Posted on 27 Comments

you wait all year…

… for a collaborative textile project, and would you believe 3 come along at once!
I have blogged about  the 2 previous  projects here and here . I thoroughly enjoyed them, and was delighted to fnd another group of people who were keen to have a go as well. We worked on round brooches, each of us adding some textile art and then sending it on to the next person. We each got a brooch when it was completed. I prepared the piece and drew 10 circles on it
and then I added my contributions

I then sent them to Deborah Collum who added this..

and then they went to Sara Harris who contributed this…
henceforth to Anne-Marie Bates…

next up was Janette Smith

who sent it to Gemma Bee..

and then it went to Helen Miles..

and then Michelle Cullen..

and then on to Jane Lock..

and last but not least it was Jenny Green..

this is how the finished piece looked

which was sent  back to me and I made it into brooches…


I really enjoyed this collaboration, I think we did really well, it’s so interesting to see what emerges.
I’ve got 2 other projects on the go at the moment, and I can’t imagine life without one to be honest!

EDITED TO ADD : you can see more of my collaborative projects here..
https://www.mcanaraks.com/category/projects/completed-collaborations/

27 thoughts on “you wait all year…

  1. These are great! I love the collaboration. It makes me want to think of a way to incorporate this idea into one of my groups.

  2. Very impressed! Congrats!. Each one has a charm to it.How much time approx. It took from initial.steps to completion of it!??

    1. Thank you, each of the 10 participants gets up to 2 weeks to do their bit and post it on, but if they have finished before that they post it when they are done. This project took 4 months.

  3. They are beautiful great collaborative project.

  4. A stunning project! Well done us! Thanks fran!

  5. First time ive ever done this kind of thing and it realy stretched me, i found it very challenging at first but ultimatley rewarding. Thanks everyone but especially you fran x

  6. Beautiful collaborative pieces. What happens to them now? Incorporate into another collaboration?!

    1. We all get one, and wear them proudly 🙂

  7. Great work , fantastic end product 😍

    1. I did a small class at the senior center here. We had a wonderful time completing these in four sessions, just passing each one around so everyone got to work on them all.

      1. That sounds great, I would love to see them 🙂

  8. Beautiful…..is it machine and handstitching….there’s obviously a lot of work goes into each circle …luv luv luv x

    1. some machine stitching, some by hand, some needle felting, some beading, some applique and probably something else as well 🙂

  9. bonjour
    quelles merveilleuses broches
    que j,aimerai participer a cette echange de bonheur
    bravos mes dames

  10. These are exquisite. Thank you for sharing, so inspirational!

  11. How do you back these brooches please

    1. hold on, will see if I can post photo here

    2. sorry can’t add photo here, I will add it into blogpost, near the end, let me know if you can see it, give me a minute or two!

  12. How big are these at the start please thankyou

    1. The original piece is A4 size (210 x 297 cm) and the brooches are 7cm

      1. Thankyou that’s so tiny .x

  13. These are stunning. Collaborations like this can make friends for life.

  14. Wow so funky. Tremendous idea, love the collaboration

  15. You give me such inspiration. I am loving hand stitching and never did before! Please add me to your blog!

    1. Thank you Regina, that is so nice to hear. Yes , I love hand stitching, it is exciting , yet calming at the same time . I have subscribed you to my blog, you should get an email to confirm it.

  16. Your collaborations are wonderful. Would you please explain how you make the original round base, what tat backing material is, and how the backing piece is attached. Thank you so much…pam

    1. Thank you Pam. The original A4 sized piece is made from firm fabric interfacing that I stitched some fabric onto. The backing material is vinyl / faux leather. The backing piece is attached to the front using zig zag stitch on my sewing machine.

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