Nicola Brown and me in the sunshine in Geelong         The Geelong Fibre Forum 2023 was fabulous. Yes, Australia was a long way to go, but it was worth it. There are few opportunities to teach a live 5 day workshop. They can be a challenge, but so rewarding when everything you have planned works out. It is a good test to check you are still capable of developing and delivering quality teaching. Whilst I am a very experienced tutor, you can never take anything for granted. You are only as good as your previous workshop or course. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with my good friend Nicola Brown (who also lives in Ireland and was also teaching) and tutors Mary Hettmansperger (America) and Pam De Groot (Australia) who I hadn't seen for several years. It was so very, very good to see them again. Plus I finally got to actually meet Dawn Edwards, who I have been friends with on FB for several years. There will be at least 3 blog posts about the work my group created. The work

Printed layers of bonded recycled papers It's not long now - The Geelong Fibre Forum in Australia 24th to 30th September 2023 is just 12 weeks away!! I had better start getting organised. It always takes longer than I think. Planning what I can take in my suitcases. Teaching a 5 day workshop on the other side of the world can be a challenge, what materials do I REALLY need to take? The students have a comprehensive materials list, but I am always worried someone might forget something. I think there are couples of places left on my workshop - https://taftainc.com.au/workshops/kim-thittichai I haven't taught in Australia or New Zealand since 2019. I was due to teach this workshop in 2020 - but we we all know what happened that year, things got very quiet!! So International Tutors are now being invited back to the Fibre Forums and Quilt Symposia. Painting The Journey Taking sections from The Journey Printing blocks created from the original designs taken from The Journey It'

Jayni's completed Journey Jacket   Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the design exercise I created many years ago to help my students create original designs. I have taught The Journey exercise all over the world, and now with Zoom I am able to teach live workshops anywhere. I 'met' Janyi Bloch on a live Zoom workshop I was delivering for a textile group in Canada that she belonged to. It is amazing to be able to teach a group in real time, just in a different place. I know it will never replace face to face teaching, but it does save a long flight!! It is always interesting to see what students develop after a workshop, and very occasionally, a student just blows your mind!! When I saw what Jayni had created from her Journey exercise, I knew I had to share it far and wide. With Jayni's permission of course. Jayni's Journey exercise in her studio at home in Ontario.     2 sections from Jayni's Journey Painting the design onto fabric and then free mac

  Tall vessel created from Decovil 1 decorated with torn painted newspaper, painted Bondaweb/Vliesofix and a gold print.         It will be wonderful to be teaching at the Geelong Fibre Forum in Australia again. I was due to teach this workshop in September 2020, but we know what happened then . .  So I will be returning September 2023- Hurrah! I think it will be my 5th time teaching at this residential Forum. There will be 11 tutors teaching groups of up to 15 students. There will be a mix of international and local tutors for the first time in 3 years. Have a look at the workshops here. https://taftainc.com.au/workshops I will be teaching 'A Workshop of 2 Halves', the first part will cover design and the next part, fun with print, all things sparkle and 3D. Sparkle is optional . . but I do find once the gilding flake comes out - it is hard to resist. We will be working with the heavier iron-on interfacings to create decorated boxes, vessels and/or a canvas. There will be tim