My Embroidery Exhibition

I am very thrilled and excited to say that my exhibition is now open in the studio at Plonk et Plus in Belvès. It was quite an emotional day when I set up my work for display. But I held it together until we had placed the poster onto the A frame then the tears, but tears of happiness is always good.

The A-frame will be on display outside Plonk et Plus in the main square at Belvès for the next 2 weeks.

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My signature butterfly all set for the evening opening event.

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At the opening event the butterfly in the frame and the peacock cushion were the first items to be sold, followed by three more framed embroideries. It was great seeing so many people at the event taking an interest in my embroidery and wanting to know more details about my work and my inspiration for each piece.

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Another cushion with our cat Angel in the centre.

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Most of my inspiration is taken from the local area.

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I adore the red squirrels of the Perigord.

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Gorgeous stone and oak beamed room to display my work

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One of the highlights for me was the presentation of a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

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A big thank you to Plonk et Plus for their excellent friendly service, from the greeter at the door who served wine and showed people the way to the exhibition, to the excellent platters of charcuterie and cheeses in the exhibition room. Also, a very big thank you to all of the people who attended the evening event, you made my day.

The exhibition is open until the 30^th July, closed Monday and Tuesday. So come along and take a look.

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Event:- that is amazing each year is the Fete Medievale in Belvès.

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Exhibition Of My Work

I am very excited and a little nervous, my first exhibition will be held from the 19^th to the 29^th July in Belves at Plonk and Plus. Details of the opening hours are below on the poster. Do come and take a look, the exhibition is free to look around and if something catches your eye the prices range from twenty to forty euros.

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Below is a small sample of my work.

There are twenty nine items which range from cushions for the bedroom and chairs, pictures in frames of the local area and wildlife, to pillow cases and a small tapestry. Plus two pictures inspired by The Hobbit, which is one of my favourite films.

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The inspiration for the cat cushion was taken from our cat Angel, who is, shall we say, a little too plump for climbing.

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This one is a 1930’s style lady who is taking her dog for a walk while observing a stone hut that are particularly indigenous to the local area.

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All types of bird life thrive in the Perigord but I can honestly say that a Kingfisher is one of my favourites.

Do come and take a look, you will be very welcome.

A big thank you to two wonderful men who own Plonk et Plus (the best wine shop in the Perigord) and have given me the opportunity to exhibit my work.

A link here to their site for both Plonk et Plus and their wine and cheese bar Planches et Plonk

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A Reflection On The Past Year.

The year 2020 will no doubt go down in history as one unlike any other. The world has grappled with an extraordinary virus that few anticipated, and even fewer planned for.

In France as everywhere we have all had to adapt and change our behaviour, our ways of work and our expectations of what we perceive as our daily life. At the same time increasing our contact with loved ones and friends by the Social Media sites has been difficult when you just want to give them a very large hug and say we will get through this.

At first France was locked down for three months, so in the space of a few days an eerie silence settled over the village. Traffic eased and at times seemed to disappear altogether. One thing that did develop very quickly was that our neighbours across the square started to open and close their shutters at the same time every morning and night as a signal that they were alright. Creating the first shutter language!

What did we do during lock down? Myself, I read a lot, continued with my embroidery work and planned for the DIY store to opened. It was a chance for home improvement and decorating which we have had to put on hold over the past few years due to ill health.

Little things seem to be important like the DIY store being open.
Paul started to paint our meandering corridor to turn it into a art gallery for paintings and my work.

Nothing is straight in our home, the floors and the walls weave in, out, up and down which is a character I love about it.
 

Look at this Paul saved a fortune in making this door to the building at the back of the courtyard.
 

Next when the weather was a little warmer came the painting of the metalwork on the veranda, courtyard and the balcony. The balcony was only painted when the supermarket was closed so that we could keep the social distance.
 

‘Well done, nearly finished’.
 

The gallery is finished.

The squirrel is my latest work that I completed over the Winter months.

Next on the to do list is getting out more and enjoying the sunshine. While buying and planting more plants in the courtyard and balcony.

Stay safe and healthy.
 
 

Marché de Noël : Daglan

Everything that you need to start the Festive season right here in Daglan.

Just a selection of the many things that will be on offer on the 8th December:-
Stalls, selling arts and crafts. I am thinking Christmas presents.
Village produce stall
Guess the weight of the Christmas Cake
Christmas Hamper to win
Tombola
Père Noëll
Face painting
Plus lots of yummy things to eat hot or cold. For example crepes, sausages outside. Mince pies, cakes etc. in the building. With hot or cold drinks.

Look out for Paul and I on the art embroidery stall.

A good day out for all of the family.

Not long until July! Part Two

To complete my Embroidery blog I will describe some of the stitches I have used in my embroidery work and explain why I picked them..

There are numerous embroidery stitches that are ideal to use on light fabric. It all depends on what you are trying to create. So I think that the best option is to focus on four basic stitches so that you can try them, once practised you can move onto something more elaborate.

Running stitch, back stitch, cross stitch and satin stitch.

The Running Stitch is a simple stitch very much like a tacking stitch which I use to reduce fraying around the edge of the fabric. However the running stitch has smaller stitches.
 

Back Stitch on a white pillow case.

A stronger stitch than the running stitch but similar. Used for creating a solid line. One thread or two of embroidery silk are used depending on the thickness of the line you are embroidering. Start as for a running stitch but make the sequential stitches by passing the needle back into the end of the previous stitch.
 

Cross Stitch.

This stitch can be used to completely fill an area. Bare in mind that small cross stitch like the above takes time. This particular picture took me about two months to create, working two or three hours a day.

The stitch is excellent for canvas material where the weave can easily be counted and worked over an even number of threads for each stitch. When making cross stitch to fill the design, work the first slanting stitch for the full length, then work back completing the crosses.
 

Satin Stitch on leaves on a cushion.

Again can be used to fill an area. It is worked from left to right, therefore allowing a more flat surface than the cross stitch. Lines of running stitch could be worked inside the outline first to give a raised effect.
 

Have fun and be creative.