Welcome to the last in this series of #institchescreative2020 blogs for the moment. As lockdown is gradually being eased, we feel the time is right to concentrate on new courses and workshops so that we are ready to go when we are at last able to open the studio again. If, (Heaven forbid!), that time never comes, or for those people who may still be unable to attend a physical course, we want to spend some time working out what other types of workshop we could offer. Above all we want to be able to continue to bring you all inspiring things in the future…watch this space for news of tutorials ..read more

Devoted to you (detail) Hazel Ryder Sometimes it's really hard to resist a skein of beautiful thread, even when you know you can't possibly thread it through the eye of a needle never mind pull it through the cloth,  so in this week's blog we are going to explore couching and find out how you can use beautiful but too-thick-to-stitch-with threads. Couching doesn't mean sitting on the sofa to stitch! In embroidery the term couching refers to a laid work technique where a yarn (or sometimes thin strips of fabric, ribbon etc) is laid across the surface of the ground fabric and held i ..read more

When I go for walks I often take a sketchbook with me so that I can jot down visual notes about what I see and experience. If I’m on my own I might have time to do a detailed sketch,  ​but often in the past I’ve been with someone else or it might be cold so the notes can be quite --- well, sketchy.  They might include a rough sketch, notes about colour (I’ve usually only got a fairly indestructible biro or fine-line pen with me), sounds, lists and anything else I have observed or how I feel. ​Sometimes I add colour once I'm back at home. They tend to be, quite hon ..read more

It's still pretty weird out there in the big wide world, but at least when we are in the studio we are surrounded by the familiar and the colourful.   The studio may be student less at the moment but it's still a hive of activity as we busily wind, dye, process and label miles and miles of threads! As we mentioned last week we have taken the bull by the horns/ risen to the lockdown challenge/gone where the angels fear to tread....take your pick!  and have finally stopped prevaricating and decided that now was the time was right to open an online shop.  After all if you can't co ..read more

Welcome to our now weekly #institchescreative2020 blog. We are still planning to alternate paper and stitch, so this week is a quick paper-based project. Meanwhile exciting things are happening behind the scenes in the studio: we’ve been dyeing threads and, as Hazel mentioned last week, learning how to set up an online shop so we can bring them  direct to you in your sewing room.  ​Negative space drawing I realise this sounds technical, and indeed this exercise is often done by serious artists wanting to learn how to make better drawings, but today we are just going to use it as a d ..read more

If you follow InStitches on either Instagram or Facebook you will have seen a recent post about my 10 year old niece Isla.  Along with many of the world's children, Isla and her two sisters are in lockdown.  So, no school, no meeting up and playing with friends, no visiting their beloved grandparents, Auntie (me!!) or cousins.  ​ I often forward her the Terry's paper blogs and she in turn WhatsApp's her creations back.  Here's what she said about this week's one on spirals: I did one of the exercises on your website, but I did it with my eyes closed and listening ..read more

I have a thing about spirals; I’ve been collecting spiral images for as long as I can remember, many of them in a sketchbook dating back to 2002, but for far longer than that: ammonites, periwinkles, new ferns, wrought iron gates, staircases, fractals.... Did you spot the spiral of stones that crept into the blog a couple of weeks ago? I didn’t know at the time what this week’s blog was going to be, I can’t help it, I’m just drawn to them. And I have my own stone spiral, which I made long before I discovered Kettle’s Yard. ​Far from the often-negative connotations in popular writin ..read more

Hunting coat, about 1620 – 30, India. Museum no. IS.18-1847. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London The inspiration for this week's stitch comes from the beautiful dense and precise chain stitch embroidery of Gujarat.  A small handmade wool rug covered in chainstitch crewel from Liberty's of London (hence the smallness!) was one of the first things I bought for my first home.  It was covered in a flowing pattern of  flowers and birds all worked in chain stitch using a jewel palette of coloured wools. The V&A collection contains many examples of this type of work ..read more

Well this week we were going to be drawing spirals but that’s going to have to wait till next week now because today I have decided to take advantage of all this beautiful sunshine we’ve been having in the south of the UK and explore drawing shadows instead.  ​As I have been on my (OK, not quite daily) early morning walks around Fleet Pond I have noticed the shadows and dappled shade being cast by the newly emerging leaves and wondered how I could use those creatively. I’m always tempted to take loads of photos, but in reality my photos often just reside on my phone/PC and this is onl ..read more

No, you haven't just found your way onto the Gardeners' World blog, it's just that, with all the sunny weather we've been having here in the UK, I've been spending rather a lot of time out in the garden these last few days.  ​ Now, more than ever, I'm thankful to have an outdoor space of my own; with life so locked down it's become a place of sanctuary - and constant work! Daylight hours are growing longer and longer so I can be out there for hours, especially since this week I decided to paint all my fences; however after spending 10 hours already today and  not even half ..read more