Patterns, patterns and heirlooms!

Tina Francis tapestry 2015, block chart available, kit on request

So winter draws on!  I never get sick of saying this and notice it is in my blog often.  At this time of the year its great to start hunkering down of an evening and working on a project, or thinking about a project to give.  We are not at the end of the year yet but it is always a time for reflection this change in season.  

This year I was given a whole collection of fine wool from a member of Birmingyham Embroiderers Guild, it had belonged to her mother and she wanted me to use it if I could.  I am working on a design to use it for display at Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch at NEC next year in March. As well as this work my stand will be awash with plastic canvas mandalas large and small, there will be a section for Ladywood Stitchers so that you can see the work that they have completed since coming to my free stitch session at Springhill Library Birmingham each week.

What all of these sections of the display have in common is that we have used second hand wool, sometimes from charity shops, sometimes from donated stashs and sometimes from our own inherited piles! As you know I am really interested in people using what they already have and a piece of stitching that contains memories is a fantastic gift to give or receive.
See what I did there!
There are lots of patterns on my website which encourage you to use your stash and also canvases where you can use your own colours.

Tina Francis Tapestry - Robot - 2015 copyright

Our Brooch findings are really popular this season with many people using what they already have to create great gifts, they are being featured in the December/January  edition of Stitch Magazine which you will be able to buy at the end of November.

I will be running 4 workshops December in Birmingham for Brooch Making, I've got lots of new patterns and it makes a great group activity before you hit the shops!  Please contact me at tina@tinafrancis.co.uk to find out more. But if you are going to Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate I will be running workshops there too! All this talk of Christmas is making me feel real warm inside but hey we have to get through Halloween yet!

Image Courtesy Ladywood Stitchers.

Happy Stitching!

Weaving on!

Pink Weave by Janet Elstob, Copyright Janet Elstob 2015

It's great when you receive a note from a satisfied customer and this week seems to have been my week!  My Weave design kits are counted kits and come in many different colourways, they can seem a challenge to get started but once you are into the swing they are really enjoyable to get on with.  Each kit comes with a separate chart for each colour and you follow them in order to get a fantastic weave result. It's amazing how so few colours can make such a pleasing result.  The above image came in from Janet who when we met at Knitting and Stitching Show described how she wanted a special cushion for a rattan chair in a light place.  Well here is the result using my Pink Weave Kit.  The stitching on this is just perfect and I love how the basket weave of the chair is echoed in the finished piece.
This kit uses Appletons Wools and can be provided as a bespoke item in your own favourite colourways (prices from £70 to £90), you receive a bespoke set of colourblock charts and before I make up the kit you get to see a mock up of the finished colourway, I can even send you some wool colours.  As you know I am always encouraging people to Use Your Stash and so this design is available as a colour chart only which enables you to use the wool you have got rather than me providing it in the kit.
Continuing with all this weave and Stash I spent a really great day with Solihull Embroiderers Guild on Tuesday talking about my favourite subject, me! Ha ha not completely I talked about how I got into this tapestry needlepoint world and also showed examples of my work where I had used other peoples stash to create unique weave pieces.

Photo courtesy Martin Christie

What I find amazing about talking to Guild members is not just how interested they are in quality work but also how a simple idea like my weave design can spark a whole list of possibilities and discussion.  We roamed from stitch control, to emotional control, to maths, to physics, to memories of their moms pattern boxes.  It was a fantastic day and I have definitely come away with more ideas than I went in with!

The trade and stitch shows are nearly with us, I am exhibiting at Craft, Hobby and Stitch International next weekend and then on to Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch in March where I will be exhibiting a lot of my weave pieces and also demonstrating the processes.

I'm off now to look create another bespoke weave chart ready to send out after the weekend!

Until next time, happy stitching!

Tina

What's cooking?

Tina Francis Tapestry copyright - Pavilion Tops

At this time of year we all look back and then forward so I thought I'd head the blog with an image of my first ever kit Pavilion Tops, still popular in the UK and worldwide it makes me smile when I see it thinking of all the places this design has taken me.

But hey lets not dwell on the past one design does not make a Spring (!) it's time to concentrate on the first few months of the year and look at what i will be doing when and where (yes it's all about me this time!!).

As you will know I moved back to Birmingham in 2014 and met with some great new people, a special mention to Birmingham Embroiderers Guild who have been a great inspiration and have accepted me into the fold!  We had a great time in November making stitched brooches and I am happy to see some members using the pattern for their own work.  Keeping it Guild (!) my first talk of the year will be at Solihull Embroiderers Guild on 3rd February, I will be talking about how I got into the tapestry needlepoint world and also encouraging people to "Use their Stash" as it's great to have a project that does not cost too much at the start of the year. 

"Use Your Stash" is gaining momentum and I am always following others that like to use what they already have.  "My Make do and Mend Year" was an experiment and has now become a lifestyle choice for Jen, take a look at the blog I am really interested in this years challenge to make a piece of clothing per month, lot's of ideas and inspiration on this blog.

Talking about using what we have already got my new design for Spring is based on an old wall where the wallpaper has been stripped, I found it in Vittoria Works in The Jewellery Quarter a building which is being brought back to life by The Ruskin Mill Trust and will be a great place for young people to learn skills and become part of the community in the later half of this year.

Tina Francis Tapestry Copyright - What lies beneath

It's no good having new designs if you are not going to be showing them, I am exhibiting again at Craft, Hobby and Stitch International this is trade fair only so not open to the general public but will feature new designs from me and also the first trade outing for my trays.  It's a great show to gauge interest in all crafts and I am really looking forward to meeting up with Juko Designs who will be at the NEC for the first time and also saying a big hello to Hawthorn Handmade who I met last time and who have followed me and boosted me up throughout the year.

My next show is at Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch to say that I am over excited about being given the opportunity to exhibit here would be the understatement of the year (yes I know it's only a few days old), I will have a stand displaying gallery work from my woven series and will also be exhibiting two small pieces which are the start of a new exhibition for 2016 called "Interrupted" and of course "Use Your Stash" will be making an appearance! I will be running a daily one hour workshop called "On your Mono Marks" which will use Freudenburg Vilene products and mono printing techniques, I really enjoyed running last years workshop "The Start of Something (thanks Kim Thittichai for trusting and letting me loose on the general public!) which is where I met Birmingham Embroiderers Guild, so my blog has come full circle and that really is a great start to the year!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Tina