2 rather splendid corsages. My last workshop for 2015 was at Art Van Go, an excellent way to end the year. Viv and Kevin and the team look after everyone so well. They run a very comprehensive workshop timetable. Here are the workshops for 2016 -  bit.ly/1IjvI4U    I have a new one in August, Sticky and Shiny. Learning how to use all the glues and fusible webs with transfer foil. I think this is a long overdue workshop. Anyway - back to Making a Tyvek Box. As many of you will know, I rarely teach a workshop where students leave with something finished. teaching process is my passion. However, I thought it might be time to show how adaptable Tyvek can be and that students don't need to leave with just a bag of colourful, textured samples.   My Tyvek box sample.                   I took along the book Embroidered Boxes by Janet Edmonds. It has beautiful ideas for making...

The field opposite the tower. The second day started with a 'show and tell' of the work from yesterday. It was a surprising amount of work. We then got on with experimenting with Tyvek. I wanted to show the group how to raise the surface of a Bondaweb based piece of work. As Bondweb is ironed, it is flat, and sometimes you need extra texture. Small strips of Tyvek or Tyvek beads can help.  Introducing Tyvek might not have been my best plan . . .   I also mentioned how to make corsages . .  and they were off!!!! Not in the direction I was planning!!    Two of yesterdays Hot Spot! samples.  My plan for today had been for the group to have a quick play with Tyvek and then get on with a considered, stitched sample using painted Bondaweb - Huh!!! Fat chance!!    Olivia making several corsages at once.    Pip going into mass production.            As you can see, they...

A stunning corsage - one of the best I have seen on a workshop.    I had a great day today teaching at Southwick Community Centre for the Sussex Quilters. The workshop was 'Tinkering with Tyvek'. As usual for my workshops this was a process based day. I think it is important to know what the the materials will do before you can decide to make anything. First thing, we spent an hour painting both sides of several sheets of A4  heavy Tyvek and fabric weight Tyvek. Dull but necessary, it is very important not to paint the Tyvek with thick paint. If you do, the paint will form a barrier and the Tyvek won't react to heat. We then had a play with ironing Tyvek shapes between baking parchment, learning the 'Kiss, Stroke and Caress' way of lightly heating the Tyvek till it shrinks and puckers. We then moved on to layering 4 sheets of A4 Tyvek with polyester organza and machine stitching them together ready for zapping back - a bit like cheeky reverse ...