Sarah Appleton - Textile Artist Blog

Hi everyone! This week my Dad and I took an impromptu trip to the Burngate Purbeck Stone Centre for a 2 hour stone carving workshop. Before I arrived there, I had prepared a sketch for the class but didn't really know what to expect from the class itself, or how difficult it might be to carve stone into something aesthetically lovely. I had the best time! Here is my creation: This is an Art Nouveau inspired fish tile measuring about 5" x 5". Considering that I've never tried stone carving before, I am really pleased with my result! We had a great teacher [Jonathan Sells] and even though I was worried that 2 hours would not be long enough, I think going in prepared with my design helped a lot. Also, I am the type of person who given the chance, will just keep hacking away at something forever if I don't have a time limit; so it was a positive thing for me to see how much can be done in that time! We started off learning how to make a relief square, like this: I cou

One of my favourite artists is LS Lowry and a few years ago I was given a wonderful gift of a cross-stitch kit featuring his 'Street Scene' [1935] painting. I've been working on it on and off in my limited leisure time since then and thought that I might start chronicling the progress via my blog in order to stay motivated and show off what I've done. The finished size is 32cm x 26cm, so avid cross-stitchers will understand what a big undertaking it it - but I'm determined to get it finished! Just to give you an idea of the time that goes into these types of projects here's a spot the difference for you:  Yes I did put it on the ground And after several hours of work here's my progress: As you can see - not a huge amount of change but it's somewhat fulfilling to take these progress pictures when you are working on a bigger piece. Maybe I'm a slow stitcher?! I think I might be, but that makes it even more rewarding in the end! I'll keep updating a

I'm really excited to share my next children's workshop to be held at the New Forest Arts Centre in August - crafts inspired by the film Ron's Gone Wrong!   This is a whole day event where participants can make crafts with me and one other artists plus watch the film 'Ron's Gone Wrong' itself. It's going to be a whole lot of awesome fun! In my part of the day we'll be making our own mini robot pals, something like this guy: To find out more information and to book, use the following link:  https://www.forest-arts.co.uk/event/creative-camps-rons-gone-wrong Hope to see you there! Sarah :)

I'm really excited to share my next workshop to be held at the New Forest Arts Centre in August: Folk Embroidered Felt Brooches.   This should be a really fun and relaxed evening event and we will be making something a little like this: To find out more information and to book, use the following link:  https://www.forest-arts.co.uk/event/craft-class-wine-glass-folky-embroidered-felt-brooch Hope to see you there! Sarah :)

This week something totally WILD happened - one of my great friends went out and got herself a fabulous smiley lion face tattoo featuring my design! What an incredible honour to have one of my drawings permanently inked onto someone else's body - I think it works really well as a cute and simple tattoo design. Tattoo by Tofu Tattoo, Perth, Australia You can see more work by the very talented artist who did the actual tattoo on  her Instagram .  This has reminded me; super fans will remember that I sold temporary tattoos a while ago, one of which was this design. What do we think - maybe they need to make a comeback? 😀 Bye for now! Sarah

I haven't posted for a while as I've been adjusting to some changes in my routine but I wanted to share my latest finished personal project - these fab crocheted slippers that I made all for myself! I have had the pattern for these for quite a long time and managed to find some merino yarn in my stash that worked with the pattern too. I've never made slippers or socks before, but found the pattern (a mix of double and treble crochet worked in the round) to be fairly easy and quick to make.  Since this was a stash project, I changed the colours from the original pattern but I really like the contrast of the green and purple that I used. I hear that merino wool regulates body temperature, wicks away sweat and eliminates odours so it's something of a super-fibre and probably great for slippers. They've certainly served me well so far and haven't slipped off my feet as I feared they might and the big pompoms make me feel very jolly. In progress I'm looking forwa

Last week I took on a children's t-shirt printing workshop at the Forest Arts Centre in New Milton. I really wanted to give the workshop an eco-friendly angle, so I collected lots of found objects from discarded handles to single use plastics in various shapes and sizes and we used these dipped in specialist paint to create repeating and abstract patterns.  After giving minimal instructions I let the kids experiment on sheets of paper before printing their t-shirts and they came up with some wonderfully creative and colourful designs to wear on their Easter holidays. I'll let the shirts speak for themselves! A sample shirt created by me! A few experiments on paper... ...Before the real thing! I love how each t-shirt came out completely differently, with every one expressing something about the personality of its wearer. The children really seemed to enjoy it, they didn't get too messy and weren't phased by facing the blank white canvas of a t-shirt! A success all around

If you've noticed that I've been a bit quiet the last month or so, it's because I've been busily preparing for two upcoming markets happening over Easter. The first is the epic South Coast Makers Market Pop Up at Bobby's Department Store in Bournemouth: And if you can't make it to that one (or you just can't get enough of me), then you can also find me at the always brilliant Handmade Wimborne on 10th April at the Allendale Centre in Wimborne. Hope to see you there! Sarah :)

Hello!  I unveiled a new card design last month; if you like my lion design but have always wondered where his body went, then this one is for you! It's available in my Etsy shop  and is perfect for many occasions; new babies, thank yous, birthdays, anniversaries and Mother's and Father's Day! Take a look at my  Greetings Cards  now! I'm looking forward to unveiling some more exciting news soon... but for now that's it from me. Sarah :)

Hi there! Further to my last blog post I can now announce that I have a really exciting craft workshop for kids coming up in the Easter holidays - Easter Egg t-shirt printing! Make your tummy look just like an Easter Egg by creating colourful printed patterns and shapes using reclaimed materials. For more information or to book, please use this link . This will be an exciting and artistic one for budding young designers, or just anyone who fancies expressing themselves creatively via the medium of the t-shirt! It might get messy so wear your casual comfies. 😉 See ya soon! Sarah

Hello! I'm really excited to share the first of my planned workshops for 2022, which are based in Hampshire. These are aimed at adults and we will be learning how to sew eco-friendly reusable cloth pads, which are great to keep or to gift for your eco-conscious friends! Visit the websites at  Ashcroft Arts Centre  or  Forest Arts Centre  to find out more and book. This is a project that I have been passionate about and planning to get underway for a while and I'm so excited that it's finally coming to fruition! If you can't make the classes but you're interested in making your own reusable pads you can buy my craft kit on Etsy . It comes with instructions and materials - you just need a basic sewing kit and sewing machine (although you could hand sew if you prefer)! I'm really looking forward to things picking back up again in 2022 after so much uncertainty over the last couple of years and I'll hope to see you at one of my classes or events. Bye for now, Sa

Happy new year one and all! For my first post of 2022 I wanted to write about this lovely book which I was given as a Christmas gift a few years ago from my friend Wendy Nutt because it's proven to be a really useful one that I go back to time and again to create unique gifts for my friends and family. If you're interested in embroidery and specifically want to give 3D creations a try, I would definitely recommend it! The book has full instructions and illustrations, with templates for each bird in the back. I've made around half of the birds in the book, here is some of my handiwork: Dove Robin Puffin Seagull Peacock Flamingo! City Dove Goose Parrot! I'm glad that I decided to write this blog post actually because it has really shown me how much my photography skills are improving (assisted by getting an updated phone). The 'Folk Embroidered Felt Birds' books inspired me so much that this Christmas I even had a go at drafting my own pattern for a partridge and