Creative Retreat #1 of 2018 - Fabric Printing, Crewel Embroidery - Day One

This past weekend I had the first creative retreat of 2018 here at Leyden Glen Farm. If you read yesterday’s post, you know that The Farmer had his hip replaced a couple weeks ago. The surgery came up rather quickly — his hip was in such bad shape and he was in such pain that they worked him into the surgery schedule earlier than they normally do. This of course was after I had scheduled the 2018 retreats so I had no clue that I would be dealing with an ailing husband, trying to run the sheep farm, and holding creative retreats all at the same time. Luckily I have had a lot of help from friends, family and neighbors and somehow most of the sheep have survived (darn coyotes), the house and studio were cleaned and polished, and the students had a good time. 

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The first day of the Creative Retreat, we did Fabric Stamping and Crewel Embroidery. I don’t have a lot of photos from the day - unfortunately. I think I was just so exhausted that I forgot to take step by steps of everyone working. There were five students but unfortunately I forgot to snap a photo of Maureen's printing. 

In the afternoon, we added Crewel Embroidery to the printed fabrics. I forgot to take photos so I will share my most recent project that I have been working on...... I am adding Crewel Embroidery to this handprinted fabric.

More photos tomorrow. 

Fabulous Creative Retreat - Part One

This past weekend six brave souls arrived at the farm bright and early Saturday morning. The subject of the day was Fabric Printing in the morning. The concept for the afternoon was to embellish the printed fabric with Crewel Embroidery. I taught this same class last year over two days but this year, I decided to condense it into one day.

We start each class with a Meet and Greet on our screened in porch. This gives everyone a chance to tell their Fiber Story and it breaks the ice so we all get to know each other. It is fun to hear each person's Fiber Journey and it also helps me to know where each student is compared to the subject at hand. This weekend I had three new students and three returnees - Julia calls them three-peaters. I feel so fortunate that students like the classes so much that they will travel back to the farm. I also love to see how their skills have changed over the years and feel fortunate that I can be a part of their burgeoning artistic lives. 

After the short Meet and Greet, we headed down to my studio and dove in. Each student came armed with ideas that they might like to translate into a printed fabric. This group barely needed any help deciding upon ideas and motifs. Each student made their own printing stamps. They learned about the different paints I use too. 

We got right into stamping. 

Stephanie has been here before. She came with a motif in mind and we decided that it would make a great block design if it repeated around a central axis. 

Darby was inspired by the coneflowers in her garden. She also came armed with the book How to Be a Wildflower by illustrator Katie Daisy - you can check out her website and Instagram.  

Maureen decided upon paisley and heart motifs.

Ruth is fond of the traditional pomegranate motif. She printed on a natural flax color fabric and it is interesting how the fibers showed through the paint. 

Marji chose a very bold and graphic op-art design that I unfortunately don't have an overall view of. Here is a close-up of her stitching. 

Carol is a Decorative Artist who specializes in painted furniture. She came with a sketchbook full of ideas and printed a graphic design that she is going to heavily decorate with embroidery. 

It was an awesome day and I am so proud of the work that the students accomplished. Here they are - proud as punch. 

My friend Cynthia took the photo of all of us. She kindly did most of the cooking for us and the lunches were fantastic. Too bad I didn't get a photo of the spread. Lamb koftas, chicken, tabbouleh, gazpacho, green salad, homemade hummus, frittatas, homegrown squash and veggies, brownies and bar cookies. I so appreciate her help and support. 

Stop back for more tomorrow to see Day Two - Ceramic Tile Painting! 

Fabric Printing + Embroidery Class Wrap Up - Day Two

Day Two of the Fabric Printing + Embroidery Retreat was all about embroidery. On Day One, the students had designed their base cloth. They printed their motifs on 100% linen fabric using motifs they designed. 

We spent the morning learning embroidery stitches and practicing each one. I added to the mix by demonstrating many more possibilities. It was a good morning. 

We had a lovely lunch on the porch. It included a zucchini frittata with eggs from my chickens. Don't you love the embroidered potholder that my little 8 year old friend Sasha made me. Overnight we had rain and it perked up the garden. Thank goodness because it was much needed. 

All afternoon the students worked on pieces. They talked about what stitches they would add when they got home too. It was a real learning day. 

Here are some of the process shots from the day. 

Here are the printed and embroidered pieces with their design influence. The book is Lee's inspiration via Angie Lewin's book called Angie Lewin: Plants and Places. 

Amy's Mid-Century Modern inspiration:

Lauren's Scandinavian fabric inspiration: 

It was a great time. Such good work happened. I love watching students progress and the delight they have in learning. AND the surprise that they have done such a great job. Here is a not so good photo of the group with their printed bags. 

I hope to repeat the class again next year. If you want to be alerted to the upcoming classes, make sure you sign up for my Newsletter on the top right of this blog. 

There is one more Creative Retreat this year. It is a Knitting, Steeking, and Embroidery on Knits Class and it is September 24/25. Check it out here. There are a few spaces available. Come join the fun. Considering the weather, the leaves will be changing by then. 

Fabric Printing + Embroidery Creative Retreat WrapUp - Day One

The second Creative Retreat here at Leyden Glen Farm was this past weekend. I had a small group of 4 students but we all had a fantastic couple of days together. Although I prefer a larger group for my income stream I actually do enjoy the dynamics of a small group of students. Classes are never big here - 8 people maximum. If you have ever taken classes in hotels and conventions, you can only imagine how much better the setting is in my studio. Every student that has ventured to our farm has been a wonderful, open, talented woman - anxious to soak up every bit of inspiration I can give. It is pretty cool that many students have returned for a second and third Retreat. 

This was the first time I have taught Fabric Printing + Embroidery and boy - was it fun for me and for all the students. My concept was to teach how to do simple fabric printing on Day One. It is a technique I have developed over the years. It is featured in Crafting A Colorful Home and I will be showcasing more of it in my upcoming book. This technique is one which anyone can re-create in their home with limited materials and space and that is why I keep doing it. 

We began by talking about motif design and then the students jumped into designing their own motifs and printing some canvas bags. Here are some process photos. 

And here is one of the finished bags. The others were beautiful but it's hard for me to keep on message, teach and take photos too! OOOOPS. 

We broke for lunch on the porch. It was a gorgeous day with no humidity. Perfect.

In the afternoon, we talked about different kinds of paint and printing inks. We also talked about how printing the next piece would be different from their bag. The second piece was to become the basis for their embroidery on Day Two. 

Each student came with some ideas for their embroidery project which was the homework assignment. It was fun to see their inspirations morph into printed fabrics. 

Lee was inspired by the artwork of Angie Lewin.

Nancy wanted to recreate my Paisley Pillow Project. 

Amy is a fan of Mid Century Modern Design. 

Lauren was inspired by a fabric she picked up in Scandinavia. 

Here the students are looking over each other's work and discussing what they would have changed next time. The first time for every technique is always a learning process and I can never stress enough how each project will improve with practice and thought. 

More tomorrow. 

There is one more Creative Retreat this year. It is a Knitting, Steeking, and Embroidery on Knits Class and it is September 24/25. Check it out here. There are a few spaces available. Come join the fun. Considering the weather, the leaves will be changing by then.