Wonky Patchwork Portraits

A lovely one or two day workshop creating small hand stitched story collages inspired by old log cabin quilts, family memories and handwritten words.

The centre square of many traditional log cabin quilts was red, to represent the fireplace or the heart of the home. We’ll use a family photograph printed onto fabric at the heart of our collages. Because of time constraints, I will prepare and print these in advance of the workshop – you’ll receive details of how to send your image to me nearer the time.

I’ll show you how I create these rather wonky but beautiful ‘log cabin’ style collages and how I add to the story element with the use of meaningful words. They are all hand stitched but don’t worry if you’re not an experienced stitcher – running stitch and cross stitch are all you need. What’s more important is a love for using beautifully tatty & worn vintage materials! I’ll share some of my favourite stitches and bring along some old needlework samples as inspiration.

You’ll be working with a fabulous selection of vintage and used materials from my studio such as – old handkerchiefs, vintage table linens & floral fabrics and whatever else comes to hand as I pack my bags. By using old and used materials we are bringing their stories to the piece too! Your log cabin piece will backed onto a gloriously scrappy piece of vintage quilt and the finished piece will be approximately A4 in size. You’ll have the opportunity to work on two pieces during a two day workshop.

You won’t complete your pieces during the workshop – hand stitching is really slow! However, you’ll receive all the guidance you need to finish at home and you’ll leave with a gorgeous project to work on and enjoy in your own time. You’ll be creating a beautifully personal textile collage that can be hung straight onto a wall, but I’ll also give other suggestions for easy ways of displaying.

While a great selection of old & used materials will be provided you may wish to bring along some bits & pieces from your own stash. Think about fragments of lace, old fabric scraps, stitched table linens and any other old bits and pieces that come to hand and are meaningful to you. I’ll give you more guidance on this on booking.

Don’t worry if you don’t have time to look things out – you can turn up completely empty handed.

This workshop is suitable for everyone from beginners to experienced stitchers – you’ll be shown everything you need to know!