith