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FREEHAND MACHINE EMBROIDERY COURSES WITH ALISON
Course List
For available courses and the dates please look at the CURRENT COURSE DIARY page

This is the list of courses I can potentially teach in my studio in Oswestry, Shropshire UK

You can request future courses from this list

Email: alison@alisonholt.com

Tel: 01691 653118


  A Coastal Walk
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Coastal walks are exhilarating and inspirational. The sea, cliffs and rocks are a constant backdrop to the experience and with the addition of seasonal variations in wild flowers and grasses you can be really inspired.
Come and capture the textures and colours of your coastal walk.
Through tutor demonstrations and one to one tuition you will learn a range of textures and marks made with just straight stitch and zigzag to create texture and definition to your picture.
We explore how to create a balanced composition, achieve depth and perspective, colour mix in paint and thread and the use of light and shade.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 An English Country Garden
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Create a painted and stitched picture of flowers within a garden setting and explore the painterly elements of free hand machine embroidery. We will outline a design on silk with resist and paint a background with silk dyes. The course will cover free hand machine embroidery techniques for a variety of garden flowers and foliage including delphiniums, aliums, achillea and verbascum. We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, aerial perspective and linear perspective, colour mixing in paint and thread, creating texture and the use of light and shade

3 day course    suitable for: Students with some experience

 Bluebell Wood
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An embroidery inspired by the iconic springtime scene of woodland bluebells. Learn stitch techniques for a range of textured tree trunks, these wild woodland flowers and ferns uncurling in the undergrowth. This subject matter will give you the opportunity to learn a wide range of stitch techniques to create the detail of these atmospheric scenes.

We will outline a design on silk with resist; paint a background with silk paints and apply a range of embroidery techniques. Students will work from photographs of their choice or from a selection provided by the tutor.
We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, aerial perspective and linear perspective, colour mixing in paint and in thread. Investigate the way texture and colour creates depth and perspective and how to draw with stitches.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Colourful Landscapes: Flowering Fields
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Be inspired by the countryside at its most vibrant, rich with wild flower meadows, fields of poppies, blue linseed or yellow oilseed rape

Using a combination of silk painting and freehand machine stitching we will create a colourful landscape picture.
Basing the design on photographs of appropriate scenes you will learn silk painting techniques to form a base for the stitching.
Through tutor demonstrations and one to one tuition you will then learn a range of textures and marks made with just straight stitch and zigzag to creates texture and definition to your picture.
We explore how to create a balanced composition, achieve depth and perspective, colour mix in paint and thread and the use of light and shade.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and Improvers

 Crashing Waves and Sea Spray
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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.
We will outline a design on silk with resist; paint a background with silk paints and apply a range of embroidery techniques. Students will work from photographs of their choice or from a selection provided by the tutor.
We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, aerial perspective and linear perspective, colour mixing in paint and in thread. Investigate the way texture and colour creates depth and perspective and how to draw with stitches.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Dancing in the Breeze
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Inspired by dancing cow parsley and tall poppies in a summer breeze, create a painted and stitched landscape.

We will explore the painterly elements of free hand machine embroidery. Learn how to paint skies and distant hills to give depth to your picture. Learn stitch techniques for trees, hedges, and foreground details including grass, poppies, cow parsley and wild flowers.

We will outline a design on silk with resist; paint a background with silk paints and apply a range of embroidery techniques. Students will work from photographs of landscapes of their choice or from a selection provided by the tutor.

We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, aerial perspective and linear perspective, colour mixing in paint and in thread. Investigate the way texture and colour creates depth and perspective and how to draw with stitches.

3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Dramatic Skies
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An embroidered picture with painted and stitched detail incorporating colourful sunsets and stormy clouds.
Working on silk, using photographs as a starting point you will create a design. You will paint a background and then apply a range of embroidery stitches to represent clouds in all their wonderful shapes and colours to complete the picture.
We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, creating depth and perspective, colour mixing in paint and thread, creating texture and the use of light and shade


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Etched in Frost: A Winter Scene
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A landscape transformed by frost and ice is the inspiration for this course. Students will work from photographs and we will explore 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.
Working on white silk, you will outline a design with resist or gutta, paint a background with silk paints and then apply a range of embroidery techniques to add textures and detail to complete the picture.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Flowers and Foliage
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With a range of garden flowers as the inspiration students will experiment with painting on silk in an impressionistic style to create a base for machine stitching. Drawing with straight stitch and zigzag stitch, machine embroidery techniques will be explored for the flowers. Combining the two elements we will produce images with colour, depth and definition.
Beginners can produce several small pieces which will make wonderful embroidered pictures or cards. Alternatively a more experienced student can work on a larger more complex close up of a flower of their choice.
Stitch techniques demonstrated will include delphiniums, foxgloves, roses, astilbes and many more.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Flowers, Pots and Patios
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Colourful patio pots and hanging baskets in a courtyard garden setting will inspire the content of this course. We will explore silk painting and stitch techniques for paving stones, brick walls and ceramic pots as well as all the flowers and foliage. We will create balanced compositions that include textured details of garden plants that provide contrast to the hard landscaping.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Forests and Woodlands
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Inspired by lush forests, textured tree trunks, wild woodland flowers and ferns uncurling in the undergrowth. This subject matter will give you the opportunity to learn a wide range of stitch techniques to create the detail of these atmospheric scenes.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Fruit and Veg
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Inspired by the unusual textures and shapes of fruit and vegetables students will explore how to create these in a combination of paint and stitch. They will learn silk painting techniques to complement their compositions. We will explore a range of stitch techniques for cabbages, cauliflowers, berries and their leaves etc. creating depth and definition to each composition.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Mountains, Valleys and Vistas
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Inspired by the great outdoors, with distant rocky or snow-capped mountains, wide valleys and a glorious sense of space. We will learn how to paint and stitch these mountains as a backdrop to our composition and add sweeping skies and a range of foreground details to give depth and interest to the scene.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Reflections in Water
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Inspired by scenes with reflections in lakes, slow flowing rivers or canals, this course helps students to improve their silk painting skills which adds a new dimension to machine embroidery projects.You will learn the silk painting techniques needed to interpret the reflected details in water. It also includes all the stitch techniques required for the landscape and its foliage.
We will cover aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, blending techniques, aerial perspective and linear perspective, colour mixing in paint and thread, creating texture and the use of light and shade.


3 day course    suitable for: Students with some experience

 Rivers and Waterfalls
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Inspired by scenes of rivers and waterfalls with fast flowing water, moss covered rocks, ferns and foliage we will design and complete a painted and stitched picture. With tutor demonstrations learn silk painting techniques for your embroidery base and the freehand embroidery stitch techniques to create detail, texture and movement.
We will cover aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, colour mixing in paint and thread, creating texture and the use of light and shade



3 day course    suitable for: All students

 Seascapes
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Be inspired by the colours and movement of the sea using photographs of your favourite beach or stretch of coastline. The course includes the design and execution of an embroidered picture. You will learn how to paint on silk for the elements such as the sky, sand and headlands and with stitch how to capture the movement of waves, the texture of pebbles, rocks and cliffs.

We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, creating depth and perspective, colour mixing in paint and thread, creating texture and the use of light and shade.

3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Snowscene: A Picture
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Students work from photographs and explore paint and embroidery techniques discovering ways to create the effects of snow, frost, and winter mist on landscapes and woodlands. Working on silk, you will create then outline a design with resist, paint a background and then apply a range of embroidery techniques to complete the picture. And you will like the best crossbow for hunting.
The course is structured around group demonstrations by the tutor followed by individual tuition. We will be covering aspects of art theory such as designing balanced compositions, creating depth and perspective, colour mixing in paint and thread, creating texture and the use of light and shade.


3 day course    suitable for: Students with some experience

 Sunlight and Shadows
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Choosing a landscape as inspiration we will be exploring the interesting and unexpected colours found in shadows and enjoy the contrast created by sunlight within each image. We will learn stitch techniques for trees, foliage and all elements within the chosen images

  

 Up Close and Personal
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Inspired by the detail and complexity of flowers, leaves and vegetables students will explore how to create these in paint and stitch. They will learn how to blend using freehand machine stitching, creating a smooth transition through colour and tonal ranges. We will explore interesting stitch techniques for petals, stamens, anther etc. creating depth and definition to each composition. We will create a silk painted background to set off this dramatic study.



3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers

 Up Hill Down Dale
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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.
We will outline a design on silk with gutta and paint a background with silk dyes and explore stitch techniques for the textured elements of the composition.


3 day course    suitable for: Beginners and improvers