Olwyn and I played around a bit with her gourd-design since its a theme in her embroidery. In the second one, the O is a gourd and the U suggests a vessel. I've added a photo of a very old gourd I have which was repaired while it was being made. It has since cracked but it is about 50 years old. Olwyn, I would love to see your work on this theme when it is complete! … [Read more...]
3X5 cut letters
A 20 minute warm-up doing cut 3X5 letters. All the letters except M, W and I are 3X5 and they "work" because the straight sides sorts the spacing. Jackie, Marian, Janet, Hilary and "Gourds" by Olwyn This is such a useful alphabet for group work. with kids, teachers, calligraphers, embroiderers! It's chunky so can be cut out. Its an alphabet I learnt in 1982 in banner making, long before my involvement with calligraphy. The idea is to cut the letter sizes by eye, and then cut out the negative … [Read more...]
Text(iles) – The Exploded Letter
It's amazing how letters get really exciting when you start playing with two colours and shifting them around. Now cut them out of fabric, add stitching, embroidery and embellishments and WOW! Ivy: Phillipa Jackson (here you can see the process); Borders: Dodie; India: Jo Faulkes; Cat: Janet Humber; Liz - Liz Frampton; Daisy: Tina Sharpe. Will the people whose names I missed please let me know who they are so that I can acknowledge you - Letters, Ken, JKW … [Read more...]