The Stitching and Quilting Show at the SECC, Glasgow

Unsung Muses at the SECC

Today I'm back in the studio after four very busy and fun days at the Stitching, Sewing and Quilting Show at the SECC.  That's a bit of a mouthful, so I'm just going to say 'Show' from now on!  Sorry for the quality of the photos - I just used my phone and it's getting a bit worn now.

Different view of the Unsung Muses

I took my Muses for an outing and they looked great against the black background - it was the first time I've seen them against black and it definitely worked and added something different.  Yesterday was Mothers' Day here in the UK and R bought the kids in to see the Show/me in the afternoon.  I haven't dared ask them about what they thought about the quilts, but their two purchases were cheese and chocolate!

My mad family, who came to visit and who can't stay still!

I had a table set up with info about my work and also about my classes.  I'm going to offer the C&G in Creative Sketchbooks in my studio starting in September, so it was good to be able to tell visitors about that and my other one and two day courses.

Rachel getting ready to gelli plate print

I also took my gelli plate and Markal paintstiks and my friend, Rachel, and I spent the four days demonstrating how wonderful they were.  Amazingly, we kept the mess under control and I now have a fabulous array of prints on paper and fabric to work with.

Some of my prints now waiting to be used

I was selling both the gelli plates and Markals and intended to put an A4 sheet in with each of them so that anyone who purchased them would know what to do when they got home.  I got a bit carried away and ended up writing a 20 page full colour booklet on each technique instead.  I'll be adding them to my website soon.  

The Turning Point exhibition - can you tell which one is mine on these photos?

My two newest pieces were in the Turning Point display, which was lovely (more details on them in a later blog post).

More of the Turning Point Quilts

It was also great to see so many of my students there and to see their work in the competition and on other stands.  In particular, a mega congratulations to Senga Bain for winning the art quilt category with her parrot quilt.  It was magnificent. 

Senga Bain's award winning quilt

So now I'm in the Show aftermath, with all my work/junk back in the Studio and I need to get it all sorted before the next class on Thursday, when I'm running a two day course in Sketchbooking.  

Ellen Griffith

Pamela Docherty

More of the Muses

Using Inktense on fabric

Inktense on fabric by Gillian Cooper

I’m not sure why, but I was rather resistant to Inktense pencils and blocks.  I think it may be because that although people raved about them, when I looked at their work I wasn’t convinced.  It was either a bit pale and uninteresting or very dark.

Inktense on fabric by Gillian Cooper

However, I finally decided I had to try them to see what the fuss was about.  The first attempt my daughter and I made was not terribly inspiring, but since then I’ve become a real convert.  The colour can be intense or pale and adding the ink to wet fabric gives a lovely wash style effect.  They also work well on paper and have become my ‘go-to’ set of pencils for any drawing I’m doing as then I can wet the colour, paint it in and the draw more on top.  The colour is so much more intense than watercolour and is permanent on fabric once it has been wet.  They have a lovely range of colours that sit nicely with my palette.

I like Inktense so much that I wrote an article about how to use them for Popular Patchwork (January 2015) as part of my ‘Colour onto Cloth’ series, rather than just mention them in passing.  When I was offered a stand at this week’s Stitching, Sewing and Quilting Show at the SECC, Glasgow, I decided I wanted to do something active, rather than just hand out leaflets about my new classes.  And so, Inktense seemed liked the obvious activity.  Not too messy, instant results and fun.  People can come and have a sit down (very important if they are spending a day at a show!) and relax and try something new.  Derwent Pencils, the makers of Inktense, kindly responded to my cheeky request for some blocks and pencils to use and my friend, Luci, who runs an events decoration company, eventsdecor, has passed on to me lots of old white fabric she no longer requires.  It seemed simple, but of course, it requires far more work than that, not least, cutting and ironing all the fabric to be used!

Spare mopping up fabric - will be used in something else

Naturally, I also cannot find the samples I made for the article in Popular Patchwork and so have been playing at making some more, just using Inktense.  Normally, it is a layer in a process for me along with mono printing and paintstiks, rather than just used on its own.  This has been fun and the kids have all had a go too as today was a ‘snow day’ and there was no school.  This was a good activity after all the exertion of sledging!  The kids’ samples are interesting – they use the blocks so different to me and the level of mess was hugely more than my normally very contained area!   

Two of the kids hard at work

I’m looking forward to the Show, but am a bit nervous as it is the first time I’ve done this.  It will definitely be a learning experience for me.  As an incentive to visitors to the Show to sign up for my newsletter, I’m offering them the chance to win a set of Inktense blocks.  If you sign up for my newsletter before the end of Sunday 8 March, I’ll add your name into the draw too.  I promise no junk mail!

The Inktense blocks on offer

One of the kid's pieces hung out to dry

Another of the kids pieces - it's meant to be a solar eclipse

Four Landscape Fabric Postcards for the Stitching Show

Tree by Gillian Cooper

Next week I have a stand and a workshop at the new Stitching Show at the SECC in Glasgow.  It is a very exciting event for me, although it came about in sad circumstances as the reason I am doing this is because the Studio, Loch Lomond couldn't take the place, so they asked if I could take advantage of it.  

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I immediately said yes, whilst inwardly panicking about how I was going to fit it in with the two solo exhibitions I have this winter and it has also given me the impetus to set up teaching classes from my home studio (more shortly).  

Marshes by Gillian Cooper

So I had to think of a quick and easy, preferably hand stitch and limited mess 1 hour workshop rather fast.  I thought making a little landscape postcard would fit nicely.  This week I've been making the samples and packing the kit.

Sunset over sea by Gillian Cooper

Whilst the idea does fit nicely, executing it has proved harder as I haven't done any landscapes or work this small for years and so it has taken some time to get into the mindset.  I think I'm there now, but you should know that I'm not showing you my first effort, which was truly awful and had me really worried about whether I would be able to deliver what I had promised - it would have been a lot easier with a sewing machine, adding details in paint rather than the strict guidelines of fabric and hand stitch.  It's amazing how much my work has changed as that's exactly where I started out and now it proves challenging!

Fields and flowers by Gillian Cooper

Now I'm enjoying making these little pieces daily.  It's good to try something different and hopefully if you are at the Show next week, you'll come and say hello and maybe take the workshop - it's at 3.15 each day. 

2015 will be...

 Happy New Year everyone – I hope 2015 is an enjoyable year for you all. 

The Christmas holidays here have just finished and the children are back to school today and so a form of normality reigns – even if we still need to remove the Christmas tree and pack all the decorations back into their boxes – I’m sure it will be all finished before Easter...

The hand dyed silks for my latest piece on top of the pattern

2015 is going to be a wonderfully busy one for me.  Looking back, my life seems to run in 2 year cycles – one manic year, following by one of recovery.  This is definitely a manic one!  It starts with a solo exhibition at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh, opening on Friday 30^th January continuing until Saturday 21^st February.  I’ll tell you more about this in my next post.

Some of the pieces of silk ironed in place

In March our C&G students from the Studio Loch Lomond Quilt Show have an exhibition at the new Stitching and Quilting Show at the SECC, Glasgow.  I am hoping to run a couple of taster workshops there too.

The new work beginning to take shape

Then I have my exhibition at Farfield Mill from 21 March to 10 May.  I’m super-excited about this since I visited the space and have lots of ideas of how I’m going to use it.

Also [MEGA NEWS] I’m intending to be teaching from my home studio from April onwards – a variety of textile based classes – lots more information soon as I firm up on the details, buy the desks etc.

Finally, as if all this wasn’t sufficient, I am exhibiting at the European Patchwork Meeting in Alsace in September.  It is a fantastic show and I know there are lots of other amazing makers showing their work too, so it would be well worth a visit.

Then around the end of November, I will collapse again in time for next year’s Christmas season.

It is such an exciting year for me – I hope you will be joining me on this great journey.  For those who dislike it, I apologise for using the ‘J’ word, but it really feels that way for me this year!