Exciting times!

And so off to the Quilt Museum in York for a workshop with Hilary Gooding from the Contemporary Quilt Group making lacy scarves.

Hilary showed us some examples  and helped us choose the threads we were going to use and once she had dished out the water soluble fabric we were off. The museum provided sewing machines for us to use and I had forgotten how much I had come to rely on my Bernina, as I was using a Brother. Nice machine but rather fiddly to thread up and the least said about the bobbin winder the better!

So you start with a sheet of sticky water soluble fabric and lay on your threads and snippets of this and that as artistically, or not as you like! Then lay a sheet of thin water soluble fabric (non-sticky) over the top and press down well to make sure all the bits and pieces are well secured. Then to the machine. I chose to machine a grid using a variegated metallic thread in the needle with a black thread in the bobbin. I had chosen black and silver as my theme, but thought that little splashes of colour would add a little sparkle.

Hilary showed me how to make a fringe using free machine embroidery on a double layer of the thin soluble fabric stuck onto the end of my scarf. Scary stuff, especially as I was not familiar with the machine I was using and the fabric was a little wobbly. Had I been at home, I would have used a hoop for this. Anyway, I persevered and ended up with a more or less fringy addition to both ends!

Problems arose when dissolving the watersoluble fabric and in the areas where the threads or stitching were densest, little blobs of glue remained and are seemingly impossible to get rid of. I have now tried using really hot water and although this seems to have helped, some glue remains.

Anyway, I now have a little black and silver scarf to show off, and also the memory of a really fun day. Hilary is a very inspiring tutor and thanks to her encouragement, I've learned a lot.

So then to my Guild meeting on Saturday. Magie Relph was giving us a talk about indigo dyeing and after lunch we had an opportunity to dabble in an actual indigo vat made up to Magie's special recipe. So I came home  with a few pieces of indigo dyed cotton and blue fingernails, having forgotten to take the marigolds!!

The main business of the week was to get the embroidered duvet cover finished in time for Isobel's birthday and that's now done so back to my little batik quilt as the fabric for the edging has arrived!

How did I ever find time to go to work! and aren't I so glad I don't have to go anymore! Yippee!