Beach huts on Seaford beach front. I had a rare weekend off this weekend and spent a lot of it at my sisters in Seaford. We had a great time together with lots of food and drink and a good walk on Sunday morning in the freezing cold. These modern beach huts line a section of the front and are very cheerful. I have been trying out some techniques for my workshops at the NEC this month. I will posting more information next week. I want to show how versatile the Decovil 1 iron-on interfacing is and one way to work with it is to texture it. At the moment I am using 5" texture pockets which aren't really big enough. Sissix were bringing out 12" texture pockets but they still haven't materialised. If any of you know of any 12" pockets I would be grateful if you could let me know. I cut an 'envelope' style bag out of Decovil 1 with my Big Shot Pro die cutting machine.   I then foiled the sticky side with transfer foil.

  Transfer printed satin covered with hand knitted wire embellished with hand stitch - by Sally. It is sad when a long course comes to an end - it is also a time to celebrate all the hard work of the past year. Friendships have been made amongst the group that I hope will last for years to come.     Sally stitching in to the sample above.   We started off with eight students and lost two along the way through broken bones and pressure of work. I am hoping that Liz of the broken bones will be picking up the course again some time this year and hopefully Emma will feel more able to work with the group as they go forward into new ventures.     Claire and Shaun appear to be working hard but were definitley feeling slightly hysterical and mucking about. Claire blamed the caffeinated tea she drank at lunchtime for her extreme fit of the giggles. (Claire normally drinks decaffeinated). Heidi working hard on her wall piece.     Jo creates the most beau

I forgot to take a photo of the stand before I left - so here is one I prepared earlier - at Bluewater in February. Well I'm here in Glasgow and not tooooo worse for wear! I drove up as far as Carlisle yesterday and then onto Glasgow this morning. I had the stand more or less set up by 3pm so came back to my Travelodge for a snooze. It was great to see so many friends at the show. Wendy and Rob Dolan are here, we are off to see 'The Artist' tomorrow night. We are staying in the same Travelodge so Wendy can look after me - bless her, she is such a good friend. Isobel Hall, Jenni Rayment, Val Hughes are also here, amongst others. Cardonald College has the stand next to mine and it is looking good. The college are hosting the fashion shows over the next 4 days and they promise to be brilliant. I love coming up here - we always have a great time, everyone is so friendly. It will also be good to catch up Kathy Troup on The Embroiderers Guild stand, we don't of

The beautiful courtyard at La Verderie 2 workshops in France September/October Hot Textiles - Creative Bondaweb  September 26 th – October 1 st Luscious Layers October 3 rd – 8 th I am very blinkered in the way I think and sometimes need a nudge to make me realise what is staring me in the face!  Gorgeous old buildings with loads of inspirational textures can be found around and about La Verderie Because the workshops in France are going to be for 4 - 5 students I immediately thought they would be good for beginners and marketed it accordingly. It has been pointed out to me several times that working in a small group would also be a great opportunity for more advanced students to have their own 'masterclass' with me. There will be plenty of time for one to one tuition for any level of experience so Sue and I have now changed the skill levels on all the advertising. I am giving you all the 'heads up' as I start my show season this week and wi

painted Bondaweb ironed onto black CS500 Spunbond decorated with strips of blue CS500, glitter and sequins Just a quick post to say I have just had confirmation that I have an extra show next year, I will be at Creative Stitches SECC Glasgow 8th - 11th March. It is a great show in a stunning venue and I am so excited to be going. If any of the Guilds that have been wanting me to deliver workshops and lectures in Scotland want to come and see me at the show I will be taking email addresses to plan a 2 week 'tour' of Scotland in 2013, probably September ish!!! I am still wading through the orders that are coming in thick and fast but I should get up to date today. . . . . . .   . . . altogether now - "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - la, la la, la la!!!"   x

  My stand when it was looking tidy Creative Stitches at Westpoint was brilliant. The Thursday and Friday were like being at the NEC in Birmingham and Saturday and Sunday were just BUSY.  I met some great people, everyone was really friendly and interested. I think everyone had a splendid show. I was in good company there. Jill Kennedy Mixed Media Textiles www.craftsontheweb.co.uk Nina Corey Rag Rugs www.makings.co.uk    Jan Tillett Breautiful stitched bags www.jantillett.co.uk Anne Griffiths Contemporary Textile Art www.annegriffiths.com Jane E Hall Fine Art Embroidery www.clothofnature.com Jamie Malden Colouricious - an amazing array of wooden printing blocks www.colouricious.com  . . . and last but most certainly not least -  my lovely friend Brenda Killigrew of Inkberrow Dsigbn Centre who is also the owner of Castanea Craft Courses Craft Courses in Spain www.castanea-craft-courses.com I

they must be healthy - they have nuts and seeds on. . . . . I am at Westpoint in Exeter demonstrating my techniques at the Creative Stitches Show.  The last 2 days have been the busiest I have ever known for a show out side the NEC. The foot fall yesterday was up 20%!!!!! I haven't had a chance to get off my stand apart from dashing out to deliver my daily lecture and then dashing back to the stand - we are absolutely exhausted and there a 2 more days to go.  I will make a point of going in early tomorrow to take some photos of the show but here are 2 you might enjoy.. I have to pass the handmade chocolate stand on the way back to my stand - it would be rude not buy some of their delights as I pass by - Sorry Lee!!! Champagne and Baileys truffles - OMG - DIVINE! I will do a sensible blog tomorrow . . . . . . x Hello Ooana!!! x Hi Carol - is this big enough? x x

My wonderful group at Ballarat in 2010 I can now announce my courses in Australia next year. They have been launched in Australia so it is my turn now. You may think it a little odd to be advertising my Australian teaching on my blog but have you ever seen the traffic on my blog via the green Feedjit box on the left hand side of the screen? If you click on the small link at the bottom of the Feedjit box real time view , you will see a lot more information. I find it fascinating. Nearly half my hits come from Australia - So Hello! Australia. Greetings Donnie, Ruth and Dale . . . I will be arriving in Melbourne around the 1st of April having had a week to recover from my busiest show of the year - Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch at the NEC. Fibrearts - Ballarat I am very excited to be teaching for Glenys Mann again for Fibrearts Australia, I had such a fantastic time last year, was so well looked after and met some amazing tutors - two of whom I will be teaching with again next year

  Various  weights of Vilene Spunbond cut with a soldering iron and bonded onto CS800  Glasgow here I come!!! I will be leaving tomorrow to start the long drive up to Creative Stitches at the SECC in Glasgow. www.ichf.co.uk It is a 4 day show from the 3rd - 6th March. I will be on stand no ZG01 and will be running 4 x 30 minute workshops a day on the stand. Tickets are on a first come, first served basis. The workshops are for 6 people at a time. Scrumptious Spunbond  30 minute Workshops Everyday - Book places with Kim 10.30, 11.30, 12.30 & 2.30    Come and discover the versatility of Vilene Spunbond CS 500, CS800 and Bondaweb, learn how to colour and distress these wonderful products. Experiment with different weights of Vilene Spunbond and heat tools to layer up a fascinating sample to take with you.  Layers of CS500 colours zapped with a heat gun to create a fantastic texture to stitch I love the journey up North and look forward to the views through Dumfries and Gallow