A beautiful torn paper sample. I am nearly at the end of my three week teaching tour of the West Country. I have a day off today to tootle around Honiton and then drive to Nailsworth near Stroud for my last 2 day workshop tomorrow and Wednesday. Then it is home. Last week I taught for three days at the Beads for Beauty studio in Babbacombe run by Sylvia McCann and her daughter Alison.   www.fabbeads.co.uk A two day version of 'A New Starting Point' and a one day workshop - 'Now You See It' which I will write up when I get back home. I love teaching at Sylvia's, it is a well equipped workroom and everyone is always so well looked after. A New Starting Point is my newspaper based workshop. Great fun!   Who would have thought you could have such fun with  old newspapers and books. A good roomy and well equipped workroom. Getting down to decorating the newspaper samples. I love teaching this workshop, you never quite know what is going to

   Two of the 'expanded' exercises. Day three of the tour saw me back at Sylvia McCann's studio with a large group of ladies KEEN!!!! to have a go at creating original designs - shock, horror!!! We started with The Journey. Basically a mark marking exercise but with a journey in mind, can be an imaginary one or taking the children to school, and NO! you don't need to be able to draw or paint. This is all explained in my book Experimental Textiles. It's great fun once everyone gets started, get some painting music on the Ipod and you are off!          There were so many 'Journeys', Alison, Sylvia's lovely daughter and maker of of wonderful cakes had to take this shot for me from an upstairs window  Next it was onto the 'expanded' exercise - strips of black paper cut and stuck down with 'spaces in between' in mind.      All the 'expanded' exercises laid out down the centre of the room - I had to stand

A beautiful composition, good use of colour and texture with interesting positive and negative shapes!!! Whilst I am now on my fourth day of my 'tour' of The West Country, I am still catching up with the blog - there are only so many hours in the day. Day two saw me teaching at Sylvia McCanns studio in Babbacombe, Torquay, teaching Scrumptious Spunbond. This is the second time I have taught at Sylvia's studio. A well equipped studio that is large, light and airy and is a joy to teach in. Sylvia and her daughter Alison always look after everyone really well.  We had a large group 15 in all, but the joy of working at Sylvias is that there is power to all the tables  - bliss! The group worked with decorated painted Bondaweb, polyester organza and Vilene Spunbond.  The painted Bondaweb drying in the garden.  We painted up some Bondaweb and while that as drying we had a play with soldering irons. Unpainted Bondaweb was ironed onto Vilene Spunbond CS500 in two