Student work

[Mabel Figworthy]

The Goldwork With Colour course started today, and I was so impressed with what the students did with their first project! It's a small heart to help them practice the basic goldwork techniques, and after the outline they could do whatever they wanted with the "fillings". It was really lovely to see how they all did very much their own thing

[Serinde]

Looks like they really had lots of fun and learned a lot!

[Mabel Figworthy]

Today they started on or nué. First step: doubling 8 metres of gold or silver passing thread and coiling it up so it behaves while you're working . Then getting to grips with keeping the various needles with different colours separate, and getting into a couching rhythm. I think they made a pretty good start! (I didn't get pictures of everyone's work, but this shows two each of the different designs.)

[Serinde]

Wow! Great starts by the students.

[richardandtracy]

Lovely work by your students.

On the top right blue one, is the silver thread really being used as a filler for ..erm don't have the vocabulary.. micro-stump work? Basically using the silver thread to bulk up blue & white thread where the pattern is retained?
Looks interesting and intriguing. The more I learn, the more techniques and results I realise I had no idea even existed. Seems like my ignorance grows much faster than what I know.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

That's an interesting description Richard, it's given me a new perspective on it! In effect you couch gold (or silver) passing thread, which is thin metal wrapped around a cotton core, continuously to fill your chosen space, but some of your couching is done in colour, which makes a coloured picture over the top of the gold/silver. You can do this coloured couching very densely, as I'm doing in my snowdrop (see below), so that the colour is solid and no metal shines through, or you can do it more spaced out which gives a more etheral/ghostly picture - and which incidentally is also a lot quicker, which is why most of my students chose that option

[Mabel Figworthy]

Besides the six-week course I also had a mother and daughter come for a private Hardanger class yesterday - they had a lovely time and by the end of three hours had produced three different bars and fillings each!

[Serinde]

How wonderful! Clearly you are a very good teacher!

[Mabel Figworthy]

That's very kind but I think it just shows that Hardanger is a lot less scary than people think! And that goes for goldwork as well. As long as you know how to hold a needle and you're willing to have a go, I don't think there's any technique you can't tackle. You may not be equally good at all of them and you probably won't enjoy them all to the same degree - we all have favourites - but I do believe stitchers can learn the basics of any technique.

[Serinde]

I'm sure you are right (tho I suspect the abilities of the teacher are nevertheless important, too). I usually say to anyone afraid of hardanger that if they can count to five, they'll be fine. It does look lovely and complicated (and it can be), but generally, as you say, willingness is a big thing. Fear of failing often holds adults back, I think, but everyone has to just start at some point.

[Mabel Figworthy]

The various peacocks are beginning to display their own personalities

[Serinde]

They certainly are! Wonderful!

[Mabel Figworthy]

Not quite student work, but sort of - three young guinea pigs (plus one mum) agreed to try out my new workshop to see if it is suitable for younger stitchers. I think we can say it is

(More detail on FoF)

[Serinde]

Some very interesting variations on show. Much depends on the age of the stitchers, clearly, plus any young student would be self-selecting, so theoretically keen to get stuck in.