About Dionne
Dionne paints with stitches to create dynamic, vibrantly coloured textiles. Her needle becomes her pen and thread her ink. The scale, emotion, and energy of her landscapes are inspirational.
Dionne is a graduate of Goldsmith’s College, London University. She has a Masters in Textiles from UCE. And she has been recognised by the industry for her incredible work, e.g. Shortlisted Finalist in the Fine Art Textiles Award at The Festival of Quilts 2020.
Now based between Yorkshire [UK] and Abruzzo [Italy], she exhibits and tutors internationally.
You can watch Dionne demonstrate how to use free motion embroidery to create a range of patterns, textures, tones, and shades in an episode of The Makers Studio series, brought to you by Janome and justhands-on.tv.
Signature Technique
Painting with stitches
Top Tips
- Use a vibrant mix of thread weights, colours, and styles to build up a more dynamic texture.
- A machine with an extra wide throat makes it easier to manipulate your piece.
- Cover your hoop with fabric to give it more grip. You need the fabric to stay drum like as you manoeuvre it.
- Drawing your subject first, with pencil on paper, can help improve your observation and knowledge of your subject – try not to work from a photograph.
- Practice by stitching your signature to get started. Your muscle memory will help you.
- Think of painting with stitches as an orchestra with the sewing machine, threads, fabric, hoop, and you (!) coming together to work as one.
- Don’t be afraid of the machine. After a few hours of speed sewing it becomes second nature.
- Try not to have a set image of the outcome. You are not stitching an exact replica. The result is where you get to. There is no wrong in there. Enjoy the journey.
Videos
Patterns
Posts
Frixion Pens – the debate goes on.
Question: Have you ever used the Frixion pen and would you consider it safe to use on any fabric that will take the heat? I know we will have to test a sample of it but it seems to go against the grain to heat to remove, after all we use heat to set the Microtex pens! Answer: Bear in mind that these pens were not originally designed for use by quilters - we have adopted them!
I have not used these pens at all but Jennie has and mentions them in one of our videos; her word of caution is that they are re-activated by the cold - this could be through the postal service or through air conditioning.
Special Update News for all iPad and Tablet users
SPECIAL UPDATE
Tuesday 29th July 2014 We are very excited to be able to tell you, that as promised in our last newsletter, we have now made the website more user friendly for all our users and especially for those on iPads and Tablets. So, what does this mean for you? Changes to the screen size All users will notice that the video screens are bigger and slightly higher up the page.
Quilters Take Poppy Challenge
With 2014 marking the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, some local artists are remembering in their own special way. Members of the St. Albert Quilters’ Guild took up the challenge this year of creating quilts with poppies incorporated into the designs to commemorate those who died in the war, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.