Penny Nutall's talk and Zentangle Workshop 20th & 21st April

(Thank you to Maureen Kennaugh for her report and pictures)

On Friday evening Penny Nuttall gave the Guild an "informal reminiscence, with bits and bobs." This was her story of embroidery and textiles.  Penny's "bits and bobs" consisted of a wonderful array of embroidered projects, which included her exquisite Chinese vase. This married metal thread and silk shading over a lined 3D vase - with the embroidery amazingly going over the nearly invisible  seams  - which Penny made for the Embroiderers' Guild's "Riches of Stitches" competition some years ago. Penny also had some examples of her garments, which included both screen printed children's dresses and two examples of adult historical garments.
 Penny supplemented her talk and with a digital presentation, which explained the complicated nature of working with Manx National Heritage to produce replica historical garments for their various museums.  One example was the reproduction of Quayle's Manx Militia coat for the Nautical Museum which meant sourcing £100 per metre red cloth, gold epaulettes - and making a garment with no pattern to go by. Producing garments, which can be worn by today's adults and children, who vary so much from the shapes and sizes of the historical originals, is a real challenge! 
There was so much more to Penny's talk and "bits and bobs" included designing and making ball gowns for her daughter at university as well as parchment work, corsetery, and screen printed clasp purses  - and more besides.

In contrast to many of Penny's "bits and bobs", her workshop on Zentangle free machine embroidery, which she described as "doodling with free-machine embroidery", illustrated another of Penny's skills ie. free machining and quilting.

Penny explained that Zentangle is a meditative process (although I think everyone queried this with the amount of concentration required in the working  the pieces during the workshop!) and we should aim at its being a relaxing process!
 Zentangle has many set patterns, one of which we all tried and were quite amazed by. This is  Rick's Paradox .

   We started off the workshop by doodling with a pen in order to get into the flow of the freedom of doodling, then Penny set us working on fabric, free machining various doodling patterns, ideas for which she had provided.   After lunch Penny set the group working on our own patterns and zentangling "doodling"

  One of the major advantages to this workshop was that Penny was also very helpful in giving advice for those who were new to free machine stitching, or required a refresher - and even the more experienced stitchers learned something new!  All in all, it was a most enjoyable workshop.

Expert help on hand

A "posh" machine wasn't really necessary.  

Finished examples to take home.