Just look at the glorious colours of the leaves I collected from Laura’s garden this week. I couldn’t resist having one final bash at boiling up a few plant pages before all the leaves fall from the trees.
The dark red Cotinus leaves worked particularly well. I’d wondered if using autumn leaves would give different results to those I’d got earlier in the year. I can’t say there was much difference but I was a little impatient and maybe didn’t give them long enough in the pot! That’s part of the fun though – every batch is unique! I already stitched these into a book and will be working into it soon.
New Video Workshop – Designing with Collage
Collage is the perfect technique for design work. In this workshop Laura will show you how you can use your painted papers, or create ones from your fabrics, to make designs that could be ideal for informing your next quilt. She’ll show you how collage can be used to make the basis of your design with painting to add extra colour.
Ways to watch:
If you have a DesignMatters TV Membership you’ll find this workshop is automatically available to you, just click on the link above.
If you don’t have a Membership, you can purchase this workshop as a one-off for £1.50. You might like to use Classroom Credits to do this.
Don’t miss…
Polka Dot Papers
Make your own beautiful painted papers with this easy batik technique. They’ll be perfect for using in your sketchbook and mixed media work.
Easy Batik Fabrics
Learn how to make your own beautiful batik fabrics with simple mark making and layers of colour. We’ll use simple tools and easy-to-use wax to create these stunning, one of a kind fabrics. They’ll be perfect for use in your quilting making and embroidery, in fact any stitched project.
Linda and Laura’s Paintbox Thread Collection
We’ve worked with Madeira Threads to bring you a brand new selection box of all our current favourite threads.
We’re offering them at an introductory offer price of £5 off for all orders before 31st December while stocks remain.
**This item is available as a pre-order. We’ll ship to you as soon as stock arrives (anticipated end of November 2019)**
These are the colours that we can’t be without. There’s a hot pink and bright turquoise which are just perfect for adding an accent. Essentials such as burgundy, navy and charcoal that are the backbone of much of our stitching.
Warm golds, orange and the perfect red are accompanied by teal and blue, so easy to use together. For a hint of metallic we’ve picked three of the easiest to use metallic threads that are subtle and won’t steal the limelight. Slimy greens, dusky pink and purple complete the set, such useful colours particularly if you’re inspired by the colours of the landscape.
As you use them, think not only of the colour, but of the surface quality of the thread. Mix and match, you’ll find all of these threads will work for your machine quilting and embroidery. We often use the cotton threads for hand stitching too. We hope you’ll find this collection as useful as it is inspiring.
18 spools of Madeira threads, assorted cotton, metallic and rayon in a clear
plastic storage box.
We chose the threads because we love to mix different types in our own work. In the panel here you can see how I’m using the lustrous rayons and jewel like metallics on a digital print of my sketchbook drawings. Next I’m going to add hand quilting using the hot pink and turquoise cotton threads. High tech and slow stitch all in one piece!
Thank you for reading our newsletter this week. We’ll be back again soon with more.
Thank you for reading our newsletter this week. We’ll be back again soon with more.
Love Linda and Laura xx