Silk Shading ‘English Rose’

Just arrived back from my day class at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) at Hampton Court Palace and I have had a fabulous day. Last October I did a day class on Whitework with Lizzy Pye which I enjoyed so much I signed up for some more courses, the first of which was today. Today’s class was beginners class on silk shading taught by Helen Richman.

Having been for a course ment that I was a little bit less overwhelmed by it all, the school and the beautiful surroundings and was able to focus on the techniques more. That said, during lunch outside in the gardens, looking at the palace just made me feel so happy and priviledged to be ‘working’ in such a beautiful place!

During the class we were working on a rose design from a kit put together and designed by the tutor herself. She had also brought some other designs she has made for us to have a look at and some kits to purchase if we wished. Helen explained everything very clearly, either individually or in smaller groups, as the group as whole was quite large (15).

Silk shading had always felt rather daunting, as you need to be random and get the angles right, but today’s class certainly helped to gain more confidence. During the day the randomness was getting easier and I was developing tacticts for getting the angles right. For instance, sometimes it is easier to leave a gap and fill it in later to get the change in angle right. It is also very important to keep paying attention, even though in essence they are just simple straight stitches, as the randomness and angles require a lot of focus.

During the class we were able to finish one petal and make a start on the second, although there were some fast stitchers who managed to complete a larger portion of the design. Now it is up to me to finish the design at home.

The day flew by and I just did not want to leave, it was so enjoyable. Can’t wait to come back in July!

For those of you looking for somewhere to stay near Hampton Court when you are doing a class at the RSN, I can highly recommend the AirBnB I am staying in. It is about a 5 mins walk from the gates to the palace. It is a private studio and perfect for a single person (it does sleep two). It has a lovely sofa, and a small dining table, a microwave, fridge, and a very comfy bed. The studio is very bright (part of it is like a conservatory), but you might want to pull down the blinds to gain some more privacy. The studio is very clean, the welcome hamper (bread, yoghurt, muesli, juice, scones, tea, coffee etc.) is huge and lovely, and the owners are very welcoming.