home
NEWS
place an order
embroideries
stitch prints
books
cards
courses
requirements
students work
booking terms
course FAQ
commissions
blog
exhibitions
resume
ThreadLink
links
contact me
early career
.co.uk
FREEHAND MACHINE EMBROIDERY COURSES WITH ALISON
Student's Work
click course title to see all images enlarged
Forests and Woodlands

The Garden Studio Oswestry March 2023

student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Bluebell Wood

The Garden Studio Oswestry February 2024

A course with the emphasis on creating depth and perspective in a woodland scene. We added bluebells for some colour and detail. The results are wonderful. Well done everyone!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

The Garden Studio Oswestry October 2nd 2024

A course all about the texture and movement in a seascape. Capturing the vitality of the sea
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

The Garden Studio Oswestry August 2023

Inspired by walks in the landscape. We captured stone walls and gate, trails and tracks! Wr created silk painted bases and freemotion stitching for the textures, colours and details
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

The Garden Studio Oswestry April 2023

An embroidery course with fast flowing water as a focal point. Learning how to create the movement and texture is a challenge and this group did a great job!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Forests and Woodlands

The Garden Studio Oswestry March 6th 2023

Inspired by lush forests, textured tree trunks, dense leaf canopies and ferns uncurling in the undergrowth. We explored and learnt a wide range of stitch techniques to create the detail and mood of these atmospheric scenes.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

The Garden Studio Oswestry January 2023

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene Exploring all the textures in a frosty landscape with painted elements and a range of stitch techniques
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

The Garden Studio Oswestry October 2022

3 day course Using a combination of silk painting and freehand machine stitching we created a colourful landscape picture. Basing the design on photographs of appropriate scenes the students learnt silk painting techniques to form a base for the stitching.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

A Coastal Walk

The Garden Studio Oswestry July 11th to 13th 2022

The first course in over 2 years! Wonderful to be teaching these enthusiastic ladies this course We learnt about textures on rocks, colours in water and foliage and all the tricks about achieving perspective and depth in an image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Mountains, Valleys and Vistas

March 2020 Garden Studio Oswestry

Inspired by the great outdoors, with distant rocky or snow-capped mountains, wide valleys and a glorious sense of space. We learnt how to paint and stitch these mountains as a backdrop to our composition and add sweeping skies
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Fruit and Veg

February The Garden Studio Oswestry

Inspired by the unusual textures and shapes of fruit and vegetables students explored how to create these in a combination of paint and stitch.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

An English Country Garden

January - The Garden Studio Oswestry

A fun 3 days learning silk painting and all the stitch techniques for flowers and foliage. Great job ladies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

November 9th 10th 2019 TAAMI group, Perth

Exploring the painterly elements of free hand machine embroidery, we learnt how to paint skies and distant hills to give depth. Adding stitch techniques for trees, hedges, and foreground details including grass, poppies, cow parsley and wild flowers to complete each scene. Excellent job ladies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Forests and Woodlands

November 2019 Margaret River

A course that combines two elements, a silk painting and machine embroidered lace trees. We started the course by painting a winter sky, a colourful sunset or a landscape on silk. Then we made the machine embroidered lace skeletal trees to overlay the painting. This is a technique of stitching across a hole cut into fabric to create a lacework structure. Freehand embroidery details were also added to the painted backgrounds.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

October 2019 NSW Embroiderers Guild Sydney

Inspired by the countryside at its most vibrant, students used a combination of silk painting and freehand machine stitching to create a colourful landscape picture.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Crashing Waves and Sea Spray

October 2019 New Zealand Quilt Symposium

Inspired by the texture, movement and atmosphere in these dramatic seascapes. We painted silk and then stitched the detail. Great job ladies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

August 30th 2019 Frolesworth

landscape transformed by frost and ice is the inspiration for this course. With a limited palette and the elements etched in frost the imagery is dramatic.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

August 28th 2019 Frolesworth

A course that encompasses all the best imagery from rambling in the countryside. Meandering rutted tracks, old wooden gates, stiles and mossy dry stone walls.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Forests and Woodlands

Garden Studio Oswestry August 2019

Inspired by lush forests, textured tree trunks, dense leaf canopies and ferns uncurling in the undergrowth. Students learnt a wide range of stitch techniques to create the detail and mood of these atmospheric scenes.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Crashing Waves and Sea Spray

July 2019 Brighton

Inspired by dramatic coastlines with the splash and spray of waves crashing against the rocks. Using paint and stitch we will create the effects of smooth, craggy or glistening wet rocks and the movement and texture of sea spray
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers, Pots and Patios

June 2019 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A new course and great results! Some beautiful silk painting by my students made me very proud. Lots of new techniques in paint and stitch made this a successful course
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

April 8th 2019 The Garden Studio Oswestry

Painted stone walls, bridges follies and wooden chalets created a beautiful range of work by these talented students. The stitching of the foliage and flowers brought these pieces to life. They didnt all complete their work but made terrific progress in the 3 days
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

March 21st 2019 Garstang Quilters

A 1 day course when we learn lots of stitch techniques for grasses, seedheads and flowers. We had a lot of fun and they all produced pieces to be proud of.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

March 5th 2019 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A study of flowers and their complexities. A silk painting of the background colours and some precision stitching for the flowers! Beautiful work ladies. Thank you!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

February 23rd 2019 Frolesworth

With cow parsley and poppies featuring strongly in this theme we silk painted and stitched our way to these super embroidered.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Up Hill Down Dale

February 20th 2019 Frolesworth

A 3 day course with students of mixed ability. With an emphasis on silk painting as a way to portray stone and brick walls this course brought some terrific results
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

February 11th 2019 The Garden Studio Oswestry

3 days with a new course exploring countryside scenes. Including walking tracks, gateways and stone walls As you can see some lovely work was produced. Well done everyone!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Crashing Waves and Sea Spray

January 14th 2019 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A 3 day course in my studio with an enthusiastic group of students keen to learn all about the texture and movement of the sea. Superb results ladies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

November 17th 18th 2018 Embroiderers Guild Headquarters Melbourne Victoria

A great weekend with students learning to silk paint and stitch close ups of flowers...and a bird!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Forests and Woodlands

10th 11th November 2018, Mount Pleasant, Melbourne

We looked at tonal ranges and the unexpected colours found in shadows. Lots of stitch techniques too. Super work from my ladies in Melbourne. Great to spend 2 days with you all
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Crashing Waves and Sea Spray

November 3rd 4th 2018 Embroiderers Guild Headquarters NSW

A lovely 2 days in the state of the art building in Queen St Concord West NSW with enthusiastic students!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

20th September Old Bank Studios Harwich

2 days in this lovely venue with students learning about silk painted backgrounds to set off our stitched flowers and foliage
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

10th Sept 2018 The Garden Studio Oswestry

3 days of frosty scenes or close up studies of leaves and seed heads etched with hoar frost. Beautiful works ladies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

Frolesworth Sept 1st 2018

A 2 day course with a strong emphasis on silk painting reflections in water. Fine detail and some beautiful work!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

Frolesworth August 30th 2018

Exploring stitch techniques to create texture for tree bark and moss.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

6th to 8th August The Garden Studio Oswestry

A 3 day course in my studio with 9 students. We started with silk painted backgrounds and progressed to stitch techniques for blending colours and for creating definition to the flowers. Some finished their pieces other larger studies are to be continued! Gorgeous colourful work.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

July 27th- 29th Brighton

3 days of silk painting, freehand machine stitching and a lot of laughter with the lovely ladies in Brighton! Terrific job everyone. Gorgeous frosty textures. You should be very proud!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

16th July 2018 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A 3 day course inspired by long country walks with a wealth of imagery such as stone walls, old gates and stiles. A balance of silk painted areas and stitch techniques make these embroideries look freash and vibrant.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

July 2nd 2018 Kingcombe Centre, Dorset

A 3 day residential course at the Kingcombe Centre with a course devised for the occasion. Silk painting and freehand stitching stonework and crumbling ruins made for an inventive few days. The range of subject matter is broad the the standard of work high.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

An English Country Garden

April 20th 2018 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A 3 day course in my studio with 9 students creating a painted and stitched picture of flowers within a garden setting. They mastered a wide range of complex stitch techniques for flowers and foliage. A challenging course but great results!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

March 14th Garden Studio Oswestry

1 day course learning the basics of silk painting and a range of grass and wild flower techniques in freehand stitching.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

March 13th Garden Studio Oswestry

We worked on shadows across a pathway, colourful skies and reflections in water. Some terrific work!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

March 12th Garden Studio Oswestry

1 day course learning about colour theory. How silk paint behaves on silk and getting it under control! We played and experimented which is the best way to learn. Here are a few examples of students work
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Hill Down Dale

February 19th 2018 The Garden Studio Oswestry

Exploring textures in trees and mossy walls. Some rich and colourful pieces on this 3 day course in my studio. Beautiful work ladies, thank you for working so hard!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

February 10th 11th Frolesworth 2018

Colourful impressionistic silk painting sets off these detailed stitched studies of flowers. Blending colours in thread across petals and creating textures for stamens and anthers students have produced excellent work on this course. You have made me very proud girls!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

February 8th Frolesworth 2018

We were inspired by lavender fields, poppies, daffodils and linseed. We painted silk backgrounds and used stitch to add detail, texture and depth.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Flowers and Foliage

February 7th Frolesworth 2018

A day for silk painting experiments, learning how silk paint behaves on the silk. Playing to its strengths finding its and our own weaknesses! We familiarised ourselves with the paint colours, learnt how to mix, blend and achieve tonal ranges etc.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

January 15th to 17th 2018 The Garden Studio Oswestry

3 days in my studio with a lovely group of students. Several experienced but some newbies too! We choose our individual colourful landscape images for inspiration and everyone painted a base design on silk. We stitched texture and colour to bring the work to life. Some pieces are large and therefore not completed in the 3 days but you can see how good they are going to be
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

December 2nd 3rd. Hastings NZ

A 2 day course with an experimental silk painting section followed by lots of stitch techniques for flowers and foliage. Well done girls great results!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Seascapes

November 22nd 23rd 2017 Stitched n Framed, Port Macquarie NSW

Crashing waves, sea spray, rocks and frothy waves! We had lots of texture and movement in these lovely seascapes from the ladies at Stitched n Framed!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Up Close and Personal

November 18th 19th 2017 Stitched n Framed, Port Macquarie NSW

A busy 2 days with the lovely ladies in Port Macquarie. Silk painting in an impressionistic style to form a background for the stitched detailed flowers. Really super results. Well done everyone
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Up Close and Personal

November 11th 12th Kraft Daze, Maddington WA Australia

2 days with 16 ladies in Perth. We had a lot of beginners on this course and they chose to paint and embroider the picture I demonstrated, hence several versions of the same image! A new way of running a course for me but they certainly brought their own colour pallette and interpretation to each one.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

Margaret River WA November 7th - 9th 2017

3 days with 16 hardworking enthusiastics ladies. We silk painted our backgrounds and then tested our observational skills with up close details of flowers. Lots of Aussie ones too!. Georgeous pictures girls. I am very proud of all you achieved.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

November 3th 4th 2017 Bernina Cannington WA

A 2 day course with an enthusiastic group of Australian ladies! We created colourful scenes in paint and stitch, some inspired by the Australia landscape and some from the UK.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

Sept 18th 2017 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A 3 day course featuring the drama of fast flowing rivers and waterfalls. We also explored textures for mossy covered rocks.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

September 14th 2017 Chelsea Physic Garden

In response to the colours, textures and form of the Chelsea Physic Garden students painted a range of impressionist style silk backgrounds. We progressed to a range of free machine stitch techniques for the colour and detail of the flowers. The garden was an inspiration! We had a wonderful 2 day course.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Crashing Waves and Sea Spray

September 2nd 3rd Frolesworth

Inspired by dramatic coastlines with the splash and spray of waves crashing against the rocks. Using paint and stitch we created the effects of smooth, craggy or glistening wet rocks and the movement and texture of sea spray.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

August 31st

A 2 day course painting and stitching close up of flowers. A great range of work from my hard working talented students!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

August 7th to 9th 2017. The Garden Studio Oswestry

A landscape transformed by frost and ice was the inspiration for this course. Students worked from photographs and used paint and embroidery techniques to create the effects of frost and on landscapes and foliage. With a limited palette and the elements etched in frost the imagery is dramatic.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

July 20th to 22nd 2018

Inspired by the countryside at its most vibrant, students used a combination of silk painting and freehand machine stitching to create a colourful landscape picture.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dramatic Skies

May 4th Marches EG Shropshire

A few of the embroideries from the 1 day course on Dramatic Skies. We painted a silk base and used a variety of stitch techniques for the textures in clouds.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

The Garden Studio, Highfield, Oswestry April 10th 2017

A course concentrating on silk painting the reflections in water. We explored the techniques for mountains, trees and and foliage to complete (or near complete) the scene in the 3 day course
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

The Garden Studio Highfield Oswestry March 20th 2017

We explored the fine detail in close ups of flowers and leaves. Learnt how to blend in stitch to create a smooth transition through colour and tonal ranges. Learnt interesting stitch techniques for petals, stamens etc. creating depth and definition A silk painted background sets off these dramatic flower studies. Excellent works ladies and gentleman!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Crashing Waves and Sea Spray

The Garden Studio Highfield Oswestry

Inspired by sea spray and crashing waves we designed a seascape, painted a background and learnt lots of stitch techniques to create texture and movement in water
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

Frolesworth Leicester February 11th, 12th 2017

We learn silk painting for our backgrounds and freehand embroidery stitch techniques to create the movement of white water and the texture of mossy rocks, trees, ferns and foliage.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

February 9th 10th Frolesworth Leicester

A landscape transformed by frost and ice is the inspiration for this course. We will explored paint and embroidery techniques discovering ways to create the effects of frost and winter mist on landscapes, woodlands and foliage. With a limited palette and the elements etched in frost the imagery is dramatic.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Flowers and Foliage

February 8th 2017 Frolesworth Leicester

A 1 day course. Using wild flower meadows as the inspiration we painted backgrounds with silk paints and then learnt stitch techniques for poppies, daises, corn, barley and grasses using straight stitch and zigzag stitch.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dramatic Skies

Hillscourt Birmingham January 20th

We spent the first session silk painting colourful skies, learning how to mix colours and blend them on the silk. In response to our paintings we then made lace trees. The technique is sewing across a hole cut in the base fabric
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

Love Patchwork. Harrington NSW Australia Nov 23rd 24th 2016

Playing with silk paint to create a range of abstract backgrounds for embroidered flowers and foliage. Including roses, poppies, daises and delphiniums
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

Love Patchwork. Harrington NSW Australia Nov 2016

A 2 day course exploring the colours and textures of the Australian and a few English landscapes. Silk painted backgrounds provided a base for our stitched detail
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields

Nov 12th 13th 2016 Melbourne

A 2 days course observing and creating the texture of trees in paint and stitch
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

Nov 5th 6th 2016 Melbourne

Inspired flowers Up Close. Silk painting provided the base for our embroidered detail. We learnt how to blend colour in stitch to create a smooth transition from shadow to highlight.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

Nov 1st to 3rd 2016 Canberra

3 days of exploring the colours, textures and movements of the sea. Some complete beginners on this course and they were thrilled at the results
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Dramatic Skies

October 29th 30th 2016 Canberra

A 2 day course for the Embroiderers Guild of the ACT Inc. Canberra, Australia. Silk painted backgrounds with freehand stitching to give depth, definition and texture to our dramatic skies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Up Hill Down Dale

Sept 16th to 18th 2016 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A new course investigating strong tonal changes through a landscape. Inspired by woodland scenes, in the main, with sunlight and shadows creating drama all the students did a great job!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

Froleswoth Leicester September 3rd 4th 2016

Rugged headlands, distant waves, and frothy waves breaking on a pebble beach are some of the imagery we tackled on this seascape-inspired course. And you can find the best orange juicer here.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

September 1st 2nd Frolesworth Leicester

A 2 day course with a painted silk background to set off the stitched texture in the trees and foreground poppies, grasses and cow parsley "Dancing in the Breeze"!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

Frolesworth Leicester August 31st 2016

We spent the day playing with paint! Learning how to mix colours and tones. How to paint blended colours for subtle soft changes and also how to layer paint for depth and definition. We painted skies and clouds and leaves to put all we had learnt into practise.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Up Close and Personal

August 15th to 17th 2016 The Garden Studio Oswestry

We painted a background on silk by layering the colours to build depth. A detailed study of the flowers in close up was then executed in stitch to bring the composition to life.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

August 8th to 11th Kingcombe Centre Dorset

A residential course in the depths of Dorset. We focussed on developing our silk painting skills for the first day on the theme of reflections. To complete our pictures we moved on to stitching to give texture and definition to the rest of the composition.They did a terrific job!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Rivers and Waterfalls

July 22nd to 24th 2016 Brighton

A 3 day course discovering how to create a sense of movement in water and the texture in moss and rocks . We had a lot of fun and achieved some great results. Well done ladies. See you next year!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

July 5th to 7th 2016 The Garden Studio Oswestry

A 3 day course learning how to create the texture and movement of the sea
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

April 2016 Plas Tan y Bwlch North Wales

A 3 day residential course for the North Wales Embroiderers Guild. A beautiful location and lovely hard working students. Some complete beginners.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

March 2016 The Garden Studio, Highfield Oswestry

A 3 day course Texture in Nature. Focussing on the texture in treebark, lichen and moss. We worked on painted silk backgrounds and stitched a range of techniques for the textures
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Up Close and Personal

March 2016 The Garden Studio, Highfield Oswestry

We started with a silk painted background as a base to set off a dramatic flower study. We explored the fine detail in close ups of flowers and leaves, learning how to blend in stitch to create a smooth transition through colour and tonal ranges.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Dramatic Skies

February 12th 2016 Frolesworth Leicester

2 days of painting and stitching the colours and textures of clouds
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Snowscene: A Picture

February 11th 2016 Frolesworth Leicester

2 days where we chose a design, painted a background and learnt how to create the texture of snow in a winter scene
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Snowscene: A Picture

February 10th 2016 Frolesworth Leicester

A 1 day course. We painted sunsets and colourful skies in our favourite colours on to silk. Then made machine embroidered 'lace' skeletal trees to overlay the painting.  This involves the technique of stitching across a hole cut into fabric to create a lacework structure.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Snowscene: A Picture

Worthing July 2015

A course exploring the texture in nature with a range of subject matter. Seascapes, trees and flowers!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

January 2016 Keep on Sewing, Hillscourt Conference Centre, Rose Hill, Birmingham

A residential weekend course learning to paint on silk and a range of stitch techniques for flowers and foliage. Delphiniums, poppies, daises and many more
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

November 3rd-5th Margaret River WA Australia

A three day course. We played on our sewing machines on day 1 creating textures and marks and learnt how to blend colour in stitch. We then did silk painting and added stitch to give depth and definition to our pictures
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

Oct 30th Nov 1st Embroiderers Guild of WA. Perth

A 2 day workshop learning how to create depth and perspective to a landscape. We silk painted our backgrounds and stitched distant trees, mountains and fields. It was a great course with everyone commenting on how much they learnt
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

Embroiderers Guild of Victoria, Melbourne

2 days in total, we painted skies, beaches and background colours for our best tactical wallets designs then created depth, definition and the texture of waves, rocks and spray in stitch
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

November 2015 Elemental Artspace, Deloraine, Tasmania

Held in Cindy Watkins new gallery and studio space,on the first day we painted our reflections on silk. We learn how to control the flow of the dye. Day 2 we stitched the details into our mountains and foliage. Great results girls!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

October 15th 16th 2015. Birralee School, Melbourne

A 2 day course silk painting backgrounds for our pictures, with detailed rocks and still water. We went on to free motion stitch foliage mossy rocks and moving water
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Rivers and Waterfalls

Fibres West, Muresk. Australia Oct 2015

A 5 day residential course exploring nature through paint and stitch.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

Frolesworth, Leicestershire, September 2015

Showing here work in progress. A 2 day course for students with some experience. We had a few beginners too and they coped very well with a tricky subject matter. I am very pleased with how everyones work is progressing
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

Frolesworth, Leicestershire, September 2015

A 1 day course. Tearing and layering a paper collage base for our freehand stitching which added detail and texture. Excellent results girls!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

An English Country Garden

Frolesworth, Leicestershire, September 2015

A 2 day course painting and stitching flowers and foliage in a garden scene
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

An English Country Garden

The Garden Studio, Highfield, Oswestry August 17th 2015

A 3 day course exploring the texture in tree bark and the woodland floor.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

April 15th 2015 Bideford, Devon

A 3 day course, painting the composition then using stitches to create mossy rocks, foliage and moving water. A splendid effort from everyone who worked really hard to get their pictures finished!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Forests and Woodlands

April 14th 2015 WCE Cheriton Bishop, Devon

A 1 day course creating stitch technique samples on a theme of woodlands. We experimented with foliage, ferns and several types of trees
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Forests and Woodlands

13th April 2015 Totnes Westcountry Embroiderers

A 1 day course incorporating landscapes and seascapes as our inspiration. Using cut and torn paper as a base for freehand stitching we tackled waves, rocks, grasses and trees. A successful day with a wide range of pictures
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

April 11th 2015, Truro

A 1 day course on Flowers and Foliage. We painted impressionist backgrounds and stitched delphiniums and other flower. A fun day with super results, well done ladies!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Dancing in the Breeze

10th April 2015 Perranwell Cornwall

A 1 day course silk painting skies and mountains. We then stitched trees and tall grasses
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Seascapes

Highfield Oakhurst Rd Oswestry March 29th 2015

A 3 day course learning how to create the movement and texture of the sea. With silk painted skies and beaches and free stitching for the waves we were very pleased with the results
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

Highfield Oakhurst Rd Oswestry March 2015

A selection of students work from this course. We focussed on the silk painting, learning how to conrol the flow of the paint with small brushes and layering colours.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

Wirral EG

My second day on the Wirral this month with this talented group. A 1 day course on a landscapes theme. We made a paper collage base for our freehand stitches. A colourful array of work. They look great. A successful day!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

Frolesworth, Leicestershire 7th 8th Feb 2015

A 2 day course on a flower theme. We painted an impressionistic background on silk and added machine embroidered flowers. Beautiful work girls!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

Frolesworth Leicester February 5th 6th 2015

A 2 day course on a theme of seascapes. Painting on silk for the base and a wide range of stitch techniques to create perspective, texture and definition
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

Frolesworth, Leicestershire. 4th February 2015

A 1 day course. We started by cutting, tearing and layering a coloured paper collage for a base. We went on to embellish it with stitch to form a landscape. This is a selection of work from the day, we were pleased with how much we achieved!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

Melbourne, November 29th 30th 2014

A selection of work in progress, by my students in the "Reflections in Water" course in Melbourne. Apologies, some are missing due to a camera malfunction. We silk painted the reflections during day 1 and stitched the foliage during day 2
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

Deloraine, Tasmania. November 25th, 26th 2014

2 days of painting and stitching beaches, rocky headlands and crashing waves
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

Deloraine, Tasmania. November 22nd, 23rd 2014

A 2 day course on the theme of waterfalls. We chose some complex images and learnt a lot of stitch techniques, including ferns, mossy rocks and fast flowing water
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

Melbourne Nov 15th 16th 2014

2 days of painting a background and then applying stitch techniques for our landscape picture. Most students completed their picture...we all got pretty close!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

WA Embroidery Guild, Perth. Nov 8th 9th 2014

This is a selection of the paint samples and stitch techniques we produced on this 2 day course. We painted skies, reflections in water and distant foliage. We stitched trees, grasses, barley and much much more
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

Margaret River November 4th 5th 2014

Here is a selection of embroideries from the group in Margaret River. Some complete and some work in progress. We had 2 days painting and stitching a "Landscape" picture. Great results girls !
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

November 1st/2nd Burnells, Perth. WA. Australia

This is a selection of work in progress and a few finished pieces from this 2 day course. Capturing the movement and texture in the sea, we painted a background on silk and then added the detail in freehand machine embroidery
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

Cotswold Embroiderers Guild, Gloucester: October 2014

A 3 day course painting and stitching the effects of frost on the landscape. A wonderfully diverse range of subject matter from this talented group.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

Stitchcraft Studio, Grantham Oct 2014

A selection of replica watches work by my students on a 3-day Seascapes course. We painted detail of replica watches into the skies and created texture and movement with stitch for the water and rocks.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

The Garden Room, Highfield, Oswestry Shropshire September 2014

A 3 day course at my studio. Stitching woodlands including distant foliage, bluebells and textured tree bark. This a selection of finished pieces and some work in progress
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

Blackmore Vale EG 27th 28th September 2014

A 2 day course in Bradford Abbas Village Hall, Dorset, exploring the movement and texture in the sea
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

Leicestershire Alison Holt Fan Club August 30th and 31st 2014

A 2 day course exploring the textures of frosty landscapes through paint and stitch
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

Leicestershire Alison Holt Fan Club August 28th 29th 2014

A 2 day course organised by Pat and Sylvia nr Cosby. We silk painted a series of sunsets and colourful skies and then made free form winter trees by machine stitching across a hole in fabric. Great fun and very effective
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

Stitchcraft Studio Grantham

The first 3 day workshop of many to be at Stitchcraft Studio. We had a great time creating landscape embroideries with silk painted skies and distant fields
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Dramatic Skies

July 2014 Eastern Region EG Summer School

A residential weekend course at Scalford Hall Silk painting and freehand machine stitching dramatic skies.
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Dancing in the Breeze

Stratton Dorset April 2014

3 days near Bridport working on a landscape course with cornfields, poppies and tall wild flowers "Dancing in the Breeze"
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

April 2014 Bideford

A 3 day course painting and stitching a landscape with foreground details of cow parsley and poppies. Some striking compositions and we all nearly finished our pictures
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

Highfield, Oswestry March 2014

A 3 day course on frosty landscapes. We stitched textured details and painted misty distance trees
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Dancing in the Breeze

Highfield Oakhurst Rd Oswestry March 2014

A 3 day course with wonderful results. Inspired by tall poppies and cow parsley dancing in the breeze
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

The Garden Room, Highfield, Oswestry Shropshire, Feb 24th 25th 26th 2014

A 3 day course concentrating on painting fine detail on silk These are 3 of the pieces of work by students on the course
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

Malmesbury Embroiderers Guild

A one day course. We used layers of coloured paper to create a collage base. Stitching gives definition, detail and texture
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Rivers and Waterfalls

Cotswold Embroiderers Guild, Gloucester, September 9th 10th 11th 2014

A selection of painted and stitched pictures. We focussed on the movement and patterns in rivers and waterfalls.Learning how to create other elements in the compositions, such as mossy rocks, ferns and foliage made this a busy 3 days!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Seascapes

The Garden Room, Oswestry September 2nd 3rd 4th 2013

A selection of work from this course which is all about capturing the movement and texture of the sea
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

Oswestry Embroiderers Guild: July 26th and 27th 2013

This was a 2 day course held in Whittington, nr Oswestry at Castle Court Quilters. We painted a background on silk and stitched our landscapes. With some complete beginners on the course we all did really well
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Reflections in Water

The Garden Room, Oswestry, Shropshire, March 16-18th 2013

A group of students spent 3 days with me on the 'Reflections' course. They all agreed it had improved their painting skills. We were all thrilled with the results
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

The Garden Room, Oswestry, Shropshire, February 25-27th 2013

Another 'Etched in Frost' course. This is a popular choice for students and when you see the great results you can see why!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student image

Rivers and Waterfalls

The Garden Room, Oswestry November 5th,6th,7th 2012

A 3 day course at my house in Oswestry with students concentrating on the movement in rivers and waterfalls with some amazing results. These are photographs of work in progress with the painted backgrounds still evident awaiting stitches to complete the pictures
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Flowers and Foliage

Wrekin Embroiderers Guild on 27th Oct 2012

A one day workshop with the Wrekin Guild in Muxton Nr Telford Shropshire We painted on silk, impressionistic backgrounds and then stitched delphiniums, foxgloves and daises This a small selection of the work
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Reflections in Water

The Garden Room, Oswestry October 8th-10th 2012

A selection of work in progress from this course which concentrated on silk painting with fantastic results
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

The Garden Room, Oswestry, September 24-26th 2012

A 3 day course at my house in Shropshire. Some work in progress and some finished pieces
student imagestudent imagestudent image

Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene

Cotswold Embroiderers Guild, Gloucester, October 1st - 3rd 2012

A selection of students work in progress from the Winters Trees course. Showing the painted sunsets and beautifully made 'lace trees' Apologies for not displaying them all, but more work was produced than I have room to show!
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image

An English Country Garden

Eastern Region Embroiderers Guild Residential Course at Belsey Bridge, Norfolk 27/29th July 2012

These montages were created from photographs taken by Penny Free in Alisons studio during the weekend course
student imagestudent image

Rivers and Waterfalls

The Garden Room, Oswestry, Shropshire, September 3rd-5th 2012

This is a selection of students work in progress. The course was focusing on the texture and movement in water and they all managed to capture that very well
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent image

Seascapes

Scottish Embroiderers Summer School at Stirling 2010

A selection of seascapes by students on this course alongside the source photographs
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image
student imagestudent imagestudent image