Tucked away in one of Mary's work book was this beautiful sampler of textures. The Experimental Textiles End of Year Show went down very well. It was good to see so many visitors asking the girls questions. It makes a massive difference when you are making a piece of work to know that it is going to be seen by thousands of people - it can be very scary.  Especially when it is the first time you have ever shown your work!  The day always started quietly as the visitors made their way through the show to our back corner. It gave the girls a chance to 'warm up'.  This is Kat and Rachel explaining about the course.  Rachel's paper collage is a the top and 2 of Val's samples are below. The students have to help hang the show and then steward it between themselves. I am there to keep an eye on things  . . . .  We had a lot of interest in the course - I am hoping to run 2 courses side by side from June - one on a Thursday a...

  A girl needs a certain kind of sustenance when doing the shows . . . . . Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch was brilliant - busy - but brilliant. I didn't get a lot of chance to see all of the show but what I did see was fantastic.  The exhibit I liked the best was Barkcloth to Artcloth - it was remarkable. A collaboration between Textile artist Bobby Britnell and Shoe designer Janet Middleton using traditional Barkcloth material from Uganda and re-inventing this wonderful fabric and creating little shoes. The idea was for textile artists to decorate a piece of barkcloth in their own style and Janet was to make a small pair of shoes from it. This exhibition has been created to raise awareness and funds for Hands up for Uganda. www.handsupforuganda.org A project that was started by Bobby ad her family that has just grown and grown, what everyone had achieved is quite fantastic.   The shoes will also be exhibited at the Excel show 3rd - 5th A...

This was Fay's sample mirror to show the students what could be achieved. This will be a very fast post - I am getting ready to leave this evening for the NEC and Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch. I didn't want to leave with out telling you about one of Fay Maxwell's workshops at The Jersey Textiles Showcase. It was titled 'A slip in time'. The 3d shapes or 'slips' are worked on a cotton fabric base and embroidered with crewel wool and stranded cottons. The little flowers are wool bla nket circles covered with tapestry wool and perle. No silks at all, though you could use them. Her website is broken at the moment, she can't get into it to change her address as she has just moved, but you can email her at fay@fayandkay.co.uk - If you want to know of any upcoming workshops. All her workshops are excellent but this one caught my attention because of all the layering of techniques which can only be developed over time and years of exp...