Fascinating Fungi in practice

People bravely struggled through the biblical rain on Saturday to make it to the Boundary Way Alloments Polytunnel, for my first workshop in the series on fungi. 

After a short introduction to the magical world of mycelium (and I am no expert so it was short) we talked about the opportunities to use unusal upcycled materials to make embroideries.

Everyone started with tea dyed facecloths (yes you read that right) and tea dyed dressings (sourced from a paramedic)  Lots of donated threads were chopped up and trapped between the two to create the impression of the soil.

,

There were lots of threads to choose from - including this gorgeous scarf sourced from a charity shop.  Despite the urge to wear it the scissors got taken to it because it was just so fluffy and appealing. 

It didn't take very long for everyone to be busily stitching away.

Once the bases were complete the next step was to work on couching on thicker threads to make the mycelium.

I just love the colours and fluffy threads chosen

The stitches were simple but the results were fabulous

Some of the final pieces.

the dreaded feedback form lurking on the side

 Most of the ladies on the course had limited stitching experience but bucket loads of enthusiasm, and the results are just brilliant.  There is an exhibition on the 7th September where the pieces made during all the workshops can be displayed. I really hope these pieces come back because they are well worth a closer look. 

There are 2 more workshops - whilst they all have the same base theme they can be done individually and all materials are provided. If you fancy having a go the details are on the Workshops page. 

Thanks for reading.