Millefiori Goldwork
No posts for a while, as between Christmas, moving house and starting a new job I’ve been pretty busy. But last weekend I headed down to Hampton Court Palace to take a course at the Royal School of Needlework, and that seemed like the perfect opportunity to start blogging again!
It’s a wonderful place to take a course. The building is stunning; I’ve not been since I was taking History at school, and just seeing it again made me resolve to come for a proper look around soon. After signing in at the staff gate we were collected and walked over what felt like most of the building before reaching our destination. The classrooms are on the third floor, and we were given the option of taking the stairs or a tiny Edwardian lift – I’m not keen on lifts so I got my daily exercise trotting up the staircase.
The course we’d signed up for (I was attending the course with Mum) was a one day ‘Goldwork Millefiori Brooches’ workshop with Jenny Adin-Christie (she’s running a two day version of the class in May). I was a little worried that my embroidery skills might not be up to scratch, but Jenny was a great teacher and the class didn’t assume any previous experience of goldwork (which I’d never done before!). I’d chosen to make the Rose Brooch, and a kit was available with all the necessary materials.
The brooch I made during the course
I didn’t quite finish the brooch during the course. I’ve filled in the background at home, and will need to cut it out of the fabric and finish it as a brooch. The instructions for finishing up are extremely clear though, and Jenny made sure she’d demonstrated all the necessary techniques before the end of the day so I’m happy I’ll be able to finish it off. (Of course, in the week since we took the course I’ve filled in the background on my brooch, and Mum has stitched a further 4 – show-off!)
All in all it was a lovely day. The setting was lovely, everyone was friendly (although we were all focussed on our work!), and the teaching was excellent. We’re now eyeing up more courses at the RSN…
Posted: February 27th, 2011 under General.
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