Creative Stitches at Brighton Centre

This is me on my stand looking very studious - a nice tidy stand - NOT!!!

The Creative Stitches Show at Brighton Centre was last week-end and it was VERY busy. It was great to catch up with ex students and friends I haven't seen for a while. It was also wonderful to be able to dash home every night - all the other shows  I do are at least 50 miles from Brighton. 

The Brighton show is one of the smallest shows that ICHF (International Craft and Hobby Fairs) offers as The Brighton Centre is a very small venue. It is not large enough to fit all the exhibitions in that larger venues can hold so it was a taster of what is to come at Glasgow SECCC 3 - 6 March and the very exciting Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch at the NEC, Birmingham 24 -27 March.
I will post more about this show next month.

On of the exhibits at Brighton Centre was 'The Undoing of the Corset', a fascinating insight of what used to 'lie beneath'!!!!! This exhibit will travelling with all the ICHF shows this season.

Pat Lumsdale is Head of NFWI Unit/Craft Adviser and travels with the ICHF shows promoting the craft courses at the WI College, I always enjoy meeting up with Pat, we always have a good laugh together. I shall be back teaching at Denman The WI College at the end of May.

Another friend I caught up with was Jan Tillett. Jan is from Devon so we don't get to see each other very often and she had the stand right next to me, which was FAB! Jan teaches various textiles courses but is best know for her bags using manipulated fabric techniques. You can find out more about Jan and her workshops at  www.jantillett.co.uk

just some of Jan's beautiful bags

 
And last but not least I couldn't post about the show with out including a picture of my friend Brenda Killigrew who had a stand promoting the Castanea Craft Courses and her college Inkberrow Design Centre I have known Brenda for about 15 years now and we have become very good freinds, as she is based in Redditch we don't get to see each other often enough. It was great to have her staying with me during the show and it meant we could put the finishing touches to my course that I am teaching in Spain in April. Brenda is well known for the remarkable courses that are delivered at Inkberrow Design Centre and for the fashion shows that she puts on at the larger ICHF shows.

So - we are now well into the show season. This weekend I will be at the NEC Birmingham for the Craft, Hobby and Stitch International trade fair (where I hope to find a replacement heat gun for the one that has been discontinued). I will be demonstrating on the Freudenberg Vilene stand D14 and delivering their retailer workshops once a day. Then it will be home to get ready for the Creative Stitches show in Glasgow. I will be teaching 4 workshops day for 6 people on my stand. I will post more about this next week.

Blimey it's 23.18 - time for bed I think - night, night. X

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