Today’s Quilter – September 2019

59

TEXTILE HERITAGE l th r e a d c o u nt s

Join us at http://www.todaysquilter.com

justtherightamountof visualimpact?AsLindaexplainsthe

processto me,I realisethateveryproducthasindeedbeen

putthroughitspacesandthatsheis,in eect,practisinga

sortof threadalchemyin herdesign studio to create beautiful,

award-winningtextileart.

Lindausesa HusqvarnaVikingembroiderymachine

whichallowshertocreatedigitalembroideryfeaturingtext

andpersonalimageryasthetoplayerof herwork.“Ifavour

Madeira’sBobbinfilthreadforthebobbinandeitherrayon

ormetallictopthreadswhenI’mstitchingdensepatternsand

text.I liketostitchmyownquiltlabelsandI dothiswitha

digitaldesignonfabricsthatmightbea scrapleftoverfrom

thequilttopwitha coordinatingcolourof rayonthread".

Lindakeepsallof herMadeirathreadsinthedrawersof a

filingcabinetthatshefoundina skip(storageforthecreative

spacecomesfromthemostunexpectedplaces!).Shealsohas

threeMadeirabespoke,woodenTreasureChestsdesigned

justforthreads– “IcaninstantlyseewhatI have.I have

recentlystartedusingthelovelybigconesof AeroQuiltonmy

quiltingmachine– I reallylovethemandintendtogetmore

of thebeautifulcolourssoon.There’sa gorgeousturquoise

bluethatwillbeperfectformynext quilt. You can never have

toomanycoloursof thread!”

I recentlywroteaboutthehistoryof theSingerSewing

MachineFactoryinClydebank,Glasgow,pausingfor

thoughttoconsiderthefootprintthatthisamazinginvention

hasleftthroughouttheworld.I can’thelpbutwonderhowit

mustfeelforthethirdgenerationat Madeira- twinbrothers

MichaelandUlrichSchmidt– toknowthattheirlegacyis

quiteliterallypartof thefabricof people’severydaylives,all

overtheworld.Astheycelebratetheir100thyear,theycan

wellandtrulysaythattheyhavebeen,andcontinue to be,

making textile history. http://www.madeira.co.uk

restricthercreativeflow.Overtheyears,asshesitsat

hermachine,free-motiondrawingwiththread,shehas

foundthatherbestworkis producedif shecanavoid

technicalconstraintssuchasthreadbreakagesortension

dicultiesthatwillstemthatcreativeflow.Madeirais

her“go-to”threadandshelovesthewiderangeof colours

that allow her to colour match with her clients’ needs.

TextileArt

WhileClaireis creatingconstructedtextilepieces,

mainlyusingMadeiraNo. 40 (bothrayonandmetallic),

at theDesignMattersstudio,LindaandLaura(www.

designmatterstv.com)areusingthefullrangeof Madeira

products.TheKemshall'sareaward-winningartistswho

teacha rangeof creativeworkshopsfromalteredbooks

andwatercolourpaintingtosurfacedesign,artquilting

andsketchbooksthroughtheironlinedesignschool,

DesignMattersTV.Beforelaunchingtheironlineschool,

theytaughtCity& Guilds’certificatedqualifications

formorethan 15 years.Whentheheadof Madeira’s

ConsumerDivision,DuncanYarnall,invitedthemtobe

brandambassadors,Lindawasonlytoohappyto“put

thecompleterangeof productsthroughtheirpaces”

whichincludednotonlytheirthreads,butthemany

dierentstabilisersandessentialsewingnotionssuchas

scissors,snips,seamrippersandmore.Lindalovesto

combinehandandmachinetechniquesinherworkand

oftenincludesembroideryandembellishmentsalongside

conventionalpiecing,fabricpaintingandappliqué–

“Myquiltsinvolvea layeringof techniqueandalwayslots

of stitchworktocompletetheprocess.Threadsareas

importanttomyworkasthefabricsI choosebecausethe

quiltingpartof theprocessis,forme,themostimportant

of partof quiltmaking”.Theprocessinvolvescareful

considerationof manyfactors.Is thequiltingrequired

toblendorcontrastwiththefabrics?Willvariegated

threadsenhanceordistractfromtheoveralldesign?Will

thesurfaceeectbelustrousrayon,shinymetallic,matt

cotton or soft wool, and what thickness or thread will give

Above,TotheBrimquiltbyLindaKemshallinspiredbya

numberofPaulKleepaintings.Combiningpiecing,painting,

printingandappliquéandfree motion quilting using

Madeira’s Aerofil thread

Below,PaintboxquiltbyLindaKemshallusesa combination

offreemotionquiltingandhandstitchedembellishment.

Lindausedrayonthreadsin bothsolidandvariegatedcolours

for the machine stitching and Madeira Lana for hand stitching

Pictures courtesy of Linda Kemshall