Keeping busy

While the sheep have been busy with their new little lambs...

...the past few weeks for me have been really busy with work-stuff, none of which has been very 'share-able'.

But on the weekend, things got a lot more fun and exciting when I made the trip to Bordertown to teach a crewel embroidery class. I find there is something rather soothing about spending a couple of hours or three in the car, just watching the world go by while getting from A to B. What is not to like about a trip out of town? - I was of course met with true country hospitality and after a morning 'cuppa' everyone set to work.

The girls had chosen to do 'Blue Elegance' - as an introduction to crewel embroidery (sorry the kits are sold out in the shop at the moment, but the patterns are there).

So what is so special about crewel embroidery? As one of the ladies said midway through day two:

"I have never tried crewel embroidery because I thought it was all different stitches 

- but it is not the case at all is it?" 

No, not at all - for those not familiar with the style, crewel work is basically surface embroidery stitched with crewel wool, a two ply yarn, usually onto a firmly woven linen. Designs will often incorporate lots of different stitches for texture and I guess the only stitch or technique that is rarely seen in other types of embroidery is the laid fillings, like the ones you can see on the leaves. From the classes I have taught, I think the main hurdle for most stitchers is getting used to stitching with the wool.

Heads down and full of concentration everyone did a really great job of their pieces - some of which had some exciting colour and stitch variations to the original! I like it when people add their own twist and personality to my design - whether it is deliberate or not.
It was a fabulous two days spent with a lovely group of welcoming women and I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thank you Bev, Catherine, Linda, Nadine (my sweet host), Denise, Joan, Rhonda and Yvonne (and Chris) for the invitation - I hope to see you around some time.

Wishing everyone a happy Monday,
Anna x