Wednesday, July 25, 2012

72 Derwents


Welcome to my blog, 72 derwents. When I was a child, I loved to read, write and draw. As long as I had a book or paper and pencils, I was content. I can recall the sense of bliss I would have sitting at my desk, with my treasured box of 72 Derwent pencils and cartridge paper at my fingertips.



These days I love to sew. The colours, patterns and textures of an assortment of fabrics bring me great pleasure and happiness. I look forward to sharing my projects, some old ones completed over the years and a few current.

Recently I purchased these beautiful wools and natural linen from Amitie Textiles. I’ll be attending a Sue Spargo workshop in August and had called in to pick up my supplies.


Our task prior to the class is to applique our shapes onto a background. I chose leaves from a few options Sue had presented, and linen as a background as I'm thinking I might make a cushion. I used these lovely wool threads and whip stitch to applique them on, no need for needle-turn which was a great relief as I have very little experience (or the patience) for this method. Hopefully one day, I'll graduate to needle-turn.


Here's my work so far. I love the patterns and textures of the wool.



Sue will then teach us how to embellish our work through embroidery and the application of velvets, beads, ribbons, etc. I’ve rummaged through my supplies and found a few bibs and bobs that I might be able to use.


I love looking at Sue's inspirational blog and I am really looking forward to the workshop. I'm hoping to google some embroidery stitches and practise a few before the day. I'd love to hear from you if you know of any good tutorial websites.