1 to 10 December – daily from 10am
Private View – Monday 1 December 6-9pm
Join us for our third annual Christmas show at Sprout, a lovely community arts space in Streatham, south London. Several guest artists will be joining us to create a wonderful display of colourful textile artworks, wearables and all manner of unique handmade gifts.
If you’d like to learn some new craft skills, enrol for one of our workshops in weaving, textile jewellery, feltmaking or embroidery – see the timetable below.
Women of the Cloth
Carol will be showing her latest work in nuno felt, including wearables such as tactile cosy scarves, snoods and arm wear, felt and stitch collages plus the ever popular winter warmers in handmade felt such as hottie covers and tea cosies . As a feltmaker, Carol continues to indulge her love of mixing colours and textures using fibre and cloth. Join her for a feltmaking or embroidery workshop.
Over the summer Joan has been developing a new line in wrapped and beaded textile jewellery. She has enjoyed both making and wearing some of the pieces and, having received some very positive feedback and healthy sales at our Lambeth Open event, she is continuing to expand the styles and colours. She will also be showing her latest woven vessels and wall hangings. Join Joan for a jewellery-making workshop on Sunday 7 December (see below).
Kim will be there with her latest batch of upcycled hand-dyed indigo shibori pieces, plus a few scarves dyed with rust and other natural dyes. She continues to develop her sculptural felting techniques, attending workshops with Andrea Graham and Maria Friese, and has a new line of cutwork felted scarves and felted ruffle collars for the festive season. You can keep up with her work on her Flextiles blog.
Guest artists
Sister-duo AfroRetro will be showing their funky handmade jewellery, accessories and clothing inspired by their Ugandan and British heritage. Gorgeous Ugandan fabrics, bark cloth and palm leaves are among the materials which give their work such unique texture and pattern.
Linda Firth is a fine art textile artist working in south London. The work she will be showing uses handmade felt embellished with collage and stitch.
Weaver Jackie Bennett’s work is driven by the urge to experiment and sample yarns. She favours plant fibres: cotton, hemp, linen, jute, bamboo, silk and wool. Another lover of colour and texture, Jackie responds to inspirations both rural and urban, ranging from trees to buildings. She is also concerned with vision and the loss of sight.
Loren Zeisler is also inspired by beautiful yarns and natural fibres, combining them in different ways so that each of her knitted items is a one-off. She loves making things that have a function as well as being decorative, and each project – textiles, jewellery, ornaments – starts with thoughts on colour and evolves from there.
Janet Thompson’s ever popular needlefelted dogs will be with us once more and Janet will run a weekday workshop for those who would like to learn to make their own woolly pooch. Janet’s dogs are full of character and fun, each with its own unique personality. Perfect gifts for animal lovers at Christmas.
Making handmade products has enabled Susan of Wolle + Hide to show her passion for wonderful materials using simple shapes that show off the beauty and texture of the cloth and leather with fresh colour combinations. Her fashion accessories mix rural and urban aesthetics for design conscious women and men.
Helena, Sue and Christabel are all stitchers also contributing smaller handmade Christmas decorations and gift items, including bags for children, pincushions and purses in colourful fabrics to add even more variety to our offerings at Sprout this year.
So come and visit us or email us on womenofthecloth2012@gmail.com to book a workshop place from the list below.
Workshops
Needlefelted dogs with Janet
Tuesday 2 December, 11am-3pm, £35
Learn how to needlefelt a little dog using simply sheep fleece and a special needle. Once you have learnt the basic techniques, you’ll add characterful details to your new best friend!
Shisha mirrorwork embroidery with Carol
Tuesday 2 December, 6.30-9pm, £20
Learn how to sew on these small round mirrors, Indian-style, and add them to your handmade Christmas decorations. Play with colourful threads.
Hanging decorative bird with Helena
Saturday 6 December, 10.30am-12.30pm, £22.50
This workshop will give you the chance to practise your sewing skills and learn new ones while you make an individually crafted textile decoration using sequins, ribbons, bright colours and decorative fabrics.
Felting with Carol
Saturday 6 December, 1.30-5.30pm, £20
Make your own felt teacosy or hot water bottle cover using colourful sheep fleece, soap and water. Fast results with lovely, tactile materials – great makes for Christmas gifts.
Textile jewellery with Joan
Sunday 7 December, 11am-4pm, £35
Learn contemporary textile jewellery making techniques using colourful fibres, yarns, threads and beads. Select colours and textures to match your wardrobe or experiment with something new.
Stitching and beading with Helena
Sunday 7 December, 2.30-6pm, £35
An extension of Helena’s Saturday class to develop stitch and bead work and explore your own ideas. The aim is to make one complete bird decoration to hang on your tree or give as a handmade gift.
Upcycling with Afroretro
Monday 8 December, 18.30-21.00, £15
In this workshop sisters Ann and Lilly will teach you handprinting techniques to upcycle an unloved tee into a statement piece ready for the festive season, embellished with colour, sequins, & lots of fun.
Women of the Cloth 