The faded redhead

2011-12-29T02:27:00.001-08:00

Happy New year to you all!

The new year starts well for me with my quilts getting ready to travel to the national Quilt Museum in Paducah, with some of the top British names in Quiltmaking! See the following link!http://www.quiltmuseum.org/upcoming-exhibits.html

Over the holiday period I have been busy making quilts for my Solo Exhibition at the Festival of Quilts in 2013, I know it is a long way off, but I have lots of exhibitions coming up with friends Yvonne Brown and ATW [Anglia Textile Works].

My exhibition is going to be called Sticks and Stones based on the Forest around Thetford where I now live - see manipulated image above. The work is going to feature dyed, painted, screen prinited fabrics as well as some image transfer work. There is going to be a book to go with the exhibition too expaining my techniques.

Happy new year to you!

2011-10-30T22:32:00.001-07:00

I have an inclusion in the new book by the publishers of Cloth Paper Scissors!

The book is a collection of articles previously published in CPS, and is about using mixed media, making papers, dying fabrics and hand stitching.

Not a very good picture - but you get the idea!

2011-09-27T00:41:00.000-07:00

New classes for the Autumn!

4th & 5th November - Screen Printing - we will be playing around with various techniques including paper, freezer paper and vilene stencils with dye paste, as well as discharge techniques to produce exciting vibrant lengths of fabric.

29th November - 2nd December - Winter Summer School! - we will be creating designs from architecture and the worlds around us as a base for this 4 day machine embroidery workshop. Some knowledge of free machine embroidery is useful.

13th & 14th December - Image transfer workshop - we will be experimenting with different ways of transferring images to fabric and then creating a small machine stitched panel.

Foe more information or to book a place please see www.creativestitchsuffolk.co.uk or phone SEFWI [Suffolk East Federation of WIs], Orford Street, Ipswich on 0147325163

2011-09-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

A bit late but this is Clive Barnetts work was selected for the further education Gallery and he won the £1000 bursary!! We were thrilled to bits for him. He will return next year with booth of his own showing how his studies have prgressed.

This is Barbara Clarke's work - she is now doing the Diploma course.

This is work by Mary McIntosh who has now joined us on the teaching team at Creative Stitch Suffolk.

Very Excited!!

2011-06-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

I heard yesterday that all three students I had put in for the Further Education Gallery at the Festival of Quilts 2011 have been accepted - what a thrill!

They are;
Clive Barnett & Barbara Clarke who have just completed the Certificate C & G Patchwork and Quilting who have also been taught by Marion Barnes and also
Mary McIntosh Diploma C & G Diploma Patchwork and Quilting taught by me.

The whole class was jumping up and down with delight today!!!

Also to say that Mary McIntosh will be joining the team at Creative Stitch Suffolk to teach C&G P&Q from September, welcome to the team Mary!

2011-06-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

This weekend is our City and Guilds exhibition where Art Van Go will be in attendance, showing work from the City and Guilds Certificate and Diploma students.

Venue - Wickham Market Village hall, nr Woodbridge, Suffolk

Times - 10 am - 4pm

£2 admission

See you there!

2011-05-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

I have just heard that two small quilts I made have been accepted for an exhibition at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, USA next year! I think the exhibition is about British Quilt artists.

The quilts are small and based on photos I took of the ruins of Thetord Priory [see left], where we now live. They have only been seen by visitors to the exhibition that Yvonne Brown and I had at the St Edmund Gallery, in Bury St Edmunds last November.

2011-05-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Our City and Guilds exhibition will be held on 25th & 26th June at Wickham Market Village Hall, nr Woodbridge in Suffolk.
On display will be work by C&G Patchwork & Quilting Certificate students and Diploma students. There will also be a small diplay of the work by first year C&G Machine Embroidery students.
Art Van Go will be in attendance for the two day exhibition.

Do come and see us!

2011-02-01T00:33:00.000-08:00

I was asked to go on the Lesley Dolphin show on Radio Suffolk last Friday, to talk about some of the courses I teach. I listened to it this morning, and it is very strange listening to yourself talk! If you wnat to listen you can go to the Radio Suffolk site and listen to the interview on iPlayer!

2011-01-28T03:06:00.000-08:00

Things are going well here, especially with Creative Stitch Suffolk.
We have 33 City and Guilds Students enrolled and we are starting some new day school classes this year see below for more details.
Classes are booking up fast!

14th -15th April - Screen printing [ please note change from July date!]
27 - 28th April - Image transfer
1st - 2nd July - Felt making

2nd - 5th August - Machine Embroidery Summer School

We will be having a stand at Textiles in Focus at Cottenham, nr Cambridge from 25th - 27th February so do come and say hello!

We have other day schools planned so visit www.creativestitchsuffolk.co.uk for more details

2011-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

When it was very cold just before Christmas I took this photo of a frosted corkscrew hazel. There is a quilt in there somewhere!

To let you know about some new courses for this year to be held in Ipswich at the WI headquarters in Ipswich, Suffolk:

14th & 15th July 2011 Screen printing - we will be experimenting with varoius types of screen priniting to produce some original works of art.

27th & 28th April 2011 Image transfer - we will experiment with several different types of image trnsfer and use collage techniques to build up a stitched collage picture which is what I used in my award winning quilt in August!

2nd - 5th August 2011 Machine Embroidery Summer School. We will learn lost of new techniques and refresh some old ones so the you go home with both lots of samples and some finished peieces of work. Design ideas will also be covered.

Have an artful 2011!

2010-11-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

This is one of the quilts that was at our exhibition [ with Yvonne Brown at the St Edmund Gallery, at Bury St Edmunds Cathedral] a couple of weeks ago. It is based on the Abbey ruins in Thetford. It is one of a pair.

It was our most successful exhibition yet in terms of footfall and sales, We will be back there in 2012.

Exhibition in Bury St Edmunds

2010-10-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

It's about time I got back to blogging! Sadly in the last few months my time has been taken up with dashing backwards and forwards to Kent from Norfolk, as my mother was ill and died nearly 4 weeks ago. The good thing was that she wasn't in pain and died peacefully in her sleep.

However I am back and to say that Yvonne Brown and I have an exhibition coming up on 28th Oct to 3rd Nov, 10am to 4.30pm, at the Edmund Gallery, at Bury St Edmunds Cathedral.

We look forward to seeing you!

2010-08-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well I am very proud of myself as I won the Art Quilt section of the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham last week!

The win was totally unexpected as I had made the quilt for an ATW exhibition at Loch Lomaond in Scotland - I though I would just put it into the Festival! I won £1000 which is very useful and will pay some bills!!

I also found out on Friday that a quilt I had put int the World Quilt and Textile show [USA] won an Honourable Mention! Two awards in one week!

Enjoy!

2010-07-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

Just to say that the website for City and Guilds courses is now live.

www.creativestitchsuffolk.co.uk

Contact me if you are interested and for a chat.

City and Guilds courses by Distance Learning and by attendace in Suffolk.

2010-06-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

STOP PRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

City and Guilds Creative Courses with

CREATIVE STITCH SUFFOLK

The courses will be in association with the WI College at Denman but can be taken by distance learning, or by attendance in Ipswich, Suffolk.

The following courses will be offerred by distance learning;

Certificate in Machine Embroidery [Level 3 course, 2yr duration]

Certificate in Patchwork and Quilting [Level 3 course, 2yr duration]

The following courses will be offerred in Ipswich;

Certificate in Hand Embroidery [ Level 1 course, 1 yr duration]

Certificate in Machine Embroidery - as above

Certificate in Patchwork and Quilting - as above

Diploma in Patchwork and Quilting to commence in September 2011, students must have completed the Certificate in P & Q

For more information contact me at annette@annettemorgan.co.uk

Norfolk Open Studios

2010-05-24T08:57:00.001-07:00

This is one of the geysers at Rotarua! It looks like a moon landscape with all the grey earth and bubbling mud. Lots of inspiration for textiles!

Norfolk Open Studios is on the go! It was very quiet last weekend I think everyone had gone to the beach with temps hitting 28 C.

Do come and visit me if you are in the area 29th & 30th May and 5th & 6th June. I look forward to seeing you.

email me privately for more details.

Dyrect Dyes In Aus

2010-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

A message for those who dyed with me in Melbourne!
Bailey Curtis [who set up Omega Dyes] said that Dale Rollerson from the Thread Studio has used dyrect/ direct dyes in the past so she may know suppliers in Aus.
Failing that you can order them from Omega Dyes and they will send them to you, as one student on the course did.
I was reading the latest issue of the Surface Design journal last night and noticed that ALJO MFG . CO. DYES advertises direct dyes website www.aljodye.com
I hope that helps!

Our trip

2010-05-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

We've just returned from our trip to the southern hemisphere and a great time was had by all!

The photo is of Mount Taranaki in the North Island, close to where our son-in-laws parents live.

We spent two night in Singapaore and then two weeks in NZ followed by a week in Melbourne where I was teaching at the Australiasian Quilt Convention. I have to say that everyone we met was very friendly, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Now back to the real world! Lots of teaching coming up as well as C&G courses - more of that at a later date!

When I have sorted out my photos I will add more. That's all for now!

2010-04-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

My web man has just revamped my website - I hope you enjoy the new look!

Also if you try to email me over the next few weeks I will be away - we're off to New Zealand and Australia stopping at Singapore on the way, where I lived when I was little!

There's been some fabulous reviews of my new book - available from Rainbow Disks.

That's all for now!

2010-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

This is a detail of an image transfer technique in the new book based on the baot yard in Felixtowe, Suffolk.

See previous post!

2010-01-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

Lots of news!

Two images have been accepted for "500 Art Quilts" a book by Lark Books. There is so much to see in this book, and it has been very sympathetically produced - a must buy! I entered 3 quilts so was very pleased to get two accepted including Serendipity.

This one, Faded Mrray and Blue wasn't accepted! but they had over 2000 entries so I did well!

Now for something new - "Creative Fabric Techniques" has just been published by Rainbow Disks. At the moment it is only available from me and the publisher for the price of £12. It will be available for sale at the Melbourne Quilt show. Amongst other techniques in the book are the ones for the Serendipty quilts [not before published] as well as the Out of the Dustbin and image transfer technqieus. It has just gone out to the quilt publishing world and the reviews from magazines and websites so far are very good!

Enjoy!

Australia

2009-11-10T08:58:00.000-08:00

Just to let you all know that I have been asked to teach in Australia next year at the Australiasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne in April, and already some of the classes are full! I feel very honoured as I have been asked to give a talk on the work of Contempoary British Quiltmakers and also to take an exhibition with me. I have asked the Out of the Fold group if I can take their current exhibition [ which has just been at the Cavern 4 gallery in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk] and they are very excited about it. One of the group actually comes from Melbourne so you can imagine her reaction!
We are going to combine it with a trip to New Zealand, as that is where our son in law is from. They are having a 7 month career break and have gone travelling - they are just about to leave India to fly to China, then to go to Vietnam, Thialand, Malaysia, Australia ending up in NZ. We are going to spend some there with Jono's folks - so it's all coming together!
I have alot more info to share with you which I will do in further posts!

The Little Gracie

2009-08-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is my Little Gracie set up in our new conservatory, in our new home, a flint and pan tiled cottage in Thetford. I bought the Gracie back in December, but what with the move and other things, we've only just got it put together - it was like a giant meccano set - which my husband enjoyed putting together!

The fabric was dyed in the microwave and I had done some handstitching on the quilt but didn't like it. I found it again when we moved anf thought it would be ideal for practicing on the Little Gracie. I'm coming along quite well [!] it is a different way of machine quilting as I am used to moving the fabric under the needle, but now I have to move the needle over the fabric.

The hope is that now I can concentrate on some new work which I am itching to do. I have lots of ideas and not enough time!

For those of you waiting for the new book, which we had hoped would be published in time for the Festival of Quilts, it should be out in time for The Knitting and Stitching show. The publisher's father has been ill.

That's all for now!

I'm back!

2009-04-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back!

We've been very busy, sorting out both properties and trying to find where we've put things! We've also had a break in southern Italy with family, near Tropea which was a real blessing, sight seeing and exploring the area. Everything was closed though, including some good local restaurants as the season hasn't started.

Since being back I've been busy trying to get back on track with finishing the latest book and researching for new classes. I'm looking forward to beginning some new work and doing some experimenting.

I also have a Little Gracie, which once we have a conservatory I hope to get put up. It's a frame where you can use a domestic sewing machine in a frame - no need for pinning or tacking of quilts.

So lots to do and very little time!

2009-03-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie to say that we are moving on 9th March and we will be out of email contact for about 10 days until the new line is sorted. I will try and check mail on friends computers but please be patient!
We are having two moves - we will be looking after Dan's mum in her bungalow, but we have bought our own property in Thetford, a pantiled flint cottage, which is going to be our studio and retreat!
I'm fed up of moving round boxes and our poor cat Poppy has resorted to staying in the bathroom as it is the only room which has remained the same! She is very worried!
I'll be back when I can, Annette

City and Guilds and juried exhibition

2009-02-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

Well I'm off to Denman College [WI - Womens' Institute or the Wild Indians as my husband calls it!]this week to teach for 3 days - City and Guilds 7822 Patchwork and Quilting. I haven't been to Denman before so I'm looking forward to it.

We have a good list of people who want to do the 7922 P&Q C&G in the Autumn and also for the Diploma - if you are interested in any of the C&G courses in Suffolk do let me know.

We will be having a C&G exhibition in the Village Hall at Wickham Market, Suffolk at the end of June, and if you live in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex or Cambs and you have done a C&G course you are welcome to take part in the juried part of the exhibition entitled EROSION. E-mail me for an entry form if you are interested.

The picture on this posting is of a quilt I made last year based on the architecture of the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral - I ought to put on the image that it was based on too so that you can see how I arrived at the design!

I love the distressed look of the peeling paint - I wonder what the cathedral looked like in the middle ages when it would have been highly decorated.

2009-01-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

It's about time I got back to this blog, but I do have good excuse - we've sold the house, I'm writing a new book, new year with new courses to teach - I could go on!

However just to show I did do some stitching work in the last year here are some images taken for me by Kevin Mead of Art Van Go.

This one is based on bamboo at Beth Chatto's garden in Essex, I love the rustling in the bamboo when the wind blows. It's all hand dyed fabrics using dyrect dyes in the microwave, very quick and easy to do.

I do a lot of experimental work [ my new book on this subject is coming out in August] but I do like doing some basic patchwork sometimes.

For those of you wanting to do City and Guilds courses I will be teaching the 7822 course at Denman [WI] college over two weekends staring at the end of February, a new 7922 Certificate course starts in Sept in Suffolk, with a 7923 Diploma starting also in Sept but over several weekends a term. Contact me if you want more details.

For a bit of joy in these joyless times - or so the journalists would have us belive - visit louisebatten.blogspot.com - she used some of her early prototype toys to leave in a park for children to find - what a lovely idea!

Summer schools

2008-09-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

People often ask if I teach Summer Schools, the following are availabe for 2009;

Puddleduck Patch, Cullen, Scotland;

1. Crazy Logcabin patchwork 28th & 29th July

2. 31st July, 1st & 2nd August

Sew and So's in Bungay Suffolk -

1. Textured Dimension 2 day workshop £60 6th & 7th August

2. Out of the Dustbin 3 day workshop £90 10th, 11th & 12th August

East Suffolk Embroiderers Guild, Ipswich, Suffolk - 14th, 15th and 16th August

Please contact me for more details - annette@annettemorgan.co.uk

I'm off to Spain tomorrow for a week to teach and stay with friends - it will be fun! The image above is a photo I took a village north of Malaga - it's a fantastic seed head which I have been playing around with in my design work. The other image is of an olive grove near by. Both have been manipulated using a design programme.

Thanks for your comments on my blog - I enjoy reading them!

2008-09-05T02:28:00.000-07:00

I've had a very busy summer - too busy to post! Teaching has taken up a lot of my time, since my last entry I've been to Camberley, Meon Valley, Chelmsford, Cheshire, Hertfordshire and Cullen in Scotland and all places in between.

Besides the teaching I've sold three pieces of work one of which was a commission. The piece left was exhibited at an exhibition with my husband who is a painter, in a gallery in Bury St Edmunds, and was bought later - before being exhibited at the Festival of Quilts.

We've been to Beth Chatto's garden in Essex several times and the Bamboo is wonderful, I like the noise it makes when the wind blows through, and I'm exploring textile ideas from the photos I took.

Another bamboo piece I've made uses more traditional techniques and was also in the show, it's more colourful in greens, yellows and blues and is currently in an exhibition at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk.

BFN

2008-03-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like my daughter has got in the act with her blog - louisebatten.blogspot.com - she says she's turned out like her mum, working for the health service and stitching! Like mother like daughter!

I've just had a sale, from a lady who found my website and came to visit. She bought a piece and commissioned another to go with it - thank you Juliet. As she lives in Suffolk, she wanted a textile from a suffolk artist. I still have the pictures in my camera but I will put one on my blog of the quilt. It is an abstract landscape.

I'm trying to work on a piece for Quilt 2008 at the moment, doing lots of samples but not really happy with what I have done so far. It will be another in the serendipity series where I use a soldering iron on an already stitched quilt! The quilt pictured is "Faded Murray and Blue", so called because it reminded my husband of herladic colours. If you want more info on this quilt let me know!

That's all for now!

Textiles in Focus

2008-02-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

So much for my plan to publish post each week - my lap top was away being fixed and so I wasn't able to post!

It's been quite a busy time though, I am mentor to a textile group called Out of the Fold, and they have just had their first exhibition since they graduated from the Diploma City and Guilds course. The exhibition was at Cottenham, part of Textiles in Focus. It was a great success, they had very postive comments from many visitors and they sold alot of handmade items, from books bags, cards and hangings, they have been invited to be part of another exhibition at Sutton Hoo [ I don't know the dates at the present time], one person has been asked to teach a technique to another group and one lady has had a commission. So a great boost to their self esteem, and very exciting for me to see their growth as individual artists. I say "they" as I felt it was their exhibition, I just had a few of my books for sale.

This week I'm off to give a talk in Sutton Coalfield on Wednesday and I am planning to start on a peice for Quilt 2008 during the rest of the week - I have some idea of what I want to do, but I need to play with some designs first.

Happy stitching!

Fabric books

2008-02-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

Today I e-mailed an article to a Danish patchwork magazine, who wanted me to write about making a needle case like the one in the middle of this picture, with the two diamonds on the front.

With all the fabrics in this picture I have used heat in some way, either by using a soldering iron or a heat gun. I usually stitch lots of layers together and then burn. [These fabric books also appear in my book Glitzy Quilts.] - I'm not a very good saleswoman, but I am trying!

I'm hoping to experiment with some painting this week, I was inspired by an article in Cloth, Paper, Scissors by Kelly Rae Roberts - look at her website - kellyraeroberts.com - she's a very good figurative artist, I'm not, but I like the way she does her backgrounds.

I'm also stitching a quilt I made about 10 years ago which I never finished - but enjoying the challenge. It's nothing like my present work and it won't be seen until the Festival of Quilts.

Bye for now!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog of the new year - my daughter has told me off for not keeping it upto date!

To the left is a mixed media quilt - I have used my decorated papers, dyed fabrics using dyrect dyes in the microwave and simple stitches to put it together. It is featured in the latest isse of the American magazine Cloth, Paper and Scissors. If you would like to do a workshop on subject I will be teaching at the Cottenham [Cambs] textile weekend on 17.02.08. Also I am giving a talk at Sevenoaks in Kent this Saturday [26.01.08] and in the afternoon session there will be the opportunity to have a go!

2007-11-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

Another manipulated digital image, this time of Thetford Forest which is quite near us. My huband has found stoneage arrow heads near here.

2007-11-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Mountain village near Malalga, Spain.

2007-11-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

I am very much inspired by images and places around me. Since coming to grips with my digital camera and manipulating my images, I am constantly inspired! I have been printing these images onto cloth and collaging them with paper and stitching with thread. These have been well received at exhibitions and purchased by the viewers.

I surprised myself with my photography, but I was reminded that my father was a skilled amatuer photographer and so it must be in the blood. Sadly he died young at 52.

My husband often paints from the images I take too which is exciting.

We have another exhibtion lined up at Cavern 4 in June 2007. more details later.

The picture is of our garden gate!

2007-11-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

Out of the Dustbin III

This is a detail of one of my latest quilts, which is a quilt I never really liked, painted, then cut up and rearranged and stitched back together.

It is one of my series of Out of the Dustbin quilts, so called because I had literally thrown two quilts in the dustbin. An ex-student of mine phoned just after my disposal, and during the course of the conversation asked what I was doing. On hearing what I had done, she told me to get the quilts out of the dustbin. I decided to recycle them by applying paint and so the new work was born!

There will be an article about these quilts in the next issue of Quilting Arts.

This was part of our joint exhibition at Art Van Go Studios in Knebworth, Herts, UK, in October 2007

Dan's paintings are on the walls, some of my beachcombing boxes on the cupbaords and some of Louise's toys in the glass cabinets.

Dan, my husband trained as a painter and Louise our daughter trained at the London University of the Arts.

2007-11-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hi, I love all things textile and I hope you enjoy my work.

I'm a designer maker, teacher and author. My latest book is on CD and was published in August entitled Glitzy Quilts. My website is www.annettemorgan.co.uk where you can see some of my work and my lists of workshops and talks.

I have just had an exhibition with my husband at Art Van Go, in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, UK, which went very well. It is the first time we have exhibited together in 30 yeras of marriage! When we met I was a nurse and Dan was an art teacher, I wasn't very well versed in art and I can remember we visited the tate Gallery in Londona and there wasn't anything I liked! Things ar edifferent now and we have the same tastes.

Our kids are both arty, Joel works in a bookshop and wants to be a writer, Louise, married to Jono, trained at the London College of Fashion and is a toy maker, and recently made 3 quilts which she says is addictive.

More later................