Transfer print decorated with organza bonded applique. Being able to colour/dye and print your fabric is very important if you want your work to be different. In my teaching I strive to help my students create original work. It is my passion. So this session is very important, dyeing natural fabrics (Viscose, cotton, silk)with procion dyes and synthetics with disperse/transfer dyes. It takes a lot to organise but is soooo worth it.     The group sorting all their fabrics and putting them in their plastic bags. Learning how different types of fabric take the dye is great fun. I use the dyeing in a plastic bag method for this. We don't need yards of fabric to give us the information we need. I use Ruth Issett's book Colour on Paper and Fabric for all the dye recipes. It is now out of print but can still be bought quite reasonably. I always refer to Ruth's books, having done several summer schools with her, I know her systems work - she is the Queen of Colour...

 A lovely concoction of natural fibres and hand stitch. I am slowly catching up with my life - and this blog. I still have a load of emails to reply to, including yours Diana. I hope to catch up with a lot while I am up here at the the show.  Chris and Laura mucking about as we set up the stand. On this Valentines evening I am laying on my bed at my lovely guest house that we stay in when we do a show at the NEC. Laura, The other Vilene consultant, is in the room next door. We both manged to get up here despite the M40 and M1 being closed. We have set up the stand and have sorted all the materials we need for our 3 workshops. The show is Craft, Hobby and Stitch International, it's a trade show. I work with Vilene and run their retailer workshops. I am struggling with my knee at the moment, Laura is being a star and helping her old mate with the lifting and the carrying. I will write more about the show next week - now on with this post. I have sp...

 Strips of transfer printed fabric bonded onto a background and free machine stitched. Happy New Year everyone!!!  I hope you are all well and feeling suitably rested?? Ha Ha !! Maybe not - but hopefully you all enjoyed the break - those of you that had one.  I taught the 7th session of Experimental Textiles at The Old Needle Works over the weekend. We looked at using metal on Saturday and painted Bondaweb and Tyvek on the Sunday. It was just the weekend group this time - The Thursday/Friday group will have 2 sessions in February, we thought it was a bit much for them to have a session on the 1st and 2nd of January!!! The weekend was a 'students choice'. There are 2 sessions within the 9 when the students can negotiate what they would like to do/learn.    Lots of excitement and laughter as the group arrive - they haven't seen each other since November.    Mary kindly brought in fruit - rather cake . . .  Once the girls had se...