Decorated newspaper ironed onto heavy pelmet Vilene plus and cut to shape with a die cutting  machine I am just packing up the car ready to leave to teach at Denman College  www.denmancollege.org.uk for the next couple of days. I will be teaching my Hot Textiles 2 workshop to a small group that I first met on Hot Textiles at Denman at the end of last year - they are coming back to play. We should have a wonderful time as they already know the basics. We will be able to move fast and cover a lot of ground, I am very excited - some FAB work should be produced. I'm going to take my heat press and die cutting machine in case the group want to try any of the my newspaper processes with painted Bondaweb.   Decorated newspaper brooches . . .       . . and more . . .  I will report back as we go along - we should have a great time in class - and then of course there is the food  . . . .  the beautiful grounds . . . . sigh! what a way to start this years teach

Yes! it had to be done . . . it would be rude not to! I do love teaching at Denman College - not JUST for the food. Everyone is so well looked after and we always have great fun. I was back this time to teach 'Hot Textiles '- my basic safe use of heat tools workshop. The students were fabulous and every one got on well together. The Light Craft Room is my usual teaching studio, it is very light and airy with plenty of room for all our bags and boxes of STUFF! Painted Bondaweb with gold transfer foil, glitter and artichoke seeds. More painted Bondaweb gilding flake, dried flowers, artichoke heart seeds and glitter. A very simple but very beautiful sample of painted Bondaweb with a circle of gold transfer foil. 2 fab samples of Tyvek layered with polyester organza, machine stitched together and then zapped with a heat gun to reveal different colours. A bit like cheeky reverse applique! Heavy pelmet Vilene plus dyed with pr

 Transfer printed Evolon decorated with strips of silver transfer foiled Hot Spots! ooohh!!!! It's been a busy week with lots of writing to do - and that means THINKING!!! oohhh! my brain hurts! I just have to finish writing a workshop on Hot Spots! for the German 'Professional Patchwork' magazine then I can start to get my kit ready for teaching at Denman College and Inkberrow Design Centre this week. There doesn't seem to have been enough hours or days in the past week. My house is still like a bomb site and the Open House is looming at the end of next month. I know it will get done - but when? I am only home for 5 days between now and the 20th November - can you feel the rising panic as I type? At least I will home enough to pack and post orders for   nid-noi.com which is getting busier . .  and busier. I shouldn't complain, I am very lucky to do what I do - it's just that there is so much of it at the moment! So - I will post from Denman

 Extreme Surfaces for Stitch - Denman College  7th - 9th December layers of Vilene Spunbond, Tyvek and polyester organza  machine stitched to pelmet Vilene and zapped with a heat gun I have finally had word that my new book, Layered Textiles, will be delivered the first week of August. Much later than it was promised but at least I have a date. AARRGHHHH!!!! I do so hope it is worth the wait - I am still a bit concerned about what they have done with the cover. The anticipation is killing me  . . . .  * There have been a few changes with my Denman College www.denmancollege.org.uk workshops. Firstly the July workshop next year , Hot Textiles part 2, has been brought forward to January 9th - 11th. I have also added an extra workshop for Denman this year - December 7th - 9th Extreme Surfaces for Stitch. My courses are always fully booked at Denman with waiting lists - me teaching at the W.I. who would have thought??? It is a great place to teach and wonderfully relaxed place to be a s

The Tulip Tree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ) in full flower - quite stunning, just one of the many specimen trees in the grounds One more post about Denman College. www.denmancollege.org.uk It is a very beautiful place to work, learn and play! Denman has it's own new website which will be continually updated over the next month or so. Although the college is the home of the W.I. all the courses are open to the public - MEN and women. You don't have to be a member to enrol on the courses and enjoy the whole Denman experience. The grounds are stunning and well kept with plenty of areas to explore in any spare time you have. They look good throughout the year. Amongst many attractions I love the long flower border and the lake. looking across the grounds to a beautiful group of trees one of the gorgeous flower borders one aspect of the lake with its well established trees and surrounding planting There are usually several courses running at one time at Denman and on the l

an octopus's garden - painted Bondaweb and Vilene Spunbond CS800 cut with a soldering iron Wow!!! What a Fab last few days at Denman College! www.denmancollege.org.uk My group worked very hard and produced some excellent work, it's a shame I can't fit all the work on here. A few of the group were beginners and the rest were quite experienced so it was an interesting mix to teach. Everyone got on well together and there was lots of sharing, both of ideas and threads and fabrics, this always helps things to run smoothly. flowers cut with a soldering iron from Vilene Spunbond that has been backed with Bondaweb, (apologies for bleaching it out with the flash on the camera) Vilene Spunbond cut with a soldering iron and ironed onto pre dyed pelmet Vilene with painted Bondaweb decorated with machine stitch and gold heat transfer foil layers of Vilene Spunbond and pelmet Vilene backed withBondaweb, cut with a soldering iron and ironed onto pre dyed pelmet Vilene polyester or

. . . we are working really . . This a shot of the Light Craft Room where I am teaching, it is very well equipped and Hope, Technical Support, is always so helpful and makes sure we tutors have everything we could possibly need for our teaching. We are all having a great time and I will post the work the students are developing in the next two days but now to what else is happening at Denman this week.  Apart from my course there are beading, photography and flower arranging classes going on. These are some of the beautiful displays that are being created But onto something closer to my heart . . the PUDDINGS! Teaching residential courses can be quite intense so I only teach at two colleges four to five times a year. One of the bonuses is the food and how well everyone is looked after. No washing up, no phone calls just teaching FAB students, making new friends and catching up with old ones. It' s a tough job . . . Apple Strudel or - chocolate brownies or - chocolate mouss