Viv and Kevin. Starting our time in Dublin with a full Irish breakfast. Apologies for the delay in writing this post life has been a tad - hectic! I had a lovely time in Ireland. Laura and I shared a house in Donnybrook with Viv and Kevin from Art Van Go. We were there to do The Knitting and Stitching Show in Dublin. This is the second time that Vilene have a stand at this show, and after having such a good time last year we knew what we were in for . . .   Laura on the stand, halfway through setting up the stand.   It is great fun working with Laura at the shows - we do have a laugh together, we work hard too, of course!!! The Dublin show is not as busy as the other two in the UK, but it has a fabulous atmosphere and great charm. Some of the stand holders are the same but there are many more from Ireland. There was lots to see and many friends to catch up with. I always enjoy looking at the graduates showcase. There is always interesting and intriguing...

You may remember the beginnings of this lovely stitched pieced from the last post about the Malmsbury Embroiderers Guild workshop.  This is it stitched, finished and mounted.  Chris Taylor and Laura Strutt on the Vilene stand.  Boy did we have a good time. The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace was, as usual, stunning. it was also very long - FIVE days, with a late night opening on Thursday. It was fabulous to see so many friends - new and old. We had a very busy time on the Freudenberg Vilene stand. There are still people out there in Textileland that dont know you can paint Bondaweb - so my work here is not yet done! The exhibits at the show were fantastic. I have two series of work I would like to share with you. The first is by Mary Flynn - The Shore Archive. Her work celebrates the beauty of the sea and shore and communicates her feelings about our responsibility for the environment Over a period of years Mary Flynn's work has i...

The 'before' photo . .  The lovely Laura Strutt who works with me on Vilene stands at all the shows. I couldn't do the shows with out her, her energy and humour keep me going. Well, that's that for another year. The Festival of Quilts was even bigger than last year, with fabulous quilt displays from all over the world. There were thousands of visitors every day, many from all points of the globe, including Australia and New Zealand. Working on the shows is a great way to keep in touch with friends, and of course, make new ones. The finished stand - in action. The lovely Laura showing off her fabulous samples.   The not so lovely and very hot Kim demonstrating her samples.   I made a new friend at the show - the very beautiful Laura from the Italian Vilene office. As you can see we got on well right from the start. We had great fun together and will no doubt be seeing each other again. One of the many great things a...