I'd never been to White Peak Embroidery before, I'd never even heard of it. A few weeks before the class me and Mr CA drove past it after a walk in the grounds of Chatsworth House. I was very over excited, especially as we then passed a quilt shop not two minutes later. When it turned out it was where the class was being held, I was thrilled to be visiting. It's a gem of a needlework shop, full of gorgeous threads, fabrics, yarns and kits and has a little coffee shop too! The actual class was held in Heirs and Graces, the patchwork shop a few feet away, but that was less exciting as the stock is, shall we say, more traditional.
Anyway, on to the class. There were 6 of us learners so it was a good size class. After an introduction, the teacher came round and showed us each individually the different elements. She was an excellent teacher and we hope to take more classes with her in the future now we know the shop is there and runs classes. Unfortunately, I didn't take a note of her full name, but her first name is Ann.
I didn't take any photos in class as I was far too busy enjoying the magic of silk ribbon embroidery. And it is magic! The way that you can pull a ribbon and it takes on a certain shape was a revelation. This is what I got done in the class. I'm really pleased with my work even though one of those blue flowers was done wrong - though without the class sample next to it, you have no idea which one!
I really enjoyed stitching this, and this is just half the picture. I've been working on it at home and will show you the finished item soon (ish), when I get it finished that is!
The teacher also brought out her antique crazy quilt to show us which was fascinating. Although very much not my style it was lovely to see the different forms of embroidery on a quilt over 100 years old. She also had a selection of books that I had a good read through and yes, I did buy a book! I bought The A-Z of Silk Ribbon Embroidery, and what a gorgeous book it is too! Expect to see more of this on my blog.... though in several month's time of course, you know how bad I am at getting round to doing things!
Silk ribbon embroidery can be magical, I agree. It's possible to do similar things with polyester ribbon, but it's not quite so alive, and tends to look a bit stiff.
ReplyDeleteOh wow!! It certainly does look magic alright. Amazing how just a twist and
ReplyDeletestitch here and there can make a master piece. You've done well girl.
Your silk ribbon embroidery looks fabulous Wendy and the colours of the silks are beautiful! Have a lovely weekend! Christine x
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely, I keep telling myself to learn to embroider and then along comes another quilt pattern that I have to make.
ReplyDeleteOh well done, never got to grips with ribbon embroidery myself but certainly admire the end results. Look forward to seeing the finished article xcx
ReplyDeleteI tried a class in this before. It's amazing what you can do with a little tugging here and there. Although I liked the technique I did find it very fussy.
ReplyDeleteIt always looks so complicated, but it's not once you get into it, and it produces a lovely effect. Whenever you say where you go for the classes, it reminds me, you're not that far away
ReplyDeletethis is going to make a lovely piece. The A to Z books are all very good have quite a few of them in my book collection
ReplyDeleteI have been doing some silk ribbon embroidery recently too, so I completely agree with you it is a lovely thing to work. Will have to check out that book too, it sounds like one to add to my library.
ReplyDeleteLooks very pretty. It's good to share experiences with your mother.
ReplyDeleteOhh that is really beautiful! Can't wait to see the finished item!
ReplyDeleteYour ribbon picture is lovely. I know the shops you're talking about well as I grew up near there and often visit when I go back to see relatives. Never done a class though, perhaps I need to start!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! One of the stores here does classes in silk embroidery, but I've never tried. It looks lovely! :D
ReplyDeleteOh your ribbon embroidery is gorgeous - flowers come in many shapes and sizes and petal and leaf designs - no two are exactly alike - yours are just fine!
ReplyDeleteIt's still a bit of a journey for me from Derby but I've been up a few times. The last was just before Christmas and I did get a few lovely metallic fabrics from the patchwork shop too. That embroidery and silk ribbons are on my list.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous work Wendy, I love ribbon embroidery and have a couple of UFO´s somewhere. Hope you show us the finished piece.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a silk ribbon tulip before! I've only had a taste of silk ribbon embroidery but I do know how magic it is. I hope you'll be able to to do more of this and show it to us soon!
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