craft – Page 2 – Crowlas & Ludgvan WI

Christmas Floral Arts with Shirley!

December 12, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Ten of us had a thoroughly enjoyable day making Christmas decorations led by Shirley Battle.

We each made a ring – some of which will hang outside as wreaths and some which will be table centres. We also made an arrangement incorporating a candle and a third arrangement made over the top of a glass container with decorations inside.

Shirley demonstrated each one and then we were let loose to do our own. At the end of the day we had three tables containing 30 different Christmas decorations!

It was a very relaxing day with the usual chatter and cups of coffee to help us on our way.

Thank you so much to Shirley for providing such good instruction and to Lis for organising the day.

Playing with parchment

December 1, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Last Friday, Margaret Walton very patiently taught a group of us all about working with parchment.

We had never realised all the amazing things that can be created using just parchment, a few simple tools and some colouring pencils. Margaret showed us some of her spectacular work – including a spray of incredibly lifelike roses – and we were all very impressed. That was far too advanced for us, however, but we did manage to turn out some lovely pieces.

We first traced images onto the parchment using white pencils. Then we embossed our pattern, adding shading using special tools. Finally, we used coloured pencils, pastels or felt tip pens to add colour. Some of us made bookmarks, others mini Christmas crackers and others made cards, and we were all thrilled with our results!

Margaret was a fantastic teacher and got us all enthused about parchment! If there is sufficient demand, she’ll be happy to hold another workshop next year. So for those of you who missed out this time, you may get another chance! And I have a feeling some of us who were there on Thursday had so much fun that we wouldn’t mind a repeat session!

A big thank you goes out to Lis for organising and hosting the workshop (and for providing delicious cake), and a very special thank you to Margaret for her wonderful tutelage.

Our cushions have been made!

November 5, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Completed cushions for the seats at Murley Hall were flying off the production line at Flying Fingers yesterday! None of it would have been possible without some great teamwork as follows:

With thanks to Helen for the delicious cakes and cookies to accompany the cups of coffee necessary to keep us all going (after all, making cushions is thirsty work !); and to Lis Davies, Joy George, Pat Gloyn, Sue Knights, Diane Curnow and Mary Venn who all came armed with sewing machines and worked under the guidance of our master seamstress, Val Puddiphatt. Thanks also to Shirley Battle who was armed with a hot iron followed by some preparation pinning for the sewers, and finally to Alison Latham for some template work and for stuffing the foam into the beautifully completed cushion covers for all to see at the next monthly meeting.

Make sure you give big thanks to Val and her crew at our next meeting!

Cumbrian blanket pattern

September 16, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Those of you who were inspired by Sarah Chapman’s Cumbrian blanket last night, might be interested in having the pattern and giving it a go yourself.

Shirley was good enough to scan the pattern for us and you can see it here.

If you’ll recall, the blanket is made up of separate knitted triangles with looped edges which, when pulled together, form themselves into those beautiful and distinctive shell shapes.

And if any of you think it’s too difficult, even I was able to do it! I whipped up a triangle today and it was easy!

Cape Cornwall Arts and Crafts Exhibition

August 20, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Crowlas & Ludgvan WI members Rosemary Gries and Pippa Lilley would like to let everyone know about the current Arts & Crafts Exhibition being held at Cape Cornwall School in St Just.

This fantastic exhibition is held in aid of Cancer Research UK, with 25% of all craft sales and 100% of all refreshments/raffle/etc proceeds going to the charity.

With over 400 exhibitors on site, you’re sure to be able to pick up some early Christmas shopping, or perhaps just a little treat for yourself! Items include oil paintings, ceramics, jewellery, woodcraft including beautiful turned pieces and carvings, photographs, scarves, children’s clothing and a variety of other items including some beautiful handmade rugs.

The Exhibition ends this Friday, 22 August and is open from 10am until 9pm (only until 7pm on the final day).

Donkeys and knitting!

July 10, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Earlier this week, Val Puddiphatt and Helen Kestle went on a CFWI outing to The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth. The Sanctuary is an international charity founded in 1969 which works to protect and care for donkeys and mules all over the world.

All the work of the Sanctuary is funded by donations and legacy gifts, so raising money is always vital! One of the ways in which money is raised is by the sale of knitted donkeys, knows as ‘woolleys’. People are encouraged to knit woolleys which are then sold in the Sanctuary’s giftshop!

If you’d like to knit one (and we know there are some keen knitters among you!), you can download the pattern by clicking here.

If you haven’t visited The Donkey Sanctuary before, a visit is highly recommended! We had a marvellous time. Here’s Val making friends with one of the donkeys:

Penwith Textile & Embroidery Group exhibition

July 7, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

If you’re not able to get to the either of the quilting exhibitions you read about here yesterday, you might be interested in the PenTEG (Penwith Textile and Embroidery Group) exhibition, which is a little closer to home.

The exhibition, held in Ludgvan Church, runs from Monday the 7th through Monday the 14th of July. Opening hours are subject to church opening, services, etc., but should be from around 10am until 4pm daily. This is a colourful exhibition of diverse work, with the church pillars, walls and windowsills adorned.

The exhibition coincides with the Ludgvan Arts and Crafts weekend on Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of July in the Murley Hall.

It definitely sounds worth a visit!

Fabric Fusion with Rosemary!

June 15, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Colleen Lewis, Val Puddiphatt and Kathy Merrett enjoy their work

On Friday, some of us learned the basics of fabric fusion with our own very talented Rosemary Gries.

We worked at tables with views into Rosemary’s lovely garden and were supervised by handsome Charlie-the-cat.

Wielding dangerously hot soldering irons, we worked with gossamer-fine strips of organza of every colour of the rainbow. We let our imaginations run free and created our own pictures and designs to take home with us.

Laraine Turner's piece of fused fabric — Laraine Turner’s piece of fused fabric

After lunch in the sunny garden, some remained to embellish their fused pieces further, with embroidery, ribbon and sequins.

Thank you so much to Rosemary for her patient tutelage and to Lis Davies for organising the day and for bringing along her delicious chocolate cake!

To see more photos of our work, click here.

Embroiderers’ Guild Exhibition

June 13, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Some of you might like to pop in to Shire Hall in Bodmin next week to have a look at ‘Forty Years On’, a stunning new exhibition by the Cornwall branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild of their work over the last 40 years.

‘Forty Years On’ has been described as a rainbow of delights. What developments there have been over this 40-year period! Gone are the days of decorating useful objects with ready-made threads and designs. Today’s embroiderers can still do that – but so much more. They make their own materials: luxurious background papers of leaves and natural fibres; and pure silk paper and threads, dyed, mixed and twisted to create new textures and colours. In addition to hand stitching they machine, glue, layer and pierce, and use wood, shells, leaves and paint.

Embroidery has become textile art and several members are artists in their own right, bringing new ideas to their work. Like artists everywhere, our members draw constant inspiration from each other and their environment.

The exhibition will be held from Monday 16th June through Friday 27th June (but not on Sunday), from 10am until 5pm. Admission is free and there will also be sales of items and secondhand books.

For further information, email gilliantrewhella@hotmail.co.uk.

Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

May 2, 2014November 28, 2015 crowlasludgvanwi

Today a group of us met to learn the art of making Dorset buttons – with varying degrees of success, I should add!

If you’ve not heard of Dorset buttons, they’re hand-made buttons which were popular from the early 17th century until they were rendered obsolete by machine-made buttons in the mid-19th century.

To make a button, you begin with a metal ring and some embroidery silk.

From there, it gets a bit complicated as you cover the ring and then create spokes of silk to make a button in the cartwheel pattern.

After a great deal of intense concentration …

Our end results weren’t too bad!

After a lunch break and a lot of laughing, we turned our attention to traditional fabric buttons in the afternoon. Embellished with embroidery and beads, they were really lovely.

A big thank you to Lis who organised today’s workshop, to Gail who hosted and acted as tutor and to Charlotte and Sue Martin who were invaluable in helping us untangle our threads!

See more photos of the button workshop here.