Virtual Exhibition – GARDEN – The Living Threads Group

Throughout Summer 2020, Living Threads members were inspired by the challenge of a Virtual Exhibition on the theme of ‘Garden’. They produced 6 inch squares which have been incorporated into an exhibition video and gallery.

Details of inspirations and methods are set out below. Please enjoy!

Garden Exhibition Video – copyright Living Threads Dec 2020

Viv Denscombe – Foliage Dictates

Blue-green is my favourite colour, and this is reflected in my garden. I mainly have plants and shrubs for their foliage – from ferns and hostas to ceanothus and everything in between. During the hot sunny days earlier during lockdown, I hand dyed some old sheets, table cloths and basically anything I could put my hands on for the forthcoming LTG ‘Garden’ exhibition…the dyes were mixed to capture the colours of my garden (both foliage and garden amusements).

This little ‘Garden Treasure’ is hopefully the beginnings of an idea I have for the main exhibition.

Tony Toon – Brassicas Beware

The beasts are made by making tubes of felt, stuffed and decorated with beads, sequins and lurex threads.

Sylvia Birch – Remembrance

Hand dyed silk ribbon embroidery on painted linen background.

Fuchsia plants were given to me by founder member Penny Eastwood

Sue Wilson – Grandmothers Garden

My piece was inspired by the abundant polyanthus growing in my garden at the beginning of the year.

The design was based on the Grandmother’s Garden patchwork pattern which I tried to replicate in crochet.

Sally Marsh – Summer green acorns

Inspiration – green acorns falling around me from an oak tree.

Image – stencil on natural fabric with additional hand stitch.

Pauline Barke – Geometrics

I have used felt which I enjoy working with.

I like geometric design mixed with layers and sheers as demonstrated here.

Pam Keeling – Cosmos

It was inspired by the grids attached to the back fence to support the roses in my garden as well as the wonderful pink Cosmos flowers I have had continually since summer. The rust fabric was dyed using a Dylon dye and came out of my stash. Held in place with pink and lime green No.8 Perle; the flowers are Lazy Daisy Stitch, worked with a variegated cotton thread – the Cosmos onto a shocking pink silk, two layers bonded together – and held in place with yellow French Knots. All on a piece of metallic fabric covered in pink roses.

Michelle Jeffreys – Echinacea inspirations

I have always been fascinated by the shape of this plant (also called a cone flower) and how the petals fall back from the cone like a skirt and how the centre looks like it is beaded .I finally managed to plant one in my garden this year.

It is hand printed and stencilled in green, mid pink and gold fabric paints.

It has been embellished with machine embroidery and hand beading.

Marie Meachem – Rainbow

I am sure I was not alone in finding my garden my
haven during lockdown. This is a romanticised version of spring in my greenhouse.

Hand dyed cotton background. Stencil and pencil and paint
with hand embroidery all in single thread of stranded cotton.

Maggie Ready – Prospect Cottage Dungeness

This piece is inspired by Derek Jarman’s garden at Prospect Cottage
Dungeness.

I have used padded rust dyed fabric, hand stitch, with nasturtium flower
in machine stitch on dissoluble fabric.

Julie Rowe – Autumnal Inspiration

Inspiration taken from hydrangeas and wrought iron work.

Materials Used included calico, cord, beads and Markal paintsticks. These were the machine stitched and couched.

Julie Williams – Self Seeded

I couldn’t begin to count how many packets of poppy seeds I’ve scattered around my garden over the years… and they always choose the cracks in my patio as the preferred place to put on a show.

Two little block prints beneath dyed organdie with a few woven wheels, running and straight stitch.

Judith Burnett – Cosmos

Photo transfer of a print block I did of cosmos, onto calico with added colour and stitch.

Joan Pilkington – Honiton Flower

The Honiton flower design was an embroidery transfer that had been in my ‘to do’ file for some time and became relevant for the Garden theme of the next exhibition.

Jenny Ashmore – An impression of our new summer flower border

We nurtured 72 plug plants to create our new flower border! Hard work but it was worth it and they flowered all summer long.

Jennie Riley

Small panel showing intensity of summer colour using multiple layers of appliqué and free machining.

Jean Alton – Bouquet

Beaded bouquet with daffodil.

Janet Humphrey – Pinks

Jane Marrows – Bloomsbury

Inspiration- Many happy hours spent in the garden at Charleston Farmhouse, nestled in the South Downs, in East Sussex! It was home of the Bloomsbury group of artists with regular visitors such as Virginia Woolf. A delightful English garden, homely and approachable.

Materials and Technique- I have combined a variety of sheer fabrics, silk fibres, papers, lace and threads with my embellisher machine to ‘dry felt’ the individual elements together. Machine embroidery and hand stitch complete the piece.

Helen Brownett – Sherbet Dab Blooms

Painted fabric and hand stitching.

My inspiration came from dandelions and watching Willy Wonka!

Hazel Green – Flower form

A whimsical take on a flower form with shades of turquoise mohair yarn using crochet.

Greta Fitchett – Hydrangea bloom

Inspiration is the National collection of Hydrangeas in Darley Park, Derby.

I have appliqued a lace cap flower, buds in the centre with a ring of flowers around the edge.

The applique is stitched with machine satin stitch, and the centre is hand stitched french knots.

The flowers were machine quilted around the edges. Lines of twin needle stitching run from the edge of the petals to the lower edge.

Threads have been left to add interest.

Gilli Theokritoff – Lucy Ladybird

I was looking out of my window on a grim November afternoon, wondering how to get inspired by my drab looking garden, when Lucy landed on my arm. I took that as a sign and worked her in Kantha running stitch, with chain stitch black dots. I hope she and her kind survive the winter and breed plenty more of these delightful little bugs.

Worked on cotton with muslin, using Perle 8 and 3 strand embroidery threads.

Gill Bird – Indigo Rose

Needlelace on indigo dyed cotton.

Francine Wilkins – Plantation

African gardens are mainly for the growing of food and this little house is set amongst the matoke trees.

Procion dyed fabric, freezer paper stencils and hand embroidery complete this little picture.

Elsie Probert – Midnight garden

Mainly machine embroidery.
The moon and moonlight is magical. From my patio window I can overlook the pond, with its water lilies to the dense hedge inn which there is a foxhole, sadly no longer used.

Coralie Arlen – Polychrome

Polychrome was inspired by all the vibrant colours of summer flowers. I created an abstract flower using puff paint, couched curves of multi-coloured yarn and mounted it on velvet and painted bondaweb.

Chrissie Weeds – A Gardeners verse

Inspiration is a garden plaque my friend gave me, and techniques are.

Appliqué, machine embroidery and a bit of beading!

Carol Hampton – Wild About You

Inspiration – I love the wild country gardens. My favourite wildflower group is the ‘Carrot Family / Umbelliferae’ and by designing a wild garden I could use my favourite plants.

I often draw with pen & ink as shown here, as it defines the shapes, and I love ‘Blackwork’.

Annie Nicoll – Maple on a Table in the Garden

My love of Japanese maples dates from seeing the enormous trees with leaves like tiny stars in Philosophers’ Walk in Kyoto. This maple is in my garden and I made a print from the initial drawing, then embellished it with hand embroidery.

Anne Bruntlett – Give weeds a chance

Ann Hammond – Daisies

Naturally dyed fabric. Stencilled using fabric paints. Quilted using Running Stitch

French Knots and Stem stitch.

Anita Fountain – Poppyseed Heads

Looking down from above of a bed of poppies. It is wet felted with scrim and embroidery.

Karen Attwood (webmaster) – Sunflower

Wet felt and hand embroidery.