Block Design OR Embroidery Stitch Play

29feb10:00 am3:00 pmBlock Design OR Embroidery Stitch Playwith Jo Dixey from NZ10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Event Details

Scroll DOWN TO bottom of listing to ADD TO CART book online. Make sure you have the correct class date selected before finalising your cart. Also check out Jo’s Sunday and Monday classes as well!

Jo Dixey has developed a cult following in Berry and surrounds for her relaxed but inspiring stitching classes and her clever take on design and appliqué. In a class with Jo Dixey you will learn time tested methods for handling fabric, needles and thread to make a family heirloom, a contemporary sampler, protest text piece, a funky clothes patch or just enjoy discovering the magic of what needles and threads can create together. Jo runs a relaxed but highly inspirational classroom where everyone is enthusiastically sharing the wonders of what needle and thread can do. So it’s not surprising that Jo has built up a loyal following in Australia! Come along to a class and you will benefit from the calm,  yet creative atmosphere she fosters in her classroom, her fabulous teaching skills, her impeccable knowledge of her subject & her mastery of technique.  

Incredibly this will be her fifth teaching trip to Berry in four years! A fact that is not at all amazing when you get to know her!  Jo is full of stories about her life as a professional embroiderer both in NZ and the UK where she trained at the Royal School of Needlework in Hampton Court Palace as an apprentice for four years,  Jo is a very rare professional embroiderer! As well as writing a fabulous book of contemporary approaches to stitch called Creative Stitch, she is regularly commissioned for stitch work for feature films as well as the catwalk and ecclesiastical applications AND inbetween all that,  teaches incredible skill building, embroidery classes to a wide range of audiences. 

Jo is teaching with us for three days Saturday 29th Feb, Sunday 1st March & Monday 2nd March. Classes are $80 each. If you book for all three days you’ll receive a $10 discount on each day bringing the total to $210 for the three days or $150 for two days.  You are able to book for one, two or three days whichever day suits you best. There will be five offers and you will be able to choose your own class adventure more-or-less. The class offerings are all complementary so Jo is able to teach four of them simultaneously if needed with the exception of the Design Day which is only offered on the Saturday. So you can pick the project that looks the most exciting to you and pick your best day or days and book in. You could pick one project and work on it for two or three days, the choice is yours. Anyone wanting to purely play with stitch without an end in mind, whilst being inspired and directed by Jo for one, two or three days are also very welcome. 

Saturday Option One: Design your own Patchwork Block  – A fun patchwork class that teaches basic design skills to create a patchwork block that could be repeated to create a quilt. The techniques taught include a transferrable process to identify and  isolate the design elements and then methods to simplify the selection sufficiently to allow patchwork construction. Workshop participants are also able undertake this process with a view to stitching the resulting abstract design instead of constructing it from patchwork. Designers who want to carry on to stitch their project rather than patchwork could also consider designing around an image of a faces or group figures such as a family photograph or exploring a shape or idea like ‘The Dot”

Chosing the ‘Design Class’ option means most of the day will centre around, sketching and drawing exercises on paper. Once designs are firmed up colours and stitch or constriction methods will be focussed on. In the one day class,  construction or stitching may not occur depending on how long is spent by each individual on the design process. To get the most from this selection we recommend choosing a second companion day either Sunday or Monday or both to get the most of Jo’s assistance with your project. 

Saturday Option Two: Playing with Stitch Option- This class includes about 9 basic embroidery stitches completely suitable for beginners. A sampler project such as the 100Day Sampler grid structure could be begun or a more organic sampler/stitch reference piece could be worked on. More advanced students could begin a sampler or continue their project from previous years, playing more with traditional stitches to create texture and tonal change. We will also use size of stitch and different thicknesses of thread to vary results and learn more about possibilities and purpose. 

Anyone who joined in last year will be familiar with the 100 day Sampler Project where embroidery stitches are stitched in a grid creating a patchwork effect. This was a very popular project because of the ability to make it as big or as small as you like and the freedom it gives to learn new stitches, using a variety of differing thread sizes and finishes. Jo will take you through a variety of stitches and variations in order to make up an exciting patchwork effect. If you’ve begun this project last year you’re more than welcome to pop in and keep going for one or two classes this year. You are of course not restricted to a grid. Your sampler could be much more organic or freeform or of your own design. 

Sunday Option One: Continue or begin your Playing with Stitch.

Sunday Option Two: Continue machine piecing or stitching your Design project from day one.

Sunday Option Three: Make an Embroidered Patch – A great class for anyone or younger stitchers or to make as gifts for young people. Using basic surface embroidery create fabric patches to be appliquéd to bags or clothes like denim jeans pockets or denim jackets. Could be a protest or just for fun. Suitable for beginners.

Monday Option One: Continue or begin Playing with Stitch.

Monday Option Two: Continue machine piecing or stitching your Design project from day one.

Monday Option Three: Embroidered Words-  Learn a collection of techniques to creatively stitch a word, slogan or name. Will include satin stitch and trailing. For an intermediate stitcher or adventurous beginner and could be made challenging for an advanced stitcher.

Jo Dixey 100 Days Embroidery Sampler Detail

Jo Dixey 100 Days Embroidery SamplerJo Dixey 100 Days Embroidery Sampler

An example of the Block Design Process

Jo Dixey Block Design Sample

Jo Dixey Quilter & EmbroidererJo Dixey Quilter & Embroiderer

Jo Dixey in her StudioJo Dixey in her Studio

Jo Dixey Embellished Fabric Class SampleJo Dixey Embellished Fabric Class Sample

Jo Dixey Mini Stitch SamplerJo Dixey Mini Stitch Sampler

Jo Dixey The Dot Class Working & SamplesJo Dixey The Dot Class Working & Samples

Jo Dixey Embroidered Word StitchJo Dixey Embroidered Word Stitch

Classroom of Stitchers

Jo Dixey Stitched Slogan Sample

Jeans Patch Ideas

Happy Stitchers in Jo Dixey’s Class 2018

Time

(Saturday) 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Location

Berry Quilt & Co.

Shops 4 & 5, 66 Albert Street, Berry NSW 2535

Cost

$80 per class ($150 for two or $210 for all three of Jo’s classes) To access discounted ticket prices please phone the shop to book. ph 4464 3387

Bookings

Tickets are not available for sale any more for this event!