“Layers”

Doris Baxter Gordon      Skewered Layers

Layers left over from a garage sale. Thread donated by Rhonda.

Silk, transparent fabric, wrapped skewers, fine silk threads.

Fraying, layering, wrapping, and stitching.

Anne Dixon        Nest

I was fascinated by the materials and intricate layers of a bird nest I found. I decided to create my own nest, and what is a nest without eggs? I hope you enjoy these exotic embroidered and embellished eggs that furnish the nest.

Acrylic, wool, silk and cotton fibre, fabric, yarn and threads. Styrene eggs, beads and found objects.

Fabric manipulation, beading and hand embroidery.

Marion Carroll.   

A Whimsical Lithosphere

Jules Verne’s ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ has always been a favourite of mine. I imagine that exploring the layers of our Earth would be like reading the pages of a book. Each page/each layer reveals more of the narrative. This Lithosphere is a journey to the centre of the Earth.

Merino wool, scrim, silk, thread, repurposed feltWet felting, dry felting, machine and hand stitching.


Marion Carroll       Layer By Layer

Landscapes are always my inspiration and I use felt to create my landscapes. Felting is a process of layering wool and is perfect when it comes to creating my landscapes.

Merino wool, scrim, threads and beads.

Wet and dry felting, machine and hand sewing.

Roberta Hodgson      Memories of New Zealand

I returned from a trip to New Zealand, full of awe and wonder of the colours, the beauty of nature like tree ferns unfolding, a symbol of new life. This hangs in my sewing room reminding me of that trip and is a source of joy and inspiration. There are many layers of beauty in New Zealand, and in our personal lives we need to have the eyes to see the layers of beauty in simple things and in relationships that bring us joy and hope.

Fabric, beads.

Piecing dyed and commercial fabric, free motion quilting, stencilling, and beading. 

Roberta Hodgson       Persian Carpet

Exploring Creative Layering workshop with an English tutor, Jan Beaney. As I worked, I imagined I would like to have a Persian carpet so that like Aladdin, it would take me wherever I wanted to go, to faraway lands over and above circumstances. I had many personal layers which needed healing and this work helped me find my creative side and

Sue Russell      Entice

Peeling paint breaking into layers.

Silk thread on calico and lace. Silk thread in needle lace web.

Needle lace, free motion stitch, hand painted.

Sue Russell     Silken Layers

The floating nature and strength of silk especially when layered together.

A variety of silks and silk threads.

Hand dyed silks using tea and rust for the top layer and indigo for the other two layers. The top layer shows a variety of joining seams and feature buttonhole.

Sue Russell      Feminist’s Journey

The silk sitting in my stash with colours that inspired me.

Silk, embroidery thread.

Coiling, hand embroidery.

Maija Manou      Bubbles

My granddaughter blowing bubbles in the bath.

Watercolour paper, watercolours and silk thread.

Painting on paper and embroidery.

Ann Harper     Affairs of your Heart

How we think about our hearts, biologically and emotionally, the many layers.

Tulle, ribbon, silk, velvet, felt, embroidery cotton, buttons and sequins.

Felting, embroidery, machine stitching.

Kate Highland      Holiday Travels

When I travel, I take a small project with me. As I get time on cruise ships or at airports, I stitch small and random marks as a form of meditation. Once a man approached me and asked about my stitching, saying that it reminded him of his mother’s work. He had tears in his eyes and he thanked me for reminding him of her. There are many layers to life and we don’t fully realise the effect we have on others just by quietly stitching.

Spool- wooden cotton reel, linen ribbon, fabric scraps, variegated thread.

Repurposed serviette- ribbon, variegated thread, lace.

Embroidery stitches and appliqué. 

Wilma Simmons     Bark

An interpretation of tree bark- fabric manipulation to resemble layers in tree bark.

Various fabrics, interfacing, thread, paint, ink and wire.

Stitching by hand and machine, colouring with ink and paint, manipulating with heat and by hand. This work features some techniques learnt from UK artist, Bev Caleno.

Robyn Cohen     Sampler Clutch Purse

To recreate or interpret a bag noticed in a book, using mattress ticking for a base to create a vision of many stitches.

Polyester silk, glass beads, embroidery thread, braid, ribbon and cotton.

Braiding together intricate beading and delicate embroidery.

Robyn Cohen      Antique Style Evening Bag

Robyn Cohen      Floral Cushion

In my stash I found three layers of fabric with silk flowers under transparent fabric and had the vision to see it as an attractive cushion. I achieved a wonderful dimensional, layered appearance.

Synthetic fabric, cotton backing, silk flowers, floss and beads.

Sandwiching the silk flowers under a sheer top layer, secured with appliqué and enhanced with beading. 

Robyn Cohen      Antique Style Evening Bag

To create or interpret a bag noticed in a book utilising existing fabric to practise and develop new beading and embroidery skills.

Polyester silk, glass beads, embroidery thread and cotton for the strap.

Braiding together the threads of new skills, specifically intricate beading and delicate embroidery, thereby transforming the stored fabric.

Ann Dean-Pijpers      Moonshine

The moon over the waters at Merewether Beach is always an inspiration and I can never get enough of the layers of light, colours, movement and textures. It takes my breath away every visit!

Polyester and cotton fabric on linen. Embroidery and polyester threads, some recycled.

Naïve and stylized representation using coiling, strips of cotton and polyester fabric with merino/silk wool layered over a cotton/linen background, embellished with embroidery stitches.

Jill Wagner     Layered Chaos

By definition a quilt is three layers. A decorative top, batting and finally, backing fabric.

A mixture of cotton fabrics were used in creating the ‘Drunkard’s Path’ patchwork block. A chaotic layered look is achieved.

Machine pieced and free motion quilted.

Wendy Scott      Muri Lagoon

Cook Island Trip 

Fabric, embroidery and beading onto painted fabric.

Painting on fabric with dye pencils, hand embroidery, beading and crochet.

Connie Allen       Ecodyed Scrolls – Triptych

Textile Artist.org workshop by Deb Cooper.

Assorted fabrics, lace, paper, threads, trims and scraps.

Rust and tea eco dyed, hand pieced and manipulated, embroidered, 

hand stitched and embellished.

Connie Allen     Scroll

Textile Artist tutorial by Deb Cooper.

Assorted fabrics, lace, paper, threads, trims and scraps.

Hand stitched, embellished, hand pieced and manipulated embroidery.

Connie Allen      Bloom

Various online and live tutorials, and book and magazines sources, 

especially Cas Holmes.

Old recycled pillowcase, lace, various fabrics, threads.

Broderie perse, raw edge appliqué, embroidery.

Shirley Bjornsson     I’m Just a Hooker

Spool of hook tape, without eyes, in an Op Shop.

Spool of hook tape and wire.

Machine sewing and making wire hooks and eyes.

Susanne Boulton      Autumn Tones

Texture and colour.

Cotton and corduroy fabric.

Block printing and hand painting the fabric.

Susanne Boulton      Licorice Allsorts

Texture and colour.

Woven fabric, cotton and corduroy.

Crazy patchwork.

Sandra Cooke      Rock Pool Tasmania

When rock hopping at Cockle Creek I found Waratah anemones.

Dyed cotton, old trouser leg, beads covered with red raw silk, old silk scarf. Wrappings and covered rubber washers.

Techniques from Julia Wright’s workshop at Fibre Forum Ballarat.

Sandra Cooke     Tarkine Scramblings Tasmania

Scrambling through the dense Tarkine forest of Western Tasmania, over layers of mosses, rotting wood and under a thick canopy of greens.

Dyed cotton, velvet, satins, silk scarf, string, wrappings and covered rubber washers. Found wood.

Wrapping techniques from Julia Wright’s workshop at Fibre Forum Ballarat.

NCEATA Members Group display     Pebbles

A workshop presented by Doris Baxter-Gordon.

Pebble or rock, calico or cotton fabric for the top, felt on the bottom.

Beads, sequins, rubber rings, embroidery threads and a variety of wool and threads.

Embroidery stitching on fabric and over tiny items to give layers of height, shape, structure and texture.