It was lovely to see all our friends again after the summer break, to enjoy the talk by Debbie, to catch up and indulge in a lovely spread of homemade cakes. People have been busy over the summer and we had a great display of varied and gorgeous textile art, such an inspiration.
At our first meeting back from the summer break we were treated to a fascinating tale of how Debbie found a new career in starting her own design business after being made redundant, and limited mobility curbed her ability to paint and draw, which she loved. Her needlework passion is cross stitch and black work, and modern computer programs enable her to create designs with much less tedium than in pass times - we can all remember endless tracing and transferring!
Debbie began with making designs for stitched game boards, like Snakes and Ladders, and chess boards. Customers can purchase kits to stitch their own, with all the material, threads etc included, or download a digital pattern, or even buy prints to quilt. These are a great idea, they can be rolled up and stashed away, and won't get bent or damaged. She moved on to designs of flowers and animals, and a lovely touch is her taking commissions for pets, a portrait of your dog or cat would be a lovely thing to stitch. She markets her designs on cushions, clocks, mugs, and more.
Debbie works from her studio in Leven, Fife, aided and abetted by husband Gavin. Do visit her website at www.doodlecraftdesign.co.uk for more info and pictures.
Below is some of Debbie's lovely work. (Our members also brought things they had been making over the summer - see separate post for pictures.)
