Chasing rainbows Having taught many students over the years, from 4 year courses to one day workshops, both in person and online, I get quite lot of interaction via email. News about exhibitions of work, getting onto a higher education course, that kind of thing. I was delighted to receive an email from Carrey Gorney last week. Carry has taken various workshops with me, both in person and online. A few years ago Carry created a body of work entitled 'Burnt Histories' - "I have created ghostly portraits using the torn pieces of lace and faded photographs carried out of Germany by my Granny and her sisters when they fled the Nazis. They were always sewing, even before” Kaiser Bill” led the Germans into World War One. My grandmother had longed to become a doctor, like her brother, to rip up her sewing, to rip open her corsets and to become herself. I have ripped, scorched and singed the last fragments of their v...

It has been SO good to get back to some basic sewing, I hadn't realised just how much I missed it til I started gathering all my fabrics together. I made 3 more cushions yesterday. I love random log cabin, as you can imagine I am not one to measure and be neat unnecessarily so this technique is perfect for me. The blue cushion is a combination of various lurex fabrics and Thai silk. I made these 2 when I got back from 3 Private Views last night. Image transfer onto white linen. The 4 images on the left are from a range of French windows I use for my greetings cards. I hope to take some more when I visit Sue at La Verdrie next week. The image on the right is of ferns deep in the woods. I think I will continue making these image transfer/linen cushions, they will be a good way to promote my photographs. I will be updating my personal website next month and will be selling my cards and bits and bobs from there. I must dash off and steward at the Open House now, its all very ex...

Pink Birdhouse 29 Southdown Avenue Brighton, BN1 6EH      the weekends of ~ 7/8, 14/15, 21/22 28/29 11am - 6pm   The Brighton Open Houses start this week end and I am making some cushions to go into my friends Clare Rose's house. If anyone wants to pop in and say Hello! I will be stewarding tomorrow from 11 - 6, Sunday 15th 11 - 2.30 and the weekend of 28th & 29th 11 - 6. I am no longer opening my own house as I just don't have time to get it all sorted, it is such a mammoth task which is just as well with the website crashing last week. I have been having great fun working with all my scraps and oddments of fabrics making cushions. It is such a treat to give myself time to play with fabrics and see what happens. My floor is a sea of colour, I have been wading through silks, denims and cottons and it has been wonderful. It makes such a change to be working with natural fabrics and my trusty old Bernina 707. I have had particular fun combining ima...