Can you identify the packaging? There are times when you just have to give in - and having shingles is one of them. I had no idea it was so debilitating and so vicious - or that it would last for so long. I have heard the horror stories, 2 friends of mine have had it recently, 1 on the bra line and 1 on the unmentionables but I guess until you have it yourself you can't understand what it is like. I am lucky I got the anti viral drugs early enough and I am starting to feel better, there is less pain everyday but the rash and blisters are still spreading, but more slowly now. I may have to design myself a stunning yashmak if they don't start to clear up soon - but I can't go anywhere or see anyone as I am still contagious - I feel as though I should have a bell to ring . . . . .  This will pass - I have to remember this is just one tiny part of my life and there are far worse worse things (though on Friday morning at 6am I would have disputed that) . The recovery i...

Fabulous bright colours - just what we need to lift the heart! Old plastic bottles, painted and turned into lights. This is just a short post to say I will be laying low for a few days. I have shingles!!! On my head and neck - ouch! So orders from nid-noi.com will be taking slightly longer to get out - they are getting out - just more slowly than usual . . . Hope to be back up to normal deliveries next week. At least it has happened now and not in three weeks time.  I will still have time to recover before I leave for Australia. Take care all of you,  x x x

 Sarah's new book The first day of Craft, Hobby and Stitch International was very busy and there was a lot of interest in the new iron-on interfacings  'Decovil 1' and 'Decovil light' on the Freudenberg Vilene stand. They are fabulous products, particulary good for making bags and book covers, just the right support with out being too stiff. The highlight of the show for me is being given a copy of Stitch, Cloth, Shimmer & Shine written by Sarah Lawrence. I know many of you are still coming to terms with Sarah's untimely death, we are all missing her like mad! This book will be a great comfort - IT IS FABULOUS!!! Get it! I have spent 2 evenings devouring it and stroking the pages. The photograhs are excellent, particularly the ones of the more developed projects at the back of the book. Sarah takes you through all the processes you could possibley need for applying anything twinkly to your work. From gilding flake and heat transfer foils to wo...

Slip covers for the books that were pictured on the blog yesterday.  Decovil - new iron-on interfacing, dyed and then decorated with layers of newspaper, painted Bondaweb and gilding flake. First I was girly - and now I am being dainty - very unusual for me. I have managed to finish 2 book covers and make some more jewellery. I seem to have sold most of my first batch. The cover on the left is finished with acrylic wax and the one on the right was covered with a sheet of Lamifix gloss, hence it is shiny and wipe able. Lamifix also comes in a matt finish if you don't want your work looking tooooo shiny. Here is the dainty part - I have been drilling my jewellery pieces to make them into longer earrings with the tiniest drill bit. I have now managed to get it down to a fine art AND remember to breathe.    Layered newspaper and painted Bondaweb ironed onto Heavy Pelmet Vilene Plus  www.nid-noi.com then cut to shape on a die cutting machine. ...

A small pile of dyed iron-on interfacings - the new Decovil and Decovil Light on some particularly gorgeous newspaper. You have it all planned - 4 days to prepare for a show with new samples and all the products dyed, cut and packed for 3 x workshops of 20 retailers - aaRGGHH!!! The exhaust fell off the car, loads of orders came in (I'm not complaining really) and piles of paperwork leapt out and needed doing  . . . . but I have finally knuckled down. Even my sofa is covered with dyed iron-on interfacing hopefully drying ready to use tomorrow, I just don't seem to have enough floor space.  I was hoping these books would be covered by now - tomorrow's blog . . . . . I am getting SOME samples done. This is a wooden box that has been dyed turquoise - (it just happens to match my hair). Painted Bondaweb was then ironed onto it and decorated with gilding flake. The box was then sealed with acrylic wax.  This is very subtle for me - Painted, the...

 Sequins on my cardi I am not very girly - I am and have had to be very practical most of my life - so I take great pleasure the odd times I am required to dress up and be sparkly - but then what do you wear?  I may have mentioned once or twice that I will be off to the Antipodes at the end of March. There will be several parties to attend and having gone through my very practical wardrobe I realised I needed a bit of glitz!!! So I have been sewing sequins and beads onto a back cardi that covers a multitude of sins and is very useful! (Being practical again) I am having trouble deciding when to stop, I suspect I may cover the entire cardi by the end of this week. A girl can't have enough sequins and I need to feel I am doing something useful when I watch Corrie and 'Stenders  One of the parties has an award for 'The Most Fabulous Wearing of False Eyelashes' so I popped into town last week and picked these up - what do you think? I thought I might add a ...

  The cover of Patchwork Professional Magazine You can just picture it can't you - me sitting here at my computer in my bathrobe writing this with blue dye on my hair being incredibly excited about my second article to be published in a magazine - I feel so grown up!!! Patchwork Professional is a very beautiful German magazine the promotes all kinds of quilt art and associated textile techniques and skills. This issue has featured me as an artist and a workshop on how to use my lovely Hot Spots!   I have been given permission to scan in the cover of the magazine and two of the pages from the article. As they are scans they are not perfect but the images give you some idea. The shaggy newspaper pieces and the 'Blue Cross' image are based on the detritus that gets caught up in the steel work under our West Pier in Brighton. The 4 foot vessel on the right is one of my pieces created from CS800 that has been dyed, zapped and layered. The top image ...

 My new black (well charcoal really) pelmet/craft Vilene decorated with painted Bondaweb, foils and gilding flake and then cut with a soldering iron and bonded onto the same black pelmet/craft Vilene. FAB!  ooooohh!!! It's chilly! Have you got snow too? This is the third year in a row we have snow in Brighton - most unusual. We also had snow at Bluewater so Sunday was a very quiet day . The first three days were fabulous though. None of us were sure if anyone would come to the show as it was a new venue, but we needn't have worried - you all came in your droves. Thank you! It was great to see so many of you there and you seemed to be having a great time. It was fabulous meeting you all and catching up with friends who also had stands at the show. As it was a bit quiet yesterday I had the chance to play with some of my new products that I will launching on the website in a couple of weeks time. I am just having them cut and priced then I can let you all know what I...